Kelli and I had decided to move off campus for our junior year. We rented a townhouse a few blocks away. Isn’t it cute?



I loved having my own room again. My classes were harder, but I’d always heard the junior year was the toughest. I really had to work to stay on top of my studies.



Damion had transferred to Le Tour to be with Kelli. He even lived in the same apartment complex as we did, so he was over a lot.



There were no hard feelings between us. I had been honest with Sean, and since Damion was with Kelli, he wasn’t exactly in a position to side against her best friend.

It was also great to see Emilio again. We’d spent all summer talking on the phone, which actually turned out to really strengthen our feelings for each other. Now that we could talk face to face, it was hard to just talk… if you know what I mean.



One night I was sitting down for dinner when Sophia called.

“Kat, I have some minor bad news about the wedding,” she said.

“What? Is everything ok with you and Pete?”



“Oh, yeah. It’s nothing like that. The wedding is still on track… It’s just that… Well, you know how close Pete was to Sean in high school, and they still hang out in college…”

“Yeah, what are you getting at Sofie?” I urged.

“Well, Pete’s asked Sean to be his Best Man. Hun, you know I tried to talk him out of it because I don’t want to make things awkward for you. But if anyone tried to talk me out of having you as my Maid of Honor, I wouldn’t stand for that. If you hate it I can try to convince him to demote Sean to just a groomsman. That way you won’t have to walk with him,” my sister explained.

“Sof, don’t worry about it. I really don’t mind, your wedding day is more important than me feeling awkward for a little while. It’s only one day, I guess it won’t kill me. I just hope we can both be mature about it,” I said.

“You’re the best, you know that? I love you sis! You still up for cake tasting next weekend?”

“Absolutely! I’d be crazy to miss out on free cake! See you then. Bye.”

So, I had to see Sean one last time… Luckily, it wasn’t for several months. Maybe time would heal Sean’s heartache and we’d be able to face each other civilly.

--------------------------------

That year I spent winter break with Emilio. His mom greeted me warmly when we arrived at his house.

“Katarina! It’s so good to see you again. I always knew you’d end up with my Emilio. I couldn’t be happier!” she exclaimed, embracing me.



I was treated like part of the family during my visit, and found myself having a great time. Mr. and Mrs. De Luca were amazing. They’d gotten married very young and moved to the US so Mr. De Luca could expand his business. He was a very skilled carpenter and owned several furniture stores in Italy and New York. He was an excellent business man. As a teenager in Italy Mrs. De Luca had been a famous ballet dancer, but now chose to be a stay at home mom since her husband was making more than enough to support their family of four. Despite their wealth, they wanted to live a modest life in the country. They valued family and friends more than wealth and fame.



As wonderful as the De Luca’s seemed, you can understand my surprise to learn about their sordid past.

I was staying in Emilio’s 11 year old sister’s room for the duration of my visit.

“Is this room fine? It’s all we have, short of an air mattress in the basement. We thought you’d be more comfortable in a real bed,” he asked, as I lay on the bed.



“Yeah, I’ll be fine here,” I said.

“You sure you don’t mind Lizzie’s My Little Pony collection staring at you?”

“Not at all. You forget – I used to be a little girl too. It’s really no big deal,” I assured him. “But where is Lizzie? Shouldn’t she be here for Christmas?”

“Nah, Liz always spends the holidays with her dad.”

“Her dad? But isn’t he downstairs?” I asked, confused.

“Oh, I guess I haven’t told you before, but it never came up… my mom had an affair. Lizzie’s only my half sister,” he explained.

“What? That’s horrible!” I reacted.

“Well, at first it was. My dad was really hurt at first and wanted to divorce her, but she was truly sorry and mad at herself. My dad couldn’t bring himself to leave his pregnant wife all alone in her time of need. He did what only a real man could do and supported his family. He’s raised Lizzie as his own daughter. Anyway, it’s all in the past.”

Emilio kissed me goodnight and went to his room. I fell asleep wondering how someone could forgive their cheating spouse so easily.

------------------------------------------------

The next day Emilio and I were hanging out in his room after breakfast. He was showing me his old high school trophies and action figure collection when I spotted a photo album lying on a desk.



Curiously I picked up the thin album and looked through it.



There were various Polaroids and snapshots of a young Emilio. I had a hard time recognizing him in some because he’d had much longer hair in high school. There were several pictures from a birthday, a few by the De Luca’s pool, and some of a group of teens at Fourth of July party near the lake. What caught my attention was a photo of a young Emilio with one of his ‘friends.’



It looked like they were a little more than just friendly. On the next page was another photo of the two boys – this one more obvious than the first.



It looked like the camera person had interrupted Emilio and Trevor kissing. Surely not… not my Emilio. I tried to keep my cool and searched for more pictures of this Trevor boy, but there weren’t any more.

The last section of the photo album had a handwritten header that read ‘College.’ It started with pictures of Emilio’s dorm room, and ended with two pictures of Emilio and a very pretty raven-haired girl.





Was that an engagement ring on her finger? I was getting dizzy. I really didn’t know Emilio like I thought I did. I needed some explanations.

“Who are Trevor and Lena?” I asked, trying hard to keep the edge out of my voice.

“Just some old friends,” Emilio shrugged it off.



“They don’t look like just ‘friends!’ Were you with a guy?!... And engaged?!” I yelled, giving away my growing jealousy.



Emilio sighed, knowing he couldn’t avoid this conversation. “Trevor and I had a brief flirtation in high school. We started out as just friends. I didn’t know he was gay until he started hitting on me. I was curious. But I didn’t want to be exclusive with him; I was more interested in girls, so we broke up. It was nothing serious.

“And Lena was my first serious college girlfriend. I proposed after a few short months, but that relationship ended badly. I caught her in bed with two frat guys on spring break, just a few days after those pictures were taken.”



“You would keep that from me? Don’t you think I’d want to know that my boyfriend has been engaged before AND made out with guy?” I asked, furious at the deceit.

“No. It’s in the past,” he said. “I’m obviously not gay, or with Lena anymore. I made my decisions and learned from them and now I’m with you. I didn’t think it would matter. There are just some relationships that belong in the past. I don’t need to know everything about the people you’ve dated. It doesn’t matter to me because I’m the one with you now.”

“I don’t need to know every detail, I just need you to trust me and be honest,” I said, wringing my hands.



Emilio caressed my cheek tenderly. “I’m sorry, I should have told you. But that’s not who I am any more. We have plenty of time to find out everything about each other. We’re going to take things slow and do it right. I don’t want to make any mistakes with you.”



Placing a finger under my chin he lifted my face to his. “Don’t you know I’m in love with you?” He whispered softly.

“Oh Emilio, I love you too!” I said excitedly. It was the first time we’d said those three words to each other. He tipped my head back and kissed me deeply, washing away my fears.

--------------------------------------

On Christmas Eve, Mrs. De Luca served her traditional meal of prime rib, with Italian crepes for dessert.



On Christmas morning I awoke to find my grandparents had been invited over. Everyone exchanged presents, Emilio’s family had even gotten me a few small ones. There weren’t a lot of gifts, since we were all adults, and Lizzie was gone. We drank eggnog, sang carols, and watched old Christmas movies all day.

I’d had a wonderful time with the De Lucas, but now my stay had come to an end. I went home to spend New Years with Momma and Sophia before school started back.