At Southwest International, Lisa Barella anticipates an arrival.
It's one she's wanted for 56 years, since the day she was born.
"I just want to see his smile. It's primal, you know?" Lisa said.
Lisa was adopted. She grew up in a loving home, with a father who did his best to make her feel seen. But naturally, Lisa always wondered about the father she hadn't seen.
After finding him on Facebook, Lisa reached out to her biological father, Felice, who lives in Calabria, Italy.
"Everyone wants to know where they come from...I'm not just this soul flying out of the middle of nowhere," Lisa said.
That's why, two years ago, Lisa was elated when she stood inside Southwest International to embrace that father, for the very first time.
"He's just joy, pure joy, standing on two legs," Lisa said.
Lisa and Felice have shared many memories since that first embrace. Last summer, Lisa traveled to Italy to spend time with Felice, and dozens of other family members she hadn't yet met.
However, there's one family member that Lisa has spoken to on the phone that she didn't have the pleasure of meeting during that trip.
"He's very, very funny," Lisa said. "I'll never forget the first words he said to me. 'Well, Lis, I was not expecting to get a sister for Christmas!"
Lisa will meet her biological baby brother, Davide, in minutes that for Lisa feel like an eternity.
As Davide arrives, and many smiles, laughs, and tears are exchanged, Lisa's overwhelmed but at peace.
That eternity was well worth the wait.
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