Chapter 1 Parenthood #2
We're sitting under the Christmas tree, Antonio and me, surrounded by a full army of toy cars and mini bikes.
We've got matching sweaters on. Gio's mom bought them for us. Red, cozy, obnoxiously festive. Perfect.
Gio's out with Lorenzo, hunting down last-minute Christmas gifts. It's quiet in the house. The good kind of quiet. Antonio's got all his cars lined up, side by side like he's running a dealership.
Except one.
One tiny red car sitting in front of them all.
I smile. "And why's that one in front, huh?" I ask, laughing. He grins, all dimples and baby teeth. "It's Daddy's car!"
Oh God. I love this kid so much it's unreal. Gio keeps putting him in the Ferrari, letting him hold the steering wheel, pretending he's driving. And Antonio lives for it.
The attitude. The grin. The little vroom noises. All of it. "Dada! Here," he says, handing me a car.
"Oh, we're racing now?"
He nods, giggling. And it hits me. Antonio has the exact same expression as Gio. That tiny smirk, the spark in his eyes. I'm gonna cry. It's like watching Gio as a toddler, right in front of me.
"Okay," I say, holding my car up. "On three, alright?"
"Yes!"
"One, two... three!"
We move the cars back and forth, making crash noises, fake smoke sounds. They slam into each other, and I pretend to lose on purpose.
"Oh nooo, I'm losing! Daddy's car is the best one! Again!" Antonio bursts out laughing, collapses into my arms. I wrap him up completely, squeezing him while he giggles into my chest.
I'm the happiest man alive. Genuinely. I can't believe we ever lived without this little soul in our house. I can't picture us without him anymore.
I run my hand through his messy black hair and press a kiss to his tiny head. Then I hear the sound. That beautiful, roaring sound. The engine.
We both freeze, our eyes go wide open.
Antonio gasps. I climb onto the couch to reach the window. "Is that..."
"DADDY!!!" he screams. He follows me, trying to reach the window. Someone's with Gio. Antonio's eyes widen even more. "It's Uncle Lolezo!" He squeals, jumps down, and takes off running toward the door. I follow, laughing.
We're both standing by the door, waiting. Antonio's bouncing on his toes, eyes glued to the handle. The second the lock clicks, the door swings open, and there they are, Gio and Lorenzo.
Still wearing their helmets. They look like two action figures who forgot to retire. Lorenzo pulls his helmet off first and immediately gasps. "IF IT ISN'T MY FAVORITE NEPHEW IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"
Antonio squeals as Lorenzo scoops him up and spins him around, both laughing loudly. Gio drops the shopping bags on the table, takes off his helmet, and crosses over to me.
Kisses me softly. "Hey, baby. How'd you two do?" I point at the cars still lined up by the tree. "Your car won again. Twenty-ninth day in a row."
He smirks, shaking his head as he pulls off his riding gloves. "Of course it did." He locks eyes with Antonio, opens his arms. "There's my champ! What's up, little guy?"
Antonio's so hyped he nearly loses his balance. I catch him just in time, and Gio chuckles. Lorenzo leans down, grinning. "Antonio, man, I got a surprise for you."
Gio raises a brow. "Why are you talking to our kid like he's your accountant?"
"Because he is one of us now," Lorenzo says, straight-faced. "He's gotta learn the game." Then back to Antonio. "I'm gonna wash my hands, and then I'm coming back for you."
Antonio follows him. I hear water running and a bunch of splashing noises. Gio flops down next to me on the couch, half on top of me. "Excuse me, sir, you're kinda crushing me."
"Shhh," he mutters, face buried in my shoulder. "Let me be. I need love too. The kid's been stealing all of it lately." I laugh and run my fingers through his hair. "That's not true," I say softly.
He hums, presses a kiss to my neck, and for a moment it's just us. Then Lorenzo and Antonio come out of the bathroom, with their hands still dripping wet. Antonio tries to climb onto us.
Gio grabs him, and suddenly we're all three tangled together on the couch. Lorenzo stands there, hands on his hips. "Aww, a house full of Fontanas," he says, smirking. "That's expensive."
Antonio scrambles up from Gio's lap.
"That's right," Lorenzo laughs. "Come here, little guy. Let your dads fall in love all over again like it's day one."
Gio's laughing against my chest. Lorenzo claps his hands. "Alright, time for the surprise!" He drags this massive box in front of Antonio, wrapped in shiny Christmas paper, red and gold, big enough to fit a small motorcycle.
He taps his chin dramatically. "Hmmm... who could this big present be for?"
"Blu?" Antonio asks.
"Nooo," Lorenzo says, pretending to inspect the tag. "Wait, it says... hmm... I think it says Antonio." Antonio gasps, turns to look at us. His face is glowing like the damn tree behind him.
Gio grins. "You're not opening that today, little man. You'll open it on Christmas. Just a few more days." Antonio immediately pulls the saddest face I've ever seen.
Lorenzo crouches down, holding back a laugh. "Don't stress, my dude. Your uncle came prepared." He pulls out a smaller box, bright blue paper, with messy tape.
Antonio tears it open, and when he sees the race car inside, he screams. Literally screams.
"We'll play together," Lorenzo says, "but first, I gotta change you, 'cause someone here made a mess."
He lifts him up and glances at us. "I'll take my time on purpose. You two just got yourselves a solid ten minutes for a cuddle puddle."
Gio mutters, "I love you."
Lorenzo grins. "I know," and disappears down the hallway with Antonio kicking and giggling in his arms. Gio bolts to our room, throws on his hoodie, and in less than a minute, he's back, crashing beside me on the couch in front of the tree.
Lulu jumps up, circles twice, and settles on our feet. I run my fingers through Gio's hair, slow and rhythmic, like I'm trying to put him to sleep. He hums, half-asleep already. "Now I get why Antonio knocks out when you do that," he mumbles. "I'm about to pass out too."
I laugh quietly.
"Saw it in a video once. Glad to know it works on all ages." He burrows closer against me, and I pull the blanket over us. "You got a lot of work tomorrow?" I ask. He shakes his head. "Nah. You wanna go somewhere?"
"I was thinking maybe we take him to the playground. Bring Blu too."
"Yeah," Gio says softly. "Of course." I twist my ring around my finger, smiling. "You should see him when he hears your bike pull up. His whole face lights up."
"That's because someone named Rava taught him that," Gio says, smirking. "Didn't learn it on his own. So you did good, baby."
I blush, try not to smile too wide. "Tomorrow, you think we could stop by Valentina's too? If she's not, you know... throwing up every five minutes?"
Gio laughs. "Yeah. I wanna check on our girls."
"Same. Can't wait to see her. I wanna know everything."
He nods, eyes half-shut. "I'll bring the weekly questionnaire," he says, dead serious. "Make sure she's following doctor's orders."
I chuckle. "Relax, baby. She knows what she's doing. She's brilliant."
"You're right. Sorry. I'm just... excited."
And I am too. For all of it. The little family that became my whole damn life.
He turns to look at me, serious for once. "I'm gonna pray to whatever god's out there," he says, "that our little girl gets your eyes."
I laugh softly. "Oh yeah?"
"Oh yeah," he nods, dramatic as ever. "But if she gets your waist, we're screwed. Every lesbian and thirsty dude within a ten-mile radius is gonna come for her. I'll have to fight 'em all."
"Gio," I say, choking back a laugh, "she's not even born yet, and you're already planning a war."
"I don't care," he says, deadpan. "She's already here to me. I gotta protect her and raise her standards. Make sure no one wastes her time." I can't stop laughing now. "Yeah, and then she'll grow up miserable because she'll be like, 'hmm, my dad would've done it better.'"
He smirks, proud. "Exactly. Until she finds someone worth her time. She's not settling for less."
"Okay," I say, grinning. "And what if it's like... you and my dad all over again? What if we hate whoever she picks?"
"Well," he says, rubbing his jaw like a mob boss, "depends. If he's actually dangerous for her, she's not going anywhere near him. For example, if he's a murde—"
And then Antonio crashes into us, full force. We both grunt. Lorenzo walks in behind him, sighing. "Damn. Daisy would be proud of me. Changed a diaper, no tears. None." He plops down on the floor beside us, in front of the giant Christmas tree.
Stares up at it like he's critiquing art. "You could've added more lights. It only has, what, 32,000 strings?"
"You're jealous," Gio fires back immediately.
"Shut up," Lorenzo says. "Antonio, come here, man. Open that gorgeous race car your favorite uncle got you." Antonio grins. He struggles with the box, tiny hands fumbling with the tape, determined. He finally pries it open and gasps, looking straight at me instead of the toy.
"Dada!" he says, with huge eyes.
I do the same, clutching my chest, pretending to gasp. "Woooow!" "What do we say when someone gives us a present?" I ask him.
Antonio turns to Lorenzo, throws his little arms around him. "Thank you, Uncle Lolezo."
Lorenzo hugs him tight, smiling. "Any words you want, baby," he says softly. "Any words you want." Antonio's sitting cross-legged on the rug, explaining something with pure toddler intensity.
His hands are flying everywhere, his words are tripping over each other. He's trying so hard to make Lorenzo understand how he lined up his cars. There's a whole system apparently.
The kid's basically running a motor empire and we're just his audience. Lorenzo's smiling, nodding along, pretending he gets it.
Then he glances up at us, muttering through his teeth. "Help. Guys. I think your kid's talking to me, but I have no idea what he's saying."