After paying for our purchases, Giuseppe volunteered to carry the bags. “Thank you, Giuseppe,” I said. It was odd having a stranger keeping an eye on me. If I’d needed to take a bodyguard with me in New York, one of my brothers or cousins was always available to accompany me. That was the advantage of having such a big family.
So far, Lorenzo’s interactions with his wider family had been rather limited. His home definitely didn't seem the type of place people could visit without an invitation; in that respect, it was very different from my childhood home where my sister and other family members would drop in unannounced throughout the day.
Walking to another department, we looked at the ribbons on offer. There were a myriad of colors, sizes, and designs.
“If we have two of each color, then you and Wilbur can wear matching ribbons.” I was hoping that if Clara helped me with brushing Wilbur’s fur each morning and chose a ribbon for him, she might then let me brush her hair and put the matching ribbon in it.
Clara gave a happy smile as she and Clemente picked out ribbons in various colors.
Next, we went to a pet store in the mall. “Can you help me pick out some new collars for Wilbur?”
Both children nodded enthusiastically. Adelina had told me that they had no pets of their own, and so far Wilbur was a novelty to them and capturing their interest.
I noticed how much Clara liked the color blue, picking out three collars all in different shades of blue, while Clemente picked out collars in red and yellow.
“Wilbur is going to look so handsome in his new collars. As I spoke, an idea flitted through my mind. “You know, perhaps we should also get you both some new clothes and that way you’ll look just as smart as Wilbur?”
I held the hands of both children as I led them to a children’s clothing store. I could sense that the children were starting to tire and get fractious. Clemente was definitely getting bored of shopping and had a tantrum until I showed him a t-shirt with cars on it. I also found him a pair of shorts with little planes all over it after remembering how much he enjoyed playing with his toy planes.
It was harder to shop for Clara because I wasn't sure what she liked. I knew that she liked the color blue, but she didn’t want to pick out anything for herself. In the end, I picked out a new blue dress for her, a pair of blue shorts, a couple of blue t-shirts, jeans, and a blue sweater.
As I paid for the clothes, Clemente piped up. “Wear cars now. Wear planes now!”
“You want to wear your new clothes now?”
“Yes.” He stuck out his chin stubbornly. He was hungry and getting grumpy.
“Of course you can wear your new clothes.” If it stopped him from having another tantrum, then I was happy for him to wear whatever he liked.
“Clara, would you also like to change into one of your new outfits to go home in?”
She shook her head from side to side.
“That's okay. We’ll take them home with us, and they’ll be there if you would ever like to wear them.”
I asked the assistant to remove the price ticket and led Clemente to the changing room to get dressed. Clemente wanted to do it all by himself, but only succeeded in getting his head stuck in the leg of the shorts, leading to him howling nonstop, and after a lot of persuasion I finally convinced him to let me untangle him.
After wrestling him into the new shorts and tee, I went back out to Clara who was waiting with Giuseppe. Clemente was still howling, Clara was looking anxious, Giuseppe was clearly bored, and I was feeling stressed.
Perhaps I should have been less ambitious with how many stores I wanted to visit today—shopping with small children was a new experience for me, and I knew that next time I would have to come better prepared with at least some snacks and drinks to keep up their energy levels.
We made our way back to the car, although Clemente kept trying to run off in the wrong direction and it took much longer than expected to get back to the parking area.
When we arrived home, Giuseppe carried our packages into the mansion and then returned to his other duties.
For lunch, I asked Adelina to prepare sandwiches and a platter of fruit and vegetable sticks. Clemente was ravenous after our trip to the mall. Clara, however, only picked at her food and kept looking toward the door.
The children spent the afternoon playing with their toys in the garden. Adelina told me that neither child had an afternoon nap anymore. Clemente looked like he could have done with one judging by how often he rubbed at his eyes, but he resolutely ignored my suggestion that he have one.
Clemente was into everything and happy running around. Clara, on the other hand, was more subdued, and there was a hint of sadness hanging over her all the time it seemed.
That evening, I was disappointed that Lorenzo didn’t make it home in time for dinner. He hadn’t said that he would be late, and I had assumed that we would all eat together as a family.
Adelina had cooked ravioli filled with sweet potato and parmesan cheese, telling me that both children liked this dish. We used the new plates and cutlery that I had bought for the children this morning, and I hoped that this might make the children more enthusiastic about their food.
Clemente ate his food happily, though he was also enjoying making a mess with it. I noticed, however, that Clara ate less than her brother and yet again, she kept flicking her gaze toward the door.
Halfway through the meal, we heard the front door open and footsteps in the hallway. Clara looked up from her plate expectantly. As the footsteps came down the hallway, she kept her eyes peeled on the dining room door.