THE MAFIA'S NANNY

Chapter 11:THE LAST RULE

MONTHS LATER.

Graduation day. Queens College.

I wore gown over small belly. 3 months belly - not showing much, just bloat that looks like I ate too much chin-chin and Agege bread.

Only Lorenzo knew. And Maria. And Amaka who screamed for 30 minutes on phone:

"ZARA YOU BROKE RULE 3! I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU MAFIA BABY COMES WITH CURLS AND DIMPLE!"

Lorenzo kept secret because I asked. I wanted to tell his family proper, at Mama De Luca's Sunday dinner, after I collect certificate.

So after I collected certificate - B.A. Education, with honors - with Lorenzo and Sofia shouting "MAMA ZARA! MAMA ZARA!" louder than anyone in Queens College auditorium, we drove to Mama De Luca's.

Same long table, now bigger. My sisters there too. Amaka there. Blessing holding Sofia on lap. Whole mafia family plus my Nigerian family - loudest dinner in Staten Island history.

Mama De Luca cooked jollof rice this time. She learned from YouTube for me. "For my daughter!" she shouted, hugging me in wrapper.

She made fried plantain too. Plantain! Italian mama made plantain!

I hadn't said yes to proposal yet. He hadn't officially proposed. Cows still in New Jersey farm, now 10, he finally found 10.

Lunch served. Jollof, pasta, meatballs, plantain, chin-chin I made.

Midway, Lorenzo stood, tapped wine glass, nervous. Mafia boss nervous.

"Family," he said, switching Italian and English. "3 months ago Zara came as nanny for $5k. Today she graduates. Tomorrow she opens hair store in Queens - 'Sofia & Zara Curls' - for little girls who need shea butter and bonnets."

My sisters screamed. Store was surprise - he bought shop next to African store on Liberty, already stocked with Shea Moisture.

"And," he continued, looking at me, hand shaking, "Rule 3... you all know Rule 3..."

His brothers shouted laughing: "Don't get pregnant with his child!"

Mama De Luca: "He told you that?! Stupido boy! That is not rule, that is wish!"

Lorenzo knelt. Second time kneeling in life. This time with small black velvet box and sonogram picture shaking in other hand.

"Zara Okoro, 19, from 129th Queens, with 4 sisters and mama who wants 10 cows and palm wine... I broke Rule 3. You broke Rule 3. We both broke it same night after your graduation party last month when you wore green dress and I said you looked..."

"LORENZO! Don't say details at family table!" I covered face, belly shaking.

"Sorry. What I mean is..."

He opened box. Ring big. Diamond big like Sofia's eyes when she sees Moana.

"Will you be my wife and Sofia's mama officially? And mama to..."

He held sonogram up high for table to see. Two small beans.

"Twins."

Silence. One second.

Then chaos. Real chaos.

MAMA DE LUCA FAINTED. Real faint, backwards into Marco's arms.

Amaka screamed: "TWINS?! TWINS! I SAID ONE CURLY BABY, NOW TWO CURLY BABIES?! ZARA!"

Blessing cried and video-called Mama in Nigeria shouting: "MAMA! MAMA! ZARA GET BELLE! TWINS! MAFIA TWINS! TWINS!"

Sofia shouted standing on chair: "I want baby sisters! Two baby sisters! With puff like me!"

Antonio shouted: "10 cows not enough! Need 20 cows for twins! My brother needs 20 cows! Call farmer!"

Maria cried into her meatballs, tears inside jollof.

Tony the guard whispered to other guard: "Boss said Rule 3 most important rule. Now boss has twins. Boss never follows own rules."

Lorenzo just knelt, waiting, ring shaking in hand. Mafia boss hand shaking like small boy.

I touched my small belly, touched Sofia's puff, touched his scarred face, tears hot.

"Rule 3 says don't get pregnant with my child," I whispered.

"Rule 3 is cancelled, remember? I cancelled it night you had malaria," he whispered back, eyes wet.

"Rule 4 says you don't leave ever."

"So?"

"So I am not leaving. And yes. Yes to ring. Yes to twins. Yes to being Mama Zara forever. Yes to 20 cows."

He put ring on my finger - too big, but okay, we resize - and kissed me in front of whole family, in front of jollof and pasta, in front of Virgin Mary statue crying real water, in front of my sisters recording t****k.

Mama De Luca woke from faint, saw kiss, shouted loudest:

"FINALLY! MY ROSARY WORKED! BLACK BABIES WITH PUFF COMING! CURLY MAFIA BABIES!"

Sofia climbed on table, raised both hands like queen:

"My mama is having babies! I am big sister! And I will do their hair!"

I hugged both of them - small girl with puff like mine, big man with tattoos who knelt for me twice - in house where I was judged first day as Black nanny.

10 days to Mama. 3 months to graduate. 3 months to twins.

Fastest promotion in nanny history, Amaka will say.

Last Rule, new rule written by me, Zara De Luca, that night on fridge next to old three rules, with Sofia's crayon:

RULE 5: In this house, we moisturize, we eat chin-chin, we love hard, and we never, ever forget where we came from - Queens and Enugu and mafia - all same family now. Bonnet required at night.