“What’s going on?” I had to ask.
Up ahead sat a big house with blue siding and a dark blue door. The front porch had a white fence around it and the walkway was made of big brown stones in varying shades. There were rose bushes and mature plants along the edge of the porch, and around the sides of the house sat beautiful cherry blossom trees.
“What is this place?”
Leandro parked and turned off the car. He turned around with Matt at the same time and they both said, “It’s our new home.”
MATT
“New home?” Jourdanne’s delicate voice billowed out in the closed car. Leandro and I popped open our doors and got out with big smiles. Jourdanne slowly got out of the car with a curious glare in her eyes. “I thought you loved the mansion in the city.”
“Oh, we do,” Leandro was sure to say. “But we love you more.”
Jourdanne turned and looked at Leandro with a wide-eyed stare.
“We love you, Jourdanne,” I said to her as I took her hand and walked her to the front door of the house. “We both want to be with you. Here, in our new home together.”
“If you’ll have us,” Leandro said as he leaned around with a smile.
“I’m speechless,” she muttered. “I mean, I’m so in love with you both!” She squeezed my arm as I led her up the stairs. Leandro unlocked the door for us, and we went inside.
“We just couldn’t stand being away from you. I hope you like it,” I said as I released her hand and let her wander around looking at the place.
The entry was everything. Walking in through the front door, the first thing Jourdanne saw was the open hall next to the stairs. Everything was professionally cleaned and repaired, per Leandro’s instruction. The walls were painted neutral tones to allow for changing design choices, and the woodwork was freshly polished.
To the right of the hall was the gathering room. It was a large room with vaulted ceilings and a big picture window. When Leandro and I first came and looked at the place, we had talked about putting a bench there against the window for reading. There was a large oak tree out front that was sure to provide plenty of shade in the summer.
At the end of the hall, just past the stairs and the small balcony that overlooked the entry, Jourdanne stopped to look back at us. She had tears in her eyes, but they certainly weren’t tears of sadness.
“I just can’t believe this,” she whispered.
I rushed to her and scooped her into my arms. “You deserve the best. Don’t you remember me telling you so?”
She laughed in my arms as she wiped away a tear. “Yeah, but not a whole house!”
I laughed with her.
“Jourdanne, come see the kitchen!” Leandro called from beyond the wall. Jourdanne and I went to meet him, and immediately Jourdanne was again speechless. Her eyes opened wide as she followed the cabinetry and countertops of the room. White marble stone, thick cherry wood, and intricately designed silver handles set the atmosphere of the room.
“Matt, Leandro, you guys are the best!” She came to us and wrapped her arms around us both for a tight squeeze. When we stepped back, she said, “I really don’t know what to say.”
“Tell us you love it, and you’ll live here with us,” Leandro said.
I added, “Yes, it’s not quite thirty minutes from class, and you can invite your friends whenever you want.”
“And you can decorate however you please. Furnishings, kitchenware, bath towels,” Leandro rambled about.
We all had a good laugh as Jourdanne wiped the tears from her eyes. “Does this mean I can call you both my boyfriends.”
“Absolutely,” I said to her.
Leandro was smiling at us both for a pause, then his phone began to ring. Looking over the screen took the happiness right off his face.
“Mamma?” he answered the call as he immediately walked into the other room. I could hear bits and pieces of the conversation, but Jourdanne took my hand and drew my attention to her.
“Hey, show me the backyard.”
I looked over at Leandro where he stood in the hall, then I glanced back at Jourdanne with a nod. Before we could make it out the back door, however, Leandro’s voice rang in the hall, and I had to go see what was going on.
Jourdanne still had a hold of my hand as she and I walked into the hall. Leandro was pacing, and as we reached the hall, he went into the gathering room. He was speaking Italian so fast that I had a hard time keeping up.
“Do you understand him?” Jourdanne asked. Unfortunately, I did.
“His mother found out about the investments for the…” I began to explain, but then I paused. I wasn’t sure if Jourdanne knew yet about Leandro and me helping the inn and the café.