The day I stopped singing in the shower

BONUS CHAPTER

Four years later

"Can you do me a favor?"

I let my coffee on the table and stared at the unfinished drawing on my laptop screen.

"My morning is going great, mi vida. How about yours?" My sarcasm at 10 in the morning reached its highest peak.

Ace chuckled but I could feel the troubled tone in his voice. "I'm sorry, babe. How's your day going?"

I sighed before I scrunched up my noise and studied my design. I took my graphics tablet from my drawer. I needed to make some changes. "You know, the usual. I'm working on-"

"Martina, I really need that favor."

His voice was so gentle I couldn't fight the smile on my face as I rolled my eyes. "Shoot."

"As you know, my sisters are going to that summer school on weekdays and my mom can't drive them today, she needs to go-"

"I'll do it."

"Yeah?" Ace asked in a whisper. "I'd do it but you know I can't. Oh," he paused and I could see him biting the corner of his mouth as he always did- "I'm also taking a night shift."

I pouted. "Again?"

"Yeah... you know how overworked medical residents are."

"Okay." I said dryly.

"Martina, I'm really sorry."

I didn't want to get mad, I knew it wasn't his fault, but the situation was making it very easy. It had already been three following nights -and a lot more before- that I had to sleep by myself, waiting for Ace to come home at 5 or 6 in the morning. Feeling his arm wrapping around my waist and snuggling against his chest for an hour or two before I had to wake up and go to work.

"It's okay, I'll talk to you later, I'll go pick them up."

"You're the best, I love you."

"I know." I smiled to myself. "I love you too."

The familiar grey gate was opening before my eyes as I waited inside my car. I always remembered the feeling of coming to Ace's house and seeing Renzo running and barking towards my car, waiting nervously for me to step out of it. I tried to shrug off the sad feeling but the tug on my chest felt impossible to ignore. I'd always miss my big black friend.

Before I rang the doorbell, I heard the argument between that unmistakable strong Italian accent and the voice of the two preteens twins.

Claudia opened the door and nodded her head for me to come inside. I gave her a questioning look and she gave me another with a shrug of her shoulders as if to say 'the usual.'

"Tesoro, you can't seriously pretend we let them have a mobile phone at ten years old!" She rubbed her temples. "You spoil them too much."

Morgan, leaning on the kitchen table, was biting her nails while she looked at her mom anxiously, as Giulia probably spoke with their father.

When she saw me, Giulia put the phone on her shoulder covering the speaker and came to give me a quick hug with her free arm. "Thank you so much, Martina. Valentina has a doctor appointment so she asked to look after Marco," her two year old son, "and you know how last-minute my daughter is."

"Don't worry, you know my timetable is flexible."

She then gave me a relieved smile before she gestured to the phone apologetically and I nodded for her to keep talking. "Oh, grab one of those focaccias, nonna made them, they're delicious." She kissed the tip of her fingers before winking at me and going upstairs.