The Suffering Of Fools (IJ Fanfic, Sal Vulcano X Brian Quinn)

Part 33

Sal loaded her suitcases into the boot of the car, and walked back around to help Jamie with his. He saw the young boy with his small case, standing there with his eyes cast to the ground.

"Hey, bud," Sal began, "let me take that for you - I'll stick it in the trunk."

"Thanks," the boy mumbled in a way that was not ungrateful, but pained and shy.

"You're gonna be alright, don't you worry." Sal said, taking the bag. "Is this all, yeah?" he nodded. "Cool. Look, Jamie... I know that you don't know me, but I'd like to try and change that; once you're settled, of course. Wanna come get some ice cream with me later?" Jamie smiled for the first time and nodded, making fleeting eye contact with his Uncle. He had her eyes, and it took Sal slightly aback before he returned a warm smile, and held the car door open for his young nephew who had already lost so much in his short life.

The drive home was long, and filled with weary chatter. Jamie slept in the back, while Clarabelle - although near sleep - resisted it.

"Thanks again for coming to get us," she smiled, "I know he's shy, but he will open up when he's more comfortable with everything. It's really good of you, offering to take him out like that: it really means a lot to me." she yawned, and placed one hand gently upon his that was changing the gears, rubbing his knuckles lovingly.

"So, is there anything I need to know?" Sal asked, cautioning a sideways glance at his passenger before his eyes returned to the road.

"With what, Sally?" she asked, concerned.

"Well, uh... I don't really know how to put this." he laughed, "I guess, like with the baby and stuff? Yknow, how is everything?"

"Oh, yeah. Everything's OK at the moment. I'm just so..." she stretched and yawned before she could finish, "...tired. The morning sickness is a pain in the arse, too. At least it'll all be worth it in the end though - we'll be a proper family, at last."

Upon hearing this, Sal felt a pang of guilt that made him want the Earth to swallow him up. He felt sickened, and lightheaded, and it was all his fault for being so fickle; although neither love he did believe to be false.

"Have you told anyone yet, Sally?" she asked, grinning. "The guys will be so happy when we tell them, and your parents, as well. I almost forgot about your parents... Do you think they'll be happy with me? With us?" she asked, concern tainting her voice as she placed her hand across her lap.

"No, I haven't told anyone. As for my parents; they love you," he softly chimed, "and they'll be so proud that I'm going to be a dad! Especially with you as the mum. Trust me, they'll be thrilled."

She was sullen and silent after this, and Sal looked over; worry lining his handsome and roughly stubbled face. Reaching across and squeezing her hand before returning it to the wheel, he asked "What's wrong, hon?"

Flooded with emotion, she quietly said, "are you sure we're doing the right thing here, Sal? Us having a kid - a little baby - that's a life we would literally be taking into our own hands. Do you think we'd really be OK?"

He drove for a while longer, without an answer.

Sal found a flat, grassy verge on the side of the road, and pulled over. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he swivelled in the chair to face her, and took both her hands in his; gazing into her eyes as he began.

"Clarabelle Amanda Lamb, I have known you for years - over a decade and a half - and the one thing you've always said is this: 'Sal, if I ever found love, I would hold onto it and never let it go. I would love with all my heart, and pour my soul into that bond and hold it dearer than life itself.'. Clarabelle, if your heart tells you that this is what you want - then grab the chance with both hands, and never, ever let it go. If I know you at all, then I know that your heart has already decided what your head has not yet fathomed. Clarabelle, just know this: that tiny baby is there inside you, and no matter what you choose to do, you are already a mother with a loving family, and a baby that needs you. I'll support you in whatever you choose, but I think that your mind is already made up."

She sat there, and her face seemed to soften. She leant forward and planted a gentle kiss on his plump and blushing lips, before resting her chin in the crook of his shoulder in careful embrace.

"I love you, so, so very much." she whispered as a single tear fell, and rolled down her cheek into his softly bunched shirt.