MATTEO
The ceremony began right on time.
I sat in my newly assigned seat—aisle side, second row, as far from Sheila as they could reasonably place me without it being obvious.
The pavilion had filled completely. Every seat taken. Soft music playing. The officiant standing at the front with Lisa’s soon-to-be husband, both of them looking nervous and happy.
I tried to focus on that. On Lisa. On why I was here.
But I couldn’t stop noticing the distance.
The way my cousins had greeted me, polite but cool. Brief handshakes instead of genuine warmth.
I’d kept them all at arm’s length for years. Declined invitations. Missed gatherings. Built walls so high that even families eventually stopped trying to climb them.
This was the result.
The music changed.
Everyone stood.
And my father ap
