Chapter 9 - The Life They Built
One year later, Catherine's legal nonprofit had helped hundreds of women.
Her design company had doubled.
Luca had reduced his involvement in the dangerous side of his family's business and transformed several legitimate companies into public ventures.
People who had known him only as a feared man discovered something else.
He was patient with children.
He remembered birthdays.
He hated elevators.
He always gave Catherine the last strawberry.
At home, they argued over thermostat settings.
He wanted the room freezing.
She wanted it warm.
The argument lasted nearly a year.
Catherine won.
He claimed otherwise.
Their house became full of ordinary things.
Books.
Plants.
Half-folded laundry.
Coffee cups.
A ridiculous dog Juniper that Catherine insisted they needed.
Luca insisted the dog was a security weakness.
Juniper loved him most.
One night, Catherine found Luca asleep on the floor with the dog across his chest.
She took a picture.
He looked at it in the morning.
“Delete that.”
“No.”
“I look ridiculous.”
“You look happy.”
He was quiet.
Then he smiled.
“I am.”
But peace did not erase the past.
Catherine still occasionally woke from nightmares.
Sometimes Jason appeared in them.
Sometimes her mother.
Sometimes the restaurant.
When that happened, Luca never demanded she talk.
He simply made coffee.
Sometimes that was enough.
One morning, Catherine woke to a letter from Allison.
It was the first she'd received in a year.
Allison had moved away.
She had completed counseling.
She had started working with women escaping toxic relationships.
The letter ended with:
I don't expect to be forgiven. I just wanted you to know I finally understand the difference between loving someone and wanting what they have.
Catherine folded the letter.
She placed it in a drawer.
Then she returned to the kitchen.
Luca was cooking.
Smoke filled the room.
Catherine stared.
“What did you do?”
“I made breakfast.”
“What did you burn?”
“Nothing.”
A piece of toast fell onto the floor.
Juniper ate it.
Catherine burst out laughing.
“You're terrible.”
“I’m improving.”
“You’re not.”
He kissed her forehead.
“Coffee?”
“Yes.”
She looked at the calendar.
There was a red circle around one date.
“What is this?”
He smiled.
“Open the drawer.”
Inside was a sonogram.
Catherine stopped.
She looked at him.
“You knew?”
“I was trying to surprise you.”
She started crying.
“Luca.”
He smiled.
“We're going to have a baby.”
She hugged him so hard he nearly lost his balance.
For 1 moment, they simply stood there.
Then Catherine whispered:
“My mother would have loved this.”
“I know.”
“And my father.”
“He already bought half the nursery.”
She laughed through tears.
“He's trying.”
“So are we.”
The months that followed were messy.
Appointments.
Baby books.
Arguments about names.
Midnight cravings.
Luca learning how to assemble a crib.
He put one side together backward.
Catherine found him staring at it.
“You know that's wrong.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you fix it?”
“I was hoping you wouldn't notice.”
She kissed him.
“I noticed.”
They laughed.
The baby arrived on a snowy February morning.
A girl.
They named her Claire.
After Catherine's mother.
When Catherine first held her daughter, everything became quiet.
She looked into the tiny face.
Then she remembered herself at six.
A frightened child in a hallway.
A mother protecting her.
A boy with a silver bird.
A husband who had betrayed her.
A divorce envelope.
A cup of coffee.
A strange man in black.
A handkerchief.
A promise.
Life had not gone according to any plan she once believed in.
But perhaps that was the point.
Sometimes the life that broke you open was the life that finally made room for something better.
Luca sat beside her.
“She's beautiful.”
Catherine smiled.
“She is.”
“Do you think she'll be stubborn?”
Catherine laughed.
“Absolutely.”
“From you?”
“Definitely.”
He kissed the baby's forehead.
Then Catherine's.
“You know what I love most?”
“What?”
“You're still you.”
She looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“You didn't become cold.”
Catherine's eyes filled.
“You almost did.”
“Maybe.”
“But you didn't.”
She looked down at Claire.
“I didn't want Jason to decide who I became.”
Luca smiled.
“He lost.”
“No.”
May you like
Catherine shook her head.
“I won.”
