Fragile Longing

“Danilo,” Mom said happily. “You just caught me before brunch with my ladies’ club.” Her ladies’ club consisted of the wives of the Captains and a few high-society ladies with links to the Outfit, and they met twice a week for brunch and gossip. I was glad she kept herself busy with brunch and social events.

“I won’t take long. Sofia had another ultrasound today.”

“How’s my grandchild doing? And how’s Sofia?” Her voice rose with excitement.

“They are doing well. The kids and Sofia.”

A moment of silence followed, then, “Kids?”

“Sofia is pregnant with twins.”

Mom laughed. “The Mione twin gene! I can’t believe it. How wonderful! Do you know the gender yet?”

“It’s too soon, but they are identical twins so they’re either two boys or two girls.”Two months later, the gynecologist told us that we were expecting two boys. Sofia squeezed my hand firmly. “Are you happy?”

“I am, but I’ve been happy from the day I found out you were pregnant. I would have loved to have two daughters as well.”

“Then we would have had to keep trying until you got an heir, you know.”

I regarded her carefully. “You don’t want more than two?”

Sofia shrugged. “Two is a good number. I know many girls desperately want a daughter to dress up, but I think I’d be perfectly happy with two cute boys to dote on. I’m in no hurry to get pregnant with a third child.” She rubbed her lower back with an apologetic smile.

“I’d be happy with just two kids, but you’re still young, so if you ever change your mind, we can still give another child a chance,” I said.

After finding out the gender, everyone congratulated me. I could tell that they considered two boys a victory, especially the men. I was just relieved that Sofia wouldn’t feel pressured to give me an heir anymore.

I couldn’t wait to go hunting and hiking with my boys, to teach them all I knew about guns and show them how to fight. My dad had done all those things with me and I wanted to share that with my sons.Danilo carried both boys in his arms while I held Poof by the leash. Those boys loved Danilo like crazy, and always wanted to be held by him when he was home. He had to work a lot, so it was only natural that they sought his closeness whenever they got the chance, and Danilo tried to make time for them as often as possible. I wasn’t too sad when they clung to Danilo occasionally. They were quite a handful, Orlando more so than Aldo, who’d been named after Danilo’s father, but together they were a force to be reckoned with. They were hard to contain sometimes.

Our cat, a red tabby stray that had one day appeared on our doorstep and never left, had chosen one of the trees in our garden as her favorite resting spot because the boys couldn’t reach her there. Not that she didn’t know how to defend herself. Both boys had been scratched more than once because they tried to carry her around. Most of the time she sat on the bench close to the pond, watching the Koi, but she never tried to hunt them—which was why Danilo had allowed her to stay.

Orlando gave me a huge grin from his dad’s arm. They were the spitting image of Danilo.

Mom opened the door before we could ring the bell, beaming at us. As usual, she was styled to perfection with an elegant updo, a woolen pencil skirt, and a flowy silk blouse. At least she wasn’t wearing long earrings or thin necklaces. Despite her perfect styling, she pulled me into a tight hug before she ripped Orlando from Danilo’s hold and pressed him to her chest, not caring if her blouse got wrinkled.

Danilo chuckled. “Good day to you too, Ines.”

“Danilo,” she said with a laugh and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she turned to Aldo. “I don’t think Grandma’s strong enough to carry both of you boys.” He pouted, but Dad saved the day, appearing in the doorway. The gray streaks in his dark hair were now more dominant and the wrinkles around his eyes had deepened, but to me he still looked like the man who had walked me down the aisle to the altar. He hugged me tightly. “You look beautiful as always, ladybug. I don’t know how you find time with those two boys.”

“Some days I don’t,” I said with an exasperated laugh. It had gotten better now that they were a bit older and could keep each other entertained. But leaving them to their own devices always posed a risk to our furniture. I’d learned not to leave Poof alone with them because they’d turned him red and blue with watercolor last time.