Viviana kisses his cheek and crushes him to her. “I’m sorry I missed your birthday, buddy.”
Eventually, she scoops him up and carries Dante towards the house. Her arms shake and her legs are wobbly, but it’s like she’s afraid she’ll lose him again if she puts him down.
I trail behind them, an outsider to their reunion. I’m just as responsible as Trofim for all of this.
By the time Viviana carries Dante inside, her face is pale. He’s in her ear moving seamlessly from talking about the movie he watched last night to the game he played with Anatoly this morning with no signs of slowing down. As much as I know Viviana wants to be with him, I also know she needs to rest.
I pat Dante’s hair. “It’s time for you to head to school.”
He ducks away from me and squeezes Viviana tighter. He lays h
