CHAPTER292
“Umm. No alcohol for Emma, Mamma.” It’s out before Jake even thinks about what he’s saying and Sylvana
spins. In an instant I see it and so does he. The clicking mind of a very sharp woman who has just registered that he carried me in looking sick, he’s been clucking around me ever since; more so than normal, and now, he’s refusing alcohol on my behalf in a tone that suggests … well suggests I’m pregnant. Her eyes widen, and her hand comes to cover her mouth in a swift gasp.
“Really?” Tears prick her eyes and she visibly shakes herself.
“Depends on what you’re asking?” Jake turns sheepish, trying to gauge his mother’s reaction, trying to figure out if she’s shocked happy or shocked pissed. I’m not counting on one more than the other as I just don’t know. Marissa’s baby puts a different spin on what would normally be a grandmother’s dream.
I, meanwhile, am still sitting thinking about the fact that Demon Bitch is sitting a few rooms away. The woman carrying my boyfriend’s baby. The woman he kissed not so long ago. She’s right here in his family home looking to talk to Sylvana about her future as the mother of Sylvana’s grandchild. The ironic timing of this situation is not lost on me. My stomach thumps hard and my heart aches with shattering pain. I still hate the bitch with a vengeance even if I am learning to forgive Jake.
“Are you pregnant?” She watches Jake closely, poised and still, barely breathing. Her voice is almost a whisper as though she daren’t believe it.
“Well not me personally, Mamma, but yeah, Emma
and I are having a lil’ Carrero.” Jake sounds pleased
and proud; for a tiny moment, I forget about her and
look at him with sheer love. It never ceases to surprise me seeing his reaction to our baby. The genuine happiness in his tone and no doubts whatsoever despite how crazy in turmoil I still feel every day. Any time he says it he always looks fit to burst with sheer joy. I can forgive him anything when he looks like this.
“Oh, my God.” Sylvana runs to her son, throwing
her arms around his big frame, dramatically, hauling him down to her height and kissing him on both cheeks in a
very Italian manner before bursting into fluent Italian
dialog. Jake answers her in a mix of English and Italian and
I have zero clue to what is being said, other than she cries and grins a lot. It’s emotional to watch and it’s obvious
she’s ecstatic. I can’t help but wonder how she reacted when he told her about Marissa’s child. I try to push away that lump of pain in my chest.
She turns to me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders, kissing me on the cheek from her position above me. Gushing and tweaking my cheeks with another bout of fluent Italian. I just blink back with a smile and have no idea what to respond with. Jake always seems oblivious to the fact that I need a translator sometimes. I’m not even sure that he’s aware of when they switch between languages.
“There’s more, Mamma. Emma and I are here to go see a house this weekend. A house I might want to buy for us.” He can barely contain the beaming happiness bouncing off him in giant waves.
I think it’s the first time I’ve seen a beautifully composed, graceful woman, like Sylvana, literally burst into a happy dance and sob at the same time. He just made her wildest dreams come true and it goes a long way to making me feel a better in an instant; forgetting about Demon Bitch for a few needed minutes.
“Is it close by?” She chirps ecstatically.
Jake glances at me for a second, I note the little flutter
of doubt, then he smiles slowly and cautiously and looks back at her.
“You can see it from here.” He nods toward the refrigerator wall facing him, indicating the direction, and Sylvana breaks into a huge grin.
“The Wilsons? They haven’t even told anyone it’s on the market yet … Jake it’s practically next door!” Sylvana is back to calling him Jake so I’m sure he’s just made her month. She really is the happiest woman alive and I am feeling a little buzz about his confession too. The Wilson house is next door, close enough to be a part of his family, and a small part of me is really warming to this idea.
Okay maybe not next door in New York sense; I mean they are far apart with grounds in between and a huge massive line of trees and security fencing … But next door as in a five-minute walk across the back grounds. If you didn’t have any fences to climb.
“You know I can’t leave her chatting with Clara in the sitting room forever, Jacob?” Sylvana finally points out when the excitement and chatter about the house dies down. She’s still holding a hand to her heart as though it’s fluttering. Her beautiful face radiating sheer motherly bliss. Clara is Sylvana’s assistant from her charity office and a very close friend who lives nearby.
Jake glances at me and I catch the flicker run across
his face. He has no clue how to play this. If it was just a case of it being Marissa and the baby he would go and speak to her; but now it’s a case of Jake having kissed Marissa, knowing his actions can affect me tremendously, affect what he’s trying to fix. I don’t want to tell him what to do. I want him to decide for himself. I want to trust him. If I’m ever going to move on, then I need to learn to trust him, especially when it comes to her.
I remain impassive, no expression or messages, just a blank look so he gets nothing from me. He frowns watching my face then finally sighs.
“I’m going to take Emma upstairs for a while, Mamma, let her lie down and have some time to recover. Just get Marissa to leave.” He kisses her on the cheek before coming to me and pulling my chair out. He catches my hand, kissing my palm before enveloping it in his and pulling me up, tugging me into his arms and toward the kitchen door. I don’t know how to really feel so I just allow him to take control and guide me.
“Jacob … Ordinarily I would agree, but this isn’t about any of you … It’s about a child. Now, more than ever, you should understand the importance of that.” Sylvana’s comment hits home and Jake stalls in front of me, his body stiffening and he sighs hard. She obviously knows how to get under his skin with very few words.
“What do you want me to do? I’m standing here with the love of my life, very aware of how close I came to fucking it all up with the girl in the next room, Mamma … There is a baby involved but I’m not going to ignore how this affects Emma and our baby, and our future together.”
He’s upset. I can feel the despair emanating from him and can only give him a sympathetic look. I hug
close to him as his arm tightens around my shoulder."
