Happily Ever After

75: Someone's Got A Crush

"Well... That is very cute, but you are still grounded," Maya insisted. "Until college," Carina added firmly.

———

Needless to say, Sarah was definitely, very much grounded.

She was not thrilled by how much Carina was ready to enforce it, insisting on changing the bandages herself, cursing in Italian as she did. They still couldn't quite believe that Sarah decided to get a tattoo, by herself. She didn't ask for permission, or go to a real parlour or anything... it was irresponsible to say the least.

But, everything was healing well, which was a relief.

Lucia's cold took a while to shake. It took a lot of bed rest, nebulizer treatments and sick days, but the bambina was more determined to bounce back than ever. After two very long weeks of online school, staying at home while her immune system got over the virus, and bed rest, Lucia was back to school.

There was something the little blonde had realized during her time at home that she couldn't quite get out of her head, that Lucia didn't want to think about, but it kept coming back. She knew that she could go to her moms, but she wanted to be a big girl.

Surely she could figure this one out by herself... right?

"Is everything okay, Lucia Grace?" Maya had asked when driving the bambina to school. Now that Lucia had grown more, she finally didn't need a car seat anymore, which had been a victory in itself. The little blonde shook herself out of her head, putting a smile on her face. "Si, mommy," she replied with a nod, but Maya could read her daughters like a book.

Neither of them could mask their emotions well, as like Carina, the two Bishop-DeLuca bambine wore their hearts on their sleeves.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Maya affirmed, and Lucia bit her lip nervously. "Mommy? Am I weird?"

Maya frowned. "Of course not, why would you think that? Has someone been bothering you?" she demanded.

"Nicholas says babies bring their stuffies to school... I'm not a baby... but I like having Chief with me," Lucia sighed, holding her beloved lion closer to her chest.

Chief had been a birthday present from her zias and zios of station nineteen. He was deemed as their mascot, and on tough days, Lucia carried him around everywhere to feel braver. This was something that Maya and Carina picked up on, almost like a warning sign.

"I think if you like having him with you, it doesn't matter what other people say. Bring him if you want him, okay? Don't let bullies tell you otherwise," Maya insisted.

Lucia nodded. "Yeah... I like that. Okay, I will," she decided, feeling a bit of weight off her shoulders. The bambina embraced her mom and walked into school, Chief in her hands, hoping that today would be a good day.

———

Needless to say, it was not. From Nicholas' taunts, to difficult quizzes, Lucia had a rain cloud over her head, following her around. It felt hard to smile, and she was grateful to her friends, who attempted to cheer her up and shield her from her sadness.

Carina picked Lucia up early from school. She had been awfully quiet these past two weeks, and today was the first opening that Amy, the bambina's therapist, had.

Given Lucia's obvious anxiety, Maya and Carina took that opening in a heartbeat.

"How was your day, tesoro?" The Italian asked as she walked with her youngest towards the car. Lucia shrugged, and sighing as she held Chief tightly to her chest.