You're Worth It

Alberto was looking at himself in the mirror while trying to adjust his tie.

"Come on...stupid thing," he complained as he tried to tie the knot again, which ended up as a ball hanging down the middle, "damn!"

"Alberto!" Giulia yelled from below, "we're getting late; the Paguros can't keep them distracted forever. Get down now!"

"I'm coming!" He replied, annoyed as he untangled to start over.

He tried again, but the result was the same, causing him to cry in despair, which Giulia interpreted as a call for help.

"Santa Gorgonzola," she said, putting two fingers to her forehead; after that, she began to climb the stairs, "well, what's taking you so much?"

Upon entering the bathroom, she realized what was happening; she rolled her eyes as she passed, pushing the boy away. Alberto saw her annoyed, and without giving him a chance to protest, Giulia took the tie, unraveled it, and started from scratch.

"Three years working with nets, and you can't learn how to put this on?"

"No net is as difficult as this thing!" Alberto accused, pointing at it with two fingers.

Giulia rolled her eyes.

"We're already late; you should have called me earlier."

"I could've figured it out."

"Maybe, but we don't have all day."

Alberto didn't say anything and just looked away; she could be so obnoxious sometimes. Giulia gave it the last stretch, and the tie stayed in place.

"Finito!" She said proudly, then took her brother by the arms and turned him around, "well, what do you think?"

Alberto examined himself in the mirror; the red tie combined well with the black suit. Even if he wasn't a fan of those clothes, he felt hot in them, and they did not allow much movement, which he hated as it made him feel trapped.

"Not bad," he admitted; despite his complaints, he could sacrifice a couple of hours for Massimo and Maria.

Giulia smiled; knowing him, that's as close to a compliment as she'd get, and she could live with that.

"Benissimo, let's go before mamá and papá get here."

Upon hearing her, Alberto froze, years had passed, but he still felt strange hearing those words. He looked at himself in the mirror, making a face. Those who didn't live in Portorosso, nor knew what had happened that summer, always commented that, while Giulia was just like her mother, Alberto was the living image of his father.

He knew he should take it as a compliment. But at first, it was hard for him because Alberto did look like his father, but not the one they thought. Luckily those comments were always followed by an "except you're a little tanned than him," and he relaxed because he realized who they were referring to. Alberto was grateful people thought that as no explanations needed to be made.

And Massimo, as well as Maria and Giulia, were happy to present him as son and brother without the need to clarify he was adopted. Even the Paguros omitted that detail; although fair, both families viewed each other's children as their own.

To that matter, the three were aware that Daniela and Lorenzo made it clear that if something ever happened to them, they would entrust Luca to the Marcovaldos and vice versa. So, in reality, they had become one family.

He should feel happy; that summer, he went from having nothing to having two families and was grateful; he loved the Marcovaldos and the Paguros. It was just that...