Chapter Two It’s The Cookies
Maya
I hurried the teens inside then we all halted as we gasped.
We were shocked at what we saw. Just inside the large door we went through was the largest entryway I had ever seen.
The marble tiles seemed to go on forever.
The floor sparkled and it looked so clean that people could probably eat from it.
Simultaneously, the twins and I all looked upward in complete awe.
The ceiling also seemed to go on forever.
The only place I could compare this to would be a church I once entered in Mexico City and even that didn’t seem as huge as this.
The church held three hundred people. This foyer as they probably called it could hold that many as well.
We were just inside the door, yet we were already lost. I did not know where to go at all.
“This is where our mother lives?” Hope whispered to me.
I nodded. “Si, Esperanza. That is what they said.”
“We cannot live here,” Alex said as he looked around with wide eyes. “They probably whip you, if you left a mark on the tile.”
“Oh, si,” a voice came from behind us.
We all flipped around to stare at Gabriela.
She slowly nodded her head as she added, “Oh, and you get a full beating for fingerprints.”
Alex looked a little ashen as he grabbed his sister’s hand and stepped forward. “Then we shall not stay here. Those old women beat on mi hermana and I made them stop when I grew taller. No one will mistreat Hope again.” He took a few steps then tried to go around Carlos and Gabriela.
Gabriela stepped up to face him. Tears filled her eyes. “I was only teasing you, my sweet son. It was a game, si? No one will ever mistreat you here.”
Alex paused to stare at her. “How do I know that this is true?”
Gabriela leaned in and grasped his cheeks to look into his eyes. “Because I waited fourteen years just to see you again. You and your sister. No one here would dare to mistreat either of you.”
“What about that mean looking man?” he queried suspiciously. “The one who hates Uncle Carlos?”
Gabriela nodded. “Si, they have history between them, but we are all family. And as family, we work things out. We do not call for violence.”
“That is not true,” Hope spoke up from beside her brother. “There were two men who came for us, they said they were our uncles. Alvaro and Miguel. They were very bad men. They threatened Maya. They had guns, they…” She shook her head as her small voice drifted away.
Gabriela looked over at Carlos.
He let out a sigh and nodded.
“Then it was two other hombres who shot them,” Alex added. “I heard what Rain and Henry said. Those were your cousins and they shot his cousins.” He motioned at Carlos.
This had to be hard for poor Gabriela and Carlos. To be faced with this awful truth. These two young teens had already seen the worst that people could be and those people were family members.
Gabriela swiped a tear away from her cheek and told Alex, “Look mio, there are bad people everywhere. And someday I will tell you and your sister why all of that happened. But from now on, you will not have to be around bad people.”
“What about that mean looking man we saw on the steps?” Alex asked.
“Do you mean me?”
We all looked up to see the man Alex had referred to.
Hope tugged Alex back to where I stood. She looked fearful but she still tried to protect her brother.
Mr. Mancini slowly shook his head and told both teens, “We do not hurt each other here.”
Alex looked from him to Carlos. “You looked like you were very angry at Uncle Carlos. So, you promise not to hurt him?”
Mr. Mancini actually smiled at the teen boy. “You are very brave, Alex.”
The teen shrugged. “No, senor…I am very afraid, but I will protect my family.”
Gabriela took his hand then reached over and took Hope’s hand. “You are safe here. This will be your home and no one will hurt you. Or Uncle Carlos. Let’s go to the kitchen and see what kind of cookies we can find.” She tugged them along.
The twins went along with her as they looked back at me.
I followed them. They had been under my wing for three years now and I refused to leave them.
At least until I knew they were safe here.
It did seem like Gabriela had this whole situation handled.
Mr. Mancini had a strong presence, like scary strong.
But she handled him like he was not a lion but the kitten of a lion.
I hid my smile at this conclusion. Looking from the teens to the man who walked next to me.
Henry kept up with us and I felt confused as to why he was doing that.
He smiled at me when our gazes met.
What a warm smile he had. I’d noticed his friendly manner a few times on the trip through Mexico and on the plane over to New Orleans.
I assumed that since we arrived here, he was protecting the twins while Mr. Rain was protecting Carlos.
This whole thing had been a bit scary I admit.
Especially after we arrived here. Up until then, it had been a very fun trip for the teens and even for me.
Then when we got out of the car, we saw Mr. Mancini and all the men who gathered like we were a war party.
That had been when the tension grew and the twins had picked up on that too.
They were highly intelligent and not much got by them.
They grew up with those two old women. And those two were not nice people.
I disliked them very much and almost declined the position, until I met the kids.
They pleaded with their eyes for me to accept the job as their nanny.
Then when we were alone, they confirmed it. Begging me to stay.
They had already started learning English before I ever came along, so when I taught them to read, write and speak it, they picked up on it fast. What they didn’t know was English had been my main language and Spanish was perhaps my third.
“Ms. Maya?” Henry spoke quietly from beside me.
Looking up, I saw we were in the kitchen entryway. I glanced over at Henry.
He nodded at me and motioned to the very large, very impressive kitchen.
Yes, I got distracted. All of this was a bit nerve wracking. I did feel glad that the kids seemed to be more comfortable though. Giving him a grateful smile, I stepped ahead of him.
The twins along with Gabriela were sitting at a table. They were all smiling and having a conversation.
An older woman stood at the counter, pouring milk into glasses.
“Come and join us,” Gabriela invited me. Then looking over at Henry she added, “And you as well.”
“I will stay at the door,” Henry replied.
Gabriela narrowed her eyes at him. “You will do no such thing. I realize you are a guard, but we are all safe here.” She then smirked at him. “Did you not see the army that patrols the estate?”
Yes, she was right no one would get close enough to hurt anyone here. That MC army was quite scary. I turned and gave him a nod. “Sit with us.”
He nodded back then went over to pull a chair out for me.
I felt my cheeks get a bit warm as he did not have to do that.
“The British,” Gabriela spoke up again. “They are all so polite. Pulling a chair for a woman. I haven’t seen that since…” She shook her head and chuckled. “Well, I have as Alberto does that for me.”
Henry gave her a polite nod as he sat next to me but he kept his gaze moving around the large room. Seems he would guard us no matter what anyone here claimed.
The older woman at the counter brought a tray over and set it on the table.
“This is Mrs. Santorini,” Gabriela introduced her. “She has been with the Mancini family for many years. We would all be lost without her.”
Mrs. Santorini smiled at us as she set out glasses of milk. “I am blessed as I am so lucky to be here. This familia is my family.” Next, she set several plates of cookies out on the table in front of us. “I hope you like Amaretti and Biscotti. Then if not, there is jam-filled Pizzicati.”
“I love the names,” Gabriela gushed. “I mean Spanish is a beautiful language but Italian is so musical and lyrical really.”
I nodded in agreement as I looked up at Mrs. Santorini. “Grazie per questi biscotti. Sembrano deliziosi.” Thank you for the cookies. They look delicious.
Mrs. Santorini paused in surprise and then she grinned at me. “Parli italiano? Che meraviglia!” You speak Italian? How wonderful!
I smiled at her then glanced at Henry.
Looking surprised, his eyes were rounded a bit. “Very impressive.”
I shrugged. “Not really.”
“Maya is the smartest person in the whole world,” Hope said. “She knows like five languages and we have learned them too.”
Everyone looked from her to me.
I lowered my head. I surely never wanted to draw any attention here. I just wanted to be sure the twins were safe and would be treated well. I didn’t need anyone to wonder about me.
“Well, try the cookies and we shall see which ones are your favorites,” Gabriela broke the silence as she seemed to realize I did not wish to talk about myself.
I picked up the Pizzicati. I loved these and it had been at least three years since I’d tasted one. With the first bite, I moaned a little. “Raspberry,” I said after I swallowed it. “Muy bueno.” Curious to see if Henry would relax for once and eat a cookie, I looked over at him.
He stared at me unblinking.
I paused, then I asked, “You do not like cookies?”
He seemed to catch himself staring. “Yes, of course. Which one did you just eat?”
“The Pizzicati. It is filled with raspberry jam.” I picked up the biscotti and added, “These are great as well. They weren’t originally cookies at all, but like a twice baked bread.
Then an Italian baker added almonds and sugar...
” I paused as I realized I was talking too much.
Taking the spotlight as it is called. My cheeks heated up and I bowed my head.
“I am sorry to interrupt.” I grabbed the glass and took a sip of milk.
So much for not drawing attention to myself.
“I told you she was smart,” Hope said, then took a sip of milk.
“She is,” Alex agreed. “I learned more in a year than all of my life before we met her. Just from her being our nanny.”
“And you did not interrupt,” Gabriela said to me. “That was an interesting cookie lesson.”
The twins giggled.
“Cookie lesson,” Alex mumbled under his breath. “My favorite kind of lesson.”
Gabriela looked over at him. “I can see you have your father’s humor. He was the funniest person I had ever known…”
Alex stared at her. “I have always wanted to know about him and you.”
“Me too,” Hope agreed.
“And now you will,” Gabriela told them as she dipped her cookie into the milk.
Hope gasped. “Oh, wow.”
Gabriela’s head shot up and she asked Hope, “What?”
Hope motioned to her own cup while dipping her cookie into it. “I do that too, dip cookies into the milk. Alex thinks it is how you say um…”
“…Gross!” Alex made a face. “It makes it turn into batter again like it never cooked.”
“Does not,” Hope argued.
“Does so,” he argued back.
I quietly raised my pointer finger at them.
They both quieted down and set their hand in their laps.
No, they weren’t afraid of me. That wasn’t it.
I taught them that only beggars, thieves and troublemakers argued loudly.
Only people who never had any learning did that.
Yes, they could disagree but there were places where you did not do that.
A dinner table was one, then in church, which the old women never let me take them.
I then gave them a nod. They knew I meant to keep on eating.
Gabriela smiled at them then at me. “So, I am wondering which cookie will get the most votes.” She nodded at my plate. “Try the last one.” She looked around the table. “Have you tasted all three?” she asked the twins.
They both nodded at her, their mouths full of cookies.
I took a bite of the Amaretti. They were like macaroons.
Puff balls made from almond flour with a powdered sugar coating.
They were yummy too. This all made me think of home.
It reminded me of why I was even here. The last three years I spent searching and coming up empty.
It was hard to keep my emotions in check.
Before I could prevent it, tears filled my eyes.