As he leaned in closer, I could feel the warmth of his breath on my face and his tempting lips mere inches away from mine. Our eyes locked onto each other, unable to look away as the tension between us grew stronger. We both knew what was about to h...
In the dimly lit back room of my Uncle Marco's trattoria, the scent of freshly baked dough and sweet pastries lingered. I sat across from my uncle, shifting in my seat.
My Uncle Marco, a robust man with a twinkle in his eye and a flour-dusted apron, eyed me, "What's on your mind, kid?" he asked, his voice carrying a gruff warmth.
I hesitated before finally speaking, "It's Diana, Uncle Marco. I can't get her out of my head. But Papa... he's against it, you know, because of who we are and what we do."
My uncle leaned back, folding his hairy arms, "Ah, love. It's a tricky business, especially in a world like yours. Your father is a very unique man. Though me and your father don't get along very well, one thing I could always respect about him was how much he kept up the Sicilian tradition. He's got his reasons. But love, Dante, love is a force of nature. You can't control it, and when you try to, it never goes well. Trust me I'd know"
I sighed, fidgeting with the olive pick in my mouth, "I know. But he always talks about how he would want me to marry a nice Sicilian girl, plus he's grooming me to take over."
"Listen, Dante. Your Father never told you the reason why he believes that because he doesn't want it to influence you to do the opposite of what he wants. When he was around your age, he fell in love with a black girl just like you did. It was the 50s, a decade where that kind of love wasn't accepted, whatsoever. Before your mother, it was her. I always told him that it didn't matter what other people thought and only how she made him feel but no, he let his friends and family make him leave her— For good. Always been nonchalant but when it came to her and your mother, he was an entirely different person. To this day I believe your mother and she was his only true love."
My father doesn't tell me a lot of the backstory behind why he thinks the way he thinks and why he does the thing My uncle chuckled, "That's beside the point. My brother— Your father, he's a tricky man, but he's got his feet firmly planted in the old ways. Sometimes, you gotta question tradition, question the things that don't sit right in your heart."
"So what do I do? I can't ignore what I feel for her."
He leaned in, his expression shifting into a serious one, "Listen, kid, love is a powerful thing. If Diana makes you happy, if she's the one, then fight for it. But be smart. Life demands sacrifices, but it doesn't mean you can't carve out your own path, and find your own happiness."
He reached over, placing a hand on my shoulder, "And don't forget, family is everything. But love, real love, that's a treasure, and it's worth fighting for."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
