Page 2 of Always You
one
MILA
Five years later
The sun is shining merrily. Layering sunscreen all over my body and listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks, the peacefulness reminds me of how much I’ve missed living in San Diego. I missed the California sun. Although it holds so many memories of Dominic and me, it’s been hitting me hard. It’s been five years since I’ve been to California. These past years have been so challenging; I’ve pulled through with the help of Nana and Uncle Roger. I moved to Manhattan three weeks after returning home from saying goodbye to Dominic in Arizona.
Averting my gaze from a couple of men and women playing volleyball, I lay my towel down so I can sunbathe while reading a romance novel. This is as much romance as I’m getting. It’s been so long since I’ve been in a relationship. A part of me has guarded my heart, and the other half still mourns his loss. One would think after five years, I’d be in a relationship or even married. Moving on became unthinkable, especially after leaving Dom in the hospital room for the last time. My head snaps up when a ball smacks my book down.
“Ahh, sorry.” A man around my age runs up to me. He grabs the ball.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say, squinting from the sun, which is blinding me.
“Mila?”
I look up, using my book as a sun visor to block the sun.Oh, it’s Brian. From the café.
“Hey, Brian.” His sandy blond hair drapes over his eye. His blue eyes sparkle with the sunlight as he takes in my profile.
“Any good?”
My eyebrows arch, confused.
“The book?” he says with a smirk.
Oh.I set the book down and smiled nervously. “Yeah, it’s good.”
Jeez, Mila such a big talker, aren’t you?
He studies me for a minute too long with a lazy grin I find boyishly cute. His gaze lands on the little man playing in the sand. He smiles at him before the guys call him back.
“See you tomorrow at the coffee shop?” he questions, raising an eyebrow.
I wave bye. “Yes, see you tomorrow.”
“Mommy, look what I found, a seashell.”
I hear my baby, Dante, running to me. He has the biggest smile on his face that looks like his father. I found out I was nine weeks pregnant two weeks after returning from Arizona.
“Let’s put it in the bucket, baby, with the rest of them, okay? Are you hungry? I packed you a snack.”
“Yes, Mommy, I hungry,” Dante mumbles.
I passed him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Days after returning home, I futilely tried to contact Dominic's mother Rachel, his brothers, Mark and Santiago. Rachel blocked my calls, and the calls to his brothers were unanswered. They completely ghosted me. I’m not surprised—she always despised me for who knew what reason, and from the moment Dominic and I started dating. Rachel’s invariably been a bitch to me since day one. Her words to him were about how I was not good enough. Luckily, he never paid attention to what his mom had to say.
He would always say, “You’re more than enough, Angel,” in his husky tone.
“I’m done, Mommy, can we go make a sandcastle now?”
“Yes, baby, let’s make a big sandcastle. Then we have to go home. Okay? You got a big day. Tomorrow's the first day of pre-school.”
“Okay, Mommy, I’m a big boy now.”
I smile at his adorableness. He has olive skin like his father and big dimples and black hair like mine. Dante is the spitting image of Dominic. He’s my precious gift, my treasure, my light who saved me from the darkness. I can’t believe he will start pre-k tomorrow.
We gather our items and walk back to my vehicle. A man with a fruit stand waves at us.
