“That’s the only part of the story I’ve ever known.” Mr. La Bella slowly shook his head, as if still in disbelief. “You’re sure it’s accurate? You’re not just selling me some bullshit right now?”

“To what end?” my dad questioned. “No, really? We’re not asking for the land back, so why would we lie to you?”

“It sounds plausible though, don’t you think, dear?” Julia’s mom asked her husband, and it didn’t escape me that he failed to respond.

“I will say this just for the record,” my mom piped up, her tone serious. “I’ve heard this story at least a hundred times since I met my husband. And it’s never changed once. Not a single detail. And I heard it from both his grandfather before he passed and his father.” She looked at my dad with a soft smile. “I just think that if it was a lie, something in the story would have changed by now.”

“I agree with that,” Julia added. “Can I ask something?”

We all focused our attention on her and waited.

“Can we stop hating each other now? Can we be done with it? I really want to be done with it,” she pleaded, as if somehow the story had just made things worse between our families instead of making them better.

A hearty laugh escaped my throat. “I’ve been done with it.”

I looked deep into her hazel eyes and leaned forward, my lips pressing against hers, present company be damned. She tried to pull away, but my hand was on her neck, holding her tight.

Her dad cleared his throat, and only then did I break the kiss, still a little scared of him, to be honest.

“I want to make a toast.” He reached for his empty wine glass and held it into the air before his wife pulled his arm down.

“Let’s fill our glasses first,” she suggested with a smile and a bottle of wine in hand.

Mrs. La Bella went to work, filling all six of our glasses. Each member of the Russo family got Julia’s latest creation, and each member of the La Bella family got mine.

Once our glasses were filled, we held them in the air between us. The scene was something I’d never thought I’d witness in my lifetime, but I had always hoped for it. There was peace between the Russo and La Bella families. And I was determined to make it last.

OVERDUE APOLOGIES

Julia

My dad cleared his throat once more, and I held my breath in anticipation, my wine glass in front of me with all the others. What if he didn’t believe the story and wanted to continue this pointless feud? My dad had never really been the forgiving type.