Total pages in book: 178
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Okay, then.
As the coffee machine was filling, I felt a little awkward. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go and cry on you out there. I guess I was a little overwhelmed.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “You don’t look like Twitch, but when you smiled...” I shrugged. “For a second, I saw him in your smile.”
Manda’s face softened. “You must have loved him very much.”
I poured the coffee and spoke quietly. “I never stopped.” When I handed her a mug, bringing over the sugar and creamer, I told her, “I didn’t know he had a sister. He never mentioned you.”
She kind of looked embarrassed. “He didn’t know. I’m sure that under the circumstances, he wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with us anyways.”
Whoa. “What do you mean?” And more importantly, “Who is us?”
Manda smiled tightly, before explaining, “I have a brother named Giuseppe. We call him Zep.” She bit her lip. “He and Tony were born only days apart.”
And it all made sense.
My brows rose. “Oh.”
Manda laughed under her breath. “Yeah, exactly. So Zep and I have the same mother, but Tony’s mom, I never met. I heard she was a jerk anyways, so when I found out she died a few years back, it was like ‘good riddance.’” She paused. “Zep never felt the need to go looking for our brother, but I did, for a very long time.” She looked dejected. “I just found him too late.”
That was sad. I was sad for her.
My voice was kind. “I’m sorry.”
She shook her head, sipping her black coffee. “Thank you, but it’s okay.” She smiled. “I found you and—” she looked at me hopefully. “—my nephew.”
As if I were going to keep A.J. from this sweet woman. “He’ll be home in an hour.”
Manda looked momentarily jubilant. “I bought him a little present.” Then she seemed nervous. “I hope he likes it.”
“I’m sure he’ll love it,” I replied, but I decided to be honest and did this cautiously. “I didn’t tell him about you. He’s going to be surprised.”
Manda and I talked a while. She told me about her husband, Evander MacDiarmid, and when I asked why she didn’t keep the same name, she told me her father had insisted she keep her own. I wasn’t sure why, but it seemed important, so I dropped it. When I asked about Antonio Falco Sr, Manda’s face lit up as she spoke about the older man.
“He’s the sweetest man you’ll ever meet. I swear to God. He really wants to meet you, but—” She shrugged lightly. “—he didn’t know if he’d be welcome, so I thought I’d come alone and gauge how you felt about that.”
Meeting Twitch’s dad? Oh, wow. This was intense.
Why was I so anxious about that? “I think I’d like that.”
Manda beamed, but she kept a soft tone. “I’ll let him know.”
Before I knew it, an hour had passed and we were minutes away from Molly bringing A.J. home. I felt the need to warn Manda. “A.J.’s going to be home any minute now, which is why I need to explain to you that A.J. sometimes talks about Twitch in the present.”
When her face took on an expression of pure confusion, she asked, “How so?”
I ran my finger along the edge of the wooden table. “It seems A.J. has been imagining his father has been visiting him at night.”
Manda’s face paled. “Really?”
I know. It was weird, but I couldn’t help but defend my son. “He’s grieving, Manda.”
At my short statement, her expression softened. “Of course. Thanks for the heads up.”
I smiled tightly. “No problem.”
The awkward encounter passed the moment the front door opened. Manda stood, looking out into the hall, and we heard Molly say the same thing she said every school day afternoon. “Okay, bud. Shoes off. Bag away. I’ll get you a snack.”
Without even peering into the kitchen, A.J. ran past so quickly he looked like a blur. “Hi, Mum!”
Manda’s brows rose as she turned to me, smiling, and I shook my head in return, grinning. “Hey, honey. Can you come in here when you’re done?”
Molly stepped into the kitchen, looking from Manda to me, and when I made a face, reminding her not to be so rude, Molly sighed, walking forward and watching the other woman cautiously. “I’m Molly.”
Manda smiled. “Manda. Nice to meet you.”
Molly looked Manda up and down. “I’m A.J.’s nanny,” is what she said. What it sounded like was, “I’m A.J.’s detail, and I don’t want you messing with him.”
So Molly was a little protective. It was one of the things I loved about her.
When the little monster slid into the kitchen in his socks, he smiled at me a moment before he looked up at Manda, his eyes roaming her openly, guardedly.
Her smile widened and her voice turned wistful. “Hello, A.J.” When he didn’t respond, she turned to me and spoke whisper soft. “Oh my God. He looks just like him.”