AWAKENING (20 page)

What’s that?

Something
wet
trickled
down his chest
. He
raised
his head to see if she were drooling. But no, it was
descending on
opposite sides of his torso
. H
e laughed when he realized what the hell was happening. Geez, he really had to get her
home
to
those
babies before she wasted breast milk on him.
He rolled
her
over
, massaging
the soft orbs then closed his mouth to feed
like
a
hungry infant
.

Selange’s sleepy
eyes
open
ed
. Her sensual lips spread in a smile
and
stretched.
“
Ummmm
,
buenos
dias
,
guapo
.”

He wanted her
and parted her thighs to give her a proper ‘good morning’ response. His love-making was slow and thorough
. W
hen
it was over
she snuggled
in his arms
and
he said, “I missed you, too.”

“
Ummm
,
but promise no more skank
y orgies
.
Eeew
!
”

He cracked up, “
I can’t touch another woman ever?
”

She looked concerned, almost scared,
“
But
…I thought…you said…
we’re moving forward, are we?”

Of course he was teasing,
“
I’m kidding. The others were distractions to keep my mind off you.
We’re going to get this shit right
. This is the
do over.”

“And every day I’ll
love you and be loyal, oh honey
I
’
m un
happy without
you.”

The
muscles
on his jawline
danced
.
He didn’t have words in answer
to that, instead he
gave her a squeeze,
kissed the top of her head then rest his chin
on her
soft hair. He
did this
often
in the past
, a sign of
gratitude for
her surviving an assassins
’
bullet.
T
oday it was a
silent pled
ge to
cherish her more and work on being a
better pa
rtner.
When this
legal matter got resolved,
he planned to take her on a
romantic
vacation
.

His cell started
sliding around
on the nightstand and he reached over
h
er
head
to retrieve it. “Yeah, Anita
…
si
…aye
…
si
Anita…um-hum. Okay,
l
o
sé
,
hasta
luego
!”

“What happened, why is Anita calling?”

“She
asked if everything was okay and if I’m coming to breakfast
.”
Alfonzo responded, “Smart lady. Glad she didn’t mention you.”

“Ah, oh gosh
, the kids must be awake
. I
have to get home
.”

She was out the bed in a flash
. With
that
wild
hair and
curves, she was incredibly
sexy
even early in the
morning
. S
h
e searched the floor in a panic, picking up
her clothes
and he
lie
there
watch
ing with his hand behind his head in
amusement
. Then, he climbed
out
of
bed wrapped her in his arms to quiet the guilty jitters. “Babe, relax. You’re a fantastic
–spectacular
mom. At least get a shower with me
,
”
he sniffed his arm pits and she laughed as his eyes twinkled, “
yeah
, I definitely need one
.
I’ll take you home. I could use
Anita’s home cooking before I appear before the judge.
”

At the mention of his impending surrender, her smile faded. “Alfonzo
what if they hold you
,
how will I bail you out, I don’t have access to
money
. I also
have expenses, employees at the charity who’re expecting a paycheck
?”

“
Whoa, take it easy, I’m good. Don’t worry about bailing me out; I’ll be right back here after the hearing.” He said with confidence. “
I’ll get the lawyer
on
getting your money released;
in the meantime I have enough cash
to
cover our expenses
.
” He said
. There was something he had to prepare her for and it was best to give it to her straight.
“Selange, the government plays by their own rules. They’re going to come at us separately and
may go after
you triple hard. They’ll
threaten to take the kids
if you don’t cooperate.”

Her sharp intake of breath hurt him.

He continued, “They’ll say I confessed and admitted things you know I
’d
never
cop
to. They’ll do this a
nd a
whole lot more to nail me
,
even arrest you
,
but babe
,
you
can’t
say
anything. Deny
everything if you
’re compelled to talk, otherwise
don’t
break. Remember, you’re hard as concrete
.
Brooklyn’s in your soul. This’ll be the test of how emotionally tough you really are. I
f
…and I mean
if
you
go
to jail, you won’t be there long, I swear on my
life
…I’ll have you out within seventy-two hours.”

She cried. Damn he hated when she cried. “Okay…okay
.”

“Good.” He kissed her tear-stained cheek, “
Let’s get a bath
then I’ll
take
you home.”

She sniff
l
ed and the cute nose wrinkled, “Yes,
hun
. You do smell a bit funky.”

“You gave me a work-out, blame yourself for the stench.” He pushed her head under his armpit and she jerked away slapping at hi
s face.

Alfonzo caught her around the waist and she laughed, kicking out at him but he had her good and tight. She was in the air and he was blowing raspberries on her stomach and she squealed because she was super ticklish there. She pressed down on his shoulders
,
stretching her toes toward the floor
. Finally, he set her on her feet and she shook her head. “You’re still a big kid, seriously.”

“Eh, you like it.” Then he sniffed at her, “Now you smell
.
”

“You….!”

He
gave
her plush tush a firm smack
then jogged into the bathroom
. She
shriek
ed a
fter him
, screaming playfully
.
“O
h
, you
!

                
         
            *
***

Sal
sat
eating
breakfast when his parents walked through the door. His dad and
mom had
happy gleam
s
on
t
he
i
r face
s, he ha
dn’t seen since the
y
broke-up. He rushed from the table leaving his baby sisters and brother there with Anita and that mean housekeeper who chastised him whenever he forgot to pick up something.

He ran straight to his dad and hugged him around the waist. He had to look up to talk, “You and mom kissed and made-up?”

His father laughed. He loved his
dad’s
smile,
it lit up his whole face, especially since he didn’t do it much anymore. He wanted to be like his dad, and wear suits a lot. Whenever they went out
side
people thought his father was somebody famous
, they were always staring and saying, “
Are you a celebrity? You look like this person or that person.”

His dad didn’t
care for the
attention;
he told Sal it’s annoying
.
But Sal thought it was cool. If he was his dad, he wouldn’t hold his mouth in a tight line or raise an eyebrow at people when they’re being nice. Nope, he’d say “Thank you,” or “Yes, I’m very famous and rich.”

Sal asked again, “Well, did you, are you coming home now? I want you to come back. When you and Uncle
Vinny
were here, we had a lot of fun. I miss Uncle
Vinny
, Nicky’s too old and he doesn’t play soccer and…”

Alfonzo nudged his son’s cheek with a fist, “
Hijo, slow down. Take a breather.” He didn’t want to kill the child’s excitement but he couldn’t move home yet. With the court case pending and a potential charge being
brought against Selange, they would have to live apart or else it’d appear as if they were acting in consort to defraud the government and the divorce was a sham.

“You’re mom and I
are
friends, hijo. That’s all.”

Sal’s face crumbled.

Alfonzo
knelt and made
eye
contact
with the boy, “Look, hijo. I love you.” He put a fist to his heart, “you and Allie are my life.”

“You forgot about my little brother and sister. What about them?”

Oh, shit! He didn’t see that coming. Alfonzo quickly added, “Yeah, of course. Angie and
Vin
,
too. T
hey’re part of
our
family, of course I love them.”

“Are you ever coming home?”

“
There’s
some things I have to do but
I might one day
soon.
Okay
hijo
?
”

The boy nodded then hugged his dad
, “
Okay, but
it’s
better when you’re here.”

“Okay son. I hear you
.”
He ruffled the untamed mass of black silk, “Christ you need a cut, after school. You and me, we have to keep ourselves sharp, feel me?”

“
Sí
!”

Anita
ordered
Sal
to finish his breakfast before school and he ran back to his seat. Alfonzo and Selange exchanged solemn glances. Staying apart after reuniting was going to be harder than
t
he
y
imagined. He took a deep breath then joined his kids at the table
as Selange checked through Sal’s backpack to make sure he’d finished his homework.
“
Buenos
dias
Anita
.”

“
Hola
, you want food?”

“Si,” He
answered then grinned at his little angel Allie propped up in her booster chair at the table. The munchkin appeared to have hung out late. She resembled her mom to a tee. She had the same pout to her pink lips and perfectly arched eyebrows that even professionals were unable to imitate. He
t
weaked
the slightly upturned
nose
, “Somebody whose name begins with A has a birthday coming.”