Chapter Five
“We need a lot morebunting,” Clarissa said, laughing as the one Lorenzo had created only went up half the staircase, and it looked incredibly silly.
They were both laughing and attempting to decorate for Halloween.Lorenzo had insisted.She had never really loved Halloween.Technically, that was a lie; she had loved Halloween for a long time, but after her sister’s death, it was something she hadn’t delved into.It was something she and her sister had done together, and with her gone, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Usually, Mia had some Halloween party planned, but this year, it wasn’t happening.There had been one time that Giovanni attempted to host the Halloween party, which she knew Mia had wanted to enjoy but refused to.She figured it was because of her pregnancy.She was so happy for her friend, and one day, she hoped to be a mother herself, which took her by surprise.Clarissa had never imagined herself as a mother.Even though her grandmother had told her many times she would make an amazing mother.She didn’t know why she had thought that.It wasn’t like she had the best role models.
Pushing all of that to the back of her mind, she focused on Lorenzo.They’d had an amazing couple of days.Not just because he took her shopping, but everything that had happened since then.Of course, once he finished business with Diego and the others, they came back home, and he helped her wash, dry, and even iron her fabric.He’d even assisted her in putting her fabric in color codes, which had been fun.Lorenzo was a lot of fun to have in the sewing room, and she never in a million years thought she would say that about him.
Of course, once he saw some of her Halloween fabric, he literally kept her up most of the night, creating bunting for the house.It was a little early to be decorating, but it was just so much fun, and she didn’t want this bubble to burst between them.
It was the first time in their marriage that they were actually getting along.It was kind of surreal.There was often an awkwardness between them, but at the moment, that didn’t seem to be present.
They didn’t opt to put the bunting along the stairs, and instead tried it in his office and finally agreed to hang it across the mantel.Decoration one had a place.They’d also made little fabric pumpkins, which they placed around the house.
They had a lot of fun, until it came time for lunch.Lorenzo had told the chef not to bother coming, so he took control and started to cook.She sat at the kitchen counter, watching him.
“Do you enjoy cooking?”she asked.
At first, he didn’t answer, and she tilted her head to see if he had heard her.
“Yeah, I do.”
“But you hire a chef?”she asked.
“I’m a busy man.”
“You know, I can help cook as well, if you’d like,” she said.“I mean, I don’t think you should fire him, but if there is ever a time you want to come home to a home-cooked meal made by me, I could do it.My grandma taught me.”
“She taught you a lot,” he said.
“She didn’t really have much choice.If it was left to my parents, I would have ended up in some kind of hospital.”
“You know, when you’re ready, you can tell me about it,” he said.
Clarissa looked up to see if he was being sincere or just offering a polite response, and she was surprised so see he was actually being genuine.
“I spent a lot of time with my grandparents.They taught me at home.I was homeschooled.Mainly because I was too scared to go out for a long time.I was worried about ...you know,” she said.
It was hard to talk about.
She kept seeing her sister in her arms.That fear, the pain, the loneliness.She felt like such a failure, but she was terrified of admitting it.She felt relieved that she’d been ...alive.That guilt ate away at her, because part of her wished she had been the one to go.
“You know, my parents were worried I was getting too old,” Clarissa said, blurting out something else, just so she didn’t have to think about her sister and remember the coldness of her body.How heavy she had gotten in her arms.