Page 101 of Dominance

Who am I kidding?

I’m glad he’s out.

I watched him shoulder the weight of an entire family for years. He wore it well. But I always just wanted my older brother to be happy.

The nurse lets me in, leaving me to wander into the small living room. It’s just like I remember it from the last time.

“Nonna, are you napping?” I smile, catching her peeking out of one eye. She’s laid back, covered in a blanket, sitting in her chair. The TV is on mute, playing reruns of some old show.

Her grin as I sit next to her on the sofa, patting her withered hand tells me she’s having a good day.

“Adri—no, no,” she says, like she’s telling a secret, winking at me.

“È bello vederti, Nonna.”

“Mi hai portato i biscotti?”

A laugh huffs from my chest, making me grin, the first real smile I feel like I’ve had in so long. “Of course I brought you cookies.”

Laying out the box on the coffee table I give her a sidelong look, reaching for the box, but she waves for me to wait. “No, no. Later. You come for tea, no?”

“You’re as clever as ever,Nonnina.”

“And you are still baby face. But you pout too much. Why you sad,il mio piccolino?”

Her little boy. She only ever called me that.

Aless was herorso, her bear.

“I’m not sad. Just tired. But I am getting married,Nonna. I wanted to tell you. To get your blessing.”

“Hm. She not good enough.”

“She’s beautiful. Smart.”

“Bah! One day she look like me. Smart? Smart no keep you warm. What matters: She make you food? Make you smile?”

I feel something tug at my heart in my chest at the question.

Does she?

The food, sure. Gloria is a great cook, from what she’s made at the apartment so far.

Does Gloria make me smile…

“Si,Nonna.”

“Only thing matters. I love you, boy.Ti benedica.” She reaches towards me, cupping my face, patting it gently.

I savor the feeling, the nostalgia and an old, faded sense of home, tradition. Along with a sense of finality.

The moment passes and I see Natalia blink, her gaze growing a bit distant.

“Tell your brother to come see me. Bring me great-grand babies to sit on my lap!”

“Nonna, Aless is…” I drift off, my initial reaction to cover, to keep our story up. But it occurs to me that she would have heard the news. That someone in the family had to have told her.

She just doesn’t remember.

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