kissed him.
Then ate the second cannoli.
Priorities.
Our wedding was small.
Family.
Friends.
People who had become family through work.
Raymond came.
Carlo.
Sofia.
Lucia.
Rosa from the market.
Priya.
Victoria.
Isabella.
David did not attend.
That was appropriate.
Our relationship was civil, not intimate.
He sent Mia back from his weekend visit early enough for the ceremony and included a card.
For Elena and Alessandro,
I hope you build the kind of home where nobody has to disappear to survive a mistake.
I am trying to do the same.
—David.
I kept the card.
Not because we were friends.
Because growth deserved acknowledgment.
Mia carried flowers.
Halfway down the aisle, she dropped them to wave at Raymond.
Nobody cared.
At the reception, she climbed into Alessandro’s lap and asked:
“Are you my dad now?”
The room went quiet around our table.
Alessandro looked at me.
I gave him
