You'd think I'd be used to the bizarre out-of-left-field questions kids ask, but nothing had prepared me for this.
"No," I replied, hoping she wouldn't pry.
In true child-like fashion, she did. "Why not? Don't you like Angel?"
"I like Angel very much."
"Then you two should get married. I'll be your flower girl and Georgie can be the ring bearer."
Tears stung my eyes. There'd be no wedding, no flower girl, no ring bearer. Not to Angel nor anyone else. It had never bothered me before, but at that moment, it hurt to know I was running out of time.
Nonna's eyes softened as she looked at me. "Do not give up hope, child."
I took a deep breath and blinked away useless tears. "You'd make a beautiful flower girl, Luci. And Georgie would make a handsome ring bearer."
"But you're not going to marry Angel?" Georgio asked, sounding confused.
"No, I'm not."
"Well, will you marry me, then?"
I smiled.
Luciana rolled her eyes dramatically. "She can't marry you. She's old, and you're just a kid."
Although I wasn't "old," at least I wasn't a child. Kids died of cancer all the time. Now that really sucked. Me? I'd lived a pretty full life. I'd gone to college. I'd spent time in Africa--not many people could say that--and I'd laughed. A lot. And now that I'd met Angel, I could honestly say that I'd fallen in love. Even though Angel hadn't said it, I was pretty sure he loved me, too. And unlike the last guy who I thought had loved me, Angel hadn't bailed when he found out about the cancer.
"How did the scans go?" Nonna asked, pulling me out of my musings.
"Good. Dr. Monte said she was sending them to a specialist. She'll let us know when she hears back."
"Good." Nonna nodded. "I'd like great grandchildren someday."
I smiled, even though kids were so far from my current situation, I couldn't even imagine them.
Nonna started to say something else, but the sound of gunfire--coming from outside--interrupted us. All four of us jumped at the noise, and Georgio rushed to the window.
"Is it the bad guys?" Luciana asked, her eyes round with fear.
"I don't know. I can't see anything. Wait. I see--"
I grabbed Georgio and tugged him away from the window.
More shots were fired. It sounded like we were in a freaking war zone.
"What's going on?" I asked Nonna.
"We're under attack," Georgio answered, grabbing Luciana's hand. "It's just like we practiced. Remember what to do?"
Eyes still wide, she nodded.
I looked to Nonna for help. She shrugged. "Dom trains them all. They can get us out of here."
The house shook. Downstairs, men shouted between gunshots.
"The attackers are in the house," Georgio announced, sounding strangely calm. "We have to go."
He tugged Luciana toward the closet, gesturing for me and Nonna to follow. I helped her off the bed and we hurried behind the kids, ducking through a small door in the closet. Luciana closed the door behind us. We stood in the darkness, listening as feet pounded against the stairs.
