by Kailin Gow
“My parents?” I asked.
“Yes, they will be here shortly. They just landed at the airport.”
“What? How?” I scratched my head and my thoughts immediately went to my dad’s safety. He wasn’t supposed to be flying. Why was he on his way to Italy? “Why did you call them?” I felt so frustrated.
“Tay, you don’t realize how long you were missing for,” Salvatore said, walking back over with the map but setting it out of reach. He grabbed my hands and looked at me earnestly, showing the intense emotions he was experiencing. “You were missing for over nine hours. We had a crew out there digging for you. If I’d been even ten minutes later …” He stopped talking and I knew what he was about to say.
“Always coming along at just the right time, Mr. Degas,” I said as I squeezed his hand. “Thank goodness, too.”
“The map,” I said, putting aside my worry about my dad for the moment.
“You are persistent. Now, what’s so important about this map?” Salvatore asked as he reached for it.
I opened it up and began to explain. Olivia wasn’t there. She’d met her lover and wasn’t in Pompeii. That means she probably settled somewhere else. In Italy, I’m guessing because Emilio was Italian.
“Okay, calm down. That’s exciting and I cannot wait to hear more but you have to take it easy.”
Then the doctor came in and introduced herself, doing a quick check of all Taylor’s vitals. “You are very lucky and your friend, here, is very caring and diligent. He saved your life.”
“When can I get out of here?”
“You should be able to go in a few hours but you’re under strict orders to not go back to the dig site and get some rest. Got it?”
I started to retaliate against the strict orders but Salvatore took over and said, “I’ll make sure she behaves, Doctor.”
She smiled and then walked out of the room.
I turned back to Salvatore and before I could say another word about Olivia, he said, “You can tell me as much as you want when I take care of you over the next few days.”
“What about your …”
“We can talk about that another time,” he said. He was smiling, though, which made me feel good. That dark feeling I’d had the last time I’d seen him evaporated, leaving an optimistic feeling that things were going to be good.
“I’m worried about my parents coming. It’s not safe for Dad to travel.”
“He’ll be fine,” Salvatore said. “Speaking of which, you should give your parents a call so they know you are okay. Perhaps they can meet you at your hotel room since you’ll be discharged in a bit and it’ll take them a bit to make it through customs. Being an importer, your dad usually has a few more hassles getting in and out of the country than others do.”
“He never told me that before. How did you know?”
“You remember, I used to hang around him and my father when I was a small boy. I remember the stories.”
I dozed off to sleep again and woke up to a nurse coming in and giving discharge instructions in Italian, then in broken English. I didn’t care, though, because I knew that Salvatore was not going to let me veer from the orders, anyway. Why worry about it?
An hour later, I was back at my hotel room and saw many flowers in there from my co-workers on the dig and some beautiful, bright red roses with a tangerine in the center, as well as wild basil. I knew who that was from and it was amazing. Then, once again, I fell asleep, not able to stay awake to talk or take it all in.
Chapter 19
When I woke up again I was shocked to see that in addition to Salvatore, Mom and Dad were hovering over me, looking at me with very concerned eyes.
“I’m okay, you shouldn’t have come,” I began.
My dad didn’t waste a second silencing me. “I know you like to tell me what to do, Taylor, but nothing would have stopped us from coming here to see you.”
“We thought you were…you might be….you…” My mom never finished her sentence and she burst out into tears.
“I’m alright,” I began, “the doctor said I’d be fine. I just need some rest, that’s all.”
“I just cannot believe you did such a foolish thing,” Mom continued.
Thankfully Dad saved me. “This is not the time, dear. She’s okay and it’s all over now.”
“Dad, are you okay?” I asked. “Do you even have permission to travel?”
Dad began laughing and I was reminded just how infectious and warm his laugh was. It felt wonderful to hear it. “I’m fine. I can do whatever I want as long as I take it easy.”
Then he leaned in toward me and lowered his voice. It wasn’t really a whisper but it was something that was meant for mostly me to hear, even though Salvatore and my mom could definitely hear it, too.
“We’ve both had a tough call, but we’re tough. We can weather it out. But it gets you thinking, doesn’t it, Tay?”
I nodded my head but had to ask, “What do you mean exactly?”
“About what’s important in your life…what you want to experience and what you need,” he said with a passionate voice.
“Yes, it definitely does,” I replied. I smiled at Dad and reached out to touch his hand.
“You know what we say, ‘Firsts’ come first,’ and that definitely means our happiness.”
I listened to Dad, not able to say a word at that moment. In fact, I was holding my breath, wondering what he was going to say.
“So,” Dad began while turning his head to glance at Salvatore, “we owe you our appreciation, Salvatore. If you hadn’t been there we cannot honestly know if we’d be talking to Taylor right now.”
“Oh, I would have done anything to find her,” Salvatore said. His conviction and certainty was so touching to me. I knew without a doubt that he meant exactly what he said. There were no double meanings to be found.
“I can see that you are telling the truth, Salvatore,” Dad said. “Taylor’s a good judge of character, better than me, I’m afraid. I also know that you would do anything to make sure she’s happy, not just well provided for and taken care of.”
My mind instantly jumped to Chase and I realized that I’d never told my parents that I’d cut everything off with him completely, in a way that left no chances or hopes for a reunion any time soon…or even in the distant future.
“Dad,” I said as I felt heat flush my face. “Salvatore and I have something to tell you and Mom.”
Dad raised his hand up and said, “I already know. Salvatore’s father called me right before we boarded the flight. It was actually a relief to hear about you two at that moment because I knew that someone was over there fighting to find you, Taylor. You’d been missing for a long time.”
“Oh, Dad,” I said, my eyes welling up with tears. I glanced over at my mom, who had a soft smile on her face but I could see that she was also in what I call her ‘damage control’ state of mind, wanting to make the most of something she couldn’t change.
“Taylor, when you think you may be losing a child all you can think is, ‘Dear God, please let her live through this…please.’ You really get some perspective as to what is important and what isn’t as important as you may have thought even just a few minutes prior.”
I sat up and hugged my dad so tightly and leaned over and squeezed my mom’s hand. She was a wonderful woman but she handled things so differently than my dad, who was a softie by all means, a romantic at heart, first and foremost.
“Taylor, I want you to be happy and well-loved. That’s what’s most important to me and also to your mother.”
I looked over at mom and she smiled, saying, “It’s true…although, it did take your father the entire flight from DC to here to convince me that everything would be okay.”
“Oh Mom, I think in time you’ll see that things are turning out the way they should,” I said. I wanted her to know that I felt for her awkwardness despite me being so relieved that everything was finally out in the open.
“Your mother does like the idea
of you being with an Italian aristocrat, though, don’t let her fool you,” Dad said as he winked at me.
“Oh seriously,” my mom replied in shock horror. She was actually very accustomed to Dad’s loving teases to her.
“It may seem a bit superficial but that’s okay. I love your mother for everything she is, including flaws, and that’s the type of relationship I want for you, too, Tay.”
I glanced at everyone and all eyes were on me but now that my mind was becoming clearer all the questions I had were starting to surface. The most important one was one that I had to ask Salvatore. “Did you talk to…you know who?”
“I did,” Salvatore said. “Everything is as it was meant to be.”
“And did you tell your parents about us?” I asked next.
Salvatore nodded his head. “I did and honestly, I was expecting to be disowned, but that did not happen. After I explained that both my fiancé and I loved others they began to see my perspective.”
“Did they know you meant me?”
“It didn’t take them long to figure that out,” Salvatore said.
“And then they called me to share the news,” Dad said.
“I hope it wasn’t too shocking,” I said, immediately worried about his heart. I’d undoubtedly caused my father a lot of stress over the past twenty-four hours.
“No, it definitely wasn’t shocking. I probably felt as relieved as you did that it was out there.”
“Not to mention the incident,” my mother added in a scandalous tone.
“The incident?” I asked, wrinkling my forehead as I looked at her.
“Yes,” Dad began, “your mother and I saw Chase kissing another girl in the so-called apartment you two were sharing at one point…we’d went up for a surprise visit. Needless to say, it was definitely surprising.”
“Oh no, what happened next?”
“Well,” Dad said looking down at the ground, “I kind of…punched him. Normally I wouldn’t do such a thing but when I saw how he was someone that was supposed to be in your life I couldn’t help myself.”
“And…” my mom encouraged.
Dad continued with a sheepish smile, “And then, I punched him and said it was a good thing that Taylor had seen through him. It would save her a lifetime of misery and companionship with someone who didn’t deserve her.”
“You punched him?” I asked incredulously. “Wow, a lot has definitely been going on in Boston since I’ve been here.”
“It sure has. It was very hard to explain that punch to his parents and when they told me that it was only fair game…after what you’ve done, well, I …” My mother didn’t finish her sentence but I was a bit taken aback that she had still had hopes for us to mend things up until Dad talked to her about it. Very strange.
“Anyway, it’s unacceptable for a man to cheat on his wife and he would clearly be a cheater. So, in my book, good riddance and lesson learned—by all of us.”
I laughed. When my dad decided on something he always pronounced it with distinct flair. It was his trademark in a way, something that made him memorable in business matters, as well as in personal relationships.
“So, that’s that,” I said.
“Absolutely,” Dad said. Then he turned to Salvatore, who was watching with an amused smile. “Now Salvatore here, I’ve known him for a long time and I know he’s a good, earnest guy. However, most of all, he’s sincere. He doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean and he was willing to throw it all away to love you, Taylor. That’s the type of man I want you to have in your life and I know that your mother does agree with that.”
“I do,” Mom said with a smile. “My parents really put your father through the ringer until they realized that I was so in love with him that it was stronger than anything else. I see that in you, too, Taylor. I wish I would have seen it a long time ago.”
“I’m just so happy this is settled and that you two are here,” I said to my parents. I reached out for Salvatore’s hand and grabbed it. He’d just been hurled into a First family discussion and handled it masterfully. Yes, being quiet was often the best way to survive one of our conversations when they got going. It was another reason to love him.
“So, when is there going to be a wedding?” my mom asked.
I just about choked. I knew she’d been daydreaming of my wedding day since I was a little girl but to see her not wasting any time—showing that she was embracing the whole thing—was a bit too much at that moment. Thankfully Dad stepped in and said, “You don’t have to answer that. You kids go wild and enjoy yourself. As for me, I am ready to go and get some sleep and will ensure that my lovely wife comes with me.”
Dad winked at Mom and she giggled. We all hugged and then they left, making their way to their hotel room, which was also in the same hotel.
I looked at Salvatore and got up.
“Be careful. Are you sure you’re strong enough?” he said.
“Mr. Degas, let’s get this straight, you can love and protect me all you want but if I want to get up, I’m going to get up,” I said. Then I started laughing but walked over to Salvatore and gave him a huge hug, feeling so grateful for everything he’d done for me in my life; including saving my life.
Then we kissed and when I went weak in the knees, I knew it was from his love, not from the incident I’d been through.
Chapter 20
Having Salvatore and my relationship out in the open felt so wonderful and I found myself truly enjoying an incredible, insightful adventure with him in Italy. During the week, I worked hard at the dig site and had even arranged to take some classes via virtual school so I could stay on in Italy. I wanted to finish what I’d started on the dig and I also wanted to get started with having a real relationship with Salvatore. Everything was coming along magnificently, more perfect than I ever would have thought.
My parents remained in Italy for a few days and the Degas and First families all went out to eat, celebrating what everyone had now termed as ‘a strengthening of our merger.’ I was thrilled at how accepting everyone had been when it all came down to following what was right in my heart, in Salvatore’s heart. It had made all the difference and I’d never seen what I wanted and was passionate about more clearly than I had at that moment.
One day we were walking through a park for a nighttime stroll and actually ran into Salvatore’s ex-fiancé, who was with her love, and the two were so happy and content, showing that they were worthy of being on a romantic card or poster. We spoke briefly and when we walked away, I had such a huge smile on my face.
“What is it?” Salvatore asked.
“I was just thinking. Not only are we happier and in the relationship we should be in, but so is your ex-fiancé. Everything has worked out wonderfully and it was amazing to see that smile on her face, as well as her boyfriend’s.”
“It made things much easier, that is true.”
“What do you think would have happened if she had been madly in love with you and wanted to marry you?”
“I don’t speculate about things like that, Taylor. As far as I am concerned, everything has ended up just as it should be. I couldn’t be happier and I couldn’t be more in love. We’ve done everything just as we should.”
I squeezed Salvatore’s hand and had an overwhelming urge just to hug him tightly. He stopped, sensing the change in my body posture.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I began. “I just thought about all the big decisions we’ve made the past week. You think we’re doing the right thing still, don’t you?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” Salvatore said. “Why, don’t you?”
“I feel it’s right,” I said.
We’d made a decision not to get engaged yet since we were so new into our relationship and really still had a lot to learn about each other. Plus, we were eighteen and twenty, and while that may be acceptable ages for marriage for many, we still had a great many things to do—a world of adventure awaited the two of us.
“
I feel it’s right, too,” he said.
“I can’t help but think that if I said I wanted to get engaged you would have gotten engaged, Salvatore.”
He began laughing at me, enough that I gave him a playful slug on the arm. “My dear Taylor, I may have caved in to you because you are, after all, very irresistible; however, getting engaged and getting married are two different things. I may have remained engaged for years without so much as a word about marriage.”
I decided to play along. “You may not have mentioned it and I may not have but we each have a mother who is eager for two things: planning a wedding and having grandchildren. That is something that neither of us can change.”
