Chapter 42 - carlo’s silence made nora wonder if she had failed him
After the meeting, Carlo did exactly what he promised.
Nothing.
He did not write first.
No birthday gift.
No request.
He sent one card only after Nora sent him a birthday note.
Months passed.
Nora became irritated.
“He doesn’t care.”
Luca looked up.
“What?”
“He doesn’t write.”
“You told him you didn’t know if you wanted another meeting.”
“That was meeting.”
“Not letters.”
“Did you tell him that?”
“No.”
Luca nodded.
Nora hated the answer.
“He should know.”
Maya laughed.
“Welcome to relationships.”
Nora crossed her arms.
“I don’t want to ask.”
“Then don’t.”
“What if he thinks I hate him?”
“Maybe.”
“What if he dies?”
There.
Carlo’s heart attack had changed the math.
Time felt finite now.
Nora did not want obligation.
She also did not want a silence she had not chosen.
So she wrote.
I DON’T KNOW IF I WANT ANOTHER MEETING YET. YOU CAN STILL WRITE SOMETIMES.
Carlo replied:
UNDERSTOOD. I WILL WRITE SOMETIMES. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ANSWER EVERY TIME.
Then:
I also hated algebra.
Nora laughed.
The letters resumed.
Slowly.
One every few months.
Carlo never sent money.
Not even twenty dollars in birthday cards.
At first Nora found that strange.
Then appreciated it.
There was no confusion about whether correspondence came with payment.
At fifteen she told me:
“He’s better at this than some normal relatives.”
I did not respond.
Growth has limits.
Still—
I knew what she meant.
Carlo had learned restraint the expensive way.
May you like
The fact that restraint was now useful did not make the price acceptable.
But useful was still useful.
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