They had been informed that the baby had been shifted to the NICU, the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit. The Delano children hung about, looking in through the glass partition, in awe of the little fellow who had decided to ‘pop out early,’ as Beatrice had put it when she came to visit Proserpina. The children knew that their mother had gone through a lot and it had taken a toll on her. Ria sat on the sofa now, outside her mother’s suite, her hands tightly locked . Melissa Lord had stayed behind although her husband had left, promising to return in a few hours.
*
Later, after Melissa had gone, and the dark , snowy night was whipping a storm around the hospital, Ria sat comfortably leaning her head against her father’s strong shoulder. They had all taken turns to go back home to wash, change into a fresh set of clothes and return, even the younger boys. Lucien Delano was adamant; all his children would be with him, under the same roof as his wife.
As their father was reluctant to leave his wife although he had yet to be allowed to meet her, Ria had taken along his valet, Gustav, and they had returned with changes of clothes for the Mafia Don. Now he sat, staring at his phone, another on the table beside him, while Ria rested her head against his shoulder. Tara had dozed off in one of the rooms which had been readied for their occupancy and Piers was in the hallway, talking to Schwartz who had just arrived to check on them. Claude had been yawning hugely until finally, Lucien had ordered him off to bed. His wounds were healing nicely but he had been forbidden from going to the gym to work out, something that had left him sulking.
*
Now Ria stretched and yawned as she said softly,
“Pappa…’
He looked down at the golden head and again, felt a rush of affection followed by a sense of deep contrition. This was his favorite child and he had raised his hand against her. She looked up as she felt his shoulder muscles flexing as he tensed.
“What is it, Pappa?’ she asked
‘I…The Capo…’ he stopped, unable to say anything more. She studied him silently and he saw her mother’s patience in her eyes. Finally, she said, solemnly.
“Pappa, I never meant to hurt you. But I have loved Philippe for a long time now…’
He scowled. It was an automatic reaction and he checked himself quickly.
‘But you are too young…’he began. His daughter cut him off smartly,
‘Mumma always says that you swept her off her feet when she was eighteen years old. ‘
Trust his Woman to put it so beautifully, he thought; he had fuc*ed the sh*t out of her and had wanted to keep going on, all night. That was how their first meeting had been.
She watched his face suffuse with color as his eyes glazed with memory..
Then she went on kindly,
‘ But I am eighteen and a half, Pappa.’
His eyes narrowed as he turned to look at her teasing face. She burst out giggling at his stormy expression and he smiled, just a twitch of his lips.
Pulling her to him, he wrapped his arm around her, kissing the fair head.
Then he said with a sigh, he growled,
‘Pumpkin, if he means so much to you, I shall not stand in your way.’ And in an undertone, he added,
‘Your Mumma was trying to tell me that…but I took my time to…’
He stopped.
Sensing his distress, she squeezed his hand. Ria dimpled as she looked into the narrowed grey eyes, the eyes like hers but cold and hard.
“Pappa,’ she whispered and snuggled into his warm, solid embrace, “I think Mumma knows you well…’
*
Years ago, when they were younger, Piers had once complained bitterly to his mother about his father’s rude, dominating nature. The children had been stopped from doing something that they felt was unfair but the Don had refused to hear their point of view. Piers and Claude had been sorely annoyed. Ria had been in her Mumma’s study and she still remembered how her Mumma had replied.
‘Your Pappa has had a very hard life,’ she had said in her melodious voice, drawing the young boy to her so that he was standing before her.
She held his hands as she went on,
‘He grew up on the streets, his mother was a woman who did not care for him.’
She coughed delicately; later Ria found out that her grandmother had been a drug addict and a who*e. But of course, Mumma had been too sweet to say that.
‘ So your Pappa had to take care of himself, to fight for himself, ‘she had sighed and stared out of the window as she went on pensively,
“It has left him scarred, my love. He loves you all, I know that. But it is his way of behaving. And,’ she turned to the children and Ria had seen the tears sparkling in her eyes as she continued,
‘And even when he is rough and hateful, I know he loves us all. ”
She thought of those words now as she studied her father, the tyrannical Mafia Don who wanted to make amends but did not know something as simple as saying ‘ Sorry.’
***
The next day, the family stood, staring intently at the small, tiny figure on the soft bed, covered with what looked like a big glass cover, said Leo. The baby lay on his back, in a fencing position, said Tara knowledgeably, and received a lot of flak for her observation though she was right. He looks like he came out a fighter, thought the Don when he studied his youngest son.
He’ll be a handful, grinned Schwartz who stood beside Lucien. The men looked at each other and turned away.
***
Proserpina was still not allowed to meet with visitors and the old doctor had positively glared at Lucien Delano when the Mob Boss had asked to meet his wife.
‘ She’s recovering from a major surgery, and is sedated after all the stress,’ he snapped and had only allowed Camille, who was a professional nurse, to enter, just for a few minutes at that. When the family had crowded around Camille to know about Proserpina, she had sighed and said.
‘Your Mumma is still under heavy sedation. She has lost a lot of blood.’ The woman looked away, unable to meet the flintlike gaze of the Don.