Page 24 of Destiny

“Pleased to meet you,” Aurora mutters while holding her hand out.

My mother takes it, but she’s clearly not thrilled about it. And when she pulls away, she makes sure to wipe it on the back of her jeans sufficiently.

“What’s all that for?” she asks, looking at the basket I’m carrying.

“We’re making cat yoyo pepe!” Alessia offers.

I stifle a little laugh. “Cacio e pepe.”

“I see.”

Yeah, mom. I get it. You don’t like it when I cook for them. God forbid you find out that I’m actually dating their father. However, I remember that Marco is telling people, so the chances of her finding out in our small community were pretty high. So, I make a note to come clean when we aren’t around his small children.

“Well, we’d better get going.”

“Okay. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Once we checked out, both kids asked for candy, and I allowed both of them to pick out one thing.

“Thank you, Bea.”

“You’re welcome. You deserve a little treat because you were so helpful in the store. That’s only going to continue tonight while we make dinner, right?” I’m mainly talking to Alessia, as she’s my kitchen helper.

“Yeah!” she answers.

“Great.”

After that, I load them and the groceries into the car.

“Hey, Bea?” Aurora asks after I get into the driver’s side.

“Yeah?”

“Why is your mommy so mean?”

I swoop both sides of my hair behind my ears. “Oh, sweetie. She isn’t mean. I think she was just having a bad day. Try not to take it personally.” In fact, I can’t remember a time when my mom didn’t have a bad day . . . and it seemed insane to me that she was, in fact, once a cannabis-loving flower child. I kept pictures in a box near my bed just for proof when I needed a reminder.

On the drive to their home, I turn on their favorite music, which just so happens to be the old 90s hits that I love because I trained them well.

“You may hate me, but it ain’t no lie. Baby, bye, bye, bye,” they sing in the back while doing the choreography. My heart swells with pride.

It isn’t long before I’m pulling into Marco’s driveway, and we get everything inside. It’s still too early to start making dinner, so I sit with them at the dining table while they do their homework for the night.

“What’s that, Alessia?” I ask after seeing her fill out a strange-looking diagram of sorts.

“A family tree.”

“Really? That’s cool. Can I see what you have so far?”

She shoves it over to me, and I read her dad’s name, her mother’s name, etc. But then, in a random floating spot, she wrote my name.

Aw, I think. However, part of me also worries that her dad will freak out when he sees it. But I don’t want to tell her to erase it. So, I don’t comment on it at all and just give it back. Then, I start cleaning around to pass the time.

“Hey, Bea?” one of them eventually calls me over.

“Yea?”

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