Secrets of the Past

Chapter 61

The next two days were spent going into New Hope and checking out all the little shops, eating, drinking, and making love. Saturday evening erupted with thunderstorms which lasted for hours. The rain continued into Sunday as they headed home.

In mid September Brian's mom had called to tell him they would be in New York the following week. They were going to Long Island to stay with Brian's brother Danny and his family for a few days. She told him they wanted to meet him and Giovanna for dinner on their way into Long Island.

The following Wednesday Brian picked Giovanna up at 6:00 and they headed to Brioso, an upscale Italian restaurant.

"Hi," she said brightly as she got in the car. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss before putting on her seatbelt.

"Hi. How was your day?"

"It was a good day. A very good day. I got a promotion."

"Get out! Did you really?!"

"I did."

"Oh babe," he said, "that's great. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks. It came as quite a surprise."

"Well I guess we have something to celebrate tonight."

They got to the restaurant before his parents, and once they were seated he sent a text to his mom to let her know they were already there. They showed up nearly 15 minutes later.

"Hey ma," Brian said, standing to give his mom a hug. "Pop," he said, shaking his dad's hand. Giovanna held out her hand to his mom but she waved it away. Instead she held her arms open for a hug. Giovanna stood and obliged. For the first time in her life it felt like she was being hugged by her mother. It was a type of hug her own mother had never given her. It made her feel safe and loved.

"How are you doing?" Mrs. Quinn asked when they broke apart. "Did my son take good care of you?"

"Yes," Giovanna said with a laugh, as they both took their seats. "I'm fine now. I have a week of physical therapy left but I don't feel like I even need it."

"Well, you need to continue with it. Listen to the doctors."

"I will, for sure. But I do feel like I'm finally back to normal."

"I'm sorry we didn't make it over to see you sooner," Mrs. Quinn said.

"Oh that's ok. I wouldn't have expected you to. You were traveling. I certainly wouldn't want you to come home in the middle of your trip. The card and flowers were enough. And thank you again for those."

"You're welcome. And I'm thrilled to hear that you've fully recovered."

"Thank you."

"Oh!" Brian said. "I almost forgot. We're celebrating tonight!"

"Celebrating what?" Mr. Quinn asked.

"Somebody at this table got promoted today."

Giovanna blushed. She didn't like being the center of attention, all eyes on her.

"Congratulations dear," Mrs. Quinn said. "That's wonderful."

"Thank you. I had no idea it was coming."

"Those are the best kind of surprises," Mr. Quinn said.

Over dinner the Quinn's talked about their travels to Europe and Mrs. Quinn filled Brian in on all the family gossip. Brian, in turn, shared some of the new ideas he and the guys were working on for the next season of the show.