Chapter 13 - THE BOY WHO WAS MORE THAN HIS FATHER'S MEMORY|
Luca didn't answer Ethan immediately.
He looked at the boy standing before him, his father's watch resting against his small wrist.
Then he pulled a chair closer and sat down.
"Come here, buddy."
Ethan approached cautiously.
Luca gestured toward the chair beside him.
"I want you to listen to something."
Ethan sat down.
Grace remained near the kitchen doorway.
I stood beside the window, afraid that moving would interrupt whatever was about to happen.
Luca looked into Ethan's eyes.
"When I look at you, I do remember your dad."
The boy lowered his head.
"But that isn't all I see."
Ethan looked up.
Luca continued.
"I see a kid who can take apart a motor and put it back together better than I can."
A tiny smile appeared on Ethan's face.
"I don't know about that."
"I saw you fix that science project."
Luca smiled.
"And I see someone who loves his mother enough to worry about her even when he shouldn't have to."
Ethan's expression softened.
"I see a boy who has every reason to be angry with me, but still gave me a chance to sit in the back row of his school gym."
The room grew quiet.
Then Luca said the words Ethan had been waiting to hear.
"You aren't Daniel Hayes's replacement."
He paused.
"You're Ethan Hayes."
The boy's chin trembled.
"And I love you because you're you."
Ethan looked down at his watch.
For several seconds, he seemed unable to speak.
Then he whispered, "Dad used to say I was his favorite person."
Luca smiled sadly.
"He said that to me too."
Ethan looked startled.
"What?"
"That you were his favorite person."
Luca gave a quiet laugh.
"He used to talk about you so much that I told him he needed a new hobby."
Ethan's eyes filled.
"What did he say?"
"He said being your dad was the best job he'd ever had."
Grace turned away and covered her mouth.
I felt tears gathering in my own eyes.
But the boy wasn't finished.
He looked at Luca again.
"If Dad was your best friend, why didn't you notice when I stopped coming?"
It was the same question he'd asked at the engagement dinner.
Only now, there were no guests to interrupt and no Vanessa to blame for everything.
Luca took a long breath.
"Because I made a mistake."
Ethan waited.
"I trusted someone else's explanation instead of checking on you myself."
"Even when I didn't call?"
"Especially then."
Luca's voice grew rough.
"I should've wondered why a kid who used to call me about everything suddenly stopped calling at all."
Ethan wiped his cheek.
"I thought you didn't like me anymore."
"I know."
"It hurt."
Luca nodded.
"I know it did."
Then he did something that surprised us all.
He didn't ask Ethan to forgive him.
He didn't promise an expensive vacation or offer to buy him a new watch.
He simply said, "You can be angry with me for as long as you need."
Ethan looked confused.
"You're not mad?"
"No."
"Even if I don't want to come over yet?"
"Even then."
I saw Grace's shoulders relax.
For months, her son had been made to feel as though love came with conditions.
Now he was being allowed to have feelings that weren't convenient for anyone else.
Over the following weeks, Luca began changing his habits.
He stopped allowing his office to filter every personal call.
He created time in his calendar for family that couldn't be casually replaced by business meetings.
He also made sure Ethan's education account was administered independently of his personal relationships.
Grace received direct statements and had a clear way to raise questions without going through Luca's household.
She appreciated the changes but refused to pretend everything was instantly repaired.
One afternoon, while we were folding laundry at her apartment, she told me something I never forgot.
"I don't want Ethan to grow up thinking powerful people are the only ones who can rescue him."
I looked at her.
"What do you want him to believe?"
"That he can stand on his own feet."
She smiled sadly.
"And that accepting love doesn't mean surrendering his dignity."
I understood exactly what she meant.
For much of my life, I'd confused gratitude with obedience.
I'd believed that when someone gave me an opportunity, I lost the right to question them.
Watching Grace protect her son was teaching me something I'd needed to learn years earlier.
Meanwhile, the school situation slowly improved.
The principal addressed the bullying.
The entertainment page published a correction after its claims about Daniel and Grace were challenged.
Some of the students who'd repeated the rumors apologized.
Ethan accepted those apologies politely, although he didn't immediately become friends with them.
Nobody insisted that he had to.
One Wednesday afternoon, I was helping Teresa arrange flowers at the mansion when Luca's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Then he smiled.
"It's Ethan."
Teresa immediately stopped what she was doing.
Luca answered.
"Hey, buddy."
Ethan's voice came through the phone.
"Hi, Uncle Luca."
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah."
There was a nervous pause.
"I was wondering something."
"What's up?"
"Do you still have Dad's motorcycle?"
Luca glanced toward the garage.
"Of course."
"Is the engine still apart?"
"Pretty much."
Ethan hesitated.
"Could I come over Wednesday after school?"
Luca closed his eyes for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"I'd like that."
"Just to work on the bike."
"Just to work on the bike."
"And maybe have pizza afterward?"
Luca laughed softly.
"I think I can arrange pizza."
When he ended the call, Teresa looked at him.
"Well?"
Luca's eyes were shining.
"He's coming over."
She smiled.
"Then don't make a celebration out of it."
He nodded.
"I know."
May you like
"Just be there."
And for the first time, I believed he finally understood the difference between making a grand promise and keeping a small one.
