After Enzo got home and set his alarm for another early morning job, Diana brought up what had been weighing on her mind.
"Did you get a chance to tell your mother we aren't moving there during your long ride?" Diana inquired.
"I didn't say anything about that. I told her we had to talk first. She didn't press me," Enzo said.
"Well, it's a no. I barely can get through dinner, how would I live with her?"
"Ma means well, she's just a very proud woman. She wants things her way and family heritage is everything. She won't let the house go easily. She says we will inherit it, it's been decided. So why not move now?"
"Wait, you think we should consider this?" Diana was shocked. They had agreed before the wedding that they would never live with his mother. This was the reason he moved into her place and gave up his apartment.
"It might work out okay. And we can hire some help if we aren't there all the time. I mean, one day we might want to retire, move out of the city. Wouldn't it be nice to have more space for us? And for guests?"
"I can't believe you. I'm not giving up our place. I worked so hard for my life, for what I have. You can tell her no."
Enzo sighed. "Okay, if you feel that strongly, I won't push. I'll give you a few days to think, just in case."
"I won't change my mind, Enzo! I cannot live with your mother. I'm sorry." Diana rolled over and pretended to be asleep. She was mad that he even thought this was an option. 'I should have put a clause about never living with his mother into our vows,' she thought.
Diana pretended to sleep, continuing the ruse long after Enzo said her name several times, trying to wake her up to talk. After he fell asleep, she slipped out of bed and had a glass of wine. Sleep wasn't coming easy and she knew she would toss and turn all night.
….
That next morning when Diana left their apartment, Enzo was already gone. He left a note about an early job he had to get to, but she felt his leaving without even a goodbye had a deeper meaning. Even if he told her weeks ago that this job started at four in the morning, Diana felt that this fight was a big reason he had left a note. Now she felt guilty that she ignored him and feigned sleep.
Diana arrived at work in a bad mood. She was wearing her sunglasses, as she had to cover her tired and puffy eyes from her coworkers. She decided she would try to stay in her office as much as possible, avoiding small talk. Unfortunately, her mood was made worse later that morning as she ran into her assistant, Kari, carrying a heavy stack of papers. "Why don't you watch where you're going!" She screamed.
"I'm so sorry," Kari stammered, picking up the scrambled documents.
"Now those are all messed up, and you need to get them to Liza in time for her meeting. Hurry, you'll be late."
Kari piled the rest of the spilled items on her stack and scurried down the hall. Diana knew that Liza wouldn't be upset, and a moment later felt bad about how she spoke to Kari. Good assistants were hard to find, she remembered.
Diana sat down at her desk chair with a thud. After getting through some work she had been putting off, she realized there was only one way she could make this day better. She picked up her phone, trying to think of what to type. Why did texting come so easy to twenty-year-olds and not to her, a professional executive?
"Hi, I was thinking of you," Diana texted.
After a few minutes, Enzo responded. "Thinking of u 2."
"I'm not saying yes, but I'll think about your idea more." She figured if she was going to text, she could still use proper spelling. And maybe there was a way that they could still inherit the house but not have to be responsible for his mother's care.
"Let's talk later. ^3 u" he texted.
Diana looked up, smiling like an idiot. Liza was standing there, after depositing some cover artwork on her desk for review by the marketing team. Diana hadn't heard her come in. "You're texting him, yay!" Liza exclaimed. "I'm sure he appreciates you speaking his love language."
Diana pulled her sunglasses back over her face. "I guess so. What in the world do these symbols mean?"
"Oh it's a heart, like he loves you," Liza explained. "Before emojis, people wrote it like that." She stood by Diana's desk, reminding her of an excited puppy, waiting to play a game.
"Of course. Are you going to let me have a second? We are finally getting somewhere. We had a misunderstanding."
"I'll leave. Sorry to sneak up on you like that." Liza turned and walked out the door.
…..
At their lunch power booth, Liza decided to get the full story. Something was bothering Diana this morning, and she wasn't doing a good job of hiding it. Liza pitied her new assistant, an intelligent ivy league graduate who was an asset to the company. She didn't want to lose Kari. Diana's mood had been better after Liza caught her texting.
"What's got you so upset today. Everything okay with you and Enzo?" Liza asked.
"Now that we're safely away from the office, I'll tell you. He suggested we move in with Filomena and let her sign over her house to us. Can you imagine me living on Staten Island?" Diana confided.
"So you tell him no. I can't imagine you having a problem with that." She looked at Diana's eyes, which were slightly puffy. Now that she had taken off her sunglasses, it was evident that Diana had been crying earlier, and her reapplied makeup hadn't covered it up.
"It isn't that I can't say no. I just think the woman doesn't have many years left, and Enzo is feeling a son's guilt. I almost told him yes. And that's what scares me. Because like I said, Liza, could you imagine me living there, with her!" She reiterated.
"I don't know. There's worse places he could be asking you to stay. New Jersey for one," she joked. "I lived there far longer than I should have." Liza's plan worked, and she got Diana to smile for a second.
"I forget how you basically did whatever your ex-husband asked of you. If you mind my asking, why did you?"
"In my case, out of loyalty and obligation. I took care of my mother during that time too. But I don't think you and I make decisions the same way. And I like to think I've grown up since then."
"You have. For me it isn't loyalty per se. But Enzo has really been the one to sacrifice everything. He moved into my place. He let go of his apartment to join my life."
"Maybe find a way to compromise. It worked for Charles and I. We both still have our separate places."
Diana had been surprised that she didn't move in with Charles permanently. Instead, Liza had asked for help finding an apartment in Diana's old building when she moved out of Williamsburg. Diana knew Maggie was grateful to have her own place now, although she never told Liza that. It was evident when they visited her and saw that room converted into more studio space.
"So should we hire a health care worker? I know taking care of a stubborn woman will not work for us," Diana continued.
"I don't know. If you do, maybe just stay with her every so often so Enzo can see that you care about his family too. It is a lot of work. And it helps if you love the person." Liza was thinking back to her own caretaking days. Her mother was her best friend, and even then she got frustrated at times.
"This is horrible to say, but when she's gone we will get the house, and I don't want to be stuck there. None of the other siblings want it. They already have their own places and their kids are in the school districts they want. That's all they talk about. I'm glad I never had that problem with kids, schools."
"If you're worried, just don't be stuck there. Who says you can't have two places?" Liza continued to try to get Diana to consider her options.
"You know what, you're right. We can work this out. The woman is almost eighty years old, Filomena won't change. I have to accept that she's in my life for however long. But knowing Enzo's family history, those old crones live to be one hundred."
"So what if she does? Just live for the moment. Maybe that's the problem, you're getting ahead of yourself, imagining too much."
Liza's phone chirped, interrupting her train of thought. She read it and smiled.
"Let me guess, Charles misses you?" Diana suggested.
"You know us so well," Liza answered.
Diana knew she would have to compromise a little with Enzo. So far, he had been the one to adjust to her world. She could at least meet him halfway.