Like telling Lancelot the truth about who I am, as well as sharing some of Natalia’s story with him since he seemed so interested. I ended up with a sore arm for my trouble when he slugged me for being stupid, but he had no interest in anything else other than to sic Uncle Marvin on me, who has lectured me at least twice already on the value of life. Yes, I didn’t hide the fact that I was willing to die to take Ricci out from them.
Our house had become the gathering place of sorts. At least one of them can be found here at any given time, or Ma and Pop would nab the kids usually after their afternoon nap, claiming to be giving Gianna a break or me the time needed to take my classes. Even the twins and Natalia had grown closer, though not yet best buddies, there’s no longer any animosity in the air between them, which I see as a great start.
As to what else is going on, I’ll wait and see. I know they’re up to something, the women around here, and it makes me nervous as well as proud, a weird combination, to be sure. It’s been hell to sit back and watch without interfering when you’ve been the one always standing in front to protect. Her growth as a woman astounds me, and I’d like to think she’s telling me the truth when she says that I’m the one who’d given her wings with my strength. Though I think it was in her all along.
I stopped in the doorway to take in the sight before me. “Isn’t it a bit early for their bath?”
“Yes, but there was an incident.”
“What sort of incident? Oh!” My eyes fell on the chocolate-covered carnage on the floor while my three little darlings grinned up at me from their shared bubble bath.
Mercy, when will that feeling in my chest go away? Or will I always feel this ball of love in my chest each time I see them? How are they so like me? I get why their mother, in her less than pleasant moments, rants and raves at the injustice of it all. Yes, she still has days when she lights into me for what she calls my stupidity.
Those times I get to hear all about how hard it was and how scared she was all alone. It used to work until I realized that she only did that when she and her in-laws were up to something. Like, she’d go off, I’d hold her, then she pouts about needing or wanting something, and it was always something outside of the house. I’ll be her little errand boy, only to check the computer later to find that they’d had a little meeting, and that is the source of my angst.
I rolled up the sleeves of my button-down before getting down on the floor beside her next to the tub and ran my hand through the water before sprinkling the babies with my fingers; then, I turned my attention to their mother. “Hi, sweetheart.” I pulled her in and kissed her to the delight of our offspring. My daughter got to her feet and puckered her little lips for her kiss from daddy and then mommy.
My sons looked on, but of course, I couldn’t leave them out, so I gave them both a smooch as well. Sometimes moments like these make me just a tad bit afraid. It’s a fear of losing something you hold dear. My old self wants so much to hold on, to put up walls and shield myself from feeling too much, but just as with their mother, it’s too late to keep them out.
I’ve been excited every day to wake up and see their little faces, looking forward to what the new day may bring. They’re smart and curious and, according to the books I’ve been reading, way ahead of their time. I can’t wait until I’m no longer straddling both worlds, the old and the new. I am looking forward to that day when I can give my all to them without reserve.
The fallout from Luna and her husband’s downfall is still ongoing. Thanks to my timely message to Luna’s husband and the one I sent her just before the story broke, the two of them were busy slinging mud at one another, and in doing so, in trying to frame each other, they were revealing all their dark secrets.
Of course, the exclusive I sent hinted at the reporter already knowing it all, but I’d only given her a taste. I’d searched and found the low-grade reporter that Luna had shunned over the years; there’s always one. She was hungry, and she was vicious, and she had a serious hate for the woman who never gave her the time of day, so she added some teeth to her story.