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Clemente ran over and interrupted us, meaning that I couldn’t ask any more questions. “Eat now?” he asked with a tired grin.
“Sure, we can eat now. Call your sister over, and I’ll get the food out.”
Adelina had packed a picnic blanket with the food, and the children decided they wanted to sit on the grass rather than at the table. I got out the sandwiches which had a variety of fillings and were cut into neat triangles. There was also a chicken salad, slices of chocolate cake, fruit juice, and a flask of coffee.
The children had worked up an appetite by running around and Clara ate a good amount of lunch, although I knew I still had some work to do on getting her to eat more.
After lunch, the children went back to play on the slide again. Aloysius and I talked some more, but the subject of Rita didn’t come up again, and I didn’t know how to bring it up without it sounding too obvious or nosy.
Then the children wanted a push on the swings, so Aloysius and I were kept busy—me pushing Clara, and Aloysius pushing Clemente.
All too soon, it was time to go home. I was conscious that I was keeping Aloysius from his work, and I didn’t want to get him in trouble with Lorenzo. Especially after he tried to cover for me last week and got found out.
Once we were back at the mansion, I turned to Aloysius. “Thanks for taking us out today.”
“No problem, Anni.” He gave a wave. “Bye kids.”
Clemente was already running inside, lured by the prospect of his toys, but Clara was still at my side. “Bye-bye,” she said. I could tell she liked her uncle, and I was glad that the kids got to spend some time with him today.
LORENZO
That evening, I was home in time for dinner.
I noticed that Clara ate a good amount at dinner tonight, and that made me happy.
“I have to go back out to work afterward,” I said to Anni. “I’m meeting Aloysius and we have some business to take care of at the club. I’ll be back late.”
“Okay. I’ll read the children their bedtime story after I’ve done their bath-time and gotten them into bed.”
I was relieved that Anni had learned some of these things fast. I’d never expected to take on a new wife who had no child-rearing experience, and I definitely needed someone who could help me take care of my children.
***
I picked up Aloysius from his apartment as it was on the way to the club.
As I drove, I looked across at my brother. “Anni said you took her and the kids to the playground today.”
“Yeah, there was no one available to accompany them, so she was going to cancel their outing.”
“I’m glad to see that she wasn’t planning on going out without a guard again.”
Aloysius looked thoughtful. “I don’t think she would take that sort of risk with the kids.” He paused for a moment, before continuing. “I know it’s only been a couple of weeks, but she seems to really care about them. And she’s good with them, you know. She wanted to take them out so that Clara could work up an appetite, and she also had the idea of a picnic lunch so that Clara would find eating more fun.”
“And did it work—did Clara eat more?”
“She ate a good amount. She definitely seems happier to me since Anni’s arrived.”
After we’d dealt with the business at the club and I’d dropped Aloysius back to his apartment, I headed home.
It had been a long day, and I was tired. Going home for dinner meant that I had to go back to work afterward to finish off a couple of things. Anni was adamant, however, that Clara ate more if I was home and that Clara had some sort of separation anxiety.
When she’d told me that, it had made me feel even guiltier about Rita’s death. And since Anni had mentioned this, I’d made a conscious effort to be home for mealtimes more. I tried to be there for breakfast and dinner, although I rarely made it home for lunch.
Reaching the mansion, I parked in the garage and went through the connecting door into the house. I started to head up the staircase when I saw that a light had been left on in the dining room.
When I went to turn the light off, I was surprised to find Anni asleep over her laptop and a pile of books.
I shook her gently by the shoulder.
