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“Fucking overachievers,” I grumble, because I have heard him say that a million different times.
“Exactly,” he says. “Marta was all, like, ‘we just need one child who needs us, Melio,’ and I was all, like, ‘but there are five, and we need them, and they need each other,’ and then poof, there you were. I parked my Harley in the garage and Marta made me start driving the minivan. It was like somebody chopped my balls off.”
“Were we worth it?” I ask, grinning at him.
“A million times over,” he says, his voice strong.
Emilio scrapes some eggs onto six plates and puts toast and jam in the center of the table. He pulls a plate of bacon out of the microwave and slides it across the table. “Thanks for cooking,” I say.
“You’re welcome.” He sits down across from me. “So…”
I arch my brows at him. “So?”
“So what’s the plan?” he asks.
“I don’t know,” I say truthfully.
“You probably should sit down with Mick and come up with one.”
“Can’t we just wing it?”
“That might work if it was just you and Mick, but it’s not. It’s four beautiful children who want nothing more than for their mother to come home.”
“Their mother needs to get healthy first.”
“And then?”
“And then they go back home with their healthy mother, who will love and care for them for the rest of their lives.”
“You’ve been watching Disney movies again, haven’t you?”
I grumble as I shove a forkful of eggs into my mouth.
“Best case scenario, their mother gets the help she needs. Worst case scenario, their mother can’t be a mother, or at least not a good one. You need to prepare for the best and the worst, and not just somewhere in the middle.”
“I’ll talk to Mick, I promise.”
Emilio goes into the living room and comes back carrying Chase, with Anna and Devon right behind him. They sit down at the table while Emilio props Chase on his thigh, with his back resting against Emilio’s chest. Emilio hands Chase a spoon to play with.
“Mick has probably had time to take care of that little problem by now. Why don’t you go tell him breakfast is ready?”
I get up and kiss Emilio on the forehead. “Thank you,” I say.
“You’re welcome,” he replies gruffly.
Mick
My phone rings as soon as I go into my room, and I look down at the screen. I see it’s my mother calling on FaceTime. I accept the call and prop the phone on the dresser. “What’s up?” I sign to her.
“I just talked to Patsy’s mother,” she says quickly.
“And?”
“And Patsy’s doing well. She’s checked into rehab for at least the next ninety days. Since she’s going to be away so long, Patsy’s mom wants the kids to come and stay with her. She wants to get them registered for school and get things sorted out as quickly as she can.”
“But Patsy said her mom just had hip replacement surgery.”
“She did, but she’s recovering well. And she has help. And Patsy has agreed to go and stay there with the kids for a little while after she gets out. So she can have some support. It’s not going to be easy transitioning.”
