Chapter 11 - ANOTHER CHAIR AT THE TABLE
Six months later.
The Romano estate was unrecognizable. The dark, heavy drapes had been pulled down, replaced by sheer white curtains that let the afternoon sun flood the hardwood floors. The imposing silence had been broken by the sound of cartoons playing on the television and the chaotic running of a golden retriever puppy chasing a tennis ball down the hall.
I sat at the head of the dining room table.
I wasn't wearing a tailored black suit. I wore a simple gray sweater and slacks. I was reading a legitimate business proposal for a new real estate development downtown.
Footsteps echoed from the kitchen.
Maya walked in, wearing a beautiful, simple sundress. She wasn't wearing a housekeeper’s apron. She carried a large ceramic bowl of pasta, setting it down in the center of the table. She leaned down, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my cheek.
“Smells incredible,” I smiled, catching her hand and squeezing it gently.
“Don't flatter me, Leo. Rosa helped with the sauce,” Maya laughed, sitting in the chair to my left.
We had kept in touch after she moved. It started with weekly phone calls to check on Sophie, which turned into coffee dates, which turned into dinners. Slowly, carefully, we had found healing in each other. We were two broken people who had realized our jagged edges fit perfectly together. She had moved back into the estate not as my housekeeper, but as my partner.
“Dinner!” Maya called out.
From the hallway, a chaotic blur of dark curls and a yellow dress sprinted into the dining room. Sophie scrambled up onto her chair.
Not just any chair.
She sat in the chair directly across from me. Sophia’s chair.
It didn't hurt anymore to see her there. It felt right. It felt like the universe was finally balancing the scales, turning a monument of grief into a seat of life.
Sophie looked at her plate, where Rosa had carefully placed a scoop of peas next to the pasta. Sophie frowned, looking up at me with her big brown eyes.
“Mister Leo,” she negotiated. “Do I have to eat the tiny green lies?”
I laughed loudly, the sound echoing off the high ceilings, a sound of absolute joy. I looked at Maya, who was smiling at me, her eyes shining with love.
“Just three of them, Sophie,” I bargained, picking up my fork. “And then we’ll have ice cream.”
May you like
As we ate, surrounded by the warmth of the fire and the light of a new beginning, I looked at the picture of Elena and Sophia on the cabinet. They were smiling at me. And for the first time in a very long time, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
The king of the underworld was dead. The father had returned.
