The Italian Adonis

Meeting Nonno Gregori

The chaos from the night before had died down, it is a brand-new day. The sun’s rays shone through the curtains in the room. The heat danced across Camden’s cheek making her feel warmth. The ray caressed the skin that had been delicately crafted to shine, with skin so soft, with each touch, you thought it would break apart. Camden opened her eyes and saw the eyes she missed so much. The smile that been haunting her dreams for two years. She smiled, “Nikolai.” The silence broke with a giggle coming from a one-and-a-half-year-old smiling at how silly his mother was being. “No mommy, it me Mickey.” Camden opened her eyes again to see in fact that it had been her son and not her ex husband. She sighed and looked at the boy who had started jumping on the bed. She smirked and grabbed her boy while he was in mid air. His giggles filled the air when she started tickling his sides. “Mommy stop that tickles!” She laughed with her son and kept tickling him. After a while of tickling, she stopped and sat him in front of her.

  “You know what we are doing today baby?”

  Mickey wiped the tears from his eyes. He had laughed so hard, tears came to his eyes. He loved surprises so hopefully he would like this one, thought Camden. He shook his little head when he couldn’t think of what they would be doing.

  “What Mommy?”

  She smiled.

  “Well, you will be seeing your Nonno today.”

  He squealed and clapped his hands. He loved seeing his grandfather. But what he didn’t was that he would be meeting his other grandfather. Camden hoped that all went well especially if she is also introducing him to his father.

  “Nonno Bincent?!”

  She shook her head.

  “No, you will be meeting your other nonno. Do you want to meet him?”

  Camden watched her son as he thought over what his mother had told him. She saw the gears in his mind move as he was thinking. He nodded with a smile on his face.

  “Is he daddy to Daddy?”

  Camden smiled.

  “Yes baby, he is your Daddy’s daddy. We will be going for dinner, so you must be a good boy all day. If you are a good boy, you will get another surprise. One that you had been asking about for a while now.”

  Mickey smiled and grabbed his mother’s cheeks and he Eskimo kissed her. She smiled and kissed his little face all over. They spent the rest of the day watching movies and spending time together. Then when it came time to get ready for dinner. Mickey wanted to wear his favorite shirt, but he had gotten it dirty while running from his mother. So, Camden decided to put him in a white button up dress shirt, blue slacks, blue suspenders and she put on his khaki dress shoes. She styled his hair to look spikey. She topped the outfit with a blue bowtie. She always loved dressing him up, that is what she had looked forward to when she heard she would be having a boy. She looked at the time and hurried to finishing getting ready. Once ready, she grabbed Mickey by the hand and walked towards the elevator. She drove them to the mansion she once had called home. It had been where she thought she would raise her family. It was the house that she and Nikolai had conceived Michelangelo. Once she arrived, she saw that Gregori’s car had been there. She looked and found that the car that Nikolai had bought her had left where she left it on the drive way. Michelangelo saw the cars that were lined up in the drive way and gasped. He always had a fascination for cars, like his father.

  Camden stepped out of the car and soon grabbed Michelangelo out of the car as well. She set him on his feet and smoothed out the wrinkles in his outfit. She spiked up his hair a little more and grabbed his hand before they could walk to the door. She raised her hand as she came close to the front door. Memories tried to break the wall that she had built up, but she suppressed them as she knocked. Michelangelo wouldn’t keep still; his eyes were on the cars. They waited at the door for about a minute before Stanley opened the door. He had been a little surprised that she had shown up unannounced.

  “Mrs. Gabrielli! What a surprise! I was not expecting your visit today. You had told me that you make a call not to stop by.”

  Camden smiled and hugged her old butler.

  “I had said I would call, or I would stop by and here I am. I had called Gregori to see if I could stop by since I had wanted to speak to him as well as with Nikolai.”

  Stanley smiled then looked down as Michelangelo cleared his throat to get the attention he wanted.

  “And who is this dashing little one in front of me?”

  Michelangelo blushed and his little face behind his mother’s leg.

  “Tell him your name. He is a dear friend to mommy, and to your daddy.”

  Michelangelo stepped away from his mother’s leg and held his hands behind his back. He looked up at Stanley in a look that reminded him of Nikolai.

  “Michelangelo Nikolai Gabrielli.”

  He hid behind his mother’s leg in shyness. Before Stanley could respond foot steps made their way to the door.

  “Stanley who is at the door?”

  Stanley mouthed I am sorry as he stepped out of the way. Camden thought that she could keep her composure when she saw the man she once loved but as he made his way down the hallway towards the door, she felt her resolve crumble. The man walked with purpose and power. He wore dark wash jeans and a black button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was barefoot as he liked to be when he was home. He had his hair done in his signature quiff which made Camden’s insides rearrange. His eyes landed on the woman and the child at his door.

  “Camden…”

  The little boy stood behind his mother as the couple stared at one another. The way they looked at each other was as if they did not depart from one another. As she looked at the man that had once been her world, she pondered on how life would have been if he hadn’t done what he had done before. Nikolai gazed at the woman of beauty in front of her. He couldn’t believe his eyes, that the woman he had lost was standing in front of him once more. Stanley watched as both of them stood there without a care in the world. He cleared his throat.

  “May I lead our guests to the living room for some refreshments before dinner is served Sir?”

  Stanley’s voice had taken the couple out of the trance like state that been in. Nikolai nodded and stepped out of the way and led his guests to the living room. Gregori stood as he saw his daughter-in-law walk through the doors with his grandson and his son. A gasp was heard making the little boy hid even more behind his mother.

  “Aye Dios mío! Que chulo es el chamacito! You are so cute, my name is Daniela, what is your name?”

  Camden looked down at her son while everyone else waited for his response. He whimpered and asked to be picked up. Camden held him in her arms as he hid his face in her neck.

  “He’s a bit shy, he doesn’t normally meet this many people. His name is..”

  Michelangelo interrupted his mother because he always introduced himself. He lifted his face from his hiding spot.

  “Michelangelo Nikolai Gabrielli. But Mommy call me Mickey (My-kee)”

  Nikolai, Gregori, and Daniela all had shocked faces. Stanley thought this was a private matter so he closed the doors and went to the kitchen to see if dinner was prepared. Camden smiled and then walked over to Gregori.

  “Mickey this is your Nonno Gregori, remember how I told you you were to meet him today?”

  Mickey looked at him then turned to Camden.

  “He has hair like Nonno Bincent.”

 Gregori smiled, he couldn’t believe he had a grandson. But there was no denying that Michelangelo was Nicolas’s son. He is the splitten image of Nikolai when he was his age. Camden turned to Nikolai to introduce his son to his father.

“Mickey, this is Nikolai, a very good friend to Mommy.”

Nikolai looked at Camden with sad eyes. Camden didn’t tell his son about him. He understood since he wasn’t there to raise him. Mickey his his red face in Camden’s neck and gave Nikolai a small wave. Gregori grabbed a gift bag he had on the couch.

  “Michelangelo, I bought you a present. Do you want to see what it is?”

  Michelangelo stopped Gregori.

  “Nonno Bincent call me Mickey you do too.”

  Then gave everyone a gummy smile and nodded. Camden placed him back on the ground and he walked over to his Nonno to see what new toy he got. Nikolai motioned to Camden to speak to him on private. He led them to the hallway and closed the door after Camden went through.

  “Michelangelo, don’t lie to me, is he my son? I need to know.”

  The hope of the child being his was seen all over his face and body language. He needed to know, he knew he had no claim to the boy but he had to know. The look Camden saw was of desperation. A man hoping that the child in his living room were his, that he had something in this world to work hard for. In truth, Camden had planned to tell Nikolai from the beginning but then he slammed the D word on her with no explanation. She saw a composed man with desperation on his face but inside of him, his emotions were in turmoil. He felt anger, joy, sadness, anticipation and loneliness all in one. He could not decide what to feel except for desperation. He was desperate to know of Michelangelo was his. The name should have given it away, but he needed her confirmation. As he looked at her, her composure broke in shambles within her. She would be lying if she did not continue to love this man, he is the father of her child, but she was afraid. Afraid of letting him in and being hurt again. She knew he wanted a relationship with his son, she would not deny him that. But what scared her the most, would she be able to deny him a relationship with her beyond parentship of the child? She shook herself out of her mind as she saw Nikolai waiting for her answer.

  “Yes, Michelangelo is your son. I am not going to do deny you the right to be his father and have a relationship with him. I also know that you had deposited money into our shared account. I didn’t touch any of it, it is still there. I found out when I went to close the account. I didn’t need your money then and I don’t need it now. I will let you provide for your son but that is it. You can not provide for me. I am fine on my own.”

  Nikolai wanted to reply but Stanley had interrupted him.

  “Sorry Sir, but dinner is served. I have come to announce it. Please make your way to the dinning room.”

 Camden immediately went to the living room after Stanley entered and grabbed Michelangelo so she could sit by him.