Page 26 of Mine to Promise
“It’s not Billy’s sweet tea,” I assure him. “We keep that at the office.” I turn to put Avery’s pink cup on the table and then two glasses before walking to the fridge and grabbing the jug of sweet tea and the pitcher of water.
I sit down and the table has never been so full of food before. “Um, we should clear some room.” Stefano looks up at me. “How about I move the pizza to the counter?” I grab the three boxes of pizza, picking them up and turning. “There, that is better.”
I sit down and look over at Stefano, who is cutting Avery’s food as if he’s been doing it for her whole life. “This looks good, Momma,” Avery says to me. “I love pizza.”
“It does look good,” I agree, waiting for him to finish cutting her food before starting to eat.
“This is good,” Avery says, picking up a piece of pizza with her fork. “The best pizza ever.”
“I’m glad,” Stefano replies, as he cuts a piece of pizza for himself and pops a piece in his mouth. “Did you have fun at school today?”
“Daycare,” Avery corrects him. “I go to school when I turn five.”
“Oh,” Stefano says.
“She went to preschool,” I fill him in, “but it’s summer, so it’s daycare until September when she starts kindergarten.”
“I’m going to school,” Avery tells him. “They don’t have naps at school.”
“You don’t like naps?” Stefano asks her and all I can do is cut my pizza in my plate and push it around. My stomach is in my throat after today, and I’m afraid if I do eat, it’ll just come right back up.
“I like naps sometimes,” she tells him, “but sometimes I don’t like it, but they don’t make me nap if I don’t want, they give me books.”
“That’s good,” Stefano returns, eating up every single word that she is saying. “Reading is good.”
“It makes me smart,” she declares, then looks at me and smiles. “Right, Momma?”
“Yes,” I reply, nodding at her. I don’t know what else they talk about because I’m in my own head.
“Momma,” Avery says, “I’m done.”
“Okay.” I look at her plate and see she ate it all. “Go brush your teeth and get your pj’s on.”
She nods at me and starts to go down the hall before she looks over at Stefano. “Will you be here tomorrow?”
“I will.” He smiles at her and she smiles back at him.
She slips back on the plastic shoe that fell off her before. Only when it’s on does she go to the bathroom. I hear her dragging the stool to the counter. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I say, turning back to him, “just—”
“Oh, I know.” He leans back in the chair; the black shirt pulls against his chest. His green eyes are a bit darker than they were when he got here, but it’s also because the light is dim. “That was—”
“Brutal,” I fill in for him as I finally drop my fork.
“I thought I was going to throw up,” he admits to me and I can’t help but be a little relieved.
“Good,” I say to him, and his eyes go big. “At least it wasn’t just me.”
“Have you told your parents about me?” he asks the question, and it shocks me for a minute. I think about lying to him, but it’ll only be a matter of time before he knows the truth.
I look over to the bathroom door, hearing the water running before I tell him, “I don’t speak with my parents.” I want to say, after all this time, it doesn’t bother me, but it does. I think it will always bother me.
He looks at me shocked, and I know he’s going to ask me why, so I just tell him, my voice going very low. “When I found out I was pregnant and told them.” I look down at my plate, not wanting to look at him when I say the next part. Except my pride gets the best of me and I lean back and put my shoulders straight. “It was either get rid of it or do it on my own. So I’m doing it on my own.”
His jaw goes tight and I see his hands ball into fists on the table, his eyes moving back and forth as he looks into mine. “Mommmmmmm, I’m done!” Avery shouts from the bathroom. “Can you come and help me?”
“I should get in there and wipe up the water she must have spilled all over the place.” I get up. “I’ll come back and clean up.”