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“I don’t think my brother knew how to do that,” Lexi says as we leave the gym an hour later. She’s catching a ride on top of Max’s shoulders, her tutu covering the top of his forehead. Her and that tutu. She held everyone’s attention the entire time she was there. Tony showed her some self-defense moves and watching her do them in the tutu was the highlight of everyone’s day.
I laugh to myself thinking about when Tony had her in a tight hold and she was supposed to grab his wrist. Instead, she started belting out the song blaring from the gym speakers. Tony was so caught off guard, he let her go while he was laughing. She was so proud of herself that she got loose, she danced and sang for everyone.
Then Tony and I sparred. Tony ended up calling it quits because of my cheering section. He told me I wasn’t playing fair having her around. She was a little distracting. I think we were laughing more than we were working out.
“Hey, Lulu, what’s for lunch?” Max asks. I glance over at him, tilting my head. Lulu?
He shrugs. “She told me Syd calls her Lulu. I like it,” he states matter-of-factly. Well, okay.
“I want pasghetti,” Lexi says, clapping her hands.
“You want what?” Max replies.
“Pa-sghetti,” Lexi says slowly, leaning down over Max’s shoulders.
“Do you mean spaghetti?” he asks, confused. We’ve already had this exact conversation, so I know that is what she wants, but it’s still hilarious when she says it.
“That’s what I said,” she huffs adorably, sitting straight back up. “Pasghetti.”
“Okay then, let’s get you some pasghetti.”
“Yay.” She claps again. “There is this yummy place that has the best pasghetti. It even has the name Bella in it. I wish my name was Bella,” she says, resting her head on top of Max’s head.
“What? Then I couldn’t call you Lulu,” Max says, flipping her off his shoulders. She squeals on the way down.
“But Bella means beautiful. I want my name to mean beautiful.”
Max scoffs. “Do you know what your name means?” She shakes her head. “It means protector,” he says, grabbing her hand.
She looks down. “Well, I don’t want that name. I couldn’t protect my family.” My heart breaks for her. Max squats down and pulls her in close to him.
“Lulu, you’re five,” he says softly, pulling her chin up to meet his eyes. “There was nothing that you could have done except for what you did. But don’t forget that your name is a strong name for a strong little girl.”
Tears swim around my eyes as she jumps into Max’s arms, and he embraces her. “I want to be strong like you, Max.”
“Oh, Lulu, you’re the strongest girl I know.”
She releases Max’s hold and smiles wide. “I need pasghetti to make me stronger.” She pats her tummy.
I blink back my tears, smiling down at her, when she looks at me. I wonder if she’s talking about Marco’s restaurant. I don’t know any other restaurant with Bella in it.
“Are you talking about Bella Mistero?”
“Yes,” she says, jumping up and down.
I haven’t seen Marco since the park incident. And I really don’t want to now. Considering Max is going to be joining us, I think it’s probably not a good idea to eat there. “How about we order from them and take it home?” We can easily pass by the restaurant walking home from the gym. She nods quickly. I call in our order so it’ll be ready once we get there.
Please don’t let Marco be there.
“How about you go in and get the food, and we’ll wait on the bench. It’s such a beautiful day.” I look at Max and smile innocently. He watches me for a beat and then nods, going into the restaurant by himself. A few minutes later Max walks out with our food. Lexi is jumping up and down singing “On top of Pasghetti…”
I glance at the restaurant door opening and Marco walks out, flashing a crooked smile, strutting my way. Damnit! I lean over to Max and tell him to take Lexi and that I’ll be right behind them. He takes Lexi’s hand, but his eyes dart over to Marco. He looks back at me, and I slightly nod that it’s okay. Lexi’s too busy singing her song and skipping that she doesn’t see Marco.
“Hi, Marco.”
“Hi, beautiful,” he says with a cheerful smile. I blow out a huge breath. I guess we’re back to normal. He looks over my shoulder to Max and Lexi walking away. “Why didn’t you come in and eat?”
“I have company,” I say, tilting my head in their direction. “We’re doing a picnic and my little friend wanted spaghetti.” He nods and looks their way again. His gaze remains on them for a few moments before he looks back at me. “Well, I guess I should get going before my food gets cold.”
