Authors: Jayne Conway
“I’ve waited a long, long time to ask you this.” Will takes her hand in his, “Julia, I love you with everything I am. Will you marry me?” He opens the black box, but she can’t see anything through her tears. He could have made a ring out of a paperclip, she wouldn’t care. Her answer would be the same.
“Yes.” Julia nods, her face glowing with happiness, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
She laughs as he slips the antique ring onto her finger and she catches her first glimpse of it. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Julia softly kisses his lips and climbs onto Will’s lap, wrapping her arms and legs around him, holding him close.
“I love you,” she whispers in his ear.
“Always.”
LANDING
2004
Epilogue
Will and Liam are sitting at a café in the Piazza delle Erbe, waiting for Julia. They’ve been in Verona for the past five months and are enjoying a quiet afternoon together. Liam’s finishing second grade at the American School and Will’s kept himself busy fixing up their new place. A little while ago, they went shopping for groceries for dinner and are relaxing before they head back to the house.
“Dad, is this the table you sat at with Mom before I was born?”
“No, this is where I was sitting when I watched her writing in her journal over there.” He points to a table several feet away.
“I always mix them up.”
Will takes a sip of his espresso and his mouth puckers. He still hasn’t developed a taste for it. He grabs the empty coffee cup he requested, pours the espresso in and stirs some milk into the porcelain mug.
“Dad,” Liam looks up from his book and laughs, “You know if you add milk it’s not espresso anymore. It’s a latte.”
“Shhh…” He raises his finger to his lips, “Our secret.”
“Wimp.” Liam shakes his head, and buries his nose back in his book.
Will has immersed himself in renovating their new home. They purchased a farmhouse just outside of Verona four months ago and he’s restoring it with the help of Liam and a few local tradesmen. It needed a lot of work, but he loves doing it.
When he restored the house in Nantucket, he did it to save his sanity. At the time he didn’t have a family to make a home for, and didn’t really believe he’d ever have one of his own. This experience has been so different. Their home in Italy is a labor of love.
They came upon the farmhouse on one of their mystery rides through the countryside a month into their travels abroad. Julia spotted the ‘for sale’ sign near the stonewall that surrounds the property and out of curiosity they drove up the long winding driveway to see the house.
It was love at first sight.
The two-storied stone house is located on a hill and is surrounded by olive groves, wheat fields and cypress trees. They wandered the grounds and Liam couldn’t contain his excitement when he saw the in-ground pool located a short distance from the house. Off the pool area is a small guesthouse, and another stone outbuilding, beautiful gardens and a covered terrace for outdoor dining.
It wasn’t the first house they looked at, but it would be the last. Julia called the real estate agent that night and they were given the tour the following day. By the end of the month, the farmhouse was theirs.
The original structure was built in the fifteenth century and has been remodeled by different owners over the years. The ground floor was originally the stables and storage area, but has been renovated into an oversized living room with a stone fireplace, a dining room, and a connecting kitchen with another large fireplace.
A stone staircase leads to the family quarters which includes another living area with stunning views of the countryside and the city just beyond, a master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, three smaller bedrooms, and two additional bathrooms, that Will is in the process of remodeling.
He’s highly motivated to finish the renovations and should be done with the majority of the work before the arrival of the newest addition to their family.
He or she will be here soon!
***
Julia enters the Piazza, her back aching from leaning over and writing letters for the past four hours. She resumed her duties as one of Juliet’s secretaries a few months ago. Today, she’s exhausted, but smiles as she walks toward Will and Liam, who have taken up residence at their ‘regular’ table near the fountain. She finds them here most days after her shift.
Volunteering to answer the questions of the lovelorn masses is one of the most satisfying things she’s ever done. She loved doing this work before she returned to the United States, but now she feels truly qualified to offer advice on the topic of love.
Will’s eyes light up as she makes her slow approach. She was so relieved when he quit his job at the equity firm after September 11th. He hated the work he’d been doing since college.
Before they came to Italy, Will was buying and restoring old houses, selling them once he’d finished. He really didn’t care if he made much money off the sales, he loves doing the work, and she’s thrilled he found something he’s passionate about. She’s never seen him happier.
Once he finishes their home here, he wants to continue building his business, whether here or in the States, they don’t know. Will was building a solid reputation for himself back home for the quality of his craftsmanship and for preserving the historic integrity of the few homes he’s renovated.
“Hello sweetheart.” Will stands to greet her, kissing her lips and pulling out a chair.
“What are you two up to today?” She ruffles Liam’s hair and leans over to kiss his head.
“We’ve been up to no good, right Dad?”
“No good at all.” Will shakes his head, his face serious.
She smiles and leans back against the metal chair, wincing in pain.
“Are you feeling all right?” Will asks, concern filling his eyes.
She nods and smiles, her exhaustion evident.
Will rests his hand on her stomach and rubs it in a circle. An elbow or shoulder or knee moves under his hand and she smiles watching Will’s eyes grow bright as the baby shifts inside her body, her stomach changing shape in the process.
“It’s a miracle, Jules. We’ve made another baby.” He shakes his head in awe, then takes her hand and looks into her eyes. “I think it may be time for you to stop channeling Juliet for a little bit. You’re due in twelve days, babe.”
She shifts in her seat, trying to get comfortable, but it’s hopeless.
“I know. I told Mariana it’s time to take a break. I need a little rest before this package arrives.”
When Julia found out they were having another baby, she wanted to be in Verona for sentimental reasons, and Will agreed. Her love affair with Italy is far from over and she wants her children to have dual citizenship.
Once the baby is born they’ll split their time between Italy and the United States. They haven’t figured out the details yet, wanting to wait and see what works best for them as a family, then take it from there. They still own the house on Nantucket, and can stay with family when they’re in Rhode Island. Maybe they’ll buy a house there too? Who knows what the future holds? It’s ripe with possibilities.
Over the past two weeks she’s found it increasingly difficult to do much of anything. She feels like a giant water balloon ready to explode. Her hands and feet are swollen, her back aches, she has to pee every five minutes, and her patience is non-existent.
She doesn’t remember it being this difficult with Liam, but she was twenty-four then, not almost thirty-two. The last month of pregnancy is for the birds in her opinion.
She was on the phone with Sloane the other day, sharing that very sentiment, and her sister-in-law couldn’t agree more. They’ve made peace with Sloane. She’s a different person since Peter died, and Julia and Ellie have grown close to her over the past two years.
Little Peter is just over two years old now, and before he was born, Sloane sold their apartment in New York and decided to stay in Rhode Island to be near Peter’s family. They live in Bristol and spend a lot of time with his grandparents. Their baby grandson is the apple of their loving eyes.
Will stands up and holds out his hands to help her to her feet and hugs her to him, rubbing her back.
“I feel for you sweetie. We are having a baby, but you have to do all of the work.”
“Yeah, yeah, spare me. If men had to go through this, the human race would be extinct,” she teases him.
He’s been so good, trying to ease her load in whatever way he can. They’ve always been a good team, sharing household chores, but he insisted that he and Liam take over all home-related responsibilities over the past few months, cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, tending the garden, washing and drying the dishes. They’ve been a huge help.
Liam’s totally engrossed in his book and Will taps him on the shoulder.
“Hey big guy, let’s pack up and take Mom home.”
After dinner, Julia soaks in the big claw foot bathtub. Their neighbor Angela, a seventy-five year old widow who reminds them of Gram, has been very kind, delivering meals two or three times a week, sometimes joining them to dine, and giving Will cooking lessons while she’s working.
Tonight, Will made a delicious chicken soup from scratch and served it with crusty Italian bread. He’s getting quite good under Angela’s tutelage. Julia hasn’t had much of an appetite this week, so tonight’s light meal was perfect.
This is her favorite time of day. She can hear Will and Liam in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner, and smiles as she lathers up the washcloth and rubs it over her body. In the water, she’s almost buoyant, the pressure of their growing baby temporarily alleviated.
She’s ready to have this baby and reclaim her body. Julia hasn’t said anything to Will, but she started having mild contractions this morning. They’re more than fifteen minutes apart, but she’s having this baby in the next day or two. The minute she tells Will, he’ll become a mother hen, clucking over her, and jumping every time she winces.
Will’s excitement over the baby is heartwarming. He missed this with Liam and doesn’t want to miss anything this time around. She still feels guilty for keeping Liam from him all of those years, no matter how understanding he’s been. They both feel it was the right thing for her to do under the circumstances, but still…
After Julia confronted Avery at the play, Will’s ex-wife left town and moved to northern California, telling her lawyer to quickly settle the divorce, waiving her right to alimony. Maybe Avery thought Julia would spread rumors about her, and this was her way of shutting her up? She wouldn’t have done that, no matter how much she’d love to tear that woman’s reputation to shreds. She’s just grateful Avery’s out of their lives for good.
Will enters the bathroom and sits on the stool next to the tub. He’s accompanied Julia to all of her doctor appointments, gets teary-eyed every time he hears the baby’s heartbeat, and stared in wonder while they did the ultrasound. He’s smitten.
They chose not to find out the sex of the baby before the delivery, but she has a feeling it’s a girl. This pregnancy has been so different.
Her husband holds her hand, gazes at her body, and grins.
“You’re staring.” She looks at him, eyebrow raised.
“Yes I am,” he laughs.
“Stop! You’re making me self-conscious!”
Will kneels on the ground, takes the washcloth from her and runs it along her swollen breasts and stomach.
“You have nothing to be self-conscious about. You’ve never been more beautiful.” He kisses her neck then her lips.
“I am an elephant.” Will takes her hand and places it on him. He’s totally aroused. Her eyes open wide, “You can’t be serious.”
He nods his head and helps her out of the bathtub, wraps a towel around her and gently dries her body, his eyes never leaving hers. They’ve made love regularly throughout her pregnancy. Will said knowing she’s carrying his child has only made her sexier in his eyes.
“Mrs. Kennedy, right this way.” He leads her to their bed and turns the lock on their door.
***
Will wakes to the sound of moaning. It’s dark outside, the middle of the night and he reaches for Julia but she’s not in bed. He sits up with a start and turns on the lamp to find Julia sitting in the rocking chair, her eyes closed, clearly in pain.
Oh my god, this is it!
He runs over to her.
“Babe. Tell me what’s happening.”
She breathes through the pain for a few more seconds, then looks down at the watch in her hand.
“It’s time. The contractions are less than six minutes apart.”
He’s never been more nervous or excited in his life. He kisses her and pulls on jeans and a t-shirt, slips on his shoes and runs next door to Angela’s house. They asked her to stay with Liam if Julia went into labor before her mother arrives from the States. Carol and Ron are flying in tomorrow.
Will impatiently knocks on their neighbor’s door. It’s three in the morning, but Angela answers a moment later, fully clothed. She nods and closes the door and he gives her a quizzical look.
“How did you know?” he asks.
“
La luna
.” She points to the sky, “It’s full. I’ve been waiting.”
It’s a fifteen-minute drive to the hospital and they’re the only car on the road. Julia’s water broke two minutes into the ride, her contractions dramatically increasing in speed and intensity. She’s squeezes his hand with each contraction and he’s trying hard to keep his eyes focused on the road.