A Silver Lining
If there were ever a day where Antonio ever felt less than confidant, it would probably be when he first met the Roman man standing adjacent to him. The Spanish teen pulled up in front of Mr. Vargas's drive way and parked his bicycle near the front porch, where he could clearly see that his father's friend was waiting for him, along with the two little boys he's been hearing about. Granted that Antonio lives in a small town, it's not every day where he sees the people that everyone gossips about so much. The man standing before him smiled genuinely, showing off his bright pearls and stuck out his hand towards Antonio in a formal, business-like manner. Antonio gladly clasped his hand into a firm handshake with his, and then glanced down at the copper brown haired child hiding behind the man's leg.
"Aye que lindo, what's your name lil'fella?" Antonio chuckled, stooping down to eye level with the young boy. He appeared roughly about three years old with a huge pair of liquid amber eyes that shined with the innocence of a young imagination, with slightly chubby little fingers and a cute smile that could put a grin on Oscar the Grouch any day, and an odd curl jutting out to the left side of his head.
Romulus Vargas gestured for his youngest grandson to step forward and give his name, which he gladly did, chastely pecking his cheeks in a warm manner, "Feliciano!" he cheered. Antonio squealed like a raging fan girl internally, while he affectionately patted his soft hair, "Well nice to meet you Feliciano, my name is Antonio."
Feliciano giggled into his hands, smiled and swayed from side to side, having made an older friend for the first time sparked a bit of excitement within him. Antonio then averted his attention on the older of the two, "And what is your name?"
Romulus frowned at his oldest, shifting him forward to state his name. The boy adorned the prettiest set of hazel green eyes and a mop of silky auburn hair with an identical odd curl (but on his right hand side), and plump tanned cheeks glowing as red as a blushing tomato. He shrugged his uncles' hand off his shoulder and pouted, "I'm hungry". Antonio quirked his brow at him, "Ok, I'm hungry, my name is Antonio. I'll be watching over you and your brother for awhile." Feliciano clapped his hands together, hopping up and down in a playful manner, while his older brother scowled, obviously not relishing the idea of a complete and utter stranger looking after them. Heck, if he didn't like his uncle, what made the guy think he'd like Antonio? He's so goofy looking and too cheerful like his fratello. What if he suddenly gotten sick? Antonio would probably call 911 just to find out he needs plenty of bed rest and ½ a table spoon of Tylenol for children. Alas, could he really judge him for that reason? He could always just try and make his babysitting job harder than it really should….
As Mr. Vargas walked out the door to travel towards his destination for the night, he left written instructions for Antonio for both Feliciano and Romano (as he finally figured out his name). Apparently, Feliciano actually has a temper to become wary about too, just that Romano's was much more severe. According to the written note by the Uncle, Romano was quite the potty mouth, very sensitive, and unfortunately was coming down with something. That part he wasn't too sure about, Romano seemed fine from what he observed so far.
Maybe he couldn't recognize the symptoms? Children did become irritable when they caught some kind of virus, as others may become quiet; however, Romano seemed to look a bit pale. On the other hand, the only thing that was on Feli's mind was pasta, but Antonio had no idea how to make the Italian dish, much less able to boil water; which in turn, made the three year old a tad bit more miserable. Grabbing Feliciano by the hand, he led him into the living room, clasping the play pen shut so that neither of the children could escape.
"Hey barf for brains, catch!" Antonio turned around just in time to experience a toy truck breeze past his head, creating a dent into the wall. Feli jumped at the collision, covering his eyes with his hands as if he witnessed a murder scene. Romano erupted in a fit of giggles watching Antonio's facial expressions go from pleasant to hair raising fear. Just as he was about to lecture Romano and get something for them to eat, Feli started sniffling, probably startled by the ruckus that Romano created.
"Oh, Feli, don't cry, its okay." Antonio picked up the wailing child and rocked him in his arms, bouncing him every so often to make him stop. Luckily, Feliciano was a forgiving child so he was able to stop rather quickly, "I don't like it when fratello is loud. He scares me."
Antonio frowned. It's never nice to feel afraid of someone you should enjoy their company and play with, especially for someone at the tender age of three. Antonio settled on the couch with Feliciano, casually petting his head while watching something on Sprout. Antonio smiled, recalling the times he would sit with his little sister and watch Little Hen, some children's series with a little hen and her adventures with her barn animal friends. At times like these Antonio wished he was a child again, for then he won't have to study so hard for chemistry exams and pre-calculus mid-terms.
Romano's laughter died down long before Antonio plopped down on the couch with his little brother, so he found another source of entertainment, by stacking the blocks as high as he could without it tumbling over. With Antonio's attention surrounding his little brother, he felt a bit lonesome...and slightly feverish.
Ever since his younger brother came into the world, and his uncle not caring for him with equal attention, Romano became what people would start calling the Black sheep of the household. For someone as young has him, Romano could understand a surprising quantity of information, hence his absurd choice of vocabulary. Romano proved to appear as an amateur genius; however, not everyone knew because of his rough exterior towards strangers. So when Romano glanced over towards Antonio, he knew that he gave Antonio the wrong impression of himself. But is his behavior really to blame?
Hours past by and it finally dawned on Antonio that he forgotten to feed the kids before sending them off to bed. With Feli's sudden hyperactivity and Romano's foul mood, it wasn't easy for Antonio to conjure up something for them to eat; although, he did find something that could hold their grumbling stomachs, left over pepperoni pizza and orange juice.
"Yay, Pizza!"
"Eh, I don't want any".
Antonio sat them both down at the kitchen counter, setting down a plastic cup for both filled with watered down concentrated orange juice. Romano glanced miserably at the plate then silently pushed it away from him to lay his aching head down on the table.
"What's wrong Romanito? You're tired?"
Antonio wiped his hands clean from his pizza and went over to the children's side of the table. Romano whimpered, clutching his stomach. "M-my tummy hurts…" from his peripheral vision, Feliciano glanced over towards his brother, patting a sauce stained hand on his brothers back. "Fratello sick?"
Antonio suddenly felt guilt settle at the pit of his stomach; didn't the note say that this child was coming down with something? Plus, he did look a bit pale and feverish. Hesitatingly, he pressed his hand across the child's forehead, "Aye Santo, you're burning up!"
How in the world Antonio let these obvious facts slip by? He had no idea, but he did know that this kid needed some medical attention, before something else happened.
Without warning, Romano became a blubbering mess, clutching his aching stomach with both hands. Antonio panicked a bit, grabbing the child up from his seat and skidded around the kitchen looking for a medicine cabinet of some kind. As if Feliciano read his mind, he pointed towards a door down the hall, specifically a bathroom.
"Gracias Feli." Feliciano smiled, shoving another bit of pizza in his mouth. Antonio bounced Romano a bit, rubbing his back soothingly as he entered the bathroom; although, he probably should've never done that.
"A-Antonio…I really don't feel good." Before Antonio could react, Romano regurgitated all over the bathroom sink and the marble floor. Luckily, he missed his shoes but the fact he vomited in front of his own eyes made Antonio queasy.
Antonio sighed; he had no idea that babysitting could be so difficult.
Having giving up on trying to take care of an ill child and a hyperactive toddler by himself, Antonio called the only source available to him that was actually good with children…
"Door, door!" the Spanish teen jumped at the sudden voice, briefly leaving Romano's side, who pouted from the lack of warmth that surrounded him. He was currently all cleaned and washed up, wrapped in a wool textured blanket with a thermometer dangling from his mouth. The feverish chills crawled down his spine, mustering up unwanted shivers and heat waves. His eyes burned as it was bloodshot red and his head throbbed. Romano made an internal promise to never get this sick again. His brother mocked him without intending to, as he was able to freely move around and play with his stuffed animals and toys while watching another cartoon.
Antonio opened the door, revealing his savior in a flowing, flowery sun dress. "BELLA, YOU MADE IT; I WAS BEGINNING TO THINK YOU'D NEVER SHOW UP!" Antonio cried over dramatically. The teen cringed, laughing awkwardly to herself, "But it was only about a ten minute walk Toni". Not wanting to waste anymore time, Antonio ushered her through the door and pulled her into the living room, not letting her take off her shoes or settle her bag on the coat rack by the door.
Antonio introduced the belgium girl to the toddler playing on the floor then regained her attention towards her newest patient. Bella brushed back her blonde locks and readjusted her glasses to get a better look at Romano.
"Yup, that's the flu alright." Romano cracked open an eye, noticing the weight of another individual shifting the couch he was curled up on. Bella flashed him a small smile that, in turn, made the child blush madly making his temperature rise, unintentionally of course.
Bella took this as a warming gesture as he didn't shy away from her. "Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?" she cooed. Romano reached out towards her as she willingly fixed him to sit him up on her lap. "Tired." He yawned. Antonio took a seat on the other side of them, watching how Bella took on the responsibility of caring for another child, one whom she barely knew.
What seemed like hours for Antonio only took Bella a maximum of twenty minutes to get Romano to take his medicine, cook chicken soup for him to eat, and send him and Feli off to bed on a good note. It was already almost quarter to nine and the duo felt exhausted. Antonio continued to clean up after the boys, wiping down the counters and stashing their toys back into their little treasure box full of goodies. Bella roused herself awake as she was preparing to leave for her house as her help was no longer needed.
"Thank you again, for your help. I don't know what I wouldn't do without you, Tink." The use of her nickname made her blush, "I told you, stop calling me Tink!" Antonio giggled in an unmanly fashion, "But I think it's cute!"
Bella rolled her honey brown eyes, "whatever, anyways give the medicine to Romano every four hours okay? And keep a monitor on him, I don't want to come back here in the middle of the night just because you forgotten too."
Antonio nodded, keeping a mental note on that, "Okay senora. Good night, walk safely."
With a final goodnight, Antonio locked up the door and approached the couch, resting his aching feet on the coffee table with his arms sprawled out on the edge of the furniture.
Just as he was about to nod off into a deep slumber, he heard the door knob jangling, but the door couldn't open since the chain was already placed in.
"Oh, Mr. Vargas, I'm so sorry!" the brunette scrambled towards the door, disconnecting the chain from its lock and pried the door open. Mr. Vargas chuckled, ruffling Antonio's hair with his free hand. "Oh no problem son, Just that I'm glad to know my home is secured. Say, where's the boys? They're never this quiet."
"Oh they're asleep." Mr. Vargas raised a brow in disbelief, "They're what?"
Antonio nodded, "Si, they're sound asleep, in their rooms. Although, Romano gotten sick. I gave him a teaspoon of Tylenol, so he should take some more around ten o'clock."
Romulus nodded, "I see, well son, you did a great job today; I guess I should've stayed home but it seems you could handle yourself just fine." Antonio nodded along with the compliment, even if not everything was true.
Just as Antonio was about the collect his things and leave, he heard the sound of bare feet padding against the tile floors.
"Don't leave." Romano cried. Mr. Vargas was at a total lost, as he witnessed his nephew clinging onto the young man. "I want you to stay; I don't want you to go!" Heartbroken, Antonio picked up the boy and embraced him in a warm hug, "I'm sorry Romano, I need to go home."
Romano shook his head violently, "No I want you to stay!" he wrapped his legs tighter around his waist, clinging on for dear life.
Mr. Vargas thought for a moment, then an idea spurred, "Hey, I have to go away to another business meeting in a couple of days. I was going to call me sister to come and watch the boys for a day, but she lives all the way up in New Jersey and it's a long drive to come here from where she lives. Since the boys love you so much, why don't you come over and watch them again? I'll even pay you double the amount."
Antonio's eyes lit up at the idea, Romano gasped, "Really nonno?!" The smile witnessed on the child's face was undeniably the most gorgeous thing that Antonio ever seen. If Antonio's presence made this kids life a much brighter place for him to enjoy and if he could get Romano to smile more often, Antonio decided that babysitting Mr. Vargas's grandsons was not as bad as everyone made them out to be. He guessed the saying was true, that there is a silver lining in every cloud.