Chapter Nineteen
"I'm still not sure I'm necessary for this trip," Alex grumbled as we exited the elevator. "Erik and Kurt make sense, since B and Erik are getting married, but I'm-"
"Important to me, therefore I want the two most important men in my life to meet," Lotta reminded sweetly, though with that steel core she'd learned (probably a little too) well from me.
"Nonno won't bite," I assured. Kurt chose that moment to chirp "No!", which was the closest he could get to Nonno, and it really was adorable. Erik and I both cooed.
"His bite isn't really what I'm worried about," Alex muttered, even as he continued down the hallway with the rest of us.
We simply ignored his complaints, and then he couldn't make any more, since we'd reached Nonno's office. I didn't recognize the guard in front of the door, but I instantly took offense to the way his gaze lingered long on Kurt in my arms, lip and nose curling. "I'm sorry, guests aren't allowed in here," he sneered, even going so far as to shoo us away with his hand.
I could feel Lotta draw herself up next to me, even as I did the same thing. "We're not guests," she said coldly, drawing every ounce of snobbery she could. And given who her stepmother was, she had a lot to draw from.
"We're family," I added, "Don Aurelio's only granddaughters."
"Look, ladies, you're very lovely, but I get that line at least three times a day, five on the weekends," he snorted. "And I'm gonna tell you what I tell every other woman claimin' to be the Don's granddaughters. Unless you can sing me into fallin' for you, you can't go through these doors."
A familiar face came around the corner, lighting up when he saw us. "Miss Bianca, Miss Lotta, I didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon," Thompson said, nodding politely to us. "It's only been a few months, after all, but it's good to see all of you again. Hello, Kurt," he added, grinning genuinely to my boy, who shyly waved back.
"Thompson, what are you doing here?" the guard asked him, looking at the man we'd rescued in Vietnam with something like disgust. "You're supposed to be on the floor."
"I'm supposed to be wherever the Don wants me to be, Ricci," Thompson shot back. "And why are you keeping his granddaughters out in the hall?"
"His gran- You mean- They really are his granddaughters?" Ricci, as the guard seemed to be called, paled. "I didn't- I'm so sorry, ladies! Go on in, please!"
"You'll have to excuse Ricci," Thompson told us, opening the door into Nonno's office. "He's still new enough that he thinks guarding the office is a sign of great trust."
"And not of proving your trustworthiness?" Erik guessed as we entered the outer office. It was a bit satisfying to see Ricci pale further as we passed him.
"Exactly," Thompson grinned, then turned to plant a kiss on Nonno's secretary's cheek. "Bernedetta, you're looking lovely, as ever."
"Matteo, you lie more and more every day," she said, swatting him even while gesturing for the rest of us to sit down. "Your nose will start growing, just like Pinocchio."
He just grinned more. "Well, I was just coming up to tell Don Aurelio that I busted that group of Latvians, and we'll need to find a new dealer to replace Tomass, but I think he'll be much more interested in seeing these lovely ladies."
"He'll want to hear about business first," she corrected him, penciled-in eyebrow raised sternly.
"To get it out of the way so he can enjoy his time with family," I added, then grinned cheekily when her eyebrow raised in my direction. "You know I'm right, Bernie."
"I love this necklace, Bernie," Lotta jumped in, pulling the box of chocolates we'd brought out of her purse. "Is it a gift from Isacco?"
She looked terribly smug, even as she selected her first chocolate. "It is. Loretta bragged so much about her pearls from Stefano that Isacco had no choice but to get me some. And Loretta's are only one strand. Mine are three."
I laughed, enjoying the typical drama that swirled around my family. "When are you going to put that poor man out of his misery and finally marry him?"
"When your Nonno no longer needs me as his secretary," she answered promptly, just like she always did. "I could never leave my job, and it wouldn't be proper for me to be employed if I were married. Isacco will simply have to wait until the Don doesn't need me any longer."
Nonno opened the door to his inner office just in time to hear that. "Then Isacco will end up being an eternal bachelor, because I will never not need you as my secretary, Bernedetta."
She preened a bit. "Thompson has a report for you, Don, and le tue nipoti are here, a day early," she added with a slight remonstrative glower aimed at us. We simply grinned back at her.
"Le mie ragazze, I'm happy to see you, but you'll have to wait for a bit until I'm finished with Thompson," he told us, just like Bernie had predicted. "Make yourselves comfortable while you wait." He ushered Thompson into his office and closed the door behind them.
While they discussed Thompson's bust, Bernie filled Lotta and me in on all the gossip from the family, and we happily introduced our men to her. She inspected Erik and Alex very critically, finally pronouncing them merely "passable". Probably because neither were Italian. But as soon as Kurt laid his big golden eyes on her and shyly waved his tail, she melted into a gooey mess of Italian maternal instincts. "Non sei adorabile?" she cooed, plucking him from my arms and feeding him one of the chocolates. After that, she had his undying loyalty.
Nonno finished with Thompson quickly, then came out to properly greet us. "Ciao, mia Bianca," he said, kissing my cheek and wrapping me in his warm embrace. "Mia Carlotta, such a beautiful young woman," he added, bringing Lotta into the hug.
"Ciao, Nonno," we both answered, just content to be in his hug for a moment. After all, it had been a while since we'd seen him.
He squeezed once more before releasing us. "Now, le mie ragazze, introduce me to your young men," he instructed, and I barely withheld the laugh that threatened to escape as Alex immediately straightened up. Even Erik, my calm, cool, and collected Erik, puffed out his chest just the tiniest bit in an effort to impress. Lotta and I exchanged an amused glance, and I opened my mouth to begin the introductions.
But Kurt stole my thunder. "No!" he squeaked happily, and then he was in Nonno's arms. "No!" he declared again, throwing his arms around Nonno's neck.
"Ciao, la mia scimietta," Nonno replied, a soft smile on his face. "You must be Kurt."
"Da," Kurt replied happily, swishing his tail.
My heart melted. I'd told Nonno about Kurt, but I still held the tiniest reservations in my heart anytime I introduced someone new to my boy. I could never be sure exactly how people would react to him, though I shouldn't have worried about Nonno. After all, he'd raised me to treat everyone equally, unless (or until) they proved themselves otherwise.
"Oh, this won't do," Nonno said, bushy eyebrows turning down sharply. "No, la mia scimieta, it's si, not da. Si is the correct word."
"Ssss," Kurt tried obediently, causing all of us to laugh.
"He's going to be so confused," Alex said with a shake of his head.
"No, he'll simply grow up to be a polyglot," Lotta corrected, grinning at him.
Nonno welcomed us all into his office, still cuddling Kurt the whole time. Kurt patted his cheeks, giggling at the scratch of whiskers on his tiny palms. He babbled happily, and Nonno simply listened, nodding appropriately at all the right times. But, after a few minutes of enamored baby chatter, Nonno set Kurt down with the very same set of blocks I'd played with at the same age. "It's time for the big people to talk now, but I'll play with you more later, la mia scimieta," he told him, pressing a kiss to soft baby hair.
I nearly cried. Nonno's unquestioning acceptance of my little boy was completely typical of the man who had raised me, but it was still utterly adorable to see. But I also knew that he wasn't going to be as easily accepting of Erik or Alex. And, being the vaguely callous person I was, I knew I would be highly entertained.
Nonno didn't disappoint. Once I introduced him to Erik and Alex, he began his interrogation immediately. "Once you and Bianca are married, will you allow her to continue teaching?" he asked Erik.
Who answered promptly, "I would never presume to allow Bianca to do anything. The man who tried to tell her what to do would immediately be introduced to his entrails. I'm not in any hurry to meet my end. And teaching makes Bianca happy. As long as it continues to do so, I'll encourage her to keep teaching. However, I have enough to keep her comfortable and happy, should she decide she no longer wishes to teach."
Nonno nodded in understanding, but giving nothing else away. "If Carlotta decided she no longer wishes to see you socially, would you be accepting of her decision?" he asked Alex, without even so much of a warning as to look at him.
Alex, poor thing, was completely thrown, and recovered slowly. "Wha- I, uh- Honestly, I'm still amazed that she even wanted to have anything to do with me, so I guess if she wanted to break up with me, I always knew it was coming anyway. So, yeah, if that's what she wants, then I'll do what she wants."
Lotta protested, but Nonno was already on to his next question. For over half an hour, he interrogated them. It wasn't always from one man to the next; occasionally, he asked Alex three questions in a row, then moved on to Erik for a few. Lotta tried to break in a few times, but Nonno didn't allow it, with that stern eyebrow raised in her direction. I knew it was nothing more than making sure our amanti truly cared for us. It was the way he cared for us, as well.
But as we got closer to an hour, I stood. "Nonno, it's time. They're good, and good for us, and we're going to do whatever we want anyway, so you don't need to keep up the inquiry. Besides, we have a table waiting downstairs for us."
His eyebrow turned my direction, but I simply turned it back on him, and he smiled. "Alright, mia Bianca, you are correct. Mangiamo."
Nonno stood, collecting Kurt as he did so, and I felt the tension in the room lower. Alex physically drooped for a minute, before remembering himself and straightening up again. And Erik let out a deep breath, almost like he'd been holding his breath for the past hour. I simply squeezed his hand, and he gave me one of his rare, utterly beautiful smiles in return.
We shared a lovely dinner with Nonno at his usual table, and we enjoyed the entertainment, a new singer who was dating Zio Angelo. "She's quite good," he said, "but her voice isn't like i miei angeli." He patted both mine and Lotta's hands with that paternal love he always showered us with.
"No one's as good as B or Lotta," Alex added sincerely.
"No one," Erik echoed softly, with that smoldering look in his eye that I loved so much.
"Well, at least we've got them trained well," Lotta smirked. "That is the correct answer."
"To every question," I added, grinning.
Nonno walked us out after dinner, holding Kurt the whole walk. He finally relinquished his hold when we arrived at the car, and only after a long hug, several kisses, and three admonishments to be a very good boy for Ama, but to give Va all the trouble. Once Kurt was in Erik's arms, Nonno held out his hand for Erik, then Alex, giving each of them a short "Benvenuto in famiglia." Lotta was next, though she got a big hug and something whispered in her ear. And then it was my turn. That familiar embrace had been my safe place since childhood, and it still brought that sense of safety and belonging that it always had.
"Is this what you want, mia Bianca?" Nonno whispered in my ear.
"More than anything," I assured, "and with all my heart."
He kissed my hair. "Then, be happy. And bring your boys with you when you visit home."
AN: Sorry this is so late. Life has been a bit crazy lately, but I'll be posting the epilogue today, as well. This chapter was originally going to be part of the epilogue, but Bernedetta has a very large personality and demanded to be heard. Thanks for reading, and a big thanks to brigid1318 for your lovely review. I'm so glad you liked the proposal!
Translations: le tue nipoti- your granddaughters
Le mie ragazze- my girls
Non sei adorabile?- Aren't you adorable?
Ciao, la mia scimietta- Hello, my monkey
Amanti- lovers
Mangiamo- Let's eat
I miei angeli- My angels
Benvenuto in famiglia- Welcome to the family
