Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
“Daddy!” Marco comes running toward me, a construction paper dinosaur in one hand and a paper airplane in the other.
“Hey, buddy, those are awesome. Which one’s mine?”
He laughs and dodges my tickle. “They’re mine!”
I tousle his hair. “Marco, this is Dani. Dani, meet my son, Marco.”
I try not to read into this. I don’t want to get ahead of myself or start imagining shit, but… this feels significant. We aren’t just lovers anymore but revealing larger parts of who we really are.
"You have pretty hair," Marco says.
Dani smiles and winks at me. She knows I share his opinion. She introduces me to Emmy, then tells Marco, "You speak very well for a three-year-old."
"So do I," Emmy says, with a little flash of temper. Her brows pull together. Ah, feisty like her mom.
"You're not three," Dani says. "You’re four."
Emmy’s face breaks out into a grin. "Perfect."
Jason joins us after parking the car, and we sit on the lawn, coffee, bottles of water, and a plate of food between the five of us, eating mini muffins and donut holes. Emmy shows us a drawing that she made, and Marco blows bubbles. It's only a short visit, but it feels nice. Being with Marco, Dani, and Emmy like this feels like… family, and in a way that I've never had with my brothers.
As if summoned, my phone rings. I look at the screen, and silence it.
Rule number one of the Montavio Brotherhood is that you don’t ever silence a call from Sergio, but today Sergio can go fuck himself.
"Everything okay?" Dani asks.
"Fine," I say, although I'm not really sure it's true. Sergio doesn't like when I hang up on him.
My phone predictably blows up with texts.
Sergio:
Take my fucking call dickhead.
I grunt under my breath and reply.
I’m busy.
Next, Timeo starts pinging me.
Fucknuts, you are in so much trouble… Sergio's gonna killll you.
What the fuck is this about?
I ignore both texts and slide my phone into my pocket.
Twenty minutes later, the teachers start herding the kids together to go back inside.
"You should come over for dinner," Emmy says, her wide eyes bright with expectation. "My Mama cooks good."
"Oh, yeah?" Dani says. "If you think that, then why don't you eat any of it?"
Emmy makes a little face. "I mean grown-ups like it."
"I like food," Marco says. Dani’s eyes dance at me over their heads.
"I need to get to my studio soon," she says. I stand and stretch. Marco reaches for my hand. I bend and lift him, cuddling him against my chest.
“I gotta go, too.”
"Uncle Timmy?"
Before I turn around, there’s a notable shift in the atmosphere with the other parents. People stop talking, and everyone's staring behind me. Oh Jesus.
Dani’s eyes go wide.
Here? Now?
"Maybe he wanted some donut holes," I say through gritted teeth.
"That's your… brother?" Dani says. I need to know exactly how much she knows. How much does she know about my family? How much does she know about what I do? God. What the fuck am I getting myself into? What am I getting Dani into?
Why are they here?
Marco wriggles down and takes a running leap at Timeo who catches him mid-air. Sergio stands beside them, looking more furious than I can remember seeing him look in years.
Fuuuckk.
Marco's teacher comes up to me, a stack of papers in her hand, and freezes when she sees the Montavio family arranged on the front lawn of the preschool. Goddammit.
“For you,” she says, obviously flustered. “At your convenience, of course.”
“Thank you.” I sigh and turn to Dani. “I'll call you later.”
She blinks and looks as if I slapped her. I feel like an asshole, but I need to talk to them before I introduce her, and we're already causing a spectacle here. I squeeze her hand. “I promise.”
I lean in toward Sergio. "Did you guys have to come in here like this? I would've gotten back to you."
"Would you, though?" he says, narrowing his eyes at me.
"Yeah, I'm here for parent coffee at Marco’s school. Jesus. Do you guys have to announce who we are to everybody?"
"Do you, brother?" Sergio says.
I give Marco a kiss on the cheek. “I gotta go, bud.”
To his credit, Jason stands, brushes crumbs off his lap, and reaches a well-manicured hand toward Sergio.
"Are you the Sergio Montavio?" he says with utter grace. "I have heard so much about you. And Marco? I heard that you have some artwork to show Uncle Jason. Why don't you come and show me. Emmy, I have been dying for a nice, cold, refreshing glass of apple juice. Maybe you can show Uncle Jason where the apple juice is before your teacher puts it away."
“I don’t like apple juice,” Emmy says with a frown.
“Show me what else they have!” Jason says, not missing a beat. The two kids happily clamor after him, and Sergio raises an eyebrow at me.