Her
eyes swept back and forth between Andriano and me before finally settling on
me.
“Mommy my stomach hurts,” she muttered while
rubbing her stomach before leaning forward and vomiting.
Chapter Eighteen
Andriano
Moving quickly to our daughter, Simone
and I stood before her tiny body before I swept her off of her feet. Trembling
in my arms, I held on tighter to my daughter as Simone reached for her hand.
“I’ll take her,” Simone said as she reached for
her. Clinging snuggly to my chest, my little bambina used what little strength
that she had left remain in my arms.
“Where’s the bathroom?” I turned to Simone as I
walked towards the stairs.
“Upstairs, first door to your left,” she replied
with apprehension in her tone. Taking two steps at a time, I entered the
spacious bathroom that clearly had the markings of all of our daughters. From
the pigmented shades of pink shower curtains to the individual baskets with
each of our daughters’ names on it, this bathroom was ultra-feminine. Pushing
the curtain to the side, Simone turned the shower faucet on as I sat on the
bathtub ledge. Balancing our daughter on my lap, I held her close and wished
that I could trade places with her. Looking up at Simone, she held a
compassionate and nurturing expression as she carefully took care of her.
“Baby, you have to take a bath. You have to be mommy’s
big girl, okay?” Simone asked as she lathered soap onto a washcloth until it
became suds.
Nodding her head weakly, Simone lifted our
daughter’s shirt off and over her head. Sliding her pants down her legs, Simone
lifted our daughter off of my lap and placed her in the warm water. Cleansing
her body, Simone tenderly showered our daughter despite her series of whimpers.
Kneeling in front of the tub, I held onto our
daughter’s hand to calm her whimpering. “Mommy’s almost done. Keep being a big
girl for me,” Simone whispered softly to our daughter.
Wrapping the towel around her, I held onto
her as Simone led me to their daughter’s bedroom. Observing the modest bedroom,
I looked at the furnishing that occupied the space. All three beds were aligned
and neatly made with different color bed settings. Stopping at the bed in the
center Simone pulled back the bedding and I laid her down. Walking towards the
dresser, Simone pulled out some clothes and rushed back to the bed. Dressing
her, Simone and I remained silent as we tended to our daughter.
Staring down at one of our most precious
creations, I couldn’t help but fall deeper in love with my bella mia .
As much as I wanted to hate her, I couldn’t
bring myself to do so. She gave me three beautiful girls that I fell in love
with the moment I saw them. They restored the innocence in me that I thought
was long gone. But like my bella mia , they instantly became my
weakness—the most intimate part of me that I valued more than my next breath.
“I’ll be right back,” Simone said as she
ran out of the bedroom. Returning shortly after, she placed a pail with water
and soap on the side of the bed. Removing the pouch from under her arm, Simone
pulled out a thermometer and coached our daughter to slide the stick under her
tongue. After a minute or two passed, Simone silently read the thermometer.
Unable to read Simone’s expression, I
became fearful of what the test revealed. “Does she have a temperature?” I
asked, harsher than I would’ve liked.
“No, she does not have a temperature.”
Exhaling, I was relieved to know that our
daughter was okay. Almost instantly, I reached for Simone’s hand and brought it
close to my lips before dropping kisses of appreciation against her skin.
Moving away from me, Simone pulled her hand out of my grasp. Standing up,
Simone crossed her arms and stared straight through me with her darkened eyes.
“You need to
eyes swept back and forth between Andriano and me before finally settling on
me.
“Mommy my stomach hurts,” she muttered while
rubbing her stomach before leaning forward and vomiting.
Chapter Eighteen
Andriano
Moving quickly to our daughter, Simone
and I stood before her tiny body before I swept her off of her feet. Trembling
in my arms, I held on tighter to my daughter as Simone reached for her hand.
“I’ll take her,” Simone said as she reached for
her. Clinging snuggly to my chest, my little bambina used what little strength
that she had left remain in my arms.
“Where’s the bathroom?” I turned to Simone as I
walked towards the stairs.
“Upstairs, first door to your left,” she replied
with apprehension in her tone. Taking two steps at a time, I entered the
spacious bathroom that clearly had the markings of all of our daughters. From
the pigmented shades of pink shower curtains to the individual baskets with
each of our daughters’ names on it, this bathroom was ultra-feminine. Pushing
the curtain to the side, Simone turned the shower faucet on as I sat on the
bathtub ledge. Balancing our daughter on my lap, I held her close and wished
that I could trade places with her. Looking up at Simone, she held a
compassionate and nurturing expression as she carefully took care of her.
“Baby, you have to take a bath. You have to be mommy’s
big girl, okay?” Simone asked as she lathered soap onto a washcloth until it
became suds.
Nodding her head weakly, Simone lifted our
daughter’s shirt off and over her head. Sliding her pants down her legs, Simone
lifted our daughter off of my lap and placed her in the warm water. Cleansing
her body, Simone tenderly showered our daughter despite her series of whimpers.
Kneeling in front of the tub, I held onto our
daughter’s hand to calm her whimpering. “Mommy’s almost done. Keep being a big
girl for me,” Simone whispered softly to our daughter.
Wrapping the towel around her, I held onto
her as Simone led me to their daughter’s bedroom. Observing the modest bedroom,
I looked at the furnishing that occupied the space. All three beds were aligned
and neatly made with different color bed settings. Stopping at the bed in the
center Simone pulled back the bedding and I laid her down. Walking towards the
dresser, Simone pulled out some clothes and rushed back to the bed. Dressing
her, Simone and I remained silent as we tended to our daughter.
Staring down at one of our most precious
creations, I couldn’t help but fall deeper in love with my bella mia .
As much as I wanted to hate her, I couldn’t
bring myself to do so. She gave me three beautiful girls that I fell in love
with the moment I saw them. They restored the innocence in me that I thought
was long gone. But like my bella mia , they instantly became my
weakness—the most intimate part of me that I valued more than my next breath.
“I’ll be right back,” Simone said as she
ran out of the bedroom. Returning shortly after, she placed a pail with water
and soap on the side of the bed. Removing the pouch from under her arm, Simone
pulled out a thermometer and coached our daughter to slide the stick under her
tongue. After a minute or two passed, Simone silently read the thermometer.
Unable to read Simone’s expression, I
became fearful of what the test revealed. “Does she have a temperature?” I
asked, harsher than I would’ve liked.
“No, she does not have a temperature.”
Exhaling, I was relieved to know that our
daughter was okay. Almost instantly, I reached for Simone’s hand and brought it
close to my lips before dropping kisses of appreciation against her skin.
Moving away from me, Simone pulled her hand out of my grasp. Standing up,
Simone crossed her arms and stared straight through me with her darkened eyes.
“You need to
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