“Is it like this one?”
“Kind of. It’s more like an Acadian style house.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s got a big porch all the way around it with rocking chairs and places to sit, and it’s all on one level like this one, but it’s not directly on the ground. It’s raised up a little bit. Just four or five steps, not anything as raised as Havoc’s house. And there are no steps inside.”
“Why don’t you want to live in this one?” Leo asked.
“It belongs to my family, and we use it when other family members come from out of town to visit. I could buy it, but I’d rather build one of my own.”
‘Where you going to build it?”
“Across the street from Havoc. Just a little bit further down the street.”
“By the pool?” Leo asked excitedly, showing more excitement than was usual for him.
“You saw that, huh? We’d almost be beside the pool. We’d be the next house, but not right beside it. There’ll be some land between our house and the pool.”
“That would be so much fun. If I had a house by there I could swim any time I wanted to.”
“Do you know how to swim?” Ronan asked.
Leo got quiet and just shook his head. “I don’t have a pool anymore.”
“It’s okay. We have one here and I’ll teach you.”
“Do they let kids swim in the pool?” Leo asked, his voice quiet.
“Of course they do. They put it in so their kids would have a place to swim and play.”
“So, I could make noise and splash?”
“Absolutely. You just have to be careful if there is a baby younger than you. Just make sure you don’t splash toward them on purpose, but other than that, you can make all the noise you want.”
Leo smiled. “That’d be fun.”
“When it warms up a little, I’ll teach you how to swim. Okay?”
“Okay,” Leo said, with a wide smile as his excitement grew.
“They got a swing set next door!” Matteo shouted from a back bedroom.
“A real swing set?” Leo asked.
“Come see! I can see it from here!” Matteo yelled. “And there’s kids playing on it!”
Giada walked into the kitchen just as her child rushed past her. “They got a swing set, Momma! And more kids to play with!”
“Well, you have to go check it out. But you’ll have to eat breakfast first!”
“I know!” Leo exclaimed as he ran toward the back bedroom to see the swing set and the kids his brother was yelling about.
Ronan watched Giada as she watched her child go off in search of his brother. When she finally turned to him, he could see the sadness there.
“What’s that sadness for?” he asked, as he walked over and took her in his arms.
“We used to have a pool. A lavish pool, but the kids weren’t allowed to use it because my husband’s friends were always there and the boys laughing and squealing and splashing was irritating to him. It wasn’t in line with the composure his family should display at all times.”
