"It means 'very good'.Bravofor boys,bravafor girls."
Rocco, not to be outdone, asks, "Do you know bad words in Italian?"
“Rocco!” I shake my head.
"I know quite a few, actually,” Luca admits.
"Will you teach us?" Rocco is practically bouncing with excitement.
I glance at Luca, who is smiling back.
"I don't think I can teach you those with your mother watching," Luca stage-whispers to Rocco. "She might kick me out before I finish my cookie."
The children laugh, and the enormous guilt is outweighed only by the sorrow that fills my chest at what might have been.
We could have been a family, sharing laughter and cookies and language lessons.
But that’s quickly followed by the memories of Uncle Aldo wanting to hurt Luca. Of Gio’s wish for vengeance against Luca.
"You okay?" Luca asks quietly as the kids practice their Italian and cookie dunking.
I startle at his attention, almost defensive. "Fine."
His eyes flash with annoyance.
I can hear him calling me out.
I need to end this little love fest before it goes too far.
"Alright, you three," I announce suddenly. "Time to clean up. Isabella and Angelica will be here soon to pick you up for your sleepover."
“Yay! Maybe they’ll have cookies and we can dunk there,” Rocco says.
Adalina leans toward Luca. “I’m going to sayCiaoto Angelica.”
Luca smiles at her. “Perfect.”
They scramble down the hall, leaving a sudden emptiness in the kitchen.
All of a sudden, I wish I hadn’t sent them off.
I have no buffer now from Luca.
"Isabella and Angelica?" he asks casually. "Roman's wife and daughter?"
"Yes." I wipe cookie crumbs from the table to give me something to focus on that isn’t Luca and how my heart aches that things didn’t work out for us. "They’re all close."
“Kind of like how we all were… Gabriella, you, me…”
I nod but keep my attention on cleaning up.
"They seem like great kids. Smart. Curious."
“They are.” I respond tightly, not wanting to discuss the kids.
Not wanting to risk giving away the secret I swore I needed to keep for all our safety.
“I need to talk to you, Elena,” he says, rising and collecting the glasses to help me clean up.
