Chapter 10 - THE DRAWING HE KEPT HIDDEN
I unfolded the paper carefully.
It was a drawing of the restaurant's dining room.
The long table was covered with a white tablecloth.
There were plates, candles, and a large chandelier drawn in yellow pencil.
Four people sat around the table.
Claire.
Ethan.
Luca.
And a man with brown hair and a crooked smile.
Daniel.
But there was someone standing beside them.
A woman in a black dress and white apron.
Me.
I stared at the picture.
“Ethan?”
He looked suddenly embarrassed.
“It's not very good.”
I shook my head.
“It's beautiful.”
He smiled a little.
“I drew it when Mom said we were moving.”
I looked at the details again.
He had drawn Daniel's watch around his wrist.
Luca wore a black suit.
And Claire was smiling.
But the detail that made my throat tighten was written along the bottom.
Sunday dinner when everybody was happy.
I swallowed.
“Why did you draw me?”
Ethan looked confused.
“Because you were always there.”
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
He shrugged.
“You always remembered I didn't like mushrooms.”
Claire smiled through her tears.
“That's true.”
“And you gave me extra garlic bread.”
I laughed softly.
“That too.”
Ethan looked down.
“Even when Vanessa told everybody I was being difficult, you were nice to me.”
His words hurt more than he realized.
Because I remembered the afternoon I'd seen him outside the restaurant.
I hadn't recognized him.
And I hadn't asked why a boy was standing alone by the entrance.
I looked at Luca.
“Mr. Moretti, there's something I need to say.”
He turned.
“Go ahead, Natalie.”
“I saw Ethan on his birthday.”
“We know.”
“I saw him through the window, but I didn't realize who he was.”
Ethan looked at me.
I knelt beside his chair.
“I should have asked whether you needed help.”
He shook his head.
“You didn't know it was me.”
“I could still have asked.”
He thought about that.
Then he said something I would never forget.
“You were working.”
It was such a simple answer.
But there was something terrible about a child believing an adult's job was a good enough reason not to notice him.
Luca heard it too.
He looked toward Romano.
“From now on, if a child comes into this restaurant asking for family, no one turns him away without checking directly with me.”
Romano nodded.
“Understood.”
“And that goes for anyone who needs assistance. I don't want my staff afraid to ask questions because someone important gives an instruction.”
I looked up.
Luca continued.
“Natalie, you spoke up tonight when Vanessa humiliated Ethan. I know that wasn't easy.”
I lowered my eyes.
“I couldn't just stand there.”
“You shouldn't have had to risk your position to do it.”
His voice softened.
“I should have made that clear long before tonight.”
Claire reached for my hand.
“Thank you for being kind to my son.”
I smiled.
“He made that pretty easy.”
Ethan grinned.
Then he pointed toward the empty space near the drawing's edge.
“I left room for another chair.”
Luca leaned closer.
“Who was going to sit there?”
Ethan hesitated.
“I didn't know.”
He looked toward the doorway.
“I just thought maybe somebody else might need dinner.”
Luca went very still.
Claire smiled sadly.
“That's exactly what Daniel used to say.”
The boy looked at her.
“Really?”
She nodded.
“Your father hated seeing anybody eat alone.”
Luca sat beside them.
“He used to pull extra chairs up to this table without asking.”
Ethan smiled.
“Even when people didn't want him to?”
“Especially then.”
For several minutes, they told stories about Daniel.
Nothing dramatic.
Just small things.
How he'd always ordered dessert before finishing dinner.
How he couldn't remember where he put his car keys.
How he'd bought Ethan a baseball glove three sizes too big because he was certain his son would grow into it.
Claire laughed at that one.
“He said it was an investment.”
Luca nodded.
“He was right.”
Ethan looked toward his mother.
“Can we bring the glove next Sunday?”
She smiled.
“Of course.”
I placed the drawing beside the restaurant's old reservation book.
For the first time, the word family seemed to mean something larger than a name or an engagement.
It meant remembering who wasn't at the table.
And asking why.
But while everyone was talking, Ethan noticed Uncle Salvatore standing near the window.
The older man had barely touched his dinner.
He kept looking toward the entrance.
Ethan followed his gaze.
Then his expression changed.
“Uncle Sal?”
Salvatore turned.
“Yes, Ethan?”
The boy hesitated.
“You were here on my birthday too, weren't you?”
Salvatore nodded.
“I was.”
Ethan looked toward the window where he'd waited in Daniel's oversized coat.
His fingers moved over the watch strap.
Then he asked softly:
“When I was standing outside that day, did you see me?”
May you like
Salvatore's face changed.
And for the first time all evening, the older man seemed unable to look the boy in the eyes.
