Vittoria
Ana was fussing.
I bounced her on my hip and tried desperately to get dinner prepped before she went down for her nap. “Come on, honey,” I moaned quietly as she rubbed at her little eyes. “I have to do this. I thought you liked watching me in the kitchen.” And, dramatic as she was, her lips trembled, her eyes watered, and then she threw her head back and wailed, demanding my full attention.
Of course, she got her way and the second I gave it to her, lifting her high and smiling wide, her attitude completely changed. The gummy smile she wore was so damned adorable, I couldn’t help myself from pulling her close and kissing her little chubby cheek a thousand and one times. “Lord help me. You are even more demanding than your father.”
“I seriously doubt that,” Ella muttered as she walked into the kitchen, right up to me and plucked Ana from my arms, smiling down at our chunky chicken. “I’ll put her down if you want.”
Who would have thought Ella would have come to be my savior over the past year?
There was no doubt Ella loved her sister, and Ana loved her right back. Her little legs bounced as Ella rocked her from side-to-side and it might have been all the post-pregnancy hormones, but I often became overwhelmed watching them together.
I could see it already. Ella would be the sister I desperately craved, but never got.
And although the boys adored their little sister, they were still young and Ana did things that didn’t intertest them, like barf, cry and poop.
Sometimes, she managed to do all three at the same time.
Some would call her talented, but her brothers would not be those people.
As I watched the two sisters with a soft smile, the back door opened and in he strolled. I fought a sigh and said, “Tor isn’t home.”
But Daniele just said, “I know,” already making a beeline for his target.
When Ella rolled her eyes and held her sister out, Daniele clapped his hands then reached out for his little doll. Ana’s mouth rounded in excitement and her tiny hands clenched and released as her favorite person in the entire world took her into his arms. “How’s my little angel doing?”
When he smiled down at her, Ana was blinded to everything else and although Daniele and I didn’t always get along, that didn’t matter to me so long as he treated my baby right.
To this day, I don’t know what my husband had said to his brother to get him to stop acting a fool, but when Ettore commanded, it was smart to yield.
“She’s gassy,” I threw out seeing as Ana couldn’t, and I watched in fascination as Daniele’s face fell.
He glared down at her plump belly then talked to his niece like the wise guy he was. “You want Zio Danny to take care of it, baby?” I couldn’t stop myself from smiling when he poked her protruding stomach gently and mock cautioned, “Listen here, toots.” He threw his thumb back. “You get outta there and leave my Ana Banana alone, you hear?” He lifted her high, got real close and growled against the soft skin of her gut, “Don’t make me come in there.”
My light chuckle got his attention and when he handed Ana back to her sister, he stunned me by approaching the kitchen island, leaning his hip against it and jerking his chin. “How are you doing?”
Even Ella’s head snapped up. Her brows narrowed at her uncle as I hesitated slightly, “I’m… fine.”
He nodded, looking down at my body, and I don’t think he meant for it to sound creepy when he said, “You bounced back okay.”
What on earth was going on here?
Confused, I drawled out, “I guess so,” but it came out sounding like a question.
He appeared a little uncomfortable when he looked down at my chest and asked, “And how’s the… the…” I blinked as he put his hands up in front of his chest and rounded them.
I took a wild guess. “The breastfeeding?”
“Yes.” He slapped a hand down on the counter. “How’s the breastfeeding going?”
Ella’s brows rose so high they damn near hit her hairline, while mine creased. “Alright, I’m just going to ask. What are you doing?” Daniele mouth pulled down when I enquired, “What is this?”
He appeared frustrated and when he reached up to scratch at the back of his neck in self-conscious move, I immediately felt bad. Especially when he shrugged and muttered, “You’re my sister-in-law. And I know Tor’s been busy because of what Roam’s got him doing, so I stopped by to see how you were coping.” He looked mildly uncomfortable when he uttered, “Gotta take care of our own.”
Wow.
That was actually really nice and I stood there, silent, but oddly touched by his concern.