Three Sisters of Delta Gamma Ch. 06

Amy came to them and gave each another hug and thanked them for playing with her. Paulo smiled, picked her up, kissed her cheek and carried her into the kitchen with Amy's legs wrapped around his waist.

"Who do you have there, Paulo?" asked Janice. All the women looked at them.

"The Jenga champion of the family. Layla, you could make some money betting on this girl."

"I know. She killed my friends in a match at our house a few days ago."

"Mr. Paulo, I won a whoopee pie and mommy had to feed it to me a bite at a time. It was good and I drank milk and Mr. Charles had whoopee pie on his nose and he rubbed it on Aunt Susanna's neck. It was fun."

"I'll bet it was," he replied with a smile.

"Mommy, can I have a glass of water?"

"Sure, sweetheart."

"I'll get it for her," Paulo said. All the women looked at him. He'd never helped with the kids in the kitchen. Paulo carried Amy and the water back into the game room.

In the kitchen, Anna smiled and asked, "She calls you her mommy?"

"Yeah, that started a couple of weeks after Eric and I began dating. She really wants a new mommy." Layla then told the women about Melissa and the drug problems and disappearance.

Anna said, "I thought you said she had died in a car wreck."

"I did. But I learned later that she had actually survived and then took off. Amy has been told she died. It was simpler that way."

"How could any mom abandon her baby?" Janice asked.

"Drugs will make you do anything. The worst thing is that Melissa has come home and is at her parents' house now. Eric is going to meet with her tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh crap," Janice replied. The women all stared at Layla and shook their heads.

"He swears he's not going to let her get between us but I'm worried."

Anna replied, "I would be too."

Eric walked into the kitchen and overheard the last two comments. "There's no reason to worry, ladies. I'm totally committed to you, Layla." All the women smiled and went back to work.

Eric asked Layla, "Did you see Amy and Paulo?"

"I did. She has him wrapped around her tiny finger." The women all laughed.

"That's what I was going to tell you. They're in there talking about their favorite characters on Sesame Street."

Anna added, "Doesn't surprise me. Paulo watched that show every day when he was a little boy."

"Leonardo tried to convince Amy that Cookie Monster was a bad guy. She told him that anyone named 'Cookie' was good." The women laughed.

"One thing Paulo did that I thought was good. He taught her to dial '911' if she was ever scared and needed help to come. He cautioned her it was only for real emergencies. I've been meaning to teach her that and he beat me to it."

Janice responded, "He taught all our kids to do that. It's important."

Layla responded, "Sure is. I hear about kids calling 911 all the time for their parents who need help. I'll be sure to thank Paulo for doing that."

A few minutes later, Layla walked to the bathroom as Leonardo was emerging. He pulled her back inside. "Hey sis, I appreciate you ignoring Mario and the guys in Wilmington a few days ago. We had an order to process and had no idea you, Eric and Amy would be around there. When they saw you, they almost decided to back off and wait but then you went into the restaurant and they decided to go ahead. We'd been watching these guys for a week. I'm very sorry we got that close to you."

"It worked out but Eric was very suspicious of why I sped up and hurried to the restaurant. He knew I was scared of something so I had to tell him a few lies about seeing a gun in the car. I think we're okay now."

"Good. Mario felt really bad about doing a job that close to you three."

"Tell him it's fine and that I still like him." Both smiled and hugged.

****

Dinner was ready in the late afternoon and it was truly a feast. Anna and the girls could cook and Eric had several great Italian dishes he'd never tasted before. Amy sat with most of the cousins at card tables in the game room. The adults and a few kids filled both the dining room and kitchen tables and food was everywhere. There were five different desserts and some wonderful homemade grappa for the adults. Eric knew better than to ask who made it.

After everyone pitched in to clean up, Layla's sister, two brothers and their families took off for home. There were many hugs and kisses between all the adults and kids, with Amy right in the middle of the muddle. Paulo picked up Amy and kissed her. She hugged his neck and thanked him for teaching her about 911. Paulo told her that he hoped she never would need to use it. Layla was very proud of her family and felt guilty about her earlier concerns.

Eric and Layla carried in their luggage and went directly upstairs to the two guest rooms. Amy settled into Angelo's lap and they talked about the day and each of the cousins she'd met. Layla returned while Eric unpacked.

"Maria and Lucia told me they call you grandpa."

"They do. Would you like to call me that?"

"Okay."

"Do you like Layla?"

"Oh yes. We have fun together. She's going to be my new mommy."

"She is?" He and Anna looked over at Layla.

"Amy, it's time for bed. Let's go up and I'll read to you. Mom, do you have any of my old childhood books?"

"Yes. They're in a box in the closet of the front bedroom. All the grandkids read them when they stay over."

Eric returned and kissed Amy as she started toward the stairs.

"Thanks, I'll help her to bed and come back down," Layla said.

Anna said to Eric, "She's a doll. Someone has done a great job raising her. I've never seen a young child with her manners and ability to talk intelligently with adults."

Eric replied, "Thanks. My mom was an elementary school teacher. She and my dad spend all their available time with her and they read to her every night."

"She called Layla 'mommy' this afternoon."

Eric replied, "Amy started calling Layla that shortly after we met. She really wants a new mommy and she did that with one other lady I dated for a while."

"Poor girl. Life has not been fair to her."

"True, she lost her mother but Amy was so young she doesn't remember her. My parents have become like parents to her; but she still knows that she doesn't have a mommy like all her friends do. Layla is filling that role now, at least in Amy's mind."

Anna responded, "It seems that Layla is very attracted to you." Angelo stared wide-eyed at Anna but didn't comment.

"We've dated only a couple of months but have become very close. You two raised a wonderful girl."

Anna replied, "She is a wonderful girl and has a lot to offer any man." Angelo again glanced at Anna and wondered why she said that.

Eric asked to be excused for a moment. While he was upstairs, Anna asked Angelo, "What do you think of Eric?"

"I think he's fine. He seems to be a very serious and responsible young man. The military was good for him and his plan to become a medical doctor is good. The boys like him. I do wish he was Italian. Is he Catholic?"

"No, a Presbyterian according to Layla."

"That bothers me but not as much as it used to. None of the boys go to mass anyway except at Christmas and Easter. They might as well be Presbyterians."

"Angelo, the old ways of insisting the family stay pure Italian and be Catholic don't fit all situations. Layla is falling in love with him. She told me that several weeks ago and asked about how I felt when I fell in love with you."

Angelo smiled and asked, "What did you tell her?"

"I told her the truth. My mind was on you all the time. Every little thing you did for me was so special and meaningful to me. You were and still are a romantic and make me feel good about myself."

"You are special Anna. Asking you to marry me was the best decision I ever made."

Anna leaned into him for a kiss. She took his hand and said, "The important thing is Layla's happiness and her future. I think Eric can give her a great life."

"You already have them married, it seems."

"They have to decide that but if Eric asks for your blessing, I'd like it very much if you gave it." Angelo gazed at Anna and smiled. He knew she always got her way, eventually.

In about 30 minutes, Layla and Eric returned and joined her parents in the family room. Layla said, "Amy likes me to read her to sleep when we're together. She's memorized many of the books and the little rascal corrects me if I miss a word."

"You were the same way. You being the youngest by several years, I had a little more time to read to you and didn't have to run off to take care of another baby. You memorized many of the books and I was amazed at your vocabulary when you were a young thing."

"I still love to read and it probably came from you reading so much to me."

"Parents don't do that so much nowadays because of computers, iPads, electronic games and such that the kids have. Kid's would rather play games than read."

"Papa, Eric's parents would like to meet you and mom soon. They live up in New Hope. They want you two to come to dinner or lunch."

"That'd be good. Your mom is the social director so work with her. She always tells me where to go, in more ways than one." Everyone laughed.

Anna asked, "You're going to meet with your former wife tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I agreed to meet her tomorrow afternoon."

Layla added, "We don't really know what she's after but I suspect she wants to start seeing Amy."

Eric added, "That's going to be a big problem for me. I don't trust her, no matter if she's recovered or not. Amy thinks she's gone to live with Jesus and it's going to stay that way as far as I'm concerned."

"Eric and I have agreed that Amy must know more about her one day. I think when she gets to be a teenager he owes it to her to explain everything that happened. Right now, she doesn't have any concept of drug abuse, of addiction, or of divorce."

Anna added, "Thank God. These are tough subjects for even teenagers to talk about and understand. That's why we have such a big drug problem, the kids each think it won't happen to them."

"Papa, you never even smoked, did you?"

"Only cigars now and then. But, I did like to drink and could have easily become an alcoholic had your mom not kicked my tail and put me back on the straight path." Everyone smiled.

Eric said, "I don't have any idea what she'll say tomorrow so I have to be ready for about anything. I'd appreciate your prayers for me while I'm there." Everyone nodded.

Sleep was difficult that night for both Eric and Layla. After tossing and turning for over an hour, they began talking about the challenge of getting though the next 24 hours. Eric suggested that they pray together. Layla and he knelt beside the bed and prayed for wisdom and courage as their tears flowed. They asked God to also bless Melissa and give her the courage to face the future and rebuild her life. It was apparent to Layla that Eric bore no ill will toward Melissa. He had passed that point a long time ago.

End of Chapter 6. Please comment and vote.