Page 6 of Giorgio

“If it is left up to you, I will never hold a grandchild in my arms. It is time you settled down son.”

“And I will, but right now I want the freedom to enjoy my life before settling down to a life that will be shared with other people. Is that too much to ask?”

*****

Juliana clung to her brother, unashamed of being absorbing his strength, because she had so little of her own. Today was September fifteenth and would have been their dad’s birthday. Last year, he was still alive, and they had celebrated the day by coaxing him to dress up so that they could take him to an expensive restaurant.

Little did they know it would be his last birthday. That the so far undetected cancer would ravage his body and quickly take his pride and ability to take care of himself and then his life.

She had agreed to the trip but had insisted on going after today. She had wanted to put some flowers on his grave.

Julian had taken time out from his extremely busy schedule, and they had done everything together. He had accompanied her to the floral shop to pick out red and yellow roses for their mother and daffodils for their dad. She had brought a broom and wash rag with her to clean the glossy tiles and placed the flowers on the graves.

Tears swelled and then poured down her cheeks and she let them. The earth was still fresh where they had laid him to rest, not quite a month ago. The bleak afternoon had deterred most people from visiting or perhaps it was due to it being a workday. Aside from them, there was a couple just a few graves up, clinging to each other.

In a couple of months, the weather would change, and everything would be covered in snow.

“Cold?” Her brother’s voice jarred into her thoughts and had her looking up at him.

“A little bit.”

“We should go and get something to eat.”

“Just a few more minutes, please.” She smiled through her tears as memories assailed her. “Remember when he wanted to build a shed?”

Julian chuckled, his hand automatically rubbing up and down her arm to infuse warmth.

“He was never one for manual labor, but it was not for lack of trying. He was determined to build that thing, instead of getting a readymade one at one of those hardware giants.”

“He wanted to prove to mom that he was not so useless with tools.”

“Only he was.” Julian shook his head. “It turned out to be a disaster, with nails sticking out everywhere and pieces of lumber with no apparent shape. It was misshapen and ugly and still mom complimented him on the effort.”

“They loved each other.”

“They did.” Julian’s expression was somber as he glanced over to their mother’s grave. “I keep trying to find a woman who would measure up to her, but so far, I am batting zero.”

Tilting her head to the side, she stared at him. They were fraternal twins, rather than identical. He was tall, topping her by several inches. And he was the better looking of the two. Juliana did not put much stock in her looks and never went out of her way to dress to please anyone.

Her wardrobe was basic and practically colorless and her clothes practical instead of stylish.

She did not believe in spending hours in front of the mirror lathering makeup on, just to spend another hour taking it off before going to bed. She had cut her hair because it was easier to manage and had been told by the stylist that it suited her small face.

“Do you think that’s fair?”

He shrugged. “Fair or not, it’s how I feel.” Wrapping his arms around her, he squeezed gently. “We have each other Jules, I want you to remember that.”

“I do.” She told him, her voice thickened with tears. “It’s just so hard to go on. I keep telling myself that I am going to be fine, but…”

“You are going to be fine,” he said firmly, turning her to face him. “You are going through a pretty rough time, but it will pass, and I am here for you and always will be.”

*****

Juliana had insisted on spending the last night at her apartment.

“Why?” Her brother had demanded when she told him.

“I want to take advantage of my isolation. Look Julian, I love you to death and you are the best brother a girl could ever have, but you are way too neat and obsessive about putting things in their proper order.”

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