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She cleared her throat. “There are spare clothes in his diaper bag. And why aren’t you home?”
The worry in her voice was unmistakable. “I forgot the bag, and we’re heading to the fire department to watch and ride the fire trucks.”
Silence on the other end. I could imagine the concern on Aurora’s face. I supposed that wasn’t something she would have done with Battista. “Well, then you’ll have to buy clothes I suppose, also a sun cap, sun screen, diapers, rash cream…” She trailed off. “The sirens might be too loud for Battista so they can’t turn them on.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“His ears are sensitive.”
“All right, Rory. I’ll make sure Battista will be in one piece when you come home tonight. Don’t worry.”
“Nevio, do you really think that’s a good idea. You could go to a playground with him. There’s one—”
“It’ll be fine,” I said, then hung up. Rory needed to see that I didn’t do things like her but that I could still do them well.
After a quick visit to two more shops to buy everything Rory had said plus ear protectors, Battista and I finally arrived in front of the fire department.
“We’re here, buddy,” I said, turning around in my seat, only to find Battista fast asleep. A glance at the clock in my dashboard showed it was his nap time.
I put my head against the backrest with a chuckle. My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was Mom. Before she could say anything, I said, “Has Aurora set you up to this? Battista is fine.”
Mom let out a laugh. “Okay. But if you need anything, call me.”
“I’ll be fine!” I muttered. Fuck. Next Dad would probably show up here to help.
“Have fun,” Mom said with a hint of amusement.
I grabbed a fruit pouch and emptied it then ate the second half of Battista’s sandwich. I’d forgotten to grab food for myself.
“Wow,” from the back seat made me turn around. Battista stared out of the window at the fire department with huge eyes. Two fire trucks were parked in the huge entry.
I got out and grabbed Battista. One of the fire fighters was an illegitimate son of a Camorrista. He was the one who showed Battista and me the fire truck. I took a few photos of Battista behind the steering wheel, then sent them to Aurora, before we headed out with the truck with blaring sirens. Battista sat on my lap and clapped excitedly.
Thanks to the ear protectors, Battista could listen to the sirens safely and had the time of his young life. And I had to admit, I had fun too. I’d thought spending time with a young kid would be boring as fuck but there were lots of fun things to do, and seeing him so excited was a bonus. I sent Aurora a video of Battista screaming in delight as we drove around with the sirens.
She sent back a thumbs-up smiley, which was a fucking let down. Maybe she still disapproved of me doing this, but I wasn’t going to do boring ass shit all of a sudden. This was my kid and if he was anything like me, he’d soon want to do crazy stuff like riding fire trucks on a whim.
When we returned home in the later afternoon after a quick stop at Shake Shack to grab a burger and some fries, Battista looked ready to fall asleep. And I felt tired too.
“Don’t tell your mom about the fries,” I told Battista with a wink when I picked him up. Though, considering he smelled as if he’d fallen into a bucket full of fries, it would be difficult to keep it a secret. I didn’t dare giving him a bath without help.
Mom sat in the common room at the sewing machine. She’d taken up sewing a couple of years back after Gemma had shown her how to do it, and now she sewed most of her dresses herself, and sometimes did custom pieces for the women in our family.
She held up a onesie with small fire trucks all over it.
Battista rushed over to her with a big grin and she hugged him tightly. “I smell fries.”
I shook my head. “Can you help me bathe him before Aurora returns?”
“She won’t be mad that you gave him fast food.”
“At the moment she likes to be mad at me,” I said.
Mom didn’t say anything but her expression told me she was on Aurora’s side in this. But she helped me give Battista a quick bathe before I settled on my bed with Battista to read him a book.
I wanted to show Aurora that I was ready to take responsibility, and I felt like I had done that today even if she didn’t approve of my methods. Fuck, I hoped Aurora would see it too.
Gioele, the newest doctor who worked for the Camorra, dropped me off in front of my home. He’d done so a few times because it was on his way and I didn’t want Dad to pick me up like a little kid all the time.
