Page 76 of Reclaimed Dreams

“Couldn’t see it. I’ve only been putting it all together with James, that therapist I started seeing.”

Pieces began to come together in Jo’s mind. So many times when Dom had been stressed during their lives together flashed past her memory. In hindsight, she could see the subtle ways he’d coped by reasserting control over the situation through charm or stubborn determination. “And the vineyard?”

“Well, after the show fiasco, I knew I’d pushed you too far. And though at the time I didn’t know why, I wanted to fix it. You kept saying you wanted me to retire, and every time I thought about it, my chest would get real tight and I couldn’t breathe. I… I couldn’t see a future past Valenti Brothers. Who am I if I’m not Dom Valenti, head contractor?”

Why didn’t he say anything? Would I have listened? Really heard him?

Jo owned her own likely failure. She hadn’t been in a place for that kind of conversation either. She had just assumed he’d be on board for whatever retirement plans she suggested. She hadn’t asked for his input either, nor had she noticed that he was clearly panicking at the idea.

But that was then. Mistakes were made. What mattered was that they were having the conversation now. “You’re Dom Valenti, Nonno and husband.”

“Anyhow, I thought back to those nights on the beach when we’d talk for hours. Since you weren’t talking to me at all anymore, I had a lot of quiet time to remember what you’d said. And I heard you when you said you wanted to travel. I’m gonna try and get over my fear of flying. James is helping me with that too. More control stuff. But it’s never going to be something I can do regularly, so I wanted to give you a slice of Tuscany here. You also said you wanted a place in the country.”

“I did say that. Forty years ago. And it is a beautiful property, Dom, but it’s not home. It’s not for me, it’s for you. All I wanted was to spend time with you in our home, making more memories with the time we have left. This looks like a gorgeously designed time suck.”

“You may be right. I was grasping at straws, and by the time I realized this was a short one, we were too far into it to turn back.” His quiet admission floored her. “So much of Frankie’s dreams and finances were tied up in this because of the network contracts that I had to see it through. So I stayed and kept working, filling in for the kids as they needed me. You know I’d do anything for our kids. And spending all this time on a new project let me avoid the reality that I can’t give you what you want.”

“Why? Why can’t you give me what I want?”

“Because I don’t know who that is anymore! You say you want Dom the husband, father, grandfather… Who is that? I don’t see him in the mirror anymore.” Dom’s voice broke, and he turned his head to stare out at the darkened vineyard.

She couldn’t let him retreat after they’d come so far. Giving up on keeping her distance, Jo set down her wine and crawled into his lap. “Then let’s find him together. I miss you, the Dom I married, and I don’t want to lose you again to some crazy, intense career. If you’re bored, let’s talk about it. If you’re scared, turn to me, not away. If something’s not working, we’ll fix it side by side.”

“What if he’s gone?” Dom whispered hoarsely.

“He’s not. You may not see him in the mirror, but I do. I’ll help you find him again, and figure out who he wants to be now.”

Dom buried his head against her shoulder and she pulled him into her embrace. When his shoulders began to shake with quiet tears, she held him closer and ran a hand down his back.

“It is a beautiful property, Dom.”

“Yeah, it is. I can list it with the agent again, once we’re out of the contract period—”

She silenced him with a kiss. “Don’t. Who knows? Maybe you will need a hobby. But if we keep it, we are going to hire professionals to run this and make the most of it. I’m not letting another business steal you away from me.”

“Deal. What is this ‘hobby’ thing you speak of?”

Jo laughed, and leaned into his shoulder. “You’ll figure it out… For the record, as grand gestures go, this is pretty grand. Wait till I tell Elena you bought me a vineyard….”

“She and Tony already know. They might be doing some industry recon in Italy…”

“Domenico Valenti, you told your brother about my present before me?” She smacked him on the shoulder, and he captured her hand in his.

“Hey, it took a combined effort to make this happen. Your kids knew about it before you did too. And everyone just wanted you to be happy. Because it’s been very clear that you haven’t been happy for a long time, Jo.”

“No, I haven’t, but for the first time in a long time I feel like I could be. Like we could be together. Let’s find that happy, Dom, whatever it looks like. For both of us.”

She squeezed his hand three times, and he replied with four and the words that had always seen them through.

“I love you, Jo, and I’m not going to lose you.”

“I love you too, Dom. And I’m not going anywhere without you.”

6 months ago

“Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with us today.” Jo ushered their guest into the living room of the vineyard house. They’d kept a lot of the furniture Sofia had used to stage the house because it was absolutely perfect. Jo settled herself on the sofa next to Dom, who still wasn’t sure about this woman she’d invited over.

“It’s my pleasure. I certainly couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see the inside of this gorgeous place for myself!”

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