Chapter 6 #11
He starts kissing me everywhere. My cheek, my jaw, my mouth, wherever he can reach, and I start laughing because he always does this at the most random, unexpected times.
"I love you," he murmurs against my skin. My stomach flips immediately. It always does. Every single time. "And I love you," Antonio says suddenly, looking down at his tiny hands. Gio and I both burst out laughing.
I wrap my arms fully around Gio's neck, pulling him closer, running my fingers through his hair the way I know he likes. "And I love you too," I whisper into his ear.
"I'm hungry," Antonio announces.
"WAS THAT THE BABY???" Gio's mom suddenly shouts, from the kitchen window.
Oh god.
She comes outside immediately and starts playfully shoving and slapping Gio like she just caught him committing a crime. Gio is trying to hide while laughing. "Rava, help—"
"Aren't you ashamed leaving the baby hungry like this??"
I start laughing too.
"Mom, when I was a baby, I was hungry all the time—"
She shoots him a look that clearly says stop talking right now before I end you. I'm losing it. "Rava, should I feed him?" she asks me. "Of course, yeah."
Gio looks at her, offended. "Uh... I'm also a parent, why don't you ask me too—"
"You be quiet."
I choke on my laugh.
"Come help me feed the baby. Now."
"Yes, mom." Gio sighs, climbs off the motorcycle, and heads inside. Before he disappears through the door he turns back, blows me a kiss with his hand, and grins.
I do the same, smiling like an idiot. Then I head back to the table. Back to the chaos.
Jin literally slams into me. "DUDE. Hear me out. Leave your spawn with Gio's mom and let's go swimming. All together."
I throw him the slowest side-eye I've ever side-eyed in my life. "Bro... look at them." I point at Lorenzo, Marco, and Noah who all have couch cushions shoved under their shirts like pregnant bellies.
They're doing it for "solidarity" with Daisy and Valentina, apparently. Marco and Noah are rubbing Lorenzo's stomach like he's carrying the second coming of Christ, and Lorenzo keeps nodding dramatically, giving off the energy of a mother who has survived fourteen deliveries and three world wars.
Jin stares at them. "Shame," he mutters. "SHAME that they're doing this without me. I'm gonna go cry into Luciana's breasts."
I elbow him.
"Oh please. Like you don't already do that on Gio's."
"I don't cry anymore."
"But you cried today."
"Hush, child. I'm the older one. Respect me."
He gives me his middle finger and then he leaves.
…
We finally get everybody to sit down at the table, which honestly feels like a miracle on its own.
The heat is disgusting.
I swear even breathing feels aggressive. Gio's mom looks at Lorenzo. "Have you thought of a name for the baby yet?"
Lorenzo has his mouth full. "I said Riccardo. She rejected it."
Daisy looks offended. "Yeah, sorry for not wanting to name our child after your rat."
Lorenzo points at her with his fork like she's the problem. "He was iconic."
"He was a hamster," she shoots back. "When I hear Riccardo, I think of rodent food and wood shavings. Not a baby."
"Crazy take," Lorenzo says. Then Gio's mom looks at me. "And you two?"
I glance at Gio.
"I'm voting Emiliana," Noah says before either of us can answer.
"Fuck yeah," Lorenzo says. "That girl did God's work. She deserves to have her name permanently attached to this family."
"Fuck," Antonio mutters.
Every muscle in my body locks.
We all turn.
No. Absolutely not.
The worst thing you can do with a child is react when they say something you do not want repeated. Everybody gasps. Of course they do. Antonio's eyes light up.
"Ignore him," I whisper immediately. "Trust me. Everybody ignore the child." Nobody listens to me. Because why would they ever listen to me when they could all make my life harder for fun.
Jin is already laughing. Lorenzo is choking on his food. Gio's mom has both hands over her mouth. All of them staring. All of them giving him exactly what he wants.
Attention.
"No, seriously," I say, sharper now. "Stop reacting. Do not encourage him." Antonio sits up straighter in his chair, like he's on stage. "Fuck," he says again.
I close my eyes for one second because maybe when I open them this will be a hallucination.
"Do not laugh," I warn them. That makes Jin laugh harder. I catch Gio laughing for half a second and shove him with my elbow.
He straightens up instantly. "Rava's right. Sorry. Antonio, you're grounded for the rest of the week."
Marco immediately starts screaming with laughter. Valentina loses it too. "What are you laughing at?" Gio says. Lorenzo looks at him in disgust. "Gio acting like a serious dad is the fakest thing I've ever seen in my life."
"Adorable," he adds. "Horrifying. I got chills."
"Guys," Valentina says through laughter, barely getting the word out.
But Noah cuts in first. "Gio is exactly the kind of dad who, in the future, if Antonio calls him and goes, Dad, I got arrested, he'll be like, okay, but can you still make it to dinner??"
Lorenzo slams his hand on the table, laughing so hard he nearly folds in half.
"GUYS," Valentina yells.
We all turn to look at her.
"I think my water just broke."
My heart immediately starts beating like it's trying to escape my body. "OKAY NOBODY PANIC—" Gio shouts.
And that is the exact moment the absolute apocalypse begins. I freeze for half a second because my brain has completely shut down.
I don't know what to do. I don't know what the protocol is when someone's water breaks in the middle of dinner.
"THE CAR KEYS," Gio shouts at me while grabbing every single one of Valentina's emergency bags, which he insists on carrying everywhere "just in case."
Of course he was right.
Of course the one time we needed them is right now. I fumble around the table like an idiot trying to find the keys while Gio is stacking bags.
Behind us Lorenzo finishes his drink in one aggressive gulp and slams the glass on the table. "MADONNA MIA," he shouts. "THE CHILD IS HERE."
The baby is not here.
The baby is coming.
But Lorenzo is already emotionally in the delivery room. "VALENTINA AMORE," he yells. "I'M FINE," she says, which sounds extremely not fine.
Marco grabs one of her arms.
I grab the other. "Okay okay okay," I say, which is not helpful because I'm absolutely panicking. "We're going to the car."
We start walking her toward the door while the rest of the house collapses behind us. Gio is running around collecting bags while Jin is grabbing random water bottles.
Noah has taken his phone out. He flips the camera on, and fixes his hair.
I stare at him in horror. "Guys," he says to the camera like he's reporting live from a historical event. "GUYS—"
"NOAH," I say.
"Here you are witnessing the arrival of the second Fontana child—"
"SHUT UP," three people scream at the same time.
"—WE ARE GIVING BIRTH—"
"NOAH SHUT UP I'M THE ONE GIVING BIRTH NOT YOU," Valentina yells while trying to breathe through another contraction. Noah looks genuinely offended. "I'm documenting history."
Gio runs past us carrying three bags and a blanket. "Rava do you have the keys?!" he shouts.
I nod. We spill out into the driveway. Everyone's talking at the same time. I'm about to get into the car when suddenly, Gio grabs my waist. His other hand is scooping Antonio up.
"Gio, what are you doing—"
He doesn't answer. He pulls us both toward the back of the car and sits Antonio on the trunk.
Antonio immediately starts kicking his little feet against the metal. "Stay," Gio tells him. Then he steps back, pulls out his phone, flips the camera around, and suddenly we're all squeezed together.
Me. Antonio. Gio.
Click. The flash hits my eyes.
And the second it does, it clicks in my head too. What he just did. Of course he thought of it. 'Before everything changes.' Before the house fills with another tiny screaming human.
Before we're not just us anymore.
My eyes start burning immediately. I hate that he knows me well enough to notice. Gio looks at the picture and breaks into the biggest, happiest grin I've ever seen on his face. He pulls us both in before I can even wipe my eyes.
Antonio gets squished between us. Gio wraps one arm around my shoulders, the other around Antonio's tiny back, pulling us tight against his chest. Then he kisses the top of my head. His hand moves up into my hair, gently brushing it back. "You okay?" he murmurs quietly.
I laugh a little even though my throat feels tight. "Yeah."
Gio squeezes us tighter. And suddenly it hits me. This right here. This is it.
The last few breaths of the life we've had until now.
Just the three of us. Our weird little chaotic family. Tonight that family gets bigger.
And it's beautiful, it's everything we wanted. But this version of us, just the three of us, is about to quietly disappear.
Antonio leans his head against Gio's chest. I lean into his shoulder. "Alright," Gio finally says softly. He kisses my head again. Then Antonio's.
"Let's go meet the next bean."