Luberto

Bria

"It's Marcovaldo now."

"But that is you?"

"Yes. Who are you?"

"Bria Scorfano."

"What?" I stepped back, stunned. I steadied myself against the front door of the house for a moment. Until my astonishment turned to anger. I stood up straight and took two steps toward her. "Bruno sent you, didn't he?!" she took a step back at my harsh tone, but the look on her face remained calm. "I told him to leave me alone!" my hands balled into fists, but before I could do or say anything else. Bria held out her hand.

"Stop, Bruno didn't send me."

"He didn't?"

"No, he left about two years ago. Never came back."

"Seems to be his thing then." I muttered. Bria nodded in agreement. "You said your last name was Scorfano?"

"Yeah. Technically, we are half siblings. Bruno used to talk about you all the time." she looked me up and down. "You look just like him." I relaxed, it seemed that Bria wasn't Bruno's biggest fan either. The door opened behind me,

"Alberto?" I turned to see Giulia rubbing her eyes at the harsh early morning light. She saw Bria and raised an eyebrow, "Who-?"

"Giulia, meet my half sister. Bria." Bria waved and Giulia waved back

"Papa is making breakfast. Would you like to join us?"

"Sure!" We walked inside together, and sure enough, Massimo was mixing something in a bowl. I looked around the dining room, but didn't see Luca.

"He's still asleep." Giulia said without looking at me. She was busy talking to my other sister.

"Who is?" Bria asked. I didn't respond, just walked into the living room and crouched down in front of Luca. He was curled in a ball on the couch, a small smile on his face as he murmured in his sleep. I gently shook him and his eyes fluttered open.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

"Morning cutie." he said sleepily. I blushed, and responded.

"There is someone I want you to meet."

"Am I gonna meet your mom now?" I tensed. I had never known my mom.

"No bud, it's-" I looked into the kitchen and saw Giulia and Bria talking as Massimo made Pancakes. "It's someone else." He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes.

"Who is it?"

"My sister."

"I already know Giulia." He responded, confused.

"Not her." I said, laughing. "A biological sister. Bruno's daughter." His eyes widened. He was wide awake now.

"What?"

"Yeah, she found me this morning." I pulled him to his feet. "Come on." I held his hand and led him to the kitchen. As we walked in, I said "Bria, this is Luca. Luca this is-" Bria interrupted me, holding out her hand to Luca 

"Hi, I'm Bria, Alberto's half sister." Luca tentatively took Bria's hand and shook it.

"Luca Paguro."  he responded

"Nice to meet you." Luca stepped back, shuffling his feet and looking at the floor. He was the same shy kid from that beach on the island. Massimo walked over to the dining table with a plate stacked high with Pancakes. He set the plate on the table and gestured for us to sit down. We gathered around the table, Luca sitting next to me, Giulia sitting across from him, and Bria sitting next to her. Massimo sat at the head of the table, as usual. 

"Bon appetite." We all dug in. For being so skinny, Luca eats a lot. During breakfast, Bria asked a lot of questions about my life.

"What happened after Bruno left?"

"I was alone in the tower for a long time. Eventually, I realized he wasn't going to come back, so I left. And then I found Luca." I squeezed his hand under the table, and he squeezed mine.

"So, is there a special girl?" She asked with a sly look. I tensed, and Luca's grip on my hand tightened.

"Not exactly." I shoved my face with Pancake so I couldn't answer the question. Bria looked at Giulia, who shrugged. I shot her a grateful look, before turning my attention back to my breakfast. Bria looked between the three of us, and I saw the realization in her eyes. And the acceptance. She offered a friendly smile, and I returned it. I looked at Luca, who seemed nervous. I looked him in the eye and nodded slightly. His grip on my hand loosened, but he didn't let go. The rest of breakfast was full of laughter, smiles, and friendly chatter. When Luca finished his breakfast, he turned to me and asked in a whisper,

"Should we show Bria around Portorosso?"

"Sure!" I finished eating and asked Bria, "Would you like a tour of Portorosso?"

"Yeah!" She finished her last Pancake and stood.

"Thank you Mr. Marcovaldo." Massimo smiled warmly.

"You are welcome any time." She smiled in thanks then turned to me.

"About that tour of the town?" Bria didn't waist any time, she was a lot like me that way.  Giulia stood quickly, her now empty plate sliding back on the table.

"Let's do this!" We waved goodbye to Massimo and headed off to the busy streets of the town.