by Alexa Land
I asked Izzy, “Want to come with me to find a vase for these?” She nodded and slipped her hand in mine, and the three of us went back to the office. I found an old glass bottle, filled it with water and the dandelions, and put them on the photo shelf. Then I asked Izzy and Malia if they wanted a drink, and when they said yes, I handed them both an apple juice from the mini-fridge.
As Izzy sat on the blue quilt I’d found for the daybed, sipping her juice and swinging her feet, Malia said, “I like what you’ve done with the place.”
“I didn’t do much. Mostly, I just cleaned,” I said, indicating the tidy shelves and desk. “The curtains and new bedding did freshen it up a bit, though.” Kai and I spent the night in the office two or three times a week. We’d go to his house around five, spend every afternoon and evening with his family and tuck Izzy in before returning to the garage and working until midnight. Of course, whenever Nana called, I’d drop everything and go help her, but those calls were few and far between.
Malia said, “It’s a huge improvement. My brother doesn’t usually give much thought to his surroundings. Where is he, anyway?”
“He said he had a meeting and took off maybe forty minutes ago.”
“What kind of meeting?”
“No clue. I expect him back soon though, since he said he’d only be gone an hour.”
“I just assumed he’d be here. Mom and Gran are both out, and I’m supposed to pick up my boyfriend and drive to Redwood City to look at a second-hand food truck. I can take Iz along, but I think she’ll be bored out of her mind.”
“You can leave Izzy with me if you want. We’ll go out to the patio and draw pictures, right Princess Isabella?” The little girl gave me a bashful grin and nodded.
Malia thanked me and apologized before heading to the door, but there was no need to. I loved spending time with Izzy, and she and I had really bonded over the past few weeks. I gathered up the pads of drawing paper and the Mason jar full of colored pencils I’d bought for her visits to the shop, along with a tiny, pink gift bag. Then I closed and locked the garage and headed to the patio with my cute companion.
The mid-May weather was absolutely perfect. Izzy sat beside me on the bench at the red picnic table, and when I put the three-by-three-inch gift bag in front of her, Izzy’s eyes went wide and she said, “It’s not my birthday.”
“I know. I just saw something pretty at the store and thought of you.” She carefully pulled out the tuft of pale pink tissue paper and when she peered into the bag, her face erupted into a huge smile. As she carefully pulled the pair of rhinestone butterfly-shaped barrettes from the bag, I explained, “On days you can’t wear your tiara, you can wear these and still be the butterfly princess.”
She scrambled up onto the bench and grabbed me in a hug, strangling me a bit, but it was totally worth it. “They’re the most beautiful things in the whole world! Thank you so much, Jessie,” she exclaimed. It was a far bigger reaction than I’d expected from a three-dollar set of hair clips.
I hugged her gently and said, “You’re welcome, Princess Isabella.”
When she let go of me, she asked, “Will you help me put them in my hair?”
“Love to.” She opened her little fabric handbag and pulled out a tiny brush. Its handle was clear plastic with hot pink glitter throughout it. Izzy handed me the brush and sat with her back to me, and as I carefully untangled the ponytail holder from her thick, dark hair, I asked, “Do you want me to French braid it for you?”
She looked at me over her shoulder. “Do you know how?”
I nodded. “My sister Ruthie taught me so I could do her hair. She only had brothers, and our mom was usually too busy with something or another to fuss with things like that. I’m out of practice, but I haven’t forgotten how it’s done.” Izzy seemed impressed.
As I ran the brush through her hair, she asked, “Do you think you and my daddy will get married?”
That caught me off guard, and I stammered, “I, um, I don’t know.”
“I hope you do,” she said. “I like how happy Daddy is now that you’re his boyfriend. I used to want him to find a mommy for me because I don’t have one, but I’ve been thinking. I kind of already have three mommies, between Auntie Mal and Gran and Great-Gran. But I only have one Daddy. Our family could use one more, even though we’ll still have way more girls than boys.” I had to grin at that logic.
When the braid was completed and the hair clips were in place on either side of her head, I snapped pictures with my phone so Izzy could see the results. She was absolutely delighted, and said, “You and Daddy need to start spending the night at our house instead of here. That way, you can braid my hair before school. I know you guys do sleepovers a lot, because he’s so happy and smiley in the morning.”
It was nice to hear I had a visible effect on him. “Doesn’t anyone in your family do this?”
She turned to me and shook her head solemnly. “Auntie Mal goes to work really early, and when Gran or Great-Gran try to braid my hair it turns out all lumpy. You made it perfect. Why don’t you spend the night tonight so my hair can be pretty for school tomorrow?”
“I’ll have to ask your dad,” I said.
“He’ll say yes.”
I turned our attention to the three spiral bound drawing pads and handed Izzy hers. The other two were labeled ‘Jessie’ and ‘Kai’. He mostly drew cars whenever we roped him into doodling with us (he thought he was terrible at it, so it usually took some cajoling), and I was basically the stick figure king, but I enjoyed it.
Izzy concentrated on her drawing, her brows knit as she gripped a yellow colored pencil. The tip of her tongue peeked out from between her lips, and when she saw me grinning and watching her, she hooked her arm around the drawing and admonished, “Don’t peek!”
I assured her I wasn’t and went back to my stick figures. A few minutes later, Izzy carefully tore the sheet from her drawing pad and handed it to me. “I made you a present. I drew a frame around it, so you can put it on the picture shelf in the office. You need to be up there, too.”
A lump formed in my throat as I looked at the carefully rendered portrait. Izzy had drawn herself holding hands with me on her left and Kai on her right. We were all smiling and surrounded by hearts. She’d drawn a golden frame around the edge of the paper, and misspelled ‘famly’ at the top of the paper in her adorable, chunky block print. It meant more to me than she could possibly realize. I pulled the little girl into another hug and whispered, “Thank you.”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s the most wonderful present anyone’s ever given me in my entire life.” I really meant that.
She seemed pleased, and when I let go of her, she started drawing flowers on a fresh sheet of paper as she hummed to herself. I took another look at the picture before tucking it carefully between a couple clean pages of my drawing pad. Her ability to open her heart like that, to decide I was family after just a few short weeks, was both touching and humbling. It was so genuine, completely without ulterior motives or the need for explanation. It just was.
I realized something all of a sudden. Nana had proclaimed me family in exactly the same way, just weeks after I went to work for her. With Nana, just as with Izzy, you could take them at their word. If they said I was family, then as far as either one of them was concerned, I absolutely was. They wouldn’t tell me what I wanted to hear. Instead, they spoke from the heart, always.
I couldn’t remember if I’d ever told Nana I loved her, and if I hadn’t, that was a huge oversight. I picked up the phone and texted: I love you, Nana. Thank you for letting me be a part of your family.
She texted back: I love you too, Sweet Pea, and you’ll always be a part of my family. Are you at the garage? I have something for you. I told her I was, then went back to drawing.
Fifteen minutes later, Nana and Kai’s Gran bustled into the yard. They were both wearing velour track suits and had styled their hair in matching Princess Leia buns. “Oh, Izzy’
s here, too,” Kiki exclaimed. “I have something in the car for her.”
She started to turn back the way she came, but Izzy called, “Great-Gran, wait! You have to look at my hair. Jessie did it! He gave me a present, too. Are they sparkly?” She gingerly touched the butterfly clips with her stubby fingers.
“Oh my heavens, they’re just as sparkly as can be! They look like diamonds. That Jessie is one heck of a braider, too, I tell you what,” Kiki said. “You look beautiful, Iz. Now just wait until you see what Nana Stana and I got you today!” She hurried from the yard.
“Where’s Ollie?” I asked as Nana sat across from us and put a tall, pink, bakery box on the table.
“He’s with Ignacio. They’re talking business with Christopher Robin, so Kiki and I decided to go out and make some bachelorette party plans. We found one of those ‘adult bakeries’ and got you and Kai some treats for later. Kiki also got some G-rated stuff for dessert tonight, so Princess Isabella can enjoy, too. Just not what’s in this box. That’ll result in years of therapy.” Nana moved the box to the bench beside her and smiled cheerfully.
Kiki returned a minute later with a tiny garment bag, which she unzipped with a flourish. Inside was a gorgeous pink dress with a tulle rainbow petticoat. Izzy gasped, and Nana said, “I need a flower girl for my wedding, and I can’t think of a prettier, smarter, more perfect little girl in all the world. Will you be in my wedding, Princess Isabella?” Izzy nodded, staring at the dress in absolute wonder.
Finally the little girl managed, “Can I wear my new butterfly barrettes in the wedding?” That made me feel good.
“Of course you can!” Nana told her. “They’ll be perfect with this dress. We’ll go out and get you some pretty new shoes, too. Those you have to try on. You gotta have comfortable shoes, that’s important in life. Do you want to try on the dress to make sure it fits?”
Izzy nodded, and Kiki said, “Come on, Iz, I’ll take you to the office to change.”
I handed her the key to the side door, and when the two of them went off hand-in-hand, I slid the little girl’s drawing from my notebook and showed Nana. Her brown eyes crinkled in the corners as she smiled and said, “I know how much family means to you, Jessie, and I’m so happy you’re getting one of your own.”
“I’ve never felt like this about anyone. He’s everything I could want, and so much more. And Izzy, God, what a great kid. His whole family has been amazing.”
“Kai’s crazy about you. It’s so obvious when I see the two of you together. And good gravy, just wait until you see what he’s doing for you right now! It shows true devotion, if you ask me.”
“What do you mean? Where is he?”
“He’s with Dante, and they’re hatching a surprise for you. That’s all I’ll say. I shouldn’t have even said that much.” Nana pantomimed locking her lips and throwing away the key. Her eyes sparkled mischievously.
“I didn’t realize Kai and Dante had become friends at some point.”
Nana mimed unlocking her mouth, then said, “Kai needed help with this surprise and figured Dante was a good resource for what he needed. He was right, of course. My grandson is one smart cookie. Don’t tell him I said that, I don’t want him to get a big head. Now quit talking about what he and your honey are putting together for you before I accidentally let something slip!”
Izzy returned a couple minutes later, looking radiant in her new dress. It fit perfectly, and she held her head high. “Oh my gosh,” I exclaimed. “It’s just as pretty as your butterfly princess dress!”
She hoisted up the mid-calf-length skirt a few inches and admired the cloud of rainbow tulle underneath, then looked up at the adults around her and asked, “Is this real? So much good stuff has been happening and I’m scared that I’m dreaming.”
I swung off the bench and crouched down to her level. “You know what? I’ve been feeling like that a lot lately, too. But it turns out, we’re not dreaming. We just have awesome families who do incredibly nice things for us. We’re pretty lucky, you and me.” She nodded solemnly.
My phone buzzed and I looked at the screen, then told her, “Your Daddy is going to be here in fifteen minutes. Do you want to show him your new dress, or keep it as a surprise?”
She considered the question carefully, then said, “Is it okay if I show him? I want him to see it with my nice hair and the sparkly butterflies.”
“Absolutely.”
“Will you make my hair nice for Nana’s wedding, Jessie?”
“Sure. We’ll do whatever you want, a braid, or curls, or a fancy up-do. We can even practice beforehand and then you can pick the style you like best for the wedding.”
She was completely delighted. I’d never realized it before, but kids were incredibly easy to please. All they wanted was your attention. When you gave them that, all was right in their world.
About ten minutes later, Dante came into the yard. As usual, he was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, along with a black dress shirt that was open at the collar. “Looks like a party,” he said.
“Hey, Dante. What sort of scheme are you and Kai hatching?” I asked him with a smile.
He shot Nana a look, and she exclaimed, “I barely said anything! Where’s Kai? Is he bringing you-know-who?”
Dante sighed dramatically, then said, “Why don’t you come with me, Jess? Kai’s right behind me, and you may want a little privacy with your guest.” Kiki winked at me and tossed me my keys. Apparently everyone was in on whatever was happening but me.
As I fell into step with Dante and we headed to the side door of the garage, I asked, “Is this a good surprise? You’re not ambushing me with a fashion intervention, are you? I swear, if that TV show with the abrasive host telling me my wardrobe is crap shows up, I’m bolting. No way am I letting go of my flannel pajamas and sexual innuendo t-shirts. Looking like you stepped off the pages of Funeral Director Monthly is working for you, but I’ve spent years cultivating my own personal style.”
Dante chuckled as I unlocked the side door. “No need to go on the defensive there, Sparky. Your flannel pajama collection is, in fact, a complete train wreck, but that’s not what this is about. Gives me some ideas for next time, though.”
When we went into the garage, I hit the buttons to get both bay doors to slide up and out of the way, and peered up and down the street. Kai’s Impala was nowhere to be seen. “Sorry about dissing your grim wardrobe choices,” I said. “The Man in Black look works for you. It does.” I turned to look at him as he leaned against the fender of Kai’s Mustang, and said, “This is a total subject change, but I just thought of something. You handle Nana’s finances, right?” He gave a single nod. “Will you please stop paying me? Nana won’t do it, even though she barely needs me anymore. Whenever she wants to go somewhere in the limo, I’ll gladly drive her, free of charge. She was incredibly generous with my salary and the free room and board, but now I can’t keep taking her money. It’s not right.”
“Nana would kill me if I cut you off.”
I frowned at that. “Do it anyway. Please? I feel like a total mooch.”
He considered it for a moment, then said, “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, Dante.” I hopped up on a tool bench, then asked, “How’ve you been? I haven’t seen much of you lately.”
“I’ve been alright. Just…you know. I’ve had some stuff to deal with.”
“Stuff like Jerry?”
“Don’t repeat this to Nana, obviously, but I found out my cousin’s gone to work for the Messina family. I was surprised they took him into the fold, since their family and ours has a long history of tension and I couldn’t see why they’d trust him. But then, I got to thinking. In order to earn their trust, he must have given them information on our family. We’re not involved in much that’s illegal these days, but let’s just say Jerry knows where all the bodies are buried.” Dante shot me a look and added, “Figuratively speaking.”
“What does that mean for the family?”
“That’s hard to say. If Jerry’s end game was a power play to get himself back in charge of the Dombruso organization, he’d have to go through a lot of layers, not just Vincent and me, but everyone who’s loyal to us. I can’t see how he’d hope to pull that off. So maybe it’s just revenge, plain and simple. Maybe he’s looking to hurt us financially, or maybe he wants real pain and suffering, since as far as he’s concerned we turned on him. Who knows? I will say, it’s ironic as hell, him going over to a family we’ve long considered our enemy,” Dante said, straightening the cuff of his suit. “That’s exactly what started this. He was so pissed off at our cousin Nico for fraternizing with someone from a warring family that he took a hit out on him, and that led directly to me removing Jerry as the head of our organization. But now here he is, cozying up with the Messinas! I can only wonder how he somehow justifies his actions.”
“I think that last sentence applies to every dick in history, Jerry included.”
Dante grinned at that, then pushed himself upright and said, “There’s Kai. I really hope this surprise ends up being a good one. If not, just remember that your boyfriend meant well.”
As Kai eased the Impala into its usual parking space, his passenger turned to look at me and I stopped breathing. When the car came to a stop, the guy got out of the car and said, “J.J.?” He’d grown from a teenager to a man, but my kid brother’s voice was exactly like I remembered it.
“Oh my God, Jedidiah.” It came out as a whisper.
“It’s really you!” He ran to me and grabbed me in a hug. “I thought I’d never see you again! I looked for you for such a long time!”
“You did? But…I don’t understand. You never wrote back. I left a letter for you and Ruthie with our friend Samuel, telling you where I was going, but I never heard from either of you.”
Jed pulled back to look at me, his blue eyes wide behind his glasses. “Oh God. Samuel never gave us a letter, J.J., and he said a lot of awful things about you after you took off.”
“He did? I thought we were friends. I wrote to him after I moved to San Francisco, and when he didn’t write back, I assumed his family had moved like they’d been talking about and that my letters weren’t reaching him.”