Chapter 64 – The Plane Ticket
Lucis. The familiar scent of Mang’s old recipes filled the Valentini family kitchen as Papa methodically chopped herbs for his signature arrabbista sauce. Some things never changed the wom wooden cutting board, the anciens copper pots handed down through generations, the way Papa’s hands moved with precise care through each preparation sep
“Oslo,” he said finally, the word heavy with everything he wasn’t saying. “So far from home, piccola
I traced the familiar patterns in the marble countertop, remembering how Mars used to let me help knead dough here when I was sinall. “It’s a prestigious program, Papa.”
“Prestigious,” He added basil to the sauce with careful movements. “And there are no prestigious programs closer to family?”
The guilt hit harder than expected. The focus on public policy and urban development
“Can be found as a dozen unmersities within daring distance.” Antonio cut in, entering the kitchen with his usual forceful energy. My youngest brother’s the hung loose around his neck, his mayoral office badge still clipped to his belt. “But those wouldn’t get you far enough away, would they,
sorella
“Antonio,” Papa warned, but the damage was dour
“What We’re all thinking it.” He grabbed an apple from the bowl, taking an aggressive ble. “She’s rumming away because her perfect political marriage tumed too real”
“That’s not “I started, but Marco’s arrival cut me off.
“The stock transfer paperwork is ready, my eldest brother announced, his suit still pristine despite the bar hour. Always the businessman, even at family dummer. “Though I still think this temporary leadership structure is unnecessarily complex.”
“The foundation needs consistency,” I replied automatically, falling into familiar patterns of professional discussion, Safer ground than emotional confrontation. “The youths programs can’t afford disruption during transinon“
“And what about family disruption Leo appeared in the doorway, completing our little reunion. “What about the alliances we’ve built? The partnerships that depend on your mumage?”
“My marriage was a business arrangement with an experation date.” I snapped, old frustration rising. “Don’t pretend it was anything else.”
“Wasat?” Papa’s quiet question con through the tension. He turned from the stove, studying me with eyes so like Mama’s in hurt. Just business
Heat burned behind my eyes as I looked away. “Papa”
Tsee how you look at him.” he continued gently. The same way your mother used to look at me. Like he hung the stars in the sky, even when he
drove you crazy
“Don’t,” “The word came our n
our rougher this intended. “Please
“And I see how he looks at you.” he pressed on “When he thinks no one notices. Like a man terrified of losing his whole world.”
“He doesn’t—” My voice cracked slightly. “He can’t even say it, Papa. Can’t admit to feeling anything beyond tactical advantage.”
“Some men,” Papa set down his wooden spoon with careful precision. Tind actions easier than words.”
Papa’s voice carried quiet certainty. “Installing a state–of–the–an drafting studio in his home before you moved in. Doubling the foundation’s funding without taking credit. Making sure every youth center has extra security without being asked ”
I stared at him, something hristing in my chest. “How do you know about-
–
“I know because I watch.” He moved to cup my face in hands that smelled of hasil and home. “I watch my only daughter lose her heart to a man too afraid to admit he’s lost his. I watch him try to show with actions what he cannot say with work.”
Tears finally spilled over as 1 leaned into his touch. “It’s not enough, Papa. I can’t keep giving my whole heart to someone who reduces everything to
careful calculation”
“Even his mayoral initiatives” Marco asked quietly. The education funding? The infrastructure projects! The health coverage expansion?”
I wiped my eyes, confined by the apparent topic change. “What about them?”
“They all center around
passions,” Leo explained, umnually gentle. “Education was your mother’s cause. Infrastructure includes funding for architectural preservation – your specialty. The health coverage specifically targets underprivileged youth – your foundation’s focus
“That’s.” I shook my head, denying the implications. “That’s just good politics. Calculated moves to-
To honor everything you care about? Papa finished softly. “To build a better city based on your dreams?”
“Stop.” I pulled away, needing distance from this conversation. “Just… stop Papa”
“Your flight confination came through,” Antonio said after a moment, his earlier aggression fading to resignation. “I had Taylor forward the
details.”
I nodded, grateful for the return to practical matters. “Norwegian Airlines. Next Thursday morning”
“We’ll drive you,” Marco said quietly. “All of us”
Fresh tear threatened as I looked at my brothers – so different in personality but united in their protective love. “You don’t have to-
Chapter 04- The Plane Ticket
“Yes, we do.” Leo’s voice brooked no argument. “You’re our sister. Whether we agree with your choices or not, we support you”
“Even when you’re being stubborn as Papa” Antonio added earning a light cuff from our father.
“Watch your tongue, figlio,” Papa warned, but a smile played at his lips. “Though he’s not entirely wrong about the stubborn part.”
ΠΙ
A wet laugh escaped me as I looked at these impossible, infuriating, wonderful men who’d shaped my life. “I love you all, you know that?”
“We know.” Papa pulled me into a fierce hug that smelled of home and childhood and safely. “And we love you enough to let you go, if that’s what you truly need.”
“But!” I prompted, hearing the unspoken qualification.
“But make sure you’re running toward something,” he said softly. “not just away from someone.”
The words hit with uncomfortable accuracy as dinner progressed. I picked at perfectly prepared pasta while my brothers shared updates.
es about their lives – Antonio’s challenges in the mayor’s office, Leo’s expansion of our security operations, Marco’s latest business acquisitions.
Normal family dinner conversation, except for hour each update somehow connected to the man I was leaving behind.
The education initiative passed unanimously,” Antonio reported between bites. “Dante managed to convince even the budget hawks. Never seen anwhine like it.”
The infrastructure project includes restoration of the old theater district,” Leo added casually. “Preserving original architectural elements while modernazing safety features. Sounds like something you’d design
“The health coverage expansion specifically targets small community clinics Marco observed. “Like the ones your foundation partners with.”
Each commmeist felt like a carefully aimed arrow.
Later, standing on the balcony of my childhood bedroom, I pulled up the fight confirmation on my phone. Seven days, four hours, and twenty–three minutes until departure. Until escape from this ache that threatened to comume me.
The city spread out below like a glittering map of memories. The park where I’d first sketched building designs. The youth center where my foundation began. The hotel where one dance had started this whole beautiful disaster.
And there, rising against the skyline like a monument to power and control, the tower where I’d left my heart.
My phone buzzed with a news alert another unanimous city council vote for our of Dante’s initiatives. The photo showed him at the podiuan, perfectly composed in an Italian suit that probably cost more than most people’s monthly rent. Every dark wave of hair in place, every gesture precisely calculated for maximun impact.
Looking at him hurt like a physical wound. Because I could see what Papá murant about actions speaking louder than words. Could trace my own dreams and passions through each policy initiative, each funding decision, each carefully crafted plan to make our city better
But was it enough?
The plane ticket seemed to burn in my phone.
