The Proverbial Mr. Universe (13 page)

It could very well be true. Olivia knew nothing about Nick Montgomery. She did know he was going to feel out of place with her family and wondered why he had accepted the invitation in the first place. Okay, so maybe she had a good idea.

“What, do you mean crazy like us?” Peter replied as he took another platter to the dining room.

Nina gave her a blank look. “But you do know him? Nick gave me the impression you two know each other …”

“What? I … Well, I don’t know him personally, no.” Olivia said, not wanting to go into any more details on how she and Nick were acquainted.

“It’s funny because I could have sworn just by the way he spoke about you that you guys knew each other before the accident,” Nina started.

“No, why would I know him. Come on, look at him.”

There was her shallow side.

“We shouldn’t judge, Olivia. Look at your crazy brother. He has tattoos, and he’s a good boy,” her mom replied.

“Hey …” Paul looked up from the fridge door.

“Oh, you’re such a good boy, Pauly.” Nina amusingly grabbed his cheeks.

“Ouch. Stop. You’re hurting me.”

“Olivia, I didn’t raise you like that … to judge someone based on their appearance,” her mother said.

She knew her mom only had a soft spot for Nick because he had helped her that night of the accident.

“Yeah, she gets that from Dad.”

“Hey!”

“How do you know he has a tattoo?” Nina asked Olivia.

“I don’t. I just said that to bug Mom.”

“He seems like a good boy, and I feel for him. The poor boy lost his mama a year ago. It’s just him and his brother. He’s too skinny and probably has no one at home to cook a decent meal for him. Truly, Olivia, I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart,” she replied. “We have so much to be thankful for, even though it might not seem like it at times.”

Olivia hadn’t been aware that Nick lost his mother last year. How could she have known? There was a knot in Olivia’s heart. She felt guilty now.

“Alright, Ma, how about if Olivia brought home a guy like that?” Paul said, only wanting to prove a point.

“What, like a boyfriend?” Her mother frowned.

“Yeah, Ma, like a boyfriend …” Teasingly, he looked up at Olivia.

She took a long, hard look at Paul. She opened her mouth then closed it as though she changed her mind about what she wanted to say.

“Paul, please stop this nonsense, and Olivia, please go and get changed,” her mother said.

“No, I want to know what you would do if I brought someone like Nick home. Would you be okay with that?” Olivia always knew how to get her mother. She could hear her mother exhale and walk closer to her.

“If he’s truly is a good boy, I would not mind at all.” She paused and looked up at Olivia. “You forget that your father and I came from nothing. Olivia, I want you to have a beautiful life. I want you to find someone who loves you and respects you. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t have lots of money, as long he is a hard worker.” She paused and said something that could have sounded like some Italian proverb. “It doesn’t matter if he wears old clothes, but be sure he has a good heart underneath it.” She brushed the hair away from Olivia’s face.

“So … what you’re saying is if I hit it off with Nick tonight, you would give me your blessing?” Olivia smiled wickedly, trying hard to frustrate her mother.

“Olivia, stop. Don’t be such an ass and get change,” Nina said.

Olivia’s mom rolled her eyes. “Tonight, I’m not playing matchmaker. I just invited this young man to dinner … to thank him. It’s the right thing to do.”

“No, Mom is hoping that you and Dario will get back together again,” Paul added.

“Well, that’s not going to happen. I would rather …”

Olivia tried to find the right words. “I’d rather become a nun then go back with Dario.”

“Saint Olivia. That has some ring to it. You can be the patron saint of the pain in the ass,” Peter joked.

“Peter! Don’t joke around about the saints.”

“Don’t be jealous, Peter. You only wish you can be like me.” Olivia flung her hair back with her hand.

“No, I don’t want you to be with Dario either.” Her mother shook her head

“What? I thought you liked Dario?” Olivia said in surprise.

“I only like the people who make my children happy, and since that was never the case …” Her mother’s words trailed off.

She placed the lasagna into the oven. “What do you children understand about life? You have never known what it was like to miss anything, and that’s my fault. I spoiled you too much. You will never know the hardships your father and I have gone through. When I was a child, I lived in a two-room, stone house … and there were seven of us! I shared a bed with my four sisters. I had two outfits and only one pair of shoes. Look at us now,” she said, waving her hand around the room. “Now we have too much. I can honestly say I was much happier when I was a child, at a time when we had nothing.”

“D
addy, what are you doing?” Olivia found her father sitting at his mahogany desk with an open photo album in front of him.

He glanced up. “Just reminiscing.”

Olivia came around the desk. “My God, look at Uncle Dominic’s hair. I forgot he used to have a mustache.”

“So many good times. Most of these pictures were taken, and I wasn’t even a part of it.” He sunk further into his chair.

“You were working, Daddy.”

He nodded. “I’m so sorry, Olivia. I should have worked less. We would have had less, but at least I would have been at home more with you guys.”

“Daddy, you were always there when it counted. You were the one who taught us to ride a bike and swim. Remember all those summer vacations we took to Wildwood? I don’t want you to feel guilty for anything. You did the best, and you gave us so much.” She paused. “Besides, look how good we all turned out to be … Okay, maybe not Paul.” She smiled.

“You know, Olivia, there are things I’ve done in my life that I’m not so proud of, but being the father of you three is what I am most proud of.”

“I love you, Daddy. A girl couldn’t ask for a better father.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder.

Olivia was conscious of the fact he passed a finger under his glasses. She had never recalled witnessing her father cry before.

Then, he glances up at her. “I want you to promise me something.”

“What is it, Daddy?”

“I don’t want you to worry about me no matter what happens, and I need to know you will look after your mother … You guys have your lives to live, but your mom will take this the hardest.”

There was a short silence.

“How do you know they’re right? Maybe this is all a mistake, and they misdiagnosed you?” Olivia said.

He sighed the kind of sigh where no hope was given. “I wish that could be possible, Olivia but this is the reality I have to face,” he said, continuing to flip through the pages, going through most of the eighties and nineties: the changes, the kids growing up, Nina’s wedding, and the baby. She wished she could make time slow down, keep the ones she loved close to her instead of moving through life, knowing it was just a matter of time for the bottom to fall out.

“Look at this life I worked so hard to build and for what? Soon I won’t remember a damn thing … Who will I be when I am a stranger to my own family? When I lose myself, I will lose it all.”

It was difficult to see her father so vulnerable. The man she grew up thinking he was like Hercules never called in sick, worked hard and took care of his family. The man was so strong she almost believed he was untouchable. How could this happen? Her heart ached. She didn’t want to think about the future … a future without the father she has known and loved all her life.

“I’m so sorry, Daddy.”

His eyes softened. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, love. It’s going to be okay.” He wiped her tears away with his hands. “If I had a pick of any life, I would have chosen the same one. Made every damn bad and good decision the same way … just so I can wake up every morning and say, ‘I have a family who I love and loves me dearly. I don’t need anything else. My children are healthy, my grandson is good. How lucky am I?’”

“Are you afraid, Daddy?”

He closed the album and turned to her. “No, not a man like me,” he said with a half-smile. After a short silence, he added, “My fear is not for myself, but for all of you. Who will look over all of you when I’m gone?”

“You did an excellent job in taking care of us, Dad. Now it’s our turn to take care of you. When the time comes … I’ll remember … I’ll remember for the both of us.”

He smiled. “That’s why I know it’s going to be okay.”

A
s soon as Nick stepped through the door, he was surrounded by the Montiano family, most of whom he had already met the night of the accident. After he had greeted the very last member, he was disappointed to discover Olivia was nowhere in sight.

Wasn’t she there? His heart sank … until he looked up and there she was, standing half way on the steps of the semi-circular oak staircase. How long had she been there? His eyes met her big, beautiful, soft brown eyes. Her smile slightly curved up on the side, as though to saying, “
You are so screwed
.”

He had hoped to impress her tonight and from the look of her, he thought he did just that. Instead of wearing the T-shirt that Olivia loved so much, and much to Amanda’s pleading, he decided to wear his button-down, gray dress shirt and a black pair of pants. As the hall entrance emptied out and everyone headed to the dining room, Nick stayed back to greet her at the bottom of the staircase.

“Hey, Monti.”

“Mr. Montgomery.” She smiled.

He could feel the heat in the palms of his hands, the sweat in the back of his neck that uneasy feeling he got for the girl he felt something for. He placed his hands deeper into his pockets. His heart began to race. He tried with every fiber in his body to slow things down, but his uneasy manner must have shown because she frowned and looked him over.

“Are you alright?” She paused. “Sorry, my family can be overbearing,” Olivia said.

“You are very fortunate.” He looked over her shoulder into the dining room where Olivia’s family was now gathered around the table.

“For what?”

“Having such a loving family.” He looked past her as a father picked up his young son into his arms, a sister and brother joked around, a wife swatted her husband’s hand away from the platters on the table, scolding him for not waiting for everyone to be seated at the table. He thought about how nice it must be to be part of something larger than yourself, something as comforting as being surrounded by people that loved you. Being around the Montiano family reminded him of a time in his life when things were good, the time when his father had been around. Up to this very moment, he had forgotten what it was like.

“You won’t say that after you’ve had a meal with us. I must warn you, though. They do tend to get a bit loud and crazy.” Olivia smiled

“That’s okay. I like crazy.” He looked her over. “How have you been doing?”

She nodded her head. “Doing well. The stitches are all gone. I’m only left with this tiny, ugly scar.” She lifted her hair away from her forehead to show him. “I know what you’re thinking. Go on and say it. I look like a freak.”