Kiara's Color

  Kiara hummed softly to herself as she perused the shelves lined with as many toy cars and superheroes as a little boy could want. Christmas was her favorite time of year! She was determined to find the perfect gift for all of the Falcone children, but she had to hurry. Serafina and Gemma could only preoccupy them for so long. "Hurry up and pick something, I'm starving and want to go home." Savio huffed impatiently beside her. "All right, I'm choosing, I'm choosing! Calm down," Kiara waved him off. She settled on a Paw Patrol racetrack for Nevio, who was 4 years old, an educational light up phone for baby Massimo, and a rhythm kit for Alessio; Savio grimaced and she would probably regret that later, but the small 2-year-old already had a knack for music and she wanted to encourage him, even at the expense of everyone's ears.

As she was walking around the toy aisle trying to find something for her nieces, a scarlet red tutu caught her eye, barely visible from where it was tucked away behind a stack of barbies thrown haphazardly on a random shelf. It glittered like thousands of tiny rubies as it reflected the fluorescent lights. A shiver quickly went down her spine at the thought of Nino seeing her in a small red tutu and heat flooded her cheeks. "I should buy that for Nino, he would definitely thank me for it." Kiara thought to herself as she moved the Barbies to the side and picked it up. She held the skirt in front of her hips. "Oh nevermind, this would never fit me!" She giggled. "You don't need a garter for your wedding, you're already married." Savio sarcastically replied. "It would be funny to bring this home for Nino anyway," She sighed as she put it back on the shelf, "But I don't want him to get the wrong idea and think I'm pregnant. Shame, though, it really is pretty." As she started to walk away, Savio piped up, "You could always get it for Greta. That little girl is always twirling around like a ballerina." "Savio, that's a great idea! But I don't think she'd wear it. She only wears pink. Remember that tantrum she threw when Fina tried to get her to wear that purple dress to Aurora's birthday party?" They both made a face at the memory as they walked away.

As Kiara resumed her shopping, the tutu stayed in the back of her mind. She was tempted to go to one of those 'adult' stores and buy one for herself, she quite liked the idea of Nino seeing her with it on, but she would rather die than take Savio to one of those places, and she wasn't allowed to wander alone after Fina married Remo. After finally settling on a soft violet stuffed unicorn for Aurora and a ballerina Barbie for Greta, they made their way to the check-out aisle. "Are you sure you have everything you need? It's only two more days until Christmas and I don't care that you're my sister-in-law, I refuse to shop with those crowds." Savio huffed as he placed her items on the conveyor belt for her. "Well, I think there's just one more thing I need after all. Stay here, I'll be right back." Kiara trotted off before Savio could protest. She walked as fast as she could back to the Barbie aisle praying that the little red tutu was still there. It was just too cute to ignore! Luck was with her as she rounded the corner and saw the small red dots dancing along the Barbie's faces. She grabbed the tutu with a happy nod and made her way back to where Savio was finishing up. He rolled his eyes playfully at her, "I knew you couldn't let it go." He laughed.

Walking through the front door to the Falcone mansion, Kiara got bombarded with little hands asking for many hugs. Her heart was so full of joy as she looked into the faces of the youngest members of her family. Her whole life she wanted nothing more than a big happy family. She held the shopping bags high above their little heads, "No hugs until I put the presents down!" She said with a false stern edge to her voice. Serafina came into the room holding baby Massimo. "Sorry Kiara, I was just finishing changing his diaper and they escaped! How was the shopping?" She asked and she pulled Nevio away from trying to reach the thin plastic bag. He was trying to take a peek. "It went great! I'm going to wrap these before I forget and then I'll be right back to get the boys ready for dinner. Thank you so much for watching them for me!"