Page 147 of Married With Malice

Daisy notices my tears first and folds me into a soft hug. “I’ll miss you, Anni.”

I’m finding it tough to speak. “I’ll miss you too. I can’t believe you girls won’t be with me anymore.”

Sabrina joins the hug huddle and stretches to kiss my cheek. “We’ll always be with our Anni.”

We let ourselves cry for a little while. This is a good day and also a heartbreaking one.

Luca watches us with his hands in his pockets. He hangs back by the patio and waits for us to finish drying our tears. When the sky darkens and the air begins to pack more of a chilly bite, we walk across the lawn for the last time.

My husband holds his hand out and I slide my own hand into his large palm, leaving the embrace of my sisters for that of my husband.

This stiff funeral dress isn’t the most comfortable choice to travel in so I change to comfy leggings and one of Luca’s hoodies.

My mother hugs me for a long time. She whispers endearments in Italian and I sob on her shoulder a little. When she finally lets go, she’s blinking away tears of her own.

Big Man Bowie treats the moment with solemnity and shakes Luca’s hand. I’ll miss his jaunty grin and infectious positivity. He and Daisy make an excellent team. When I tell him this, he grins and says his next specialty burger will be named after me.

That’s quite a tribute.

When it’s time to say goodbye to Daisy and Sabrina, I feel sure that little pieces of my heart are splintering off.

But no, that’s not the way love works.

We’re just moving on to different phases of our lives. No matter where we go, our bond is unwavering.

“Sisters forever,” I whisper to them and then let go of their hands.

They wave and blow kisses as the car to the airport pulls away.

Our flight experience is a new one for me. I don’t know what will happen to my father’s private jet. Vittorio can keep it as far as I’m concerned.

But as Luca and I squeeze into our cramped coach seats, I couldn’t be happier. He insists on giving me the window seat even though there’s nothing to see outside but the inky blackness of night. Leaning against my husband’s shoulder, I fall asleep and dream of him. When I wake up, the sky is beginning to grow pink.

We watch the sunrise together and as the plane begins its slow descent to the ground, the excitement is beginning to take over.

Luca and I are free.

We’re in love.

We’ve survived the darkest twists on our unpredictable odyssey.

This is the finale we deserve.

The sun is peeking over the horizon as the plane comes to a smooth landing. We’re taxiing toward the airport gate when Luca checks his phone and turns the screen around for me to see.

“The realtor must have sent this message just after we took off. Our offer was accepted. The house is ours and we’ll close in two weeks.”

I can’t stop myself from squealing and pulling him in for an excited kiss.

The house in Sleepy Rock is a charming one story brick house on three acres. I fell in love with the pictures.

The place might need some cosmetic work and it’s not a huge house, nothing like our last one with its cold open floorplan and grey walls. Our new house will be just cozily large enough for the family we plan to have.

The plane stops moving and there’s a loud ding that collectively launches the passengers out of their seats.

Luca steps out into the aisle, drags our carry-on bags from the overhead bin and gallantly holds his hand out with a smile that contains my future. “Let’s go home, Anni.”

I let him pull me to my feet and drop a quick kiss on his lips. “I’m already there.”

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