Page 69 of The Taste of Deceit

Ma looks up from her plate.

“Two weeks?”

I nod. A quiet sigh escapes her.

“So we’ll miss you for two Sunday dinners.”

“And two Tuesdays,” Carmela says.

Sarah smiles.

“We’ll make it up to you.”

“You’d better,” Ma says before taking another bite of her dinner.

The conversation drifts on, moving from travel to the kids’ school and whatever Rafael managed to get in trouble for that week.

Eventually, the food disappears from the table, and everyone falls into the familiar rhythm they’ve repeated for years. Emilio and I carry dishes into the kitchen while Carmela loads the dishwasher. Sarah dries what Ma washes until Ma finally shoos her away, insisting there wasn’t anything left to do.

Within a few minutes, Emilio and Carmela take their places on the couch while Leone and Rafael disappear upstairs in search of whatever game they were arguing about before dinner. Veronica spreads her Barbies across the living room rug, and Sarah joins her without hesitation, sitting cross-legged on the floor as the two of them immediately become absorbed in an elaborate story only they seem to understand.

Ma, of course, stays in the kitchen. I find her wiping down a countertop that’s already spotless.

“Ma.”

She glances over her shoulder.

“What?”

“Come outside with me for a minute.”

She studies me for a second before setting the dish towel on the counter.

“Alright.”

We step through the back door onto the patio. The October air is cool enough that she folds her arms across her chest as we walk a few steps away from the house. Warm light spills through the kitchen windows behind us, and from where we’re standing, I can see Sarah through the living room windows, smiling as Veronica hands her another doll.

Ma follows my gaze before looking back at me.

“What is it?”

I reach into my jacket pocket and pull out the small velvet box. The moment she sees it, her eyes soften.

I open it.

“I’m going to ask Sarah to marry me in the Bahamas.”

For a second, she doesn’t say anything. Then she reaches up and cups my face with both hands.

“Oh, Luca.”

A smile spreads across her face before she looks down at the ring again.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I already asked Ford for his blessing.”

“You did?”