Aleksandr

Ch. 39 - A Soft Lullaby

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"That arch is perfect..."

- Aleksandr
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Chapter 39 - A Soft Lullaby

▪️L I T I Z I A▪️

Later that day, I found myself grinning as I held a yawning Aurelio in my arms.

Dominic had stepped out of the room to handle a call, leaving just Jade, Aleksandr and myself in the nursery. Lauren was resting on the day bed, smiling as she looked at me.

I had been humming a soft lullaby to Aurelio, one that my mother used to sing to me in a Berber dialect.

The song was called Ameumi-Ameumi and was ironically the only thing I could remember fluently from when I was trying to learn her native tongue. My mother, Sofia, had tried teaching me the official languages spoken in her country of Algeria, but with her death, I did not have anyone to speak Arabic and Berber with.

Naturally, as the years passed, I became very rusty from a lack of usage. Unlike with the Italian language that I learned from my father, Giorgio, it was easy to still speak it, since my uncle and his men used it frequently around the house.

My voice was soft as I rocked Aurelio in my arms:

"Ameumi-Ameumi
Ch'bou leuh'lal
Amayour maradila
Akihyou reub
A mââziz
Aya your l'aïd ameukrane
A meumi-atsi direute
Atsidireute atsime ghoureute
Feughe bera tsourareute
Tsze ya d'wit'louleute."

(My son, my son,
Be like the star,
Like the moon when it rises
Long live, my darling son,
Moon of great sacrifice,
My son, you will live and you will grow,
Go outside and play
With the children of your age.)

"God, she sounds like an angel," Jade whispered to Aleksandr before continuing, "and even though Zia has taught me the words, my voice just wasn't made for singing."

Taking a glance at Jade, I shook my head at her, to which she replied silently by widening her green eyes and moving her neck. Simultaneously, she angled her lips, moving them upwards as though to say 'Did I lie?' before shrugging nonchalantly.

Seeing that Aurelio was asleep, I gently placed him in his crib.

After gently running my index finger over his light blond hair, I walked over to Aleksandr and Jade. With a silent nod to Lauren, the three of us exited the nursery, leaving them to rest.

"He's got your stubborn chin, he'll be very handsome," I remarked as we closed the door.

"You're very good with children, a natural even. I feel so awkward holding Aurelio," Jade murmured.

From the way she nervously ran a hand through her purple hair, I got the impression that she had not meant to reveal the last part. At least not in front of Aleksandr. My suspicions were confirmed when she cleared her throat and walked ahead of us as we made our way down to the bar in the living room.

As Jade went to make some drinks, she appeared to be deflecting as she suddenly asked, "When are you gonna knock her up, Sasha?"

My husband glanced at me before replying, "You know, Jade, sometimes, these things take time. Some women can get pregnant immediately after coming off the pill, some can take a few months."

I smiled shyly at him.

Clearly trying to ease the tension, Aleksandr added, "Or maybe my sperm is too old, who knows? If there's no change in another three months we'll visit the doctor."