Page 81 of Love Around the Corner
“DeSantis! Twenty pounds!”
Spinning around, she skimmed the crowd, looking to see who replied. She’d have known the woman anywhere, because her face was Nick’s face. She was somewhere in her fifties, with Nick’s dark brown hair, peppered with gray and pulled back in a ponytail, and Nick’s dark eyes, framed at the corners with tiny lines. With a tight, harried smile, she edged through the crush of bodies to reach the counter and retrieve her turkey.
Nick’s mother.
People swept in in her wake, like the tide coming in on the beach, and Livie lost sight of her. Elbowing her way through the crowd, all her warm, fuzzy thoughts of holidays and communities vanished, Livie fought her way to where the woman had been a moment ago. When she got there, she was gone, but then she spotted her accepting the hefty bagged turkey from the cashier. She’d nearly reached the door when Livie finally caught up to her.
“Mrs. DeSantis?”
She turned, looking at Livie with polite curiosity. “Yes?”
Now that she was face-to-face with her, Livie had no idea why she’d pursued her. What had she meant to say? Mrs. DeSantis had the strained smile of a busy New Yorker wondering why a strange woman had run her down in the middle of the butcher shop.
“I know your son.”
Her smile brightened slightly. “Oh, you know Christopher?”
“No, Nick. I know Nick.”
The blood drained from Mrs. DeSantis’s face, and her smile vanished.
“You’ve seen Nicky?” Livie could barely hear her hoarse whisper over the chatter in the shop.
“Yes, he’s staying at our place right now.”
“Is he okay? Is he in trouble? Does he need help?” Mrs. DeSantis’s anxiety was palpable. Why on earth did Nick think she didn’t care about him. She was nearly frantic as she begged for news about her son.
“He’s fine. He needed a place to crash while he was between apartments. He’s moving to a new place soon.” It didn’t seem right to share Nick’s recent romantic history, not even with his mother, not even if she was desperate for any news of him.
“Can you tell me—”
At that moment, a butcher shouted out her last name across the shop. “Can you wait a second? I need to pay for our turkey.”
“Your name is Romano?”
“Romano’s Bar? That’s us.”
“Romano’s,” she echoed faintly. “Of course.”
Livie fought her way back to the counter to retrieve her turkey and pay for it. When she returned, Mrs. DeSantis was hurriedly scribbling something on the torn-off corner of her shopping list. “Here.” She thrust it in Livie’s direction. “It’s my cell number and my husband’s. Please, give it to Nicky and ask him to call. I just want to hear from him. I want to know he’s all right.”
Part of her wanted to reassure Mrs. DeSantis that Nick was doing fine. He was wildly successful and wealthy. But she held back, because the other part of her knew it wasn’t true. He was alone, bouncing from one temporary situation to another, steadfastly refusing to let himself put down roots. He was not okay. Whatever happened years ago between Nick and his family obviously affected him to this day.
Livie took the paper. “I will, Mrs. DeSantis,” she promised, even though she had no idea how she’d accomplish that. If she simply handed it over and told him to call his parents, he’d just throw it away and refuse outright. Somehow she’d have to explain this encounter, convince him that his mother genuinely missed him.
“Please, it’s Laura. And you...?”
“Olivia. Livie, I mean. You can call me Livie.”
“Livie.” She absolutely beamed at Livie, like she was Santa Claus and the Pope all rolled into one. Reaching out, she grasped Livie’s hand tightly. “Thank you, Livie.”
Livie’s heart ached for her. She clearly loved and missed him and wanted him back. Nick was the one staying away. But maybe she could figure out how to reconnect them. If she could somehow fix this thing with Nick’s family, then maybe, for once, he wouldn’t run. Maybe he’d stay.
“Happy Thanksgiving.”
“You, too, Livie. Tell him...” She paused, squeezed her eyes shut briefly, and took a deep breath. “Tell him I’m sorry.”
And with that cryptic postscript, she turned and left the butcher shop. She was sorry? What for? What had happened eight years ago to send Nick out into the world totally alone? And how the hell was she going to convince Nick to forgive his mother and give his family another chance?
