Symphony in Blue Read Free Page B

years old then, when he’d told Cary he wanted a brother or sister. Cary had never really thought of himself as a father. When he’d first moved in with Antonio and Massimo, he’d been the boyfriend, the partner who’d become part of an existing family. Now, he thought of Massimo as his son, as much his child as the baby who shared his DNA.
    He and Antonio had decided on the name Graziella together with Marissa and Francesca. Massi had suggested it. That the name was the equivalent of “Grace” in English hadn’t been lost on Cary. So much of what it had taken for him to get to this place in his life had been just that.
    Antonio put his arm around Cary’s shoulder. “Relax. See,” he said as Graziella made a funny slurping noise, “she likes you already.” Then he leaned over and kissed Cary’s cheek. “She looks like you with all that dark hair.”
    “I didn’t know they came that way,” Cary replied. “With hair, I mean.”
    Antonio chuckled. “Massimo had these tiny curls stuck to his head. Francesca used to joke that someone had painted them on.” He leaned over and pulled the blanket back a bit to reveal thick tufts of black that stuck up all over Graziella’s head.
    “The Redding curse.” Cary couldn’t help but laugh. “She’ll blame me for that hair someday.” For a split second, Cary imagined a fifteen-year-old Graziella glaring at him, hands on her hips.
    “If that’s the only thing she blames you for,” Francesca chimed in, “you’ll be doing well.”
    “Hey, Baby Stinker,” Cary told Graziella. “You’re going to be a heartbreaker. I can see it already.” The mere thought of boys chasing after her made the hair at the back of his neck stand on end.
    Graziella made a strange squeaking sound, scaring Cary half to death. “Is she okay?” he asked quickly.
    “She’s fine.” Antonio squeezed his shoulder. “She may want to nurse.”
    “Oh. Right.” He quickly handed Graziella back to Antonio. Hot potato. If he hadn’t been so nervous, he might have laughed.
    By the time Antonio’s mother, Oriana, came to the hospital with Massi three hours later, Cary was overwhelmed. He’d barely slept the night before and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten. So when one of the nurses told them there were too many visitors in Francesca’s room, Cary was more than ready to head to the cafeteria.
    “Can I come too?” Massi asked as Antonio and Cary stood up to leave.
    “Don’t you want to spend some time with your little sister?” Francesca asked.
    Massi appeared to consider the question as he looked longingly at Cary. “I want Cary to stay.”
    Antonio, perhaps sensing Cary’s frazzled nerves, said, “We’ll be back before you know it.”
    Massi eyed Cary warily, then said, “All right. But you’ll be back, right?”
    “Of course, Stinker.” Cary pulled Massi against him and kissed his head. “Promise.”
    “Swear?” Massi held out his pinky and Cary wrapped his own around it. The adoring look in his bright-blue eyes made Cary’s heart ache. What had Cary done to deserve that?
    “Swear.”
     
     
    Milan
    Four days later
     
    C ARY STARED down at the fidgeting bundle in his arms. Maybe not quite fidgeting. Smiling.
    “Babies that young don’t smile,” Marissa said when he told her that Graziella smiled at him. “It’s just gas.”
    Gas. Just what I need.
    When Antonio had asked him to watch Graziella so he could take Massi to his grandmother’s, Cary had told Antonio he wasn’t ready to be on his own with the baby. Antonio had only smiled and kissed him on the lips. “Francesca’s in the bedroom sleeping. If something happens you can’t handle, caro mio, just simply wake her up.”
    Cary wondered vaguely if Antonio shouldn’t have phrased it differently. He wasn’t sure he could handle this. Fatherhood.
    You’re already a father to Massi.
    He knew it wasn’t the same. He’d become Massi’s father when Massi was already walking and talking.