your family,” he pressed. “I'm doin' this for me, and for Pops, but most of all, for you. 'Cause you deserve better, so I'm gonna give you better.”
A memory came to mind, something I thought I'd forgotten, from when I’d gone home after Vinnie made me leave. My father had told me that all we can hope for is to love someone enough to make a difference, and I realized then, that I had.
He was alive because of me.
He was doing better, because of me.
And I couldn't ask or hope for anything else.
“You ready?” he asked, killing the engine.
With a rapid blink, I batted the tears away and nodded. We left the car and I headed toward the walkway when Vinnie stopped me.
“This way, sweetheart,” he said, directing me to a smaller path off the paved driveway.
He led me through the white, vinyl fence and around the back of the house. There was a white door, illuminated by a single light, and Vinnie unlocked it with a key. He opened it to reveal another door and a dark staircase.
“Where does that go?” I asked out of curiosity, pointing at the plain, inconspicuous door.
Flipping a light on and brightening the stairwell, he casually replied, “Oh, that goes to the laundry room I share with Jenna and Nicky,” then, he headed down the stairs and I followed.
At the bottom of the stairs, was a small room with two doors. Vinnie nudged his chin toward one and told me that was where the hot water heater and oil tank was. Then, with his hand on the other, he said, “And this, is where I live.”
I'm not sure what I had expected from Vinnie's apartment, when he told me he was living in his sister's basement. I knew he'd have a bedroom, maybe a bathroom of his own, but anything more than that hadn't crossed my mind. So, stepping over hardwood floors into the living room was a surprise, and as Vinnie dropped his keys on a small end table beside the door, I took in the tasteful leather couch and armchairs. Then, the new coffee table and large flat screen TV. There were a few pictures on the wall behind the couch—one of his father, one of the whole family, and one of us from our wedding day. My heart swelled, looking at the room. This wasn't a bachelor pad. It was a home, well-decorated and warm, and I loved it.
“I'm just gonna get outta these clothes,” he said, gesturing at the sauce stains on his light-washed jeans. “You can give yourself the tour, if you want.”
Wordlessly, I nodded, and with a cordial smile, he turned and exited the room through an open doorway. I kept a close distance as I followed, watching as he opened a door at the end of the long hallway. Assuming that was his bedroom, my attention was drawn to the three other doorways. One, a wide entryway, led to a small but lovely eat-in kitchen with what appeared to be another door to the outside. The other two doors concealed a bathroom and what appeared to be a storage room. The tour was quick, as the apartment was fairly modest in size, but it was clean and perfect for a single guy—or newlyweds.
Not knowing if I should barge into the bedroom, unsure of where our relationship stood, I waited for him in the living room. I sat down on the couch and looked down at the coffee table, remembering what we had used his old coffee table for. I wondered what had happened to it and if he missed it.
I closed my eyes and shook my head. That was another life and there was no going back. I didn't want to ever go back, and I said a silent prayer, hoping that I never did, with or without him.
Taking a deep breath, I inhaled control and exhaled calm, and when I opened my eyes, I found that I wasn't alone.
Vincent stood before me, regarding my presence with a knowing smile, and I regarded his with a bow of my head.
“Hi, Mr. Marino,” I said. “I feel like I owe you an—”
“Are you,” Vinnie cleared his throat as he entered the living room, wearing nothing but a pair of plaid pajama pants, “are you talking to my dad?”
For the first time, I didn't try to hide it from him as I nodded. “Yeah.”
Vinnie turned in a circle, searching for where his father might be, and I laughed. “He's