Chapter 12
Sarah agreed to let Rose meet Leo.
But only under certain conditions.
The meeting would be at the restaurant. During the day. When there were lots of people around.
And Sarah and I would be there the whole time.
Rose agreed.
The meeting was set for Saturday afternoon.
I was nervous.
Sarah was nervous.
Even Tony, who was usually unflappable, seemed on edge.
Only Leo didn't seem to understand what the big deal was.
"Who is this lady again?" he asked.
"She's your father's mother," Sarah said. "Your grandmother. She's very nice. And she's wanted to meet you for a very long time."
Leo nodded, accepting this. He was used to complicated family situations by now.
Rose arrived at two o'clock sharp.
She was wearing her best dress. Her hair was done. She was holding a wrapped present.
She stood in the doorway of the restaurant, looking around nervously.
Leo was sitting at a table, coloring.
Rose saw him.
And her face crumpled.
She walked over to the table, slowly, like she was afraid she might scare him away.
"Hello," she said, her voice trembling.
Leo looked up.
"Hi," he said. "Are you my grandma?"
Rose nodded, tears streaming down her face.
"Yes," she said. "Yes, I am. I'm your grandma Rose."
Leo smiled.
"Hi, Grandma Rose."
He held out his hand for her to shake.
Rose laughed through her tears. She shook his hand, then sat down beside him.
"I brought you something," she said, handing him the present.
Leo unwrapped it.
It was a drawing book. And a set of colored pencils. The good kind. The expensive kind.
"Thank you!" Leo said, his face lighting up. "I love to draw!"
"I know," Rose said. "Your... your father told me. He said you were very good."
Leo immediately started drawing a picture for her.
Sarah and I sat at the next table, watching.
Rose was wonderful with Leo. She asked him about school, about his friends, about his favorite things. She listened to everything he said with genuine interest. She laughed at his jokes. She told him stories about when his father was a little boy—good stories, happy stories, before the darkness took over.
After an hour, Rose stood up to leave.
She knelt down in front of Leo.
"Thank you," she said. "For letting me meet you. This has been the happiest day of my life."
Leo hugged her.
"Can you come back?" he asked.
Rose looked at Sarah.
Sarah nodded, tears in her eyes.
"Of course," Rose said. "I'll come back as often as you want."
She stood up and turned to Sarah and me.
"Thank you," she said. "For giving me this. For trusting me with him."
"He's a good boy," Sarah said.
"I know," Rose said. "He takes after his mother. And... maybe a little bit after his grandfather. My husband. Marco's father. He was a good man. Before he died. I see a lot of him in Leo."
She paused.
"I know this is asking a lot," she said. "But would it be okay if I wrote to Marco? Told him about the meeting? Told him that his son is happy and healthy and loved?"
Sarah and I looked at each other.
We both knew how much that would mean to Marco.
And we both knew that Marco had hurt too many people to deserve kindness.
But Sarah nodded.
"Okay," she said. "You can tell him. But don't tell him where we live. Don't tell him anything about our lives. Just that Leo is okay. That he's happy. That's all."
Rose nodded. "Thank you. I won't say anything else. I promise."
She left.
Leo was already drawing a picture to give her next time.
Sarah and I stood there, watching him.
"Did we do the right thing?" Sarah asked.
I thought about Rose's face. The joy in her eyes when she met Leo.
I thought about Leo. How happy he was to have a grandmother.
I thought about Marco. Alone in his cell, probably never expecting to hear anything good about his son again.
May you like
"Yeah," I said. "We did the right thing."
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