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I wanted Caterina to be the mother of my children.
But… not like this.
“Luna will be happy with the Nonnas,” I growl.
Gia shook her head. “No, she won’t.”
“She will. She’s my child. And she will.”
“Elio. I love you. And if you fuck this up, I will personally take Luna and Caterina somewhere that you will never find them again.”
Gia’s voice is low with a threat that gets my attention. I look into her eyes, and I see anger there.
My sister does not get angry.
She’s like a mongoose or a honey badger. She likes to dance and tease, and she’s deadly when doing so, but she’s never ever angry with what she does. Nothing seems to slip underneath her playful façade, despite the fact that there’s a predator underneath.
Gia is angry now.
“Gia…”
She holds up a hand. “Your funeral, brother.”
Then, she walks over to Caterina.
The rest of the flight, she and Caterina talk. They look at Luna, they help her to the bathroom. They give her snacks and make her laugh. When Luna laughs, it’s a giggle that sounds more pure than the clearest of bells.
It’s adorable.
My daughter.
She looks like me. Well, specifically, she looks like Gia, who I have memories of at that age. Her hair is long and curly, tamed into a braid now by my sister and Caterina. Her eyes look like Gia’s, but where Gia’s have always been full of mischief, Luna’s are full of joy and trust.
Her childhood has been good. I just know it.
Caterina has done a wonderful job with her.
As the flight progresses, I realize there’s truth to Gia’s words. I need to figure out my place in their life.
Not their place in mine.
I also need to make sure that I think of Caterina and Luna as a unit. They are one. The way that they move, the way they talk. It’s so clear to me that Caterina and Luna have the type of bond that everyone hopes for in a mother and child.
A bond that, as her father, I should be grateful for.
The anger that I have for Caterina is hot and fresh. It simmers on the surface of my mind, re-igniting so much of my rage at all of the De Lucas that has fermented and compressed over the past five years.
I know why she did it. I can’t decide if it makes me even angrier that I would have done the exact same thing, or if that’s just rage that’s compressed in there with everything else.
Could be a little of both, but I’m not going to take the time to separate it out.
About an hour before we land in Rome, Gia shoots me a look. “Elio, why don’t you come tell Luna about the house?”
I look at Caterina, who gives me an imperceptible nod.
I stand, walking over to the group. I settle into a chair and look at Luna.
She blinks. “Hello Mommy’s friend.”
