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.”
I know. It was overwhelming sometimes.
“Come here a sec,” I said, and when he approached slowly, I bent at the waist, put my hands to his shoulders, and said, “I want you to meet Manda.”
Polite as he could, A.J. uttered a quietly shy, “Hello.”
Manda knelt down in front of him. “I’ve waited a long time to meet you.”
A.J. squinted up at her, confused. “You have?”
She nodded gently. “Yes. You see, I’m....” She licked her lips, looking mildly unsure of herself.
When it looked like Manda had lost herself, I took over. “You remember when I told you that you didn’t have any real aunts or uncles?”
A.J. nodded.
I put my lips to his ear and mock whispered, “I lied.”
A.J. spun on me. His brows rose so high they almost touched his hairline, and he looked positively dumbstruck. He whispered back, “You lied?”
A soft laugh left me. “Not on purpose, baby. I didn’t know about your aunt Manda.”
A.J. faced her and muttered a disbelieving, “You’re my aunt?”
Manda swallowed hard. “Yes.” Then she gently explained, “I’m your father’s sister,” and A.J.’s head all but imploded.
He stood staring at her, unblinking. He did this a long while, and when he made no move to say or do anything, I snuffled out a soft laugh. “Are you okay, bud?”
He shook his head, and when I laughed, Manda smiled kindly. “I brought you a gift.”
Well, that snapped him out of his stupor.
Typical.
Leaving me, A.J. strolled over to her, and she pulled the handkerchief out of her satchel, unwrapping it carefully before placing the silver pocket watch into A.J.’s hands.
His eyes widened, and he said a hushed, “Wow.”
Manda pressed the top, opening the face of the intricately engraved watch. “This was my father’s. He gave it to me. It’s a family heirloom. See, you’re my family, A.J.” She touched his cheek. “And now I’m giving it to you.”
What she said was so touching I blinked back the sudden sentiment that swept through me.
A.J. leaned into her. “What does that say?” He pointed to the inside of the face.
Manda explained, “It says Con Affetto. In Italian, it means I love you.” She gently took his hand in hers. “My father, your grandfather, would love to meet you someday. Would you like that?”
And A.J.’s mind was blown once again. Turning slowly, he looked at Manda, and murmured, “I have a grandfather?”
Manda tipped her head back and laughed. I couldn’t help the smile that fought to be freed. He really was adorable.
“Yes,” she laughed. “You have a grandfather, sweetie. Although I’m sure he’d like for you to call him Nonno Tony.” At his astonishment, she touched a finger to the tip of his nose. “What do you say? Want to meet your nonno Tony?”
A.J. nodded slowly then more enthusiastically until finally, a sweet little smile stretched his lips.
Manda spent some time with A.J. and I insisted she stay for dinner. We ate at the table, as a family, and when Manda told A.J. she’d never met his father, A.J. responded with, “That’s okay. You can see him another time.” Then he smiled a toothy grin. “I’ll tell him you want to meet him.”