Page 52 of Mafia’s Final Play

Matteo took his babies in his arms and instantly fell in love, just as much as their mother had. The second photo proved it when it was sent to the happy new parents. Mariella and Antonio, their children, their babies.

“Our family is complete now, Matteo,” she whispered as she stood over the chair where he sat as he held the babies. “We have it all, all we could ever want.”

“We have a healthy, stable you, two healthy babies, and each other. Yeah, you’re right. That’s all we need. And I will protect all three of you with every fiber of my being.”

“Oh my God, I’m going to die from the diabetes I catch from you two.” Trina pretended to gag as she walked over to Mariella. “Can you believe people go that gooey over babies?”

“Fuck off, Trina. I saw your face when Antonio was born! You were in love,” Matteo said quietly, with a hint of laughter.

“You’re all going to make me gag if you don’t stop.” Mariella laughed as she tried to move around. Trina was there instantly to help her. Mariella had needed stitches and had to be careful. Trina would be her support for the next few days, and Marie and Matteo would be on call too if she needed them. Trina, however, would be there for the surrogate mother when she went home, she would help her as she healed up and recovered.

“When can we take them home?” Matteo asked the nurse that came in.

“Well, if the doctor clears them, probably tonight. If not, a couple of days usually. They’re healthy and doing well, so I don’t see a problem.”

“Oh, really?” Matteo looked at Marie in panic. “We didn’t bring their car seats.”

They had a new SUV, just for the babies, and he’d not put their seats in yet. They were a week early, after all.

“We can get them, honey, don’t freak out.” Marie was busy giving her daughter a bottle when the nurse brought it in, and Trina was feeding Antonio.

A nanny would show up at the house when Marie called her, she’d been on standby for a week now, just in case. Marie had wanted the nanny just as a helper, not as the woman that would raise the babies, but she knew her mother had barely coped with her. Secretly, she had fears that she wouldn’t be a good mother, but from the moment she saw her children, it was obvious she wasn’t her mother at all. Plus, it would be nice to have someone to help her and Matteo with the babies.

They could afford it, so why not, she’d finally figured.

Marie looked down at her little Ella’s face and couldn’t believe the baby was hers, all hers. “You know,” she whispered to the little girl, “you’re already more than I could have hoped for.”

The baby clutched at her finger as Marie held her bottle, her eyes unfocused, still that newborn blue that so many babies were born with. Later, they would change into a different shade, either Mariella’s brown or Matteo’s grey, maybe some other shade in their DNA, but Marie didn’t care. They were her babies, and she loved them already.

“I’m going to be the best mom I can be to you and your brother, Ella. I promise that. You won’t ever know any of the fear or the pain I had. I will fight tooth and nail to make sure of that. Never.” She kissed the baby’s head and felt an ache that she’d thought had disappeared long ago start to ease. Tears filled her eyes, and she almost sobbed she was so overwhelmed.

She’d kept it secret for so long, how afraid she was that she’d be terrible at this, that she’d feel the same hate her mother had felt when she’d seen Marie the first time. But it hadn’t been like that. It was the opposite, and for the first time, she truly knew it wasn’t her fault her mother hated her. There’d been something wrong with Ruby, something that was broken long before Marie came along and it wasn’t her fault at all.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Matteo knelt down and wiped at her tears. “Why are you crying?”

“Because I’m in love, Matteo. I was so afraid that it wouldn’t happen, but it’s there. I feel it. So much love. An enormous amount of love that’s chasing so much pain away. It’s amazing.” She cried even harder, but then laughed. “I’m sorry, I’ll explain it later.”

“I think I understand. We’re both kind of in the same boat, aren’t we? Our parents weren’t the best, and that’s part of the reason I agreed to a nanny. We have no clue how to be good parents, other than what the books have said, or what we would have wanted. Instinct is a great teacher, I think. We’ll figure this out. Besides, most people have no clue how to be good parents, even with all the books. I think, as long as we show them that we love them, raise them to be good people, and to be strong, then we’ll do alright, don’t you?”

“I think so. Oh boy. The doctor’s coming back already.” They’d been there for hours, but Marie hadn’t noticed. The time had slipped away between feedings, diaper changes, and taking care of Mariella.

“Can I have her, Mrs. Mazza?” a nurse asked, a smile in place as she took Ella away. “The doctor wants to check her one more time before he agrees they can go home.”

“Maybe we should leave them in for one night?” Marie said, suddenly worried.

“If there’s no need to, it’ll be fine, Mrs. Mazza. I promise,” the nurse said reassuringly.

Marie couldn’t wrap her head around it, that they’d be released so soon, but there it was. Experts knew better than her.

Mariella would stay in for at least one more day, but the babies were healthy and thriving, the doctor decided. If they wanted to take them home, it would be perfectly fine. They’d filled out the paperwork earlier to apply for birth certificates and whatever else it was. It was all a blur to Marie now and she had no clue what she’d signed and what she hadn’t. There’d been a lawyer at one point, to ensure everything was done legally, and then he left. Now, the babies were in their car seats, and ready to go home.

“Mariella, are you sure you’re alright?” Marie paused to ask. The young woman beamed at her.

“I’m fine, Marie. I swear. Don’t worry. Those are all your babies. You’re their mommy and Matteo is their daddy. And I’ll be fine, I have Trina here to keep me company.” She waved at them and went on. “Go home now, enjoy your babies.”

Marie rushed over to her, kissed her cheek, and then walked out with her new baby in a car seat. Matteo had Ella and Marie had Antonio, both tucked under a blanket.

“They’re so tiny, Matteo, are you sure about this? What if they get sick?”