“Dona and I are different; she’ll adapt differently.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling deeply. “I don’t understand you. You know Dona is soft. She likes to make crowns out of dandelions. She loves birds but won’t keep them as pets because she feels like she’s kidnapping them. She won’t even eat meat because she loves animals too much. This is the girl you want to mold? One of two things will happen: either she won’t be the same Dona anymore, or she will make the choice never to fight. There is no middle ground with her.”
“Then you are going to have to learn to love the new Dona because our daughter will always fight. If she hates me, so be it. You can be the fun parent. I’ll be happy knowing she can protect herself if need be,” I said, lifting the rope and stepping out.
He didn’t say a word or follow me, and once I turned my back to him, I didn’t bother checking on him. Instead, I got on the elevator and unwrapped the tape from my hands.
“Fucking idiot,” I muttered to myself, but I wasn’t sure if I meant him or myself…
By the time I got to my room, I was so exhausted I just took a quick shower before changing into a silk nightshirt and peeking into Dona and Wyatt’s room. Of course, Ethan slept next to Dona, both of them curled up into a ball…and because Wyatt hated to be left out, he forced himself to the edge of the bed. He kicked Ethan, who opened his eyes, prepared to kick him back when he saw me.
“Ahh.” He groaned when Wyatt kicked him again. “He’s so annoying.”
“You are in his room,” I said when he crawled away from them, his brown hair sticking up and out in every direction.
Walking over to him, I patted his hair down. “You want me to tuck you in?”
“Mommmm.” He made a face at me, rubbing his eyes. “I’m almost ten, I don’t need to be tucked in.”
“Fine, then will you tuck me in?”
He thought about it for a moment before nodding. Taking my hand, we walked back into the bedroom. Sitting on my side, I laid back on the pillows.
“Did you brush your teeth?” he asked me seriously; I did my best not to laugh.
“Yep.” I nodded.
“What about your clothes for scho—I mean work?”
You’re killing me kid. “Out and ironed.”
“Did you hug Nana goodnight?”
“No hug but I said goodnight.”
He crossed his arms at me.
“I’ll hug her tomorrow.”
He nodded and paused, frowning as he tried to remember what else to ask.
“Did I—”
“Did you say goodnight to Dad?” he asked me.
This kid, man. Even when he wasn’t trying to be, he was still on his dad’s side. “Not yet, but I will.”
“Don’t forget,” he said seriously, pulling my comforter up to my neck. He even petted my hair. “I love you, Mom.”
“Love you too, mio bel leoncino.” I leaned up and kissed his cheek.
“Night!” He waved, running back to the door.
I pretended to snore and heard him softly open the door.
“Night, Mommy,” he whispered before shutting the door behind him.
When he was gone, I sat back up, unable to stop grinning. I leaned back and waited…and waited…and fucking waited.