Fifty years of Love & Secrets

H6. Is his love strong enough?

Elisabeth / Lizzy Roberts 20.

Daughter of Grace Ferrante.

Stepdaughter of Christiano Ferrante.

It feels so stupid, the tears come again, they're not tears of sadness, but man I get so nervous when I have to do this kind of thing. My parents don't even know it yet. I just lied hard to my uncles Luca and Stefano.

"Lizzy, what's wrong." Maria gets up and puts an arm around me. I have known Maria all my life, she is just like Bianca a kind of grandmother to me. "I lied to Uncle Luca and Uncle Stefano." I throw it out and the women in the room gasp.

"ow Lizzy, you know not to lie." Aunt Megan gets up, along with Maria.

"I know, but I'm not ready to say it yet, to them," I confess. Both nod.

"What did you want to ask?" asks Aunt Megan, much more cautiously than I like.

"Maybe we can stop somewhere before we go to the airport. I still have someone to pick up."

"Who?"

"Nico Gray," I answer.

Millie's eyes almost fall out of her head. "Nico Gray?" she shouts. I nod. "Why?" asks Aunt Megan and I still hear caution in her voice.

"he... Uhm... He's my boyfriend."

I won't say anything else.

Aunt Megan's eyes get big, Millie starts laughing really hard and Maria holds me in a big hug "Oh dear." She sighs.

"s**t Lizz, since when? Your parents didn't say anything." Aunt Megan begins.

I shake my head. Maria lets me go and we both sit down on the couch again.

"Since last year," I tell them. "Mom and Dad don't know."

"That's why we see you less and less often." Aunt Megan tells me and I nod. "I'm either working in Marcel's company," that's what I call my biological father because I hardly knew him. Never really. "Either I'm at school or Nico is with me or I'm with Nico, just what suits his schedule," I tell them.

"Why didn't you say anything?" asks Aunt Megan and I shrug my shoulders. "You know what they're like, James and Thomas go crazy. You can see how Uncle Luca and Uncle Stefano react." I shake my head. "Mom and dad have to be the first."

"That's why you cried so much that you missed the flight. That means you had to tell us." Aunt Megan sighs and shakes her head. She takes my hand. "You'll be fine." She pats my hand. I hope so because this is really not the way I wanted it to go.

Three hours later we drive to NY FC stadium. Nico lives in the apartment complex next door.

"Why did we have to go here?" asks Uncle Luca for the umpteenth time. I look hopefully at Aunt Megan. Who keeps shaking her head. "stop this Luca." She mumbles.

The car comes to a stop and I see Nico with his bag already standing.

"I'll be back in a minute." My voice barely audible in the car and Aunt Megan shakes her head again, Uncle Luca looks worried and the two kids look at me like I have a second head. I quickly get out of the car and walk to Nico. Knowing that just getting out of the car is not okay and Uncle Luca gets a stroke just from that.

"Hey, babe." Nico puts an arm around my waist and wants to kiss me. I quickly turn my cheek.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"You need to let me go a little more," I answer softly.

"What's wrong? Normally you pounce on me."

I roll my eyes, but he's right. Normally I pounce on him. "My family is in that car." I point over my shoulder with my thumb.

"Did the kids like the controllers? Why did you need so many?"

"Nico, I've already told you how crazy my family is and how much they are." I start and he smirks. Not the time for that smirk. "yeah, so?"

If I don't say anything, it starts to dawn on him and he looks at my hand. "Where's your ring?" he asks, his jaws clenching together. "In my bag," I answer and show him the ring in my small handbag. He shakes his head.

"I can’t do this now, okay. My family doesn't even know I have a boyfriend. It's hard for me to put that ring on now and then walk into the room." I sigh.

He shakes his head. "I don't know what the problem is, why didn't you tell them about me." He sighs.

I don't answer, because the only answer I have is low and mean. Nico has no parents, no brother or sister. Nico was lucky and came from youth protection and could play soccer and was still good at it. He doesn't know what it's like to grow up with an overprotective family. To have brothers who can't handle the thoughts of me and a boy alone. A father and uncles who go crazy with the thought that I share my bed with someone else. "you'll notice." I answer. "My family is crazy."

He nods "But I'm going to touch you Lizz and I'm going to kiss you." He leans forward and kisses my lips. Then we hear someone honking. "ELISABETH ROBERTS!!!"

"Ow f*ck!" I turn around and see Uncle Luca coming out of the car, and within a few seconds he is with us. "what the f*ck is this!?" He points between me and Nico

"Luca come back into the car!" Aunt Megan shouts from the window.

"Uncle Luca, please." I step between him and Nico. Both tower above me. "Step aside Lizzy."

"no, Uncle Luca listen." I start but Uncle Luca grabs my arm. "Step. Aside."

"I don't know who you think you are, but keep your hands off my fiancé!" snarls Nico and it's that moment I feel all the color pulling out of my face, my heart skips a few beats, and rolling my eyes out of my head. He didn't say that out loud now.

Uncle Luca's hand lets go of me as if I were burning it. He looks at me with big eyes. Then to Nico. Then back to me.

He shakes his head. His face again as I have seen him a lot. "Is he going with us back home?" asks Uncle Luca and I hear the change in his tone. He is furious.

I nod.

Uncle Luca nods too. "In the car. Now." He turns around and walks towards the car.

Nico takes my hand and our fingers intertwine. "Well, that went well." Nico is as sarcastic as I feel. "Yeah, that’s one, seven more to go." I sigh.

"Everything will be fine." Nico brings my fingers to his mouth and kisses my hand.

"Lizz, in the car. You.” Uncle Luca squeezes his eyes together as he looks at Nico. "in that car." He points to Stefano's car.

"Uncle Luca.."

"Do I have to repeat myself Elisabeth?" ow f*ck, Uncle Luca is really angry.

"It's okay Babe, I'll see you again in a minute." Nico presses a kiss against my temple because I don't dare to look at him anymore. Nico lets me go and I see how he goes in the car with Stefano and Millie. Uncle Luca doesn't give me a chance to think any longer and pushes me back into the car.

In the car, Uncle Luca says nothing. He looks out the window while the driver takes us to the airport. Fortunately, my nephews are there and they provide the necessary distraction when they ask all kinds of questions about Nico. Not about me and Nico, but only about Nico. When we arrive at the airport, Uncle Luca is immediately out of the car and the door remains closed. I now know that here in NY the rules are different than at home in Cliffs. I know that Uncle Luca is still doing dangerous work, work that Christiano did before and so did my uncles Riccardo, Marcello, and Vincenzo. And when I'm in NY in the company of Luca or his family, the rule is that you don't get out of the car until the door is opened for you. If no door opens, you stay in the car and I haven't done that today. Now with an angry uncle, it's better if I stay put and don't go against him. But I can grumble to my aunt.

"This is ridiculous." I huff and cross my arms. Aunt Megan sighs. "Lizzy, you should have said it." That is all she says. "I know okay, I know." I sigh. "But I was scared."

The door on aunt Megan's side opens and she and the boys go out. When I want to get out, Uncle Luca gets in. The driver gets out and when the door closes Uncle Luca takes my hand. "Is this really true?" he asks and when I look at him I see tears in his eyes.

"Yes," I answer.

"Lizzy, sweetheart, he has no idea what he's in." Uncle Luca starts and I shake my head. "That doesn't matter, that's you, that's not me," I answer.

Uncle Luca shakes his head again. "I'm not talking about my work Lizzy, I'm talking about family. He is alone, he is used to thinking only of himself. That's not you. The Lizzy I know loves her family, who hates it here in NY, and can't wait until she's done with everything so she can go home. To her family." I see the worried look in his eyes and the frown on his forehead. "The Lizzy I know wants a big family."

"Well, that’s easy, with the way you all are reacting," I answer sarcastically. Uncle Luca sighs and shakes his head. "I'm still your uncle Lizzy, I don't want you to strike such a tone against me. You're the one who lied."

Ouch, that hurts. I see the mixed emotions on his face, sadness, and anger. He is right. I lied.

"Uncle Luca, we have been together for over a year. I met him right after I came to NY." I tell him.

He sighs. "Did you know he wants to go to f*cking England?” He asks me. I do my best not to show my surprise, I didn’t know that. Uncle Luca shakes his head “I can't do anything about it anymore, we stay with Ricco and Viv, let's go and I hope your father can get over it."

Before I can answer, he gets out of the car and walks to the plane.

This is going to be something if my uncle reacts like that.

From the car, Nico takes my hand and our fingers intertwine.

"They don't scare me away that easily." He winks when I look up at him. I smile at him, but for the first time in a year, I doubt whether my love for Nico is strong enough and whether we can do this together. But also whether his love is strong enough for me.