He found Mama doing food prep but wasn’t sure what she was making. “What can I do to help?” While Mama wouldn’t let his brothers in her kitchen, she always allowed Tony and Angelina to help. Maybe because they were the only ones who’d ever expressed an interest in cooking in their youth. Mama had shared a lot of her secrets with them.
“First, have you eaten?”
“Yeah. Eggs, bacon, toast. I’m good—until we sit down to feast on your dinner, of course.” You came hungry to Mama’s or you didn’t show up. But if what he’d eaten hadn’t met with her satisfaction, she’d have made him a full breakfast.
“Mama, I came by early hoping to get a chance to talk with you before everyone else gets here.”
Mama searched his face as if to ascertain how serious this talk would be. “Pour the espresso while I quickly finish up with this.”
Tony poured two cups and set them on the island in front of the bar stools, taking a seat while he waited for her to join him. He had practiced the words he wanted to say during the drive from Aspen, but now was at a loss. He didn’t want to tip her off about him and Carmella, not yet anyway.
Minutes later, Mama sat down. “I’m so proud of you, Tony.”
Mid-sip, all he could do was raise his eyebrows in question before setting down the cup.
“You had your first bad call and rather than block it out or wallow in the tragedy, you decided to make a difference. Papa would be proud too.”
Tony’s throat tightened a bit thinking about Papa being proud of the son he’d become. In high school and college, Tony had been a clown and a screwup. Papa died before Tony had graduated from college and done some growing up.
“I’m not sure if a dive team would have made a difference with the call in June, but I find so much peace scuba diving. It’s made an amazing difference for me. But I continue to train for swift-water rescues too.”
“My boys train so hard to be the best they can be. Papa and I always tried to instill in all of our children the importance of giving back to your communities, but each of you have far exceeded our expectations.” Tony’s throat constricted. He’d always tried to make his parents proud, but hearing he’d succeeded caught him off guard.
“Thanks, Mama.” Unable to say anything more, he filled the awkward moment by finishing his espresso.
“With all the money raised at the benefit,” he began, “I think the chief will look into starting a full water-rescue squad.”
“Wonderful! Carmella’s an amazing woman. And so well-organized! Paul and I had a lot of fun last night.”
“Yeah. I was blown away that she’d chosen my dive team for her fundraiser.” Tony didn’t want to say how much fun he’d had last night, although it might be written all over his face. To avoid Mama’s scrutiny, he picked up his empty cup and took it to the sink to rinse it.
When Tony sat down again, he met her gaze. “When my therapist suggested scuba diving, I never thought it was something I could pursue in Colorado. I did get to do some classes in warm waters when I went away that week in August.” He’d leave it at that. No way was he telling her he’d spent the week with Carmella in the Caribbean. “But you’d be surprised how many opportunities there are to dive in several lakes within a couple hours of here.”
“Rafe told me about some of his training dives. He’s enjoying himself too. I think you both might benefit from scuba diving.”
He and his oldest brother hadn’t really talked about it much—everything was happening so fast—but Tony was happy to hear that. Starting the dive team had sparked a new intensity at the station, that’s for sure.
There would be divers from outside the department’s staff as well—Luke, Ryder, Megan, and other local SAR workers were among those who’d already begun to train. It would be ideal if at least two divers were on call for each shift in case they were needed to join in an underwater rescue situation at the reservoir or somewhere.
Tony decided to get back onto the topic at hand before the first arrivals. He didn’t want any interruptions. Mama also would want to get back to fixing dinner soon.
“Mama, can I ask you something?”
“Always, Bambino.” She sipped on her espresso.
Tony took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He’d never talked with his mother about the kind of stuff he was about to. “Mama, why did you choose to marry someone who had chosen a dangerous career path?”
She cocked her head and set down her cup. “I loved him.”
“I mean, did you think about the danger he was in?”
Her eyes narrowed momentarily. “That was a long time ago. Why do you ask?”
“Just curious.” Yeah, right.
“Well, at first, I was too young and naive to worry. We were invincible like all you young people think you are. I didn’t really know what his SAR work involved, and it was mostly seasonal during the winter. There weren’t as many calls in those days. Honestly, most of the time, I didn’t think about it at all.” She took another sip. “I was more worried about him getting sick on the job.” Everyone assumed Papa’s lung cancer had been due to exposure to asbestos in his early years as a pipe fitter before the laws changed to protect workers, but no one really talked about it around Mama.
Tony nodded. Unfortunately, due to Marc’s involvement at the same station, Carm wouldn’t be as naive about the risks Tony faced. “You said at first. When did that change?”
“There was a close call before you and Angelina were born. Another avalanche, only he made it
