Walk me home
Zorah was walking around the church grounds waiting for Avaline who was off somewhere in the building.
She caught sight of Icaro walking in her direction and felt her spine stiffen. She wasn’t ready.
“Hello, Zorah. You look beautiful today.” He came to a stop in front of her.
“Thank you.”
“What do you have there?”
“A notepad from Father Tarantino.”
“Ah, you met him? What did you think?”
“He’s truly kind. I like him.”
“Do you think you’ll sing for him in the church?”
“We’ll see. I don’t feel much like singing right now.”
“Understood.”
“Why are you here?”
“I wanted to ask if you would walk back to the house with me. If we walk, we can cut through the field. If you drive back with Mom, it’ll be the same length of time, but you’ll miss the scent of the Sicilian fresh air.”
“I came with your Mom.”
“You did but she won’t mind if you opt to walk with me.”
“We need to let her know.” Zorah frowned. “I can’t simply abandon her here at the church.”
“She knew I’d come for you, Zorah.”
“But it’s rude to leave her and not tell her.”
“Okay.” He grabbed his phone from his back pocket, “I can text her.”
A thought occurred to her and sheepishly she pulled her book out and wrote in it.
“What are you writing? Are you documenting all the times I annoy you?”
“No. Father Tarantino wants me to document the things I do which are positive.”
“What did you right?”
“I used my manners.”
“You are polite,” he winked at her. He didn’t touch her, but he did extend his hand in the direction he wanted to walk.
“Thank you.”
“What did you think of the church? Pretty, no?”
“It really is. The stained glass is breathtaking.”
“The church is over two hundred years old. It has been restored a few times but always keeping the original character and charm.”
“It’s lovely.”
He walked a small path they barely fit shoulder to shoulder. “I owe you an apology, Zorah. Again.”
She said nothing, the urge to yell at him she wasn’t ready for this conversation at the tip of her tongue. She clenched her fists at her sides.
“Zorah, I made a huge mistake last night.” He rubbed his chin, his voice low and seriously. “Who am I kidding. I’ve been making mistakes with every breath since the moment we were introduced last week.”
She remained silent and he shot her a sideways look. She kept her head looking straight ahead and her eyes focused on the horizon.
“I don’t want you to leave me, Zorah. I never want you to leave to me. Not in any form. I certainly don’t want you dead.”
She blinked her tears away.
“Zorah,” Icaro said lowly, “what if I promise you, I can keep the family life away from you.”
Now he had her attention. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, other than the fact family is always around and they will be there to protect you, you will never be put in the line of business again.”
“How can you make this promise?”
“I’ve already ordered for the family to not use any violence in front of you. No guns in front of you. If something goes down, you’re to be removed from the situation immediately to keep the darkness from touching you and to keep you from being exposed to violence.”
“Icaro.”
“I don’t want you hardened to the violence,” he cleared his throat. “One of the things I’ve loved about you for so long, Zorah is how gentle you are. I love your strength. You are so extraordinarily strong for surviving the hell of your childhood, but I don’t want to be the reason you need to keep being strong.”
His words tripped her up as they walked, and she stumbled at the emotion she heard in his voice.
“I want to be your strength, Zorah. I want to be the man you turn to when you’re scared, not the man you run from because I’ve terrified you.”
She was so confused.
“I will give you space and I won’t be forcing you to forgive me anytime soon. I asked my parents to delay the big celebration for you.”
Now she was stunned and turned her head, “what? Why?”
“Unless you want the party,” he met her gaze. “I’d throw you a hundred parties, but this party is to introduce the Lucchesi bride, and you haven’t accepted me yet, Zorah. I want to throw you the wedding feast you deserve but only because you’re happy to celebrate our marriage.”
“What if I’m not ready to celebrate?”
His expression was pained but he gave a nod, “I’ll never give up, Zorah. If you need twenty more years, then I will keep waiting for you to love me.”
“What if I can’t? What if I never love you?”
He smiled sadly, “then you will live a long life knowing you are loved. To me, knowing you feel loved is far more important than you loving me.”
“Icaro.”
“Let’s table this because I feel you’re getting upset and it’s not what I want. I wanted to walk with you and let you see the beauty of our village.”
They walked together side by side without speaking until they reached a road they needed to cross. She blinked at the view in front of her. “Um, that’s a cliff. How do we get up the cliff?”
He pointed to the metal chain link fencing, “those are some of our olive trees, growing on the cliffside. I wanted to show you place where my cousin is working.”
“Oh!” she looked upwards, “really?”
“Yes. He’s not back yet of course since the ship is still at sea but he’ll get here. He’ll be glad to reach the farm after thirty days on the ocean.”
“How do we get there? To the farm.”
“There is a set of stairs on the side,” he pointed down the road. He offered his hand to her to cross the road, and she slipped hers into his.
At the bottom of the stairs, she looked up with disbelief. “Icaro, those aren’t stairs. Do people actually use them? They look older than the church!”
He laughed and unlocked a barrier to the fencing, “the stairs are fine. If you fall, I’ll catch you.”
It was exactly what she was worried about.
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