Anchor
With that, he threw himself down on the floor to sit crosslegged, with no intention of moving. A moment later he changed his mind and position, though. Seeming to melt, he lay down, puffing out his lip and moving his head from side to side, reminiscent of a disgruntled snow angel. He had practiced that pose a couple of times at home, but that floor had been carpeted. The tile proved a bit chilly.
He peeped up to make certain that his grandmother saw him.
Other shoppers watched, not for the behavior, but for the cherubic looking child. Even in the middle of a tantrum, Tony was an incredibly beautiful child, with long eyelashes framing green eyes, and brown hair streaked generously with blond.
Maria saw past his cute looks, however, and proved a formidable opponent. She began counting, slowly and emphatically, "Antonio, get up immediately. Uno,"
Tears began with that response, and he wailed, "Por favor, Abuela!"
"Dos," she continued, ignoring his pleas.
"I want the balloon! Abuela, I want it!" he insisted, raising his voice to guarantee a response.
"Tres," she concluded, and stooping down, she grabbed Tony and left the store as his screams turned to panic when they approached the car and he realized the balloon would not be his.
Despite his refusal to cooperate she got him buckled into his car seat and cranked the car, heading for home. Within a couple of minutes his sobs turned to sniffs and he spoke, "I don't want to go home, Abuela mia. Let us go back now to the store."
"I am sorry, lo siento, Bambino. We are going home because you had bad manners at Kmart, and we could not stay. We were going there to get some crayons and coloring books for you, do you remember? Te acuerdas?"
He nodded, then replied sadly, "I remember, recuerdo, Abuela."
"Because you did not stay with me, and because you did not behave, we will not get the crayons for you. This is what happens when you break rules."
Tony sniffed again and begged, "Lo siento, Abuela, I am sorry. Let us go back there and I won't cry any more and I will stay beside you. I will be good now."
"Yes, I know that you are sorry, but your behavior has stopped you from getting that treat. I will not take you back today. You had a chance already, Bambino."
The memory faded.
Tony's eyes slowly opened and he blinked and smiled at Maria. At three, he did not appreciate how strategically she had responded. She knew when to give and when to remain firm with him.
She also expected his good behavior, and reacted swiftly and decisively when Tony misbehaved.
Tony closed his eyes again.
In all of his years, he could not recall Maria ever giving him a real spanking. His dad had yanked him over his lap and blistered his bottom on occasion, but only rarely would she deliver a pop to his rear, and never more than two.
As a matter of fact, she had smacked him twice the year before when she visited him at Ohio State. He had thought he could avoid answering an embarrassing question and had replied to her disrespectfully.
She had enlightened him.
Tony shuddered, recalling the sting of that reprimand.
One family matter that served to chafe at him as a child and through adolescence lay in the unity between his dad and his abuela towards him. No matter what punishment one had imposed, the other backed and honored it without question. His attempts to solicit a reprieve from one or the other always ended with the reminder that an additional restriction loomed if he continued to try to pit one adult against another. They made a united, strong force.
Despite his displeasure with that unwritten pact, he appreciated what it taught him.
Tony eased his eyes open to check his grandmother, then closed them again after satisfying himself that she lay peacefully.
In the last year or so his leash had been loosened, so to speak, and they had, for the most part, allowed him to conduct himself as an adult. Winning that freedom had taken some hard work on his part as he proved he could attend college in Ohio and keep up his grades simultaneously. Obviously satisfied at his maturity, they stepped back, though still managed to intervene if they deemed it necessary.
Jethro may have been the sole parent and legally the custodian of his care, but Maria had ensured that she brought up a good man when she reared him.
Like the reality that his father balanced on the brink of forbidding his stay at the hospital, he still had to work to get his way. Though he railed at the fact that the two of them treated him like a minor at times, he secretly relied upon just that response, knowing that if he ever found himself in dire straights, his father and abuela would stand with him.
Tony couldn't resist a smirk at that last thought. With those two, they would stand behind him all right, but then would still dish out an unpleasant punishment for getting into trouble in the first place.
He settled into his chair again, wishing for the thousandth time that it had a more occupant friendly design.
Streaming sunlight warming his face woke him, along with the sound of quiet movement in the hospital room. He sat up with a start, trying hurriedly to get his bearings. A nurse stood by Abuela's bed, adjusting her respirator, and he glanced at the clock on the wall and read ten fifteen.
How in the world had he slept through dawn and the doctor's rounds?
He slid his chair away from the bed and stood up to check his grandmother. She remained unchanged, and he glanced at the nurse questioningly. The woman assured him she was there because she was just performing routine tests.
Tony rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, and pulled back his hand when he realized that his face held more stubble than just a four o'clock shadow. He needed to shave.
Stretching, he started towards the bathroom, but abruptly stopped. Through the window he could see that his father and Ducky stood right outside the door, and three doctors, as well. He hurried to the restroom and did his best to make himself presentable before rushing out to join them.