“Can you do any tricks?” a girl interjected.
“What kind of tricks?” The Professor fought to hide his amusement.
“Lift something heavy, see through walls, fly.”
“Oh, yes, fly!” The children began to jump up and down.
The Professor looked at the ever-increasing crowd of youngsters moving around him and sighed. He held his hands out to quiet them.
Then he leaned forward, dropping his voice.
“No one knows Clark Kent is Superman.”
“I know,” said one of the boys, lifting his hand high in the air.
Gabriel grinned. “Yes, you know. But none of the adults know. Lois and I are here for the party. So I need you all to help us keep this a secret. Understand?”
Some of the children gazed at him skeptically, but many of them nodded.
“Now Lois has a present for all of you. Why don’t you go over and say hello and pick up your gift?”
With a somewhat mixed reaction, the children began to disperse, soon distracted by other pursuits.
Julia, who had been half-listening to the exchange nearby, caught his eye and winked.
Superman? she mouthed.
He shook his head. He’d been called a lot of things in his thirty-five years, but no one had ever accused him of being Superman. Although he had to admit, Julia would make a damn fine Lois Lane.
He wondered if there was a costume shop in Florence that he could visit.
He was contemplating that (and other naughty things) when he felt someone’s eyes on him. He looked down and saw a small blond girl. She had her fingers in her mouth and was staring up at him.
He smiled. “Ciao, tesoro.”
She took her fingers out of her mouth and extended her arms.
At first, he didn’t understand what she wanted. She lifted her arms higher and waved them slightly.
“She’s asking you to pick her up, Man of Steel.” Julia was suddenly beside him.
Gabriel lifted the girl into his arms and she smiled briefly before placing her fingers back in her mouth.
It was at this moment that Julia’s eyes met his and a long look passed between them. She greeted the child and patted her on the back. Then she returned to the gift table.
“Maria doesn’t speak.”
Gabriel turned to face Elena, Brother Silvestro’s most capable assistant.
Elena reached out to tuck a blond curl behind the child’s ear. “I’m surprised she went to you. She usually avoids strangers.”
“How old is she?” Gabriel asked.
“Three.” Elena switched to English. “But she hasn’t spoken since she arrived almost a year ago.”
“Why not?”
“Too much trauma.”
Gabriel looked at the cherubic face of the child and suppressed a series of curses.
“Will she ever speak?”
“We hope so. She needs a family, certainly.”
Unconsciously, Gabriel held the child more closely.
“Is it difficult to find families?”
“Sometimes.” Elena smiled at Maria and spoke Italian, asking if she was enjoying the party.
Maria nodded and pointed in the direction of the ponies.
“Ah. I think you would like a pony ride. Shall I?” Elena gestured as if to take the girl, but Gabriel shook his head.
“I’ll take her.”
He walked over to the ponies and asked her in Italian which one was her favorite. She pointed to the smallest one, a black pony with white patches on his coat. He had a braided tail with a red ribbon tied to the end of it. He was called Cioccolato.
Carefully, Gabriel placed Maria on the saddle and rested his hand on her back while the pony’s owner began to lead them in a circle.
Maria smiled and clutched the pony’s mane between her tiny fingers.
As Gabriel walked the circuit with the child and the pony, he mused on the fact that his life could have turned out very differently. He was not an orphan, but a man with a family. And he had a family because Grace and Richard had opened their home and their hearts to him.
Although the darkness that was currently eating away at him had not abated, he found himself grateful for the hope that had shone in his life. And he vowed to share that hope with others. Somehow.
Julia watched her husband with the crowd of children and later, with the little girl, and found herself transfixed. Something about the sight of a tall, handsome man explaining why he wasn’t Superman warmed her.
She hadn’t had many opportunities to watch Gabriel interact with children. She never accompanied him on his volunteer work at the Italian Home for Children. She’d seen him interact with Quinn, of course, but only on a few occasions.
Seeing how Gabriel was protective and sweet with Maria tugged at her heart.