More Than This by Dominique Wolf
CHAPTER 59:
Giovanni
B
y the end of the week, I was being wheeled back into my apartment after being discharged. The doctors were happy with the way I was recovering and the only thing I had to deal with now was wearing a cast for the next few months. I ended up spending Christmas in my ward surrounded by Isabella, my parents, Alvaro and Penelope. It was an unusual experience given all the drama that was still going on behind the scenes, but that day, it didn't matter. Even my father was somewhat cordial to me - he even went as far as to say he was glad I wasn't dead which was probably the nicest thing he had ever said to me. My body was still weak and I was pretty sure the painkillers were causing the strange sense of calm I felt over me as I was welcomed back home.
“I'm going to put his medication on the counter,” Penelope announced, walking ahead of Alvaro and me.
Alvaro was pushing my wheelchair into the lounge. I insisted on using the crutches, but the two of them were adamant that I didn't need to exert myself. He went over to help Penelope as Isabella wandered in with Mateo in her arms. She was smiling down at him and I could see the intense happiness in her eyes. She walked over to me and took a seat on the couch.
“He has got to be the cutest baby I have ever seen,” she gushed.
I chuckled. “Yeah, he's pretty adorable.”
He was sleeping so peacefully in her arms. I had gone back and forth about whether I wanted children when I thought Casey was having mine. I was forced to tackle that conversation head-on and I was terrified at just the thought of it. It scared me to think of becoming a father, but now seeing Isabella with Mateo in her arms, the thought didn't scare me anymore.
With her, I wanted it all.
“Are you going to stay over?” I asked her.
She looked up at me. “Of course. I just have to stop by my place and grab a couple of things. Can I get us something for dinner while I'm out?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Pizza?”
My stomach roared at the mention of that. The hospital food had been terrible over the last few days. I was never one for hospital food so I was ready to dig into anything I could.
“I'd eat a cardboard box right now if it meant I never had to have that hospital food again.”
She threw her head back and laughed. The beautiful care-free Isabella I had come to know and love was back again. There was no pain in her eyes anymore. No sadness. No anger. Everything we had been dealing with over the last few weeks was done now and we could focus on making up for lost time.
“You're not going to have a very eventful New Year's Eve,” Alvaro said from the kitchen.
He was right. New Year's Eve was tomorrow and there was no way I was going anywhere. Any other year it would have been disappointing to be stuck at home, but I had Isabella now and I couldn't think of anything better than staying in with her.
“Oh, we have a lot of shows on Netflix to catch up on,” Isabella announced. “We had started watching La Casa de Papel together a while ago and I've been dying to finish that.”
“Whoa guys, please cool it with your rowdy plans,” Penelope jokes. “You're making us jealous here.”
We all laughed and I couldn't help the smile that was left on my face. It was almost as if everything that happened with Casey was just some bad dream that I had woken up from. Isabella was here and she was talking as if everything was back to normal. Everything was getting back to the way it was and I couldn't have been happier. This was what I had wanted.
Penelope strolled into the lounge. “Okay, we've put all your medicine on the counter there. We need to get going though because this one is fast asleep already which means I need to get him to his bed before I'm up all night with him.”
Penelope reached for Mateo and took him in her arms, careful not to wake him. Isabella shifted closer to me and rested her hand on my leg, intertwining her fingers in mine.
“Isabella, can we drop you at your place?” Alvaro offered.
She turned to me. “Are you going to be okay by yourself for a while?”
“Oh, he's not going to be alone,” Alvaro announced. “Mama is on her way.”
“She really doesn't need to come here,” I said.
“You know her,” Alvaro shrugged. “She's going to want to make sure you're fine which gives Isabella enough time to grab those things from home that she mentioned.”
“Good idea,” she said, smiling. “I won't be gone too long anyway.”
“You better not be,” he murmured softly and squeezed my hand. “You're never leaving me again.”
She smiled. “Never.”
