Sin and Redemption

Dad chased a giggling Ambra across the meadow behind our house. We had built it a few months ago and finally moved in two weeks ago. We could walk to my parents’ house, simply by following the pathway through the woods past the old oak. Sara wanted Ambra to grow up outside of the city, even if she hated being farther away from her family.

Because Sara loved the maritime vibe in the Hamptons but not the actual neighborhood, we’d chosen a blue-and-white exterior with big panoramic windows and a hammock on the porch. If you listened closely, you could sometimes hear the nearby stream, which was almost as good as the sound of waves in my book. And the view at the meadow and forest from the windows was perfect.

Dad roared like a dinosaur, which made Ambra screech and giggle as she stumbled along. Her brown curls bobbed wildly around her face, and her amber eyes flashed with happiness. Bacon frolicked beside them, excited to be in on the mayhem.

“After the surgery, I had a moment of worry that your father wouldn’t be able to handle the new situation, but I should have known he was too strong and stubborn to let a missing limb stop him.”

I smirked. Dad had worked hard to get used to his prosthesis, and for people who didn’t know, it was almost impossible to guess he was missing a limb below his knee. He eventually caught Ambra and let himself fall on the ground with her on top of him. I remembered Dad playing wildly with us when Primo and I were little. But with Ambra, he’d been showing a softer side that probably only Mom knew.

His jeans leg pulled up slightly, revealing the futuristic-looking prosthesis. Ambra was fascinated as always. “Show me more!”

He revealed the rest of the prosthesis.

“Part human, part machine!” Primo shouted, causing Ambra to giggle again. She had a fascination with robots, probably exactly for that reason.

Sara came out of the house with a tray holding homemade lemonade and cookies. I rushed over to her, alarmed, and took the tray from her. “You aren’t supposed to lift anything heavy.”

She rolled her eyes and caressed her round belly. “We’re fine. Everything is perfectly all right, and my doc said it’s even fine to carry Ambra. Trust me, she weighs more than that tray.”

I ignored her comment and carried the tray down to the table under the pergola. Sara was much more relaxed this pregnancy. Everything had gone without a hiccup so far. As if to prove Sara’s point, Ambra rushed over to her the moment she spotted her and raised her arms. Sara lifted Ambra on her hip. The sight of Sara, heavily pregnant, carrying our daughter left my heart full in a way I had never thought possible.

A honk announced the arrival of a car. Romero waved out of the window of his Alfa Romeo. Behind him, Flavio pulled up in Romero’s Jeep. “Couldn’t fit into the Alfa?” I shouted, amused.

The back door opened, and Inessa climbed out, blowing out a breath. “Alea and I hardly fit in there. It’s tiny!”

“It’s vintage,” Romero said firmly as he got out. Liliana laughed as she appeared on the passenger side.

“So vintage that I had to ride the Jeep instead of my sportscar in case the old thing breaks down, and I’ll have to give them a ride.”

Romero shook his head. “Where did I go wrong? I thought you’d appreciate vintage cars?”

Flavio gave me a look, and I chuckled.

Ambra pointed at her grandparents. “Dad, there!” I took her from Sara and carried her over to her grandparents.

“You have legs, you know?” I told her with a smile. I didn’t mind carrying her. I’d definitely miss it the moment she was too old to be carried by me.

“I’m too exhausted. Papa Ryan chased me.”

I chuckled again. “You poor thing.” I kissed her temple before I handed her over to Romero, who smiled brightly. “Do you want to sit in my car?”

She beamed and nodded, causing him to smile proudly. Liliana kissed Ambra’s cheek before she headed over to Sara and hugged her, then touched her belly. “Not long now, I can tell.”

“Not today. We got steaks from the best butcher in New York, and I intend to eat one,” Flavio said.

Liliana sent him a scathing look, and Inessa tossed one of her sandals that she’d slipped off at him. He dodged it barely.

“I’m not giving birth today,” Sara said with conviction. Liliana’s face told me she wasn’t so sure. “And if I’m wrong and go into labor, you can just finish your steak. It’ll probably take some time, and I can’t eat rare meat anyway.”

I touched her shoulder. “I told you we don’t have to eat steak.”

“It’s okay. We have so many sides. I won’t go hungry.”

“I’ll cook one steak well done for you,” Dad rumbled.

I gave him a surprised look.

“What happened with ‘well done is an insult to the cow. She died once, let her death be worth it’?” Primo asked after he’d clapped hands with Flavio.

Mom’s death glare caused him to shrug.

Two hours later, we all settled around the table with steaks on our plates. Even Sara had a piece of well-done meat in front of her. Dad watched her closely as she took a bite.

“It’s good,” she said, surprised.

He nodded with a hint of pride in his eyes. Bacon gave me puppy dog eyes from his spot by my feet. “Sorry, bud.”

He’d never begged for food until Ambra had started solids and discovered the perks of feeding Bacon. It was why he wasn’t allowed to go to her high chair, even if Ambra tried to attract him with a piece of sausage.

We ate in silence for a while, simply savoring the delicious food, when Sara made a small sound, a mix of a groan and a sigh.

I glanced her way. She held her belly, her face tight.

“Labor?” Liliana asked with a knowing smile.

Sara rolled her eyes. “Why are you always right with this?”

“Motherly instinct?”

“At least you waited until I’m almost done,” Flavio said.

“I’m not usually a stabby person, but you risk a lot right now,” Sara said, her hand around her steak knife chalk white from the grip. “I think I’ll just walk the pain away.”

I grabbed her hand. “Not again. I can’t handle a repeat performance.”

Sara gave me an amused look.

“Seriously, honey, not again. Have some pity.”

Sara released a sigh. “All right, then let’s go to the hospital.”

“Thank you,” I said, relieved.

“I’ll grab your hospital bag,” Liliana said as I led Sara to my truck.

Thirty minutes later, I stared at Sara, holding our newborn daughter, Alessia, in her arms on the passenger seat of my truck. We were parked on the side of the road with Romero’s car right behind us.

I stood behind Liliana, who knelt in the open passenger door and helped clean up our daughter while Romero was talking to the doc on the phone.

“See, a walk to the old oak tree wouldn’t have been a bad idea,” Sara said with an exhausted but teasing smile.

I shook my head. Liliana moved away so I could take her place and cut through the umbilical cord. “I don’t know how you can find humor in this.” I cut through the cord and put my hand on Alessia’s small back.

“Next time, we just follow my intuition,” Sara said.

I nodded simply. “I just wanted to make sure you and our daughter were safe.”

Sara stroked over Alessia’s dark head. “We are, but you can’t control everything. Isn’t that the beauty of life?”

“You showed me the beauty of life and taught me how to relinquish control, but I don’t think the two are connected.”

My life had taken a completely different turn than I would have thought, and if anyone would have told me five years ago that today I’d be married to Sara and have two wonderful daughters, I would have laughed in their faces. Becoming a young father, being married to the woman who’d lived through the darkest moment of my life, and most importantly, being happy together and with the life we’d built seemed like a daydream. Sara and my mother would probably blame it on fate. I preferred to give credit to the hard work Sara and I had put into our marriage and our resilience. Not that it mattered.

What mattered was that we’d found love and happiness despite the tragedy that had started everything.