Page 20 of Falling for the Knockout

“Okay, then I’ll go with you to Elio’s apartment. Is his nurse with him?” Aurora asked.

“No, she’s not,” Tony said. “Listen, I think that you need to sit down because I’m not doing this very well, and it would be easier if you were sitting here with me.” Aurora crossed the room and sat down next to him at the kitchen table. The worry on her face was his doing. He hadn’t been clear, beating around the bush about Elio, when she deserved the direct truth from him.

He took a deep breath and let it back out. “Elio passed away last night,” Tony said. Just getting the words out made him nearly choke.

“Oh, God,” Aurora cried, covering her mouth with her hands. “I’m so sorry, Tony,” she breathed.

“I’m sorry too,” he admitted. “I should have gone right over to his place on the way back into town, but I thought that I had time. I was tired and selfish, and I should have gone to see him.”Aurora crawled onto his lap, and he wrapped his arms around her, taking the comfort that she was offering.

“You couldn’t have known,” Aurora said. “Why didn’t the nurse call to tell you sooner?” she asked.

He shrugged, “Elio wouldn’t allow her to call me. He said that my fight was too important and that he didn’t want me thinking about him rather than having my head in the ring, where it should have been. He’s left detailed instructions about what he wants for his funeral. I’m supposed to meet his nurse down at Kirby’s Funeral Home in an hour. I need to see him to say goodbye. I was hoping that you’d come with me if you’re up for it.”

“I think that I’d like to say goodbye to Elio too,” she said.

“It’s settled then. We’ll go down to see Nonno,” his voice cracked, and Aurora wrapped her arms around him tighter. “Then, we will follow his instructions and give him the send-off that he wanted.” Aurora kissed the tears that fell down his cheeks and nodded.

“That’s exactly what we’ll do,” she agreed. Tony was thankful that he had her by his side. Aurora was one of the last gifts that Elio gave him, and for that, he’d always be grateful.

The days leading to the funeral felt like they were a blur, passing too quickly for Tony to catch up. Aurora stepped up running the bakery and helping him to plan Elio’s funeral, following his every wish. And today was the day that he was going to have to say goodbye to one of the most important people in his life.

They met with his grandfather’s lawyer earlier that morning and found out that Elio had left him the house that belonged to him and his grandmother. He never sold the place when he had to move to his apartment. He couldn’t handle the stairs anymore, but giving up his house completely wasn’t something Elio could do, and Tony never pushed him to sell.

Elio also left the bakery to Aurora, even though she insisted that she couldn’t take it, Tony knew that it was the right thing. Aurora loved the bakery almost as much as his Nonna had. Tony told her that it was the right thing, and he insisted that she take the gift that Elio had left her. He finally got her to agree, and that was when the lawyer handed him an envelope with a letter in it from his grandfather. He quickly opened it, hoping that his Nonno had left him some sage advice or anything that would help him get through losing him, but inside he found two words written on the piece of paper—Marry her. He knew that Elio loved Aurora, and sure, he’d try to put them together, but doing so from the grave was completely unexpected. He quickly folded the paper up and shoved it into his suit pocket, not wanting to think about anything today except saying goodbye to Nonno. The rest could wait for another time.

Tony and Aurora walked into the funeral home and found Elio’s open casket sitting in the room off to the right. Tony hardly recognized his grandfather. He didn’t look like himself. Whoever made him up didn’t take a good look at the photo that Tony had provided them with. His grandfather looked like someone else, but at least he looked like he was at peace with his hands folded over his chest.

“It doesn’t even look like him,” Aurora said, as though reading his mind. “Are you sure that we have the right room?” She turned to leave the room to look for Elio, and Tony pulled herback into the room.

“It’s him,” he said, “he’s wearing the suit that I brought in for him. They just made him look different, but it’s him.” She squeezed his hand and walked back to the front of the room with him to stand in front of the casket.

They had gotten there early to pay their respects before the rest of the mourners showed up. He knew that Jonesy, Rocco, and Luca were coming, but he had no idea how many friends his grandfather had until the room started to fill up around him. People were coming up to him and telling him how sorry they were. He wanted to tell them that he was sorry that his grandfather died too because he had so much to tell him still. Instead, he smiled and politely nodded or thanked the person and they moved on. It felt like a lifetime had passed by the time everyone took their seats, and he stood up at the front of the room to tell everyone about his Nonno. It was the hardest speech that he had ever had to give, but he needed to do it. He needed to make sure that everyone knew how important his grandfather was. When Tony was finished, he thanked everyone for coming, walked over to Aurora, and took her hand, leading her out of the room. It had become too small and crowded for him, and he needed some air.

“We’re just leaving?” she whispered to him on the way out of the funeral home.

“No, I need some air,” he breathed. They walked out into the afternoon sun, and it felt as though he could breathe for the first time all week. “We still have to go to the gravesite,” Tony said. He hated that they were going to have to stand there and watch his grandfather be lowered into the ground, but that was also part of Elio’s wishes.

“Are you okay?” Aurora asked, turning to stand in front of him. She was always doing shit like that—looking at him, touching him, and making sure that he was all right.

“I will be, as soon as this is over,” he admitted. “Are you okay?” He could tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn’t all right. She had cried most of the week and today seemed to completely drain her.

“I will be, as soon as this is over,” she said, giving him back his own words. He pulled Aurora in and kissed her forehead as she melted into his body. He knew that if Elio could see them right now, he’d be smiling.

“Tony,” a woman said from behind him. He’d know that voice anywhere. It was the first voice he had ever heard and honestly, he never thought he’d ever hear it again.

“Mom,” he said before even turning around. The surprise on Aurora’s face was almost comical. “It’s fine, honey,” he lied. Nothing about his mother showing up at Elio’s funeral was fine.

“I heard about your grandfather,” she said as if that would explain her reason for showing up at the funeral home.

“And you came to pay your respects?” Tony asked. He knew how much his mother disliked Elio. She blamed him for Tony wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a boxer. The last place she’d want to be was at his Nonno’s funeral.

“Yes,” she lied. He could always read his mother and now was no different.

“How about the truth this time?” Tony asked.

“You know that your grandfather and I didn’t always see eye to eye, Tony, but he was still your Nonno,” his mother said. Shelooked Aurora over and smiled. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” she asked. His mother knew good and well that Aurora wasn’t just his friend. They were holding hands, and he usually didn’t do that with his friends.

“No,” he growled, “you don’t have the right to just show up here and ask to meet my ‘friends,'” he insisted. “What are you really doing here?” He knew that his mother always had a motive. After she basically kicked him out, he moved in with his grandparents. She only came around when she needed something—usually money, and Elio was soft-hearted enough to give it to her. Nonna would always tell him that giving her money was just pissing it away, and Elio would fuss that he did it for their son. He said that Tony’s dad would have wanted them to help his mom, but Tony wasn’t so sure. If he had to guess, he’d say that his mother heard about his big fight and ultimate career boost and was there for a payday.

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