Page 6 of Ms. Lead

“Can Mr. Belly come over sometime?” Ava asks, interrupting my thoughts, her voice tired. Maybe they’ll both take a nap when we get to Normandy’s house. I’d love a nap too. I wish.

“Um…I don’t know. That’s going to be up to your mom and dad.” I’m surprised she’s asking. From what I saw, she didn’t get any attention from Oliver. Maybe they talked in the car when I was getting his suitcase out of the trunk. “Did you like him?” Kids are known for their good instincts about most adults.

“Yeah, he made a face at me that was funny.”

I glance at the mirror and see her scrunching her nose up and shutting her eyes tightly. I think it might be an attempt at winking. Jett starts to copy her at once.

“You like people making faces at you?”

“No!” she laughs. “Just when he did it. It was funny.”

“Oh, okay then.” I nod my understanding. Because, of course, that’s entirely logical. I like kid logic.

Once at Normandy and Brandon’s house, there’s still no news about the imminent baby, so the kids and I have some popcorn for a snack and sprawl on the huge couches with super soft blankets in the media room to watch a movie.

They’re asleep within ten minutes of the movie starting, and I’m almost right behind them, but my phone buzzes. When I check the screen, I see my older brother Lorenzo calling, so I slip out of the room to answer.

“Hey, Enzo. How are you?” It’s odd for him to call in the middle of a weekday like this, so his call worries me.

“I’m fine and dandy. How are you?” His emphasis on “you” has me curious.

“I’m fine too. Why? Should I not be fine?”

Maybe something happened to someone else in the family, and he thinks I should be upset.

“No. I don’t know….”

“What’s going on? Why are you calling me at two in the afternoon on a Thursday? Did you get arrested or something? Are you calling for bail?”

“What? No.” That at least gets a laugh. “I just had a weird feeling to call you, that’s all. So, I wanted to check.”

“Check what?” This isn’t the first time he’s done this, calling me after getting a weird feeling. It always scares the shit out of me when he does it. Our grandmother always said he could see and talk to spirits and stuff like that, but he’s always denied any supernatural gifts. When he gets like this, though, I tend to believe my grandmother.

“Just that you’re okay, sorellina. I’m your big brother. I’m allowed to check on you once in a while.”

“Alright. You’re allowed. And I’m…fine.”

“Uh-huh. Right there. You hesitated. What happened?”

“Enzo…”

“Don’t “Enzo” me. Talk.”

He can be more stubborn than me, which is saying something. Because I can be downright unmovable.

“It’s nothing.”

“Bianca Maria Carmen Torino. Don’t make me call on our ancestors.”

“There was a guy that I met today….” I start, unsure where to begin or what to say about any of it.

My brother and I are close and talk to each other about almost everything. Almost. He’s used to this kind of thing from me.

“Oh boy.” He starts laughing. “If I’m getting these vibes from this guy all the way in L.A., you better marry him. Like yesterday.”

“What?” He’s crazy. “Who said anything about vibes or getting married? Slow down, Enzo. We just met today, and we’re not even getting along anymore, so marriage is probably off the table. You can kick that idea right out of your head.”

“Ouch. I don’t know what to tell you, sis. You know how I am. Wait, you said “anymore,” does that mean you were getting along earlier? What happened to change that?”

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