Bella Mafia

Chapter 80

(Continuation of chapter 79)

The last time I felt this nervous was when I met Vincent for the first time but I shouldn't feel like this towards my own mother, but it'd been a while since I'd seen her and it was overdue.

Anastasia Mancini. She is definitely where I got my good looks from, my legs and my hair. She really could be sweet, when she wasn't around my dad. I'd hoped this wasn't a ploy that he'd sent her in for information.

I pushed aside those ungracious thoughts and my breath hitched when I saw the plane coming into view.  Vincent put his arm around me and pulled me to him.  "It's going to be okay, you know that right?"  His soothing, accented voice comforted me immediately.

I smiled at him.  I could not imagine my life without this man and prayed that I would never have to experience what my mother did.  "Thank you baby" I said.

About twenty minutes later, we watched the door swing open and the ladder was moved to the fuselage.  I watched a beautiful, statuesque woman appear, look around and then our eyes met.  I shyly waved my hand at her and when she returned my wave it was like an excited child.

She came down the stairs quickly and as I started moving to her position, she ran and I picked up my pace.  Before I could say or do anything, I was not only engulfed in her arms, but her scent.  She smelled like home used to.

"Oh Calli!" My mother was crying and I couldn't help but follow suit.  "Baby, you are so beautiful.  Married life certainly agrees with you" she said wiping the tears from her eyes.

She held me at arms length, almost like she was afraid to let me go but it gave me the the chance to look at her more closely and other than a few barely-there lines around her eyes, she was just as gorgeous as ever.

"Come on mom.  Clarissa has set a big table and we are going to sit down and have a family dinner tonight and we are going to have a girl's day of shopping and fun tomorrow" I told her excitedly.

"Well that sounds like a lot of fun" she said smiling, while we all piled into the SUV.  "Vincent you are looking well and from the looks of it, you have made me daughter extremely happy" my mom told him.

"Thank you Anastasia but it's very easy making Calli happy. She's very easy to please."  My husband is the bomb!  "You are right about that" my mother replied.

"Well, Calli, Vincent, first of all, I need to apologize to you for what happened at your engagement party.  I'm not saying sorry for your dad but for myself.

I should have stood up to him and stayed with you that night but I had no idea until recently, just how wrong he's been about everything."  My mother was hurt, anyone could see that.

"Calli, I was never a very good mom to you and there was no excuse either.  You were the happiest child and easy to please.  You didn't act spoiled, you were just a good kid.

And for some reason, I looked for every excuse in the book to not spend time with you.  I should have taken you shopping, had tea parties with you or played dress up with you.

All I can figure out is, and this is an observation not an excuse, I could see my own mortality and it scared the hell out of me.  I know I can't turn back time, but I would like to move forward with you and make some new memories and tonight sounds like the perfect start."