Chapter 16

Sonny and Alexis sat at the dining room table watching Kristina and Johnny talk. They were getting to know each other again. There were still questions to be answered, but there was time. Now was the time for healing. Alexis watched Johnny's eyes linger on his little sister, watched his hands touch her for confirmation that she was actually sitting right there with him. Alexis' heart was full and she reached over to capture Sonny's hand.

She turned her complete attention to him. She needed to know if he was going to stay with her, or leave her because of all that he heard. She wouldn't blame him for walking away. Her past was ugly, very ugly.

Sonny was right there in the moment with her and with all the tenderness and love he could find, he reached over and gently pulled up her sleeve and began to kiss the scars he saw there. This woman was his. He wasn't going to let her go ever. He was bound to her. His life would never again be his own. From this moment on for every choice, every decision he was called upon to make; he would first think of her. For her to come out of all she endured in her lifetime, to sit here with him as the strong, capable, and honorable woman she was; proved to him that violence didn't have to be the solution to the problems of life.

He would learn from her, from the wisdom she acquired over the years. Sonny looked at his watch. He looked up at her and nodded briefly.

Alexis stood and walked over to her brother and sister. She held out her hands, one to her brother, Johnny and the other to her sister, Kristina.

"It's time, guys." She looked back at Sonny and with her eyes requested he join them then turned toward the door.

They stood arm in arm in the fading rays of sunlight as the sun began its final descent. The brother, with an arm around each sister and the sisters, arms linked around their brother. They stood there in the shadow of their mother's love and Johnny began to speak...

"Mom, we're here. We're together. The three of us. You can rest now. They are with me and I will take care of them. No one will ever separate us again. Be at peace now and know that we love you."

He looked down at each of his sisters and felt the warmth of his tears slip down his face. They were tears of relief, tears of happiness, and tears void of grief. He smiled lovingly at Alexis and bent to kiss the top of her head. "Thank you for finding me, for giving me back my life."

Alexis turned her face toward Johnny and smiled gently. She reached back for Sonny and brought him close to her. Her own tears ran unchecked down her face. She finally had what she always craved; a loving family, and a man who loved her without reservation. She looked toward the horizon, laid her head on the shoulder of her brother and felt herself let go. She knew she would need to revisit her mother every once in a while, but she would no longer be tied to the ritual she created so many years ago. She was finally at peace. She looked over at Sonny and smiled. There would be no more secrets. She felt a sense of freedom she had never known before. As quietly as she could, for his ears only she whispered, "You are my life and I love you".