Chapter Text
Serafina Carisi was a smart woman. She raised four beautiful children whom she considered her pride and joy. So it was no surprise that even though her children were all adults, she still took note of the details they probably thought she didn’t notice, especially with Sonny. It didn’t mean she loved her daughters any less or that her son was her favorite. And contrary to popular belief, she wasn’t your stereotypical Italian mother who coddled her only son. They’d just always had a close relationship. Most of the time she noticed the small changes in his life, clues that there was something going on long before he told her and starting in May, let’s just say she knew something big had changed.
On Memorial Day, Sonny showed up hours late to the annual family BBQ just to leave early, citing a work emergency. She didn’t miss the way he kept checking his phone when he thought no one was watching, a smile lighting up his face in a way she hadn’t seen in a long time. How when he all but ran out the door, that same smile still graced his features and lit up the blue eyes that were mirrors of her own, looking all the bit too happy for someone supposedly heading into the office on a holiday.
As the summer progressed, Sonny’s visits to Staten Island on the weekends became less frequent. And more often than not, her calls went to voicemail to be returned hours later, Sonny rushing her through a half whispered conversation that he was only half paying attention to. But nonetheless, she didn’t pry or push because she knew when he was ready to share whatever or whoever was taking up his time these days, he would.
Luckily for Serafina, in addition to being a smart woman, she also had the patience of a saint. It was a trait that only one of her four children had inherited. So when Sonny stopped by on a random weeknight for dinner and admitted what he’d been keeping to himself all summer, she was thankful that her patience was rewarded as was his.
While her immediate reaction was to invite Amanda and the girls over, to get to know the three ladies who had stolen Sonny’s heart, he told her she’d have to wait while they figured things out on the work front. But for the time being, she could see the weight lifted off his shoulders as he told her they agreed to let his family in on their little secret, to give his catholic guilt a little reprieve. Although it was true, he joked that at least now when she called, he wouldn’t have to wait until Jesse and Billie were asleep and the apartment was quiet to call back.
Like her son, Serafina was a natural caretaker and thrived on the chaos of being surrounded by a big family at the holidays. Between prepping for Thanksgiving and Christmas, it didn’t give her much time to dwell on the disappointment that Amanda, Jesse and Billie wouldn’t be joining them at their table just yet. Like always, the holidays came and went in a flash, Sonny shuffling back and forth between Staten Island and Manhattan with more leftovers than necessary in hand. The exasperated and drawn out “ Ma, come on. You didn’t need to do any’a this” held no heat as he loaded bags full of gifts for the girls from ‘Nonna and Nonna Carisi’ in his truck along with flowers and a card for Amanda that she made him swear he wouldn’t read.
On New Year's Day, Serafina was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by her son's voice on the other end of the phone.
“Well hello darlin’. Didn’t expect to hear from you today. Did you have a nice night with Amanda and the girls?”
“Happy New Years, Ma. Yeah we did. Stayed in, cooked a little dinner and the girls including Amanda were asleep by 9. Had to wake Amanda and Jesse up to see the ball drop. Just a little different than last year, ya know?”
“Sounds like a good night to me, hon.”
“Yeah, it was…it was perfect. So uh listen. Amanda and I were talkin’ last night and we think it’s time. What do ya think about you and Pop comin’ over for dinner to meet my girls?”