I'm back already. This story is likely to be finished within a couple of days. I've got the spark back for it. Thanks to everyone who read and commented on the last chapter! It's lovely to see you back here with me :)
"I spoke to the realtor before we set off, and she'll get back to us in the morning with a decision from the homeowners."
The car slowed to a stop. Jane turned off the engine and paused. She glanced from Maura to the house and back again. She'd not set foot in that house in fifteen years. So much time had passed, so many things had happened. She felt a hand rest over her knee, her eyes landed on Maura's fingers interlinking her own.
"It's going to be okay, but if you don't want to do this we can go home again."
She sighed. A small part of her wanted to run, and never look back, but she'd tried that recently and Charlie had rebelled. She owed it to herself to try, she owed it to Charlie to give him the chance to one day know his Nonna and uncles.
"I just need a moment," she said, gripping Maura's hand.
They sat in silence for a few minutes as Jane focused on every careful breath. She turned to the house.
"I fell out of that tree," she said, pointing to the corner of the front yard. "I was seven. Fractured my wrist. A couple months later Frankie fell out and broke his arm in two places. Ma was furious at me for being a bad influence."
Maura lifted her hand to her shoulder and Jane placed her hand over the top, smiling up at her. There was a large piece of her life that she'd kept hidden for such a long time, but the memories had never left her.
"I don't know how to do this."
"All you have to do is get out of the car," Maura said, lowering her hand as she turned to open her door. Jane longed to feel her fingers wrapped around her hand again, and it was only when Maura opened her door and reached out to her that Jane's heart settled again. "One step at a time."
They stood on the sidewalk, the front door just a few yards away. Jane looked to Maura again, forging a smile that she knew they both knew wasn't real. They walked slowly up the driveway, stopping a few feet from the door.
Jane sighed. "That's where my Pop stood the last time I saw him. It was the only time he ever looked small to me. I didn't realise that would be the very last time I ever saw him."
Maura wrapped her arm around Jane's, rubbing her upper arm as Jane breathed in deeply. Maura kissed her lightly on the cheek. "You can do this, and I'll be here right beside you the entire time."
Before Jane could find the courage to step forward and knock on the front door, it opened wide and Angela Rizzoli rushed forward, enveloping her daughter until Jane couldn't do anything but stand there with her mother's arms around her. She lowered a hand to her back, unsure of whether she wanted such an action at this stage in their rebuilding of a relationship. Eventually, Angela stepped back, her smile reaching her eyes.
"I'm so glad you could come, and Maura," she said nodding cordially. She glanced around them and back towards the car. "You didn't bring Charlie?"
"Didn't realise the kids were invited," Jane said, shrugging.
"Kids?" Angela asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Yeah." Jane forced herself to stare into her mother's eyes. "Charlie and Maura's daughter, Isabeau."
"Oh. Of course." She could see the hint of confusion still etched across Angela's face. "We're a family. We didn't know that you wanted them to come too."
Angela smiled again, though less sparkling than before. "Everyone is welcome."
She stepped aside and motioned for Jane and Maura to enter the house. Jane clung to Maura's hand as they stepped over the threshold, and a wave of emotions flooded Jane. The smell was the same as it had always been growing up, the décor had barely changed beyond a fresh lick of paint and a few touch-ups.
"Where is Charlie?" Angela asked, pointing to the wall. "Jackets can go on the hooks."
"Both children are with Isabeau's dads," Maura said, placing her jacket on the hook beside Jane's.
"Dads?" Angela narrowed her eyes again, and Jane wanted the ground to open up and swallow them whole. It was bad enough bringing her girlfriend to family dinner after fifteen years of separation because of her own same-sex relationships. She derided herself for feeling any kind of resentment that Maura had opened up another big can of worms.
Maura nodded. "Isabeau's father and I are separated, he's in a relationship and they're very happy. Ramone is like a father to Isabeau, and they're both like a father to Charlie."
"I see." The smile that had faded quickly grew and Angela's cheeks reddened. "I'm not used to all these new-fangled ideas about family. When I was growing up it was one mom, one dad and that was it. We didn't even have step-parents unless somebody died."
"We're very lucky to live in a world that's changing, and becoming more accommodating of different types of families," Maura said, returning her smile.
Angela headed for the kitchen door. "Can I get you both a drink? Make yourselves comfortable."
After placing their orders for drinks, Jane and Maura stood side by side for a moment. Jane couldn't move. She didn't know what to say or how to explain the level of discomfort she felt in the moment.
"I'm sorry I brought Ramone up," Maura said, sensing the mood. "I didn't mean to make things worse."
"Better out in the open," Jane said. She squeezed Maura's hand tightly and pulled her towards the living room.
In the doorway, she stopped again, the air knocked out of her as she spotted her brother, Frankie, sat on the couch with a blonde woman at his side. A dark blonde haired, brown eyed toddler sat on the woman's knee, his face so much like her brother's it was unmistakable.
"Oh." Frankie stood up, his eyes fixed on Jane, shifting quickly to Maura. "Ma didn't tell me you were coming."
Forging a smile, Jane closed the gap between them and pulled her brother into a hug. She could feel the tension in his shoulders and regretted it instantly.
"It's good to see you, Frankie," Jane said, stepping back and reaching for Maura.
"It's Frank now."
"Oh. Right." She moved to her side. "Frank, this is my girlfriend Maura. Maura, this is my older little brother, Francesco."
A vein in his neck pulsed, his jaw clenched. Maura reached a hand out and he shook it. "It's been a while."
"It's lovely to meet you," Maura said. She turned to the blonde woman, who had stood up, the toddler on her hip. "And is this your family?"
"This is Simone, my wife, and our son Francesco Rizzoli the third. He's Frankie."
The names hit Jane harder than she expected. The connection to their father filled her with insurmountable anger at what he'd done to her, what he'd done to their family. Knowing her brother had named his son after himself, and their Pop, only reminded Jane where her brother's allegiances had always lain.
"It's lovely to meet you both," Maura said, reaching a finger out to the little boy's cheek. "Look at those chubby cheeks. How old is he?"
Jane watched the exchange, thankful that she didn't need to speak as Maura did all of the work for her.
"He's just turned two, he's very clinging," Simone said, her smile soft and welcoming.
"Two is such a wonderful age, once they get past the terrible twos," Maura said. "My daughter is turning four in just a few weeks' time. She's becoming so much more independent, cherish his clinginess."
The little boy stared at her with wonder in her eyes, and all Jane could do was stare back. She felt the pull of family, desperate to hold her nephew and get to know the beautiful face in front of her. But something held her back.
"I thought it was gonna be a family dinner," Frank shouted over Jane's shoulder. Jane and Maura turned to find Angela in the doorway, looking anything but comfortable.
"It is."
He stared at Jane until she finally looked back. "You stopped being family when you walked out on us."
"I…" Jane looked to Maura, desperate for her help. She rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm still your big sister."
He scoffed, waving his hands up in the air in front of him. "I don't wanna be involved in this fucking charade. I'm not gonna sit here and watch you break our family apart again."
"That's not what I'm gonna do," Jane said, standing a little taller for the first time.
But Frank wouldn't back down, he looked from Jane to Maura with derision. "Do what you want with your sorry excuse for a life, be with whoever you want. But don't come back here and hurt Ma."
"I'm not…"
Before anyone could speak again, Frank had picked up Frankie's diaper bag, slung it over his shoulder and pulled Simone along behind him.
"Sorry Ma," he said, kissing her on the cheek as they headed for the front door.
The light went out of Angela's eyes as the front door slammed behind them. On the other side of the living room, Tommy appeared, a beer in one hand and a woman's hand in his other. He froze, his eyes travelled from Jane to Maura, to Angela and across to the rest of the now empty room.
"What did we miss?"
X
Sitting down around the dining table, Jane tried to refocus her breathing. She cherished Maura's comforting hand resting on her knee and the distraction of the feast laid out between them.
"I can't fucking believe Frankie," Tommy said, shaking his head. "I told him you were coming, he knew you'd be here, I don't understand why he had to go and be a fucking asshole."
"Tommy, please," Angela said, gripping the edges of the table with her hands. "And he hates it when you call him Frankie. He's Frank now."
"No, Ma. Frank is Pop," he continued. "He can't act like a petulant brat. He's a father, he should be a better example for his kid."
"Worry about your own family," Angela said, brushing her hand across her cheek.
"Now you're crying?" Tommy clenched his fist and banged it against the wooden table. "The next time I see him…"
Angela smacked him across the head. "You'll leave him alone."
"Fine." Tommy reached across the table and picked up a bowl of salad, placing some on his plate before passing it around the table.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, passing the food around and filling their plates until they were all ready to eat. After the briefest prayer from Angela, the silence was replaced by the sound of eating.
Placing her fork on her plate, Maura turned to Tommy and his girlfriend. "So, Emma, how long have you been with Tommy?"
"About a year and a half," she said.
"When are you due?"
Jane's eyes landed on her enlarged stomach and she felt ridiculously stupid. In all of the drama she hadn't even noticed that her littlest brother's girlfriend was pregnant. He rested a hand over the bump.
"In nine weeks," he said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Do you know whether you're having a boy or a girl?"
"A little girl," she said, placing her hands over her bump. "We weren't going to find out at first but then Tom here didn't want to wait any longer. We're gonna call her Ariana."
"Like Grande?"
"No," Tommy said. "Like our Nonna. Ari for short. Who's Ariana Grande?"
"She's a singer. I'm not familiar with her work, I just read a magazine article about her recently."
Somehow, with the introduction of Ariana Grande, the conversation quickly shifted from awkward to relaxed and Jane finally settled back into the family dinner like she'd barely been away.