ARELLA (A Mafia Story)

Seven

The spatula he's using to sir the eggs stops moving when he realizes what she's done, too. He breathes in deeply, then continues on with his motions.

"Good. Good." He speaks, letting me hear the emotion in his tone.

Pressing my hand against my heart, I lean against the door jam to watch them finish breakfast. Damon manages to wrangle Arella off his back when it's time to make the bacon.

"We're going to go find Freya for this one. She's going to hold you so the grease doesn't pop on you. Bacon is a moderate level and you're just a beginner." Turning on his heel, Damon stops when he sees me standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

Freya bounces in his arms when she sees me, leaning out of them and making grabby hands. I take her from my husband, blowing a raspberry in her neck.

"Good morning, mi amor. Shall we go get dressed before my pa gets here?" I question with a hum.

She wraps one around my neck, pointing with the other to the stairs. I already know what she's going to want to wear. When we get to her closet, she picks out the bee romper I bought yesterday.

"How did I know you were going to pick that one?"

Carrying her over to her dresser, I lay her down and get to work stripping her out of her pajamas. One quick diaper change later, and she's dressed in her romper. It fits perfectly. I do have to roll up the left pant leg so it doesn't drag on the floor.

I'll have to talk to Damon about getting all her pants hemmed to bring up the left leg. He'll find somebody to do it for him. Money definitely isn't an issue.

Arella watches on curiously as I carry her into my bathroom, setting her down on the counter. She turns to face the mirror while I grab the stuff I need to brush her hair.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her making silly faces at her reflection. She tries to cross her eyes like Davide does. All she manages to do is roll her eyes instead. Chuckling quietly to myself as to not startle her, I grab the comb and detangling spray.

"Alright, munchkin. Let's get this done."

By the time I'm done, the comb moves through Arella's hair with ease. It's just long enough that I can do stubby pigtails. I make a clean part down the middle and wrap a small elastic around each part.

Her bangs just add to the cuteness of the hairstyle.

"One last touch." I wink, showing her the tiny hair bows I bought yesterday.

Some of them are just colors while others have little decals on them. I know which one she's going to pick instantly. Her tiny finger points to the ones that have a bee bobble on them.

"Good choice." I praise, finishing up her hair.

***

Arella crawls across the floor while Andrea and Davide pretend to play monster. She's giggling, crawling away as fast as she can. I roll my eyes at my boys' antics while fixing my ear rings. Pa and Ma will be here soon and they expect perfection in everything.

The boys are dressed in their nice khakis and polo shirts, Damon has on his usual suit and tie, while I have on high waisted suit pants with my blouse tucked into it. My makeup is done lightly and my hair is straightened to perfection.