EPILOGUE
Benito….named at birth after his grandfather, kicked the ball and it hit a
window with a loud thump followed by the noise of shattering glass.
“Mamma!”He yelled in dismay.
Aurora,who had been sitting in the shade of the loggia rose to her feet and hurried along the terrace to ensure that her son stayed well away from the broken glass while shooing away the dogs at the same time.
She checked his clothing for tiny shards,moved him well clear of the debris and then smiled at James.Story from Topster Stories .. Having returned the ball,the older man,a long look of calm resignation on his face,was already advancing with a brush and shovel to clear up the mess.It was expected that a lively little boy would practice his football moves and at age eight,boys come much livelier as Benito.
He was blessed with his father’s lustrous dark eyes and his mother’s black curls.His decided appeal made it very likely that someday he would be a heartbreaker as well.Benito had delighted his mother from the first moment he’d drawn breath and motherhood had more than lived up to all her expectations, though had been rather more tiring than she had appreciated.
Although, Benito had been a very good-natured baby,he had also required little sleep and after more interrupted nights than she still cared to recall, Aurora had been glad to have the support of a good nanny.Having inherited his parents’ stubborn streak, determination and intelligence..Benito could be a handful.
Her entire family enjoyed a long summer holiday at Marco’s Villa in London every year.She had told her father not to work anymore but he refused.Instead,he opened a restaurant at the front of his house.
The dogs which Benito had requested for when he was six years old were now scampering cheerfully in the wake of the two little girls running across the terrace.
Griselda and Esmeralda…they are twins and five years old.
They both rushed to show Aurora the painting they had just done at the summer playgroup they attended.
Aurora gathered both girls into her arms with a grin but her whole face lit up when Marco…her tall, dark and very handsome husband, strode out of the house.
He bounced a new football across the terrace to Benito,who gave a whoop of pleasure and grabbed both ball and father in his enthusiasm, chattering in ninety-milenian-hour Spanish about the window he had broken.
From beneath the vine-covered loggia,Aurora surveyed the man she loves with amused eyes.He made a special effort to take time off and spend it with his family during the long summers.
Although,she rarely thought back now to the period when she had feared she would lose Marco because she felt it was good to move on mentally,she valued the happiness she had found with him and her children all the more from the knowledge that could so easily have lost him.
When they eventually got to the hospital,he had lost alot of blood and had to undergo blood transfusion but the cut on his wrist was severe and it took days before he woke up.
During those times,she was a shadow of herself,she almost lost the pregnancy and if not for her parents who constantly stood by her,she might’ve ran mad each time his body went through shock.
And as for Diego…in his haste to get away from the cops that night,he had rode off a cliff.
When the police got down to him,his car was damaged and he was crushed inside with his head split open.
He died instantly.
“Daddy played ‘catch me if you can’ with Griselda”Confided Esmeralda
crossly.
Marco grinned uneasily on seeing her angry mood activated.
He approached her using his walking stick to ease pressure on his left leg and to aid stability.
“Esme,he bought ice cream for you so you wouldn’t tell mother”Griselda snapped.
“She promised to buy me ice cream if I always tell the truth…now, I’ll get ice cream from both sides… it’s a win-win”
“Girls can’t be trusted”Benito remarked.
“And I even added a doll to it,still she sold me out”Marco told Benito who laughed.
“Don’t you think we’re spoiling Esme?”Marco asked trying to change the topic as their nanny,Alice,put in an appearance to take the children indoors for lunch.
Aurora eyed him and walked into the house.
Marco sighed, knowing that she was heading for their bedroom,he followed
her.
After finally waking up,the doctor had said he might never walk again because the bullet had affected his bone badly but Marco didn’t agree to that.
Against Aurora’s will,he went through a painful therapy… and from a wheelchair,he started using crutches…and now a walking stick.
But she gets mad each time he runs around with his children or play football with Benito and sometimes walk without his walking stick.
She believes he was hurting his leg… though,it did hurt when he played those games with his kids but he would continue doing it.
“Sit!”Aurora ordered when they got to their bedroom. “You can’t keep doing this each time, I’m okay” “Sit!”She pressed on.
He sat down resting his back on the headboard.
She got into the bed and started massaging his left leg.
“You’re so stubborn”
Marco grimaced,”And look who’s saying I’m stubborn”
“You know that this is bad for your leg but you keep doing it”
“Yes and I’ll keep doing it,I would be a useless father if I can’t play with my
kids”
“Marco”She groaned.
“Just drop that issue,you won’t be able to change that so just accept it so that I would stop bribing Esme who would still end up telling you”
They both laughed.
“I presume that you’re no longer angry?”He asked,half hoping and half doubting.
“I’m still angry”She said, smiling.
“Una sonrisa tuya me,hace immensamente feliz(A smile of yours make me immensely happy)”
“Your sweet words won’t work on me today”She said looking away but he could see her cheeks turning scarlet so he continued.
“Te adoro(I adore you)”
“Eres divina(you’re divine)
“Tu eres mi vida(You’re my life)”
She turned to face him, smiling broadly.
“Sin tu amor la vida no vale la pena(Without your love, the world doesn’t mean a thing)”
“Te amo con do mi alma(I love you with all my soul).” “Fine!You won… I’m no longer angry at you”She snapped.
Marco smiled. “Come here”He gestured between his legs.
She moved closer to him and sat down between his legs.
Aurora leant back against the support of his big powerful body and sighed in blissful relaxation, enjoying a moment of perfect peace without the children providing a distraction.
Marco splayed a protective hand across her belly.
“What do you say to making another baby?”
“Hmm…Sounds great”She replied.
Their children had given them both so much joy that they weren’t quite sure when they would consider their family complete.
She held his hand and caressed it softly.
“Cada dia te quiero mas(Everyday I love you more)”She told him, honestly. Marco turned her slowly round in the circles of his arms and looked down
into the silvery grey eyes which he still found so enthralling.”The love of my life”He breathed and kissed her with tender loving care…
End