Chapter 23
Raffaele and Sofia renewed their vows when Lily was sixteen.
Then canceled the ceremony.
That mattered more.
The idea had been Raffaele’s.
Not grand.
Small.
Family.
Maybe twenty people.
He wanted one clean moment marking the fact that they had survived.
Sofia liked the idea at first.
They chose a garden.
Lily complained about the dress.
Normal.
Then invitations became complicated.
Should Delia come?
No.
Should Anthony?
Maybe.
Which cousins had defended Delia?
Which had apologized?
Which employees?
Should Samuel attend as friend or employee?
Raffaele watched Sofia’s face change during planning.
Not fear.
Fatigue.
One evening she closed the guest list.
“I don’t want this.”
Raffaele felt disappointment.
Then the old instinct.
Fix.
Reduce guests.
Change venue.
Make it easier.
He stopped.
“What don’t you want?”
“The ceremony.”
That hurt more.
Sofia saw.
“I want the marriage.”
Different.
“I don’t want to perform recovery for everybody who watched us fall apart.”
Silence.
Raffaele looked at the invitations.
She was right.
He hated that timing.
They canceled.
Several relatives assumed the marriage was in trouble again.
Sofia laughed.
Raffaele wanted to correct everyone.
Then remembered:
“You don’t have to make everyone like me.”
Old lesson.
New version.
He let gossip die from lack of oxygen.
On the original ceremony date, Sofia and Raffaele took Lily to dinner.
Three people.
No speeches.
Then Sofia placed a small box on the table.
Raffaele stared.
Inside was his old wedding ring.
The one she had asked him to stop wearing during the separation.
He had stored it.
Not because they divorced.
Because she said seeing it while living apart felt dishonest.
Now:
“You want me to wear it?”
Sofia smiled.
“Still making everything a verdict.”
Fair.
“I had it cleaned.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s what I said.”
Lily groaned.
“You two are exhausting.”
Probably.
Raffaele put the ring on.
Sofia already wore hers.
She had started again months earlier without announcement.
Raffaele noticed.
Did not ask.
That might have been the moment the marriage had actually recovered.
Not a ceremony.
Not moving home.
Not sex.
Not coffee.
A ring appearing on Sofia’s hand and Raffaele resisting the need to force it into a declaration.
After dinner Lily asked:
“So married again?”
Sofia laughed.
“We never stopped being married.”
“That’s confusing.”
“Yes.”
“Adults make everything complicated.”
Also yes.
The canceled vow ceremony became a joke.
Years later, Raffaele still referred to the non-refundable deposit as:
“The most expensive event we successfully didn’t host.”
Sofia corrected him.
May you like
“Therapy cost more.”
Unfortunately true.
