*Olivia*
I whispered the first line of Hey, Diddle, Diddle in a sing-song voice, gently stroking Elio’s little pudgy belly as he lay beside . His brown eyes stared into mine, little feet already poking out of the soft baby blanket with his na embroidered on it.
The nursery was empty except for us, the two of us laying in his crib. It didn’t feel nearly as cramped as it had the last ti I’d slept in here–not when little Elio’s smile was so bright.
I continued the old nursery rhy, hoping to soothe Elio back into his nap, but it was only doing the opposite it seed, as he burst out with a “ow!”
I giggled, laying a kiss on his curly hair. “That’s right. Cats say ow.”
“ow!” Elio laughed joyfully, finding the word much funnier than it was. The little excitent he got whenever he learned sothing new was infectious, and I found myself grinning along with him as he grabbed onto locks of my long hair, pulling.
I fully laid my head on the mattress, letting him tug on my hair as he wanted. I continued the next line about the cow with a soft croon.
“Moo,” Elio giggled, stuffing his fist full of my hair into his mouth and drooling on it. I rolled my eyes, making a ntal note to wash it after he fell back asleep.
“Sure, good job, baby,” I praised him anyway, despite not quite having the word down. One of those spinning speaking toys was his new favorite, though I didn’t quite rember where it ca from.
It was just here one day. But as long as he got enjoynt out of it, who cared? His two favorite animals were the cat and cow, and he’d play it over and over until he got one of the two, probably because he thought it was hilarious to shout “moo!” or “ow!” whenever he got a chance.
Maybe we could get him a kitten in the future... or a dog.
Probably not a cow though.
I read the next line and gave a wide smile as he wiggled excitedly in response. I covered him back up with the blanket he’d thrown off and he pouted but settled as he rolled onto his side and went face-first into my chest.
I finished the last line laly as I had to pull my son from my chest and lay him back down on his back. He giggled, finding the whole thing funny.
“You little jokester,” I grinned, tickling his belly and he squealed in laughter, rolling to get away from .
“Mama! No!” he shouted in sheer delight as I dragged him back to and pulled up his shirt, taking a big breath and blowing into his belly. He shrieked with giggles at the loud raspberries echoing in the room, just in ti for the door to open up and for Dahlia to walk in with wide eyes.
“Does sobody need a diaper change?” she asked, only making dissolve into giggles.
“Dally!” Elio grinned, reaching out his arms to his godmother. He still couldn’t say her na right, but Dahlia seed to find it all the more adorable. She’d even gotten a mug that said “Elio’s favorite Aunt Dally” printed on it.
“How’s my munchkin?” Dahlia grinned, leaning over the bars of the crib to spy on him.
“We were trying to nap,” I told her with a smile. “But it seems like he’s too excited for that.”
Elio sat up on his own, wobbling a bit as he grasped onto the crib bars and pulled himself into standing, his favorite thing to do now that he knew how.
“Dally!” He reached his arms out for her, laughing when she imdiately picked him up, settling him on her hip.
“Sotis I think he likes you more than ,” I grumbled, wincing as I sat up in the crib. My back was sore now from climbing in with him and I once more made myself a reminder not to sleep in the crib, no matter how tempted I was.
I would probably end up here again in a week or so, anyway.
He was too cute to deny.
“Of course he does!” Dahlia said proudly, “I’m his favorite Aunt! Right, munchkin?”
He tried to grasp onto the ends of her hair, focusing intently with a little pout. She’d gotten a cut to her shoulders after Elio had discovered how much he liked trying to eat others’ hair and so far, it worked to keep his little hands off her neat cut.
He huffed, giving up once he couldn’t grab it and instead he clung onto her clothes like a little baby koala.
“All right, playti, buddy,” Dahlia grinned, sitting him down on the floor. He tried to stand again, making it a few seconds before he fell back onto his butt with a whoosh. He blinked up at us in surprise, then pouted.
Dahlia and I laughed and I climbed out of the crib to grab his toys. Imdiately he gravitated toward the wheel of animal sounds, pulling the lever with a squeal.
“II polo dice chioccia!” the wheel said, random chicken noises pouring out in a frenzy.
Dahlia glared at the thing like it had personally assaulted her, and I didn’t bla her. We were all getting tired of that stupid thing. Whoever bought it for him was going to get his ass kicked.
“So,” Dahlia said instead, sitting on the plush floor next to Elio. She sent a small knowing smile and I knew exactly where this was going. “Any idea why Gio stord off looking more stressed than the top buttons on his shirt?”
I rolled my eyes at her taphor. “No idea. Why would I?” I feigned innocence as I learned for the hundredth ti this week what sound a sheep made in Italian.
It sounded exactly the sa in English.
“Trick question, Olive.” She sent a triumphant look. “I know you know, and I know that you know that I know that you know that I know.”
“What?” I asked, exasperatedly. I didn’t follow that one bit but by the smug look on her face, she already knew that.
“I bribed Gabe with cake,” she said proudly. “Tiramisu, by the way–good stuff. Anyway, he told all about your dad and the background checks Gio’s been running on him. I figured you’d be pissed because of it and you two would’ve fought.”
“We didn’t fight,” I denied vehently. “We just... had a disagreent.”
“That’s fighting, Olive.” She sent a pointed look.
“Ugh, fine!” I threw my hands in the air. “So what if we had a fight? He shouldn’t have been looking into Sal without telling , and he certainly should trust to protect Elio and myself without needing to monitor us twenty-four-seven.”
Dahlia sighed, shaking her head. “You know that’s not what it’s about.”
I sighed, pulling my hair back from my face and wrapping it into a high ponytail with my spare hair tie I kept wrapped around my wrist. Once that was done, I flopped onto my back, staring at the ceiling I’d painted with clouds.
At night, it would look like a starry sky, but during the day, it was just clouds above.
“You know I love you, Olive,” Dahlia said firmly, laying down beside . “And it’s because I love you that I have to be honest with you, even if that makes you mad at .”
I winced, preparing myself for a little bit of her truth-hurts routine.
“Gio is not in the wrong. It is a good thing that he is looking into Salvatore because it can’t hurt to find out what his motives are.”
“Is it so hard to believe that he might just want a relationship with ?” I sat up, my eyes shining with all the hurt I’d felt. “Am I so unlovable that it’s impossible for him not to have ulterior motives?”
“Don’t even go there, Olive,” Dahlia growled, sending an irritated glance. “You are extrely loved by so many people and sure, it’s possible that... man–” She spat out like it was a curse word. “–is telling the truth. Maybe he really does just want to be in your life and make up, but you can’t know that for sure. Nobody can!”
“But–”
“No buts!” She hushed , and Elio unturned to look at us with wide eyes, startled by her statent. She sent him a soft glance. “Sorry, munchkin. Here.”
She leaned over to pull the lever of his toy and his attention was sucked back in as it cried out “Il gatto dice ow!”
“ow!” he repeated happily, clapping like a seal as he laughed.
Dahlia sighed and turned back to with a softer glance. “If he is in this for the right reasons, then great. All the rrier. But if he’s not–” She sighed, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tight. “If he’s not, then at least you’ll know. You won’t be blindsided and have Elio and Gio be put at risk with you. Because that’s what you have to think about now. Sal isn’t important. The important ones are your husband who loves you to bits and your son whose annoying toy is driving nuts.”
She sent said toy an irritated glance as it landed on ow again and Elio threw his hands above his head, toppling onto his back as he broke down into giggles.
I smiled at my son, even though I felt like my heart had been stabbed with shards of glass. She was right–Elio was the most important thing.
Dahlia nodded at reassuringly and then stretched her arms above her head as she said, “I have to go take a shower! I’ve got a date. See you later, munchkin.”
She climbed to her feet, rubbing the curls on his hair before she left, shutting the door behind her. This left and Elio and the toy.
He stared at , his wide, innocent eyes hard to ignore as he crawled over to , landing his little bum right in my lap, and then dragged his toy over as well. He gazed up at expectantly, the toy clutched in his hands, and offered it up to .
I sighed, resigning myself to my fate as I gently pulled on the lever. It rotated and we both watched with bated breath before it cried out, “La mucca dice Moo!”
“Moo!” I shouted just as Elio did as well and I grabbed him into my arms, holding him like a teddy bear as I fell onto my back, pulling him with and he howled with laughter. He happily snuggled into my arms, his giggles fading as he yawned.
He was getting tired now and I humd softly, running my hands through his curls as I thought back to everything Dahlia had said.
I didn’t really know my dad–Sal–not truly. Maybe he was honest, maybe he wasn’t. But there was one person who might know whether he was telling the truth or not.
I fished my phone out of my back pocket, trying not to move Elio as he laid on like I was his pillow. I opened up my phone, flipped it to the speaker phone, and laid it beside . It picked up in the second ring with a groggy, “Hello?”
“Hey, Mom,” I said casually.
“Hey, baby. How’s everything?”
I humd. “I wanted to ask you a few questions... about Dad.”
She fell silent, just like she had the few tis I had tried to bring him up before she headed back to the States. It was just like whenever I had asked about him as a child, but I was an adult now and I deserved answers.
“What about him?” She sighed, giving up.
“Did you know he got involved with the mob?”
“Yes,” she answered unhappily. “I knew, but I never got involved with it until I got pregnant with you. That’s when I started begging him to stop. I told him it was getting too dangerous but he just couldn’t. He said he liked the chaos–the danger and the power that it brought him. It was more important to him than I was.”
Doubt crept into my heart. I thought I had just made up my mind about him but now....
No, there was no way. I ignored the thoughts, stuffing them away into the back of my mind as I pushed onward.
“Do you think he’s telling the truth that he left to protect us?” I asked, preparing for the worst.
“Honestly, I don’t know.” She sighed. “Could be, but... your father was a dangerous man when I knew him, Olivia. Looking back on it now, I realize how obsessed and conceited he truly was. He testified against his best friend to the police so he could get away scot-free. His only loyalty was to himself. I find it difficult to believe he’s changed, but I honestly can’t say. He could be a different man than he was then. It’s not impossible. Just be careful with him, baby.”
“Okay,” I murmured quietly, my mind thrust into turmoil.
She said goodbye, hanging up, and I stared at the ceiling.
Elio let out a soft snore and I shut my eyes as I thought back to my childhood. All those tis when I was a little girl and I had wished on stars at midnight for my father to co back, to give a reason for why he wasn’t there–it was the only thing I dreamt of.
I really wanted this all to work out but as I slipped into unconsciousness, I also had to admit to myself that wishful thinking wouldn’t keep my family safe.
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