Page 30 of Vita Mia

Boo-Boo backed away. Eve was careful not to burn her puppy, she did learn a lesson once. She threw a lit matchstick and it landed on Boo-Boo before it completely blew out. Since then she made sure to throw the matches toward the shelves with the containers of liquids for cleaning. The distance almost always guaranteed the flame would extinguish.

“One... two... three,” she counted then struck a match. The flame ignited in a bright spark. She smiled then threw it. The match hit the shelf and blinked out. Eve giggled. “See, I told you Boo-Boo, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Fire is soooooooo pretty.”

Eve pulled out two matches by mistake. She’d never swiped two matches at once before. Her eyes stretched as her imagination expanded over the possibility. “Boo-Boo? Do you want to see something cool?”

The pup sat down and lifted her ears. Eve grinned. She stood up instead of sitting. “Okay, let me see if I can do it.”

To be extra careful Eve took her time. She placed her fingers to the center of the matchsticks to offer them support and prevent either one of them breaking. And then she concentrated. One swipe and a match lit which ignited the second match. Eve squealed with delight. The fire burned even brighter. It was like nothing she’d seen before. She stared into the flame transfixed and when the heat reached her fingers she threw the sticks. One of them blinked out. The other landed on a rag. The rag was hanging out of a mop pail similar to the one she’d been sitting on. A large blue flame sparked on the cloth. And then a brighter flame flared up. Startled Eve took a step back. Her puppy started barking again. The flame grew bigger by the minute. It climbed up the lower shelf and reached the upper shelf. The liquid cans began to explode. Eve burst into tears. She looked around for something and didn’t know what she could do to stop it. Her pup bit at her toes and tried to pull her pajama bottoms.

“I’m scared,” Eve wept.

The flames got taller and black smoke began to fill the room. She grabbed another towel to stop it from spreading the fire but it too started to burn. The fire licked her fingers and her left hand was now on fire. The long sleeve on her nightdress carried the flame up her arm. The pain was excruciating. She’d never hurt so bad before. Eve screamed and patted her hand. Her entire hand, wrist and part of her arm was on fire. She hollered and cried. She beat at her arm and the flames stopped. Suddenly her instinct to flee kicked in. She grabbed her puppy and rushed to the door. She could only use one hand. The doorknob turned after a few tries. She went outside of it and closed the door. There were more explosions inside and black smoke was coming from under the door.

Her puppy ran down the hall in the opposite direction.

“Boo-Boo!” she said through her tears. She went after her dog.

***

“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” Nico asked. He hooked Cecilia by the waist with one arm and brought his beloved close to him again.

She laughed.

“Nico! Be careful, remember you’re strong.”

“Oh! Sorry, did I hurt you? Did I hurt the baby?”

She captured his face in her hands and gave him a beautiful kiss.

“No, I’m fine. You just don’t know your strength sometimes, but I can handle it.” She kissed his nose and then his lips. “I have to use the bathroom again. It’s what pregnant women do.”

“Wait,” he grabbed her hips, gently. She stared up into the kindest eyes she’d ever known. No matter who Nico was for the Battaglias he was the most noble man in her life.

“I want to tell the Battaglias. Tonight,” Nico whispered.

“No. No. You promised.”

“It’s a time for celebrating. Every man in this family has a pregnant wife or new baby. It’s the year of the babies. And now I have mine,” he touched her belly gently.

“I have a better idea. Let’s tell our family first.”

Nico frowned. “This is our family.”

“Nico, I love the Battaglias. I know you do. But we have our own family. The Battaglia’s have all of our lives, this is for us. Our child is for us. I want to tell your mother and mine together. We leave in two days for Sicily. What do you think? Can we wait a little longer?”

“Whatever you want,cara, as long as you’re mine.”

“Am I yours?” she teased.

“I got a special place to finish the celebrating. A place for you,” Nico whispered in her ear.

Cecilia kissed his jaw. “I’ll go upstairs and pack my things. I’ll be back soon.”

Nico grabbed her hand and stopped her one last time. He gave her hand and knuckles another kiss and then she broke away. Cecilia felt as if she were floating. For a while she thought maybe she suffered the same womanly issues her sisters did. It was always hard for women in her family to conceive. But the Battaglias had magic, and suddenly the news was positive. She was going to have a bambina of her own. She dashed up the stairs to the second floor and headed to her bedroom. It was closest to the Don and Donna’s only because of the kids. Then she paused. With her pregnancy came the urgent need to pee, and forgetfulness. Instead of going to her room she turned the corridor and went to the shared bathroom on the same floor.

***

GIOVANNI’S DARK HAIRwas askew, and his expression was raw, thanks to the time he spent between her thighs loving her most intimately with his tongue. Down he went on her again and the brink of climax made her chew into her bottom lip to keep from screaming out. Again he stopped. Damn him. She kicked at his chest and he chuckled. He eased up on her with devilment in his eyes.

---