Chapter Eleven: THANKSGIVING (ITALY)
1080 Words
Xenia
If there was one thing I had learned about traveling with Kira, it was this:
Never tell her about the trip too early.
Ever.
Because the moment she discovered a trip was happening, she transformed into a tiny ball of excitement that could not be contained by normal human laws.
Which was exactly why I was currently regretting my decision.
It was Monday afternoon.
We weren’t leaving for Italy until Wednesday.
Yet Kira had already asked me twenty-seven times if we were late.
Twenty-seven.
I counted.
“Nanny.”
I looked up from the suitcase lying open on my dorm room floor.
“Yes, baby?”
“Are we leaving now?”
“No.”
Kira sighed dramatically.
“What about now?”
I pointed toward the clock.
“It has been twelve seconds since the last time you asked.”
“Oh.”
A pause.
“What about now?”
I dropped my head into my hands.
Kira laughed.
The little menace knew exactly what she was doing.
For the past three months, life had settled into a comfortable routine.
College.
The estate.
Homework.
Weekend movie nights.
Kira causing trouble.
Mr. Winslie pretending not to smile when she caused trouble.
Everything felt familiar.
Normal.
And now Thanksgiving was approaching.
Which meant one thing.
Italy.
My parents had been asking for weeks when I was bringing Kira to visit.
Technically, they were asking about me.
Realistically, they were asking about Kira.
My mother had become completely obsessed with her.
Last week she had spent forty minutes discussing what desserts she planned to make.
For Kira.
Not me.
I still wasn’t over it.
Kira sat cross-legged on the floor while carefully arranging toys inside her own tiny suitcase.
I frowned.
“Baby.”
“What?”
“Why is there a spoon in your luggage?”
She looked down.
Then back at me.
“I don’t know.”
Fair enough.
The spoon remained.
A few moments later she added a stuffed rabbit.
Then a coloring book.
Then another rabbit.
Then a third rabbit.
I watched in silence.
“Kira.”
“What?”
“Why do you need three rabbits?”
“What if they get lonely?”
I stared at her.
She stared back.
Unfortunately, her logic made enough sense that I couldn’t argue.
The rabbits stayed.
A knock sounded against the dorm room door.
Before I could move, Kira raced toward it.
“Wait—”
Too late.
The door opened.
Mr. Winslie stood on the other side.
Kira immediately attached herself to his leg.
“Daddy!”
I smiled.
Some things never changed.
He looked down at her.
“Hello, trouble.”
“I packed.”
His gaze shifted toward the suitcase.
Then toward me.
Then back toward the suitcase.
I already knew what he was seeing.
Half the contents were toys.
The other half appeared to be random household objects.
Mr. Winslie sighed.
“Should I be concerned?”
“Very.”
Kira gasped.
“Nanny!”
I laughed.
Mr. Winslie stepped inside.
The room suddenly felt much smaller.
Not because of anything he did.
He simply had that effect.
Even standing still, he somehow occupied more space than everyone else.
His attention moved toward the open suitcase beside my bed.
“You’ve finished packing?”
“Almost.”
“Almost?”
I followed his gaze.
Clothes covered half the room.
Books covered the other half.
Okay.
Maybe almost was optimistic.
“Eventually.”
His expression remained unchanged.
Which somehow made me laugh harder.
For a moment, silence settled comfortably between us while Kira continued reorganizing her suitcase for the fifteenth time.
Then Mr. Winslie spoke.
“My mother called.”
I groaned.
Immediately.
He raised an eyebrow.
“That’s never a good sign.”
“It is not.”
His eyes briefly softened.
“She asked if you were bringing enough clothes.”
I dropped my head back dramatically.
“See?”
“She also asked if you were eating properly.”
“Mr. Winslie.”
“And she reminded me to tell you to wear a coat.”
I pointed toward the ceiling.
“See?”
He looked suspiciously amused.
“My mother worries.”
“Your mother adopts people.”
“That’s also true.”
Unfortunately, it was.
His parents had been impossibly kind to me ever since we’d met.
Especially his mother.
Sometimes I suspected she liked me more than her own son.
I would never say that out loud.
Mostly because I enjoyed being alive.
Kira suddenly jumped up.
“Nanny!”
“Yes?”
“Will Nonna make cookies?”
A smile immediately spread across my face.
“Many cookies.”
Her eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Baby, my mother believes food is the answer to every problem.”
Mr. Winslie nodded.
“She’s not wrong.”
For once, I completely agreed with him.
The conversation drifted toward travel plans.
Flight times.
Luggage.
Passports.
The usual things.
Eventually, Mr. Winslie checked his watch.
“I should go.”
Instantly, Kira pouted.
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s usually true.”
She crossed her arms.
“Still rude.”
I covered my mouth.
Mr. Winslie looked genuinely offended.
“Rude?”
“Very.”
“I provide food and shelter.”
“Still rude.”
I turned away before either of them noticed me laughing.
Some battles weren’t mine to fight.
Mr. Winslie eventually crouched beside Kira.
“I’ll see you Wednesday morning.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Satisfied, Kira nodded.
A moment later he stood.
His gaze briefly shifted toward me.
“Safe travels, Miss Kingsley.”
The words were simple.
Professional.
Exactly what I expected.
Yet something warm settled in my chest anyway.
“Thank you, Mr. Winslie.”
He nodded once before leaving.
The door closed behind him.
Silence returned.
Well.
Almost silence.
Because Kira immediately climbed onto my bed.
“Nanny.”
“Yes, baby?”
“I’m excited.”
I smiled.
“So am I.”
And for the first time all day, that wasn’t an understatement.
Because in two days, I would finally be going home.
Not to my dorm.
Not to the estate.
Home.
To Italy.
To my parents.
To familiar streets.
To family dinners.
To laughter spoken in a language that never made me feel small.
And this time, I wouldn’t be going alone.
Kira would be there too.
The thought made me smile all over again.
- Writer
