Page 41 of Everything I Desire

A big man comes out from the kitchen, and looks between me and Porter. “Not too much you couldn’t find yourself a pretty little woman.” He slaps Porter on the shoulder.

“Oh I’m sorry,” he pulls me to him, “Tony, Maria, this is my Adelaide.”

Maria slaps her hand over her mouth, “TheAdelaide?”

“Yup, the one and only. She finally convinced me to give her a chance,” he says.

“More like I convinced him to give himself a chance.” I say reaching out to shake their hands.

I’m immediately pulled in for a hug by Tony, “We’re family, Adelaide. We hug. If you convinced this one here that he’s worth taking the chance on himself, you’re family.”

Maria mouths over Tony’s shoulder,I like her!

“Come, come, sit. I’ll bring you antipasto.” Maria leads us to a table in the corner. There are only a few other people in the small restaurant but they don’t seem phased by the commotion we caused.

After our first of many rounds of food, according to Porter, Maria brings out a huge plate covered in sauce, and what looks like a fried ball of something.

“Arancini. My boy’s favorite.” She smiles affectionately at Porter before walking back to the kitchen.

I hesitantly dig my fork inside and see a mix of cheese, rice, and hamburger. I look at Porter questioning what I’m going to eat even though it smells amazing.

He laughs at me, “It’s a fried rice ball. But I promise you no matter what she brings it’s going to be amazing.” He digs into the other one taking a huge bite.

I take a tentative bite and the flavor bursts on my tongue making me moan my approval. Porter smirks at me.

“So.TheAdelaide, huh? Want to tell me how Maria and Tony know who I am?” I ask, taking another bite. Porter was right, I can already tell no matter what she brings out, it will be amazing.

He tells me about the first time he came here, it was right after the first hearing with Maura. He was sitting at a table alone as a young, defeated kid. Maria saw the sadness on his face and sat down with him after giving him his first arancini. He says that she has this magical way of getting information out of someone even if they don’t want to share.

After he spilled everything from leaving me, to fighting for custody of Kayla, she took him under her wing. When he stopped fighting for custody, he kept in touch with them, stopping in on his way to attempt visitations with Kayla when Stacey would call him.

Maria brings out a large bowl of something that smells heavenly, “And just where is this beauty of aniece you always tell me about it?” She places the bowl between Porter and I, “Carbonara.” She nods at the bowl then stands with her hands on her hips waiting for Porter to answer.

“She’s at a movie with her friend, but I promise I’ll bring her tomorrow to see you before we go back to Lupine Valley.” She pats his shoulder then takes off to the kitchen again.

He looks at me, licking his lips, “You know we have at least one more round of food coming, right?” He says chuckling.

I take a bite of her pasta, moaning once again at how good it is, “I don’t even care how full I will be. I want it all. Can we bring some home for dinner tomorrow?” I ask with a mouth full.

Porter laughs, “Of course we can. I’ll even ask her to make us some fresh Italian butter cookies, they might rival your mom’s for the top spot.”

“No way.” I say seriously. Nothing has ever beat Mom’s cookies.

Once we finish eating our fill of pasta, Maria and Tony bring out a huge dessert plate filled with cookies, biscotti, cheesecake and cannolis. She proudly points out each one saying that Tony has perfected all the recipes. They both sit down and join us at the table.

Watching the love they have for each other and for Porter is incredible. I’m so glad he’s had someone in his corner all these years. It settles something in my heart that I didn’t even know needed settling.

We spend a while talking with Maria and Tony. They share stories of their time with Porter, and the time I missed with him. It seems like all too soon it’s time to go get the girls from the mall.

Maria hugs me tight and whispers in my ear, “Thank you for getting my boy to believe in himself. After that last court hearing I was so worried he would punish himself forever.”

I pull back and just look at her, unshed tears in both our eyes. I nod, “Thank you for loving him when he wouldn’t let me.” She pulls me back in for a hug and I feel a connection to this woman over the shared love for a man who doesn’t think he deserves any of it.

“You come back with that girl tomorrow and we’ll send you home with all kinds of goodies, you hear me?” Tony bellows from the kitchen.

“Will do, Tony, I promise!” Porter answers as he opens the door for me.

I never expected for a tiny hole in the wall restaurant to fill my heart more than I ever thought it could be. The gratitude I feel for Maria and Tony can never be repaid for them believing in Porter.

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