From Now On I Grow Toward Spring Chapter 02
Their laughter drifted in from the other side of the door.
I ignored it and opened the birthday gift a coworker had brought back for me from Singapore.
A pair of orchid earrings.
The only birthday gift I’d received.
I had just picked them up when the bedroom door opened again.
Matteo came in carrying a slice of cake, a smiling Sofia and my parents trailing behind him.
“Sis, we saved this piece just for you,” Sofia chirped. “Matteo wouldn’t let anyone else touch it.”
She rested a hand on his shoulder and winked at me.
Matteo cut off a small bite with his fork and held it to my lips.
If I hadn’t overheard them talking just now, I might have actually eaten it.
But I had heard every word.
“What do we do with the leftover cake?” my father had asked.
My mother’s reply had been automatic. “Same as always. Give it to Talia. Let Sofia eat the raspberries off first, then bring it in so she doesn’t get all sensitive again.”
I looked at the cake.
The frosting was a mess, gouged and picked over.
I turned my head away.
Matteo paused, about to speak.
Then my mother’s eyes landed on the earrings in my hand and lit up.
“Aren’t those the ones Sofia has always wanted?”
Hearing that, Matteo immediately reached for them.
I closed my hand around the earrings and looked up at him.
“They’re my birthday gift.”
He froze for a second.
Sofia said softly, “Forget it. My health is too poor for me to fly to Singapore. Just seeing them on my sister is enough to make me happy.”
Matteo frowned, pried my fingers open, and took the earrings.
“Talia, be good. If Sofia likes them, let her have them.”
My fingers ached.
My heart ached more.
I watched as Matteo bent down to help Sofia fasten the earrings, his fingers gentle. I slowly uncurled my own empty hand.
“If we’re getting divorced, that jewelry is my personal property. Give it back.”
He stilled for a moment before his face darkened.
“Talia, are you done with this scene yet?”
Sofia tugged on his sleeve, her voice trembling. “Matteo, please, go comfort my sister. If I’m coming between you two, I’ll feel awful.”
Matteo pressed his lips into a thin line, then bent down, wrapping an arm around my waist to whisper in my ear.
“Darling, stop this. When we have time, I’ll take you to Singapore and buy you another pair.”
I smelled his cologne, and under it, the faint, sweet scent of Sofia’s perfume. Nausea rose in my throat.
I shoved him away, clutching my chest and gagging.
He stared, his expression uncomprehending. “You’re disgusted by me?”
But when he saw me retching, his tone shifted. “What’s wrong? Could it be…”
I bit my lip, cutting him off. “No.”
“I just ate something that didn’t agree with me.”
The flicker of hope in his eyes died. He raised a hand to pat my back.
“If a simple meal makes you this nauseous, what are you going to do if you actually get pregnant?”
I took a step back, avoiding his touch, and lowered my eyes to my stomach.
The question didn’t matter anymore.
I wasn’t going to have this baby.
Seeing the state I was in, my mother sighed and steadied me, though her words were sharp.
“Look at you. You’re a mess, and all because you had to fight with Sofia over a few shrimp.”
The moment she finished, Sofia let out a soft cry, her hand flying to her chest.
Matteo pulled her into his arms instantly.
My parents rushed to her side.
No one looked at me.
As they all crowded around Sofia, I swayed, nearly falling.
My mother reached toward me, but not to help.
She took the other earring from my hand.
“Something this expensive is wasted on you anyway. Sofia’s not feeling well, so just let her have them.”
My father nodded. “They’ll be perfect for her birthday party next week. Didn’t Matteo just order her a dress from Italy?”
I braced myself against the edge of a table, just trying to stay upright.
He had ordered Sofia a dress.
In five years of marriage, he had never once gone with me to try one on.
I smiled, a thin, humorless curve of my lips.
Matteo glanced at me, his steps faltering for a split second.
But then Sofia gave another weak little moan.
He turned back to her, patting her back gently before speaking to me over his shoulder.
“Talia, you should get some rest. Sofia’s not feeling well and needs someone with her.”