“How should I be doing it?”
We build together, and I drink in every detail about them. Elio's serious concentration.
Rocco's boundless energy.
Adalina's thoughtful questions.
I learn their favorite colors, foods, stories. Each revelation is precious.
Adalina yawns after about thirty minutes, abandoning her small creation to climb into my lap without hesitation.
The complete trust of a child who doesn't yet understand the complications of the world awes me.
How easily children love.
How quickly they accept what adults tell them. One moment I was a stranger, the next their father.
Their world reshapes without resistance.
She nestles against my chest, her small body warm and perfect.
"Tired,Piccola?" I whisper, stroking her hair.
She nods against me, eyes already fluttering closed. "Will you be here tomorrow too?"
"Yes," I promise, my heart swelling. "And the day after that. And after that."
I hold my daughter as she falls asleep.
The boys continue building, arguing good-naturedly over pieces.
For this moment, the rage subsides.
There will be time for retribution later.
Right now, I'm exactly where I need to be.
I glance toward the doorway. Empty.
Elena slipped away at some point.
The boys are getting drowsy too, their Lego battle slowing as yawns interrupt their chatter.
Is she giving me space with them?
Or is she hiding, afraid of what I might say or do?
The thought sours my stomach.
For all her lies, Elena never knew violence from my hands, never would. But perhaps the man she invented in her mind, the traitor who betrayed her father, is capable of anything.
I stroke my daughter's hair, marveling at its softness. Whatever comes next between Elena and me, these children deserve better than to be caught in our war. For them, I will find a way forward.
"Time for bed, little ones," I announce, seeing Elio's eyelids drooping. "It's getting late."
"Will you tuck us in?" Rocco asks, abandoning his Lego creation without protest, a sure sign of his fatigue.
"Of course." I rise carefully, still cradling Adalina against my chest.
