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After the emotional moment between the couple the night before, Adalena finds herself stuck in the kitchen as she munches on a bowl of cereal. She was starving and the abundance of snacks in the house wasn't helping.
She felt that the never ending pantry was nothing but fuel to the fire.
It was barely six o'clock and she's already eaten half a bag of marshmallows, a pack of white chocolate covered pretzels, an açaí bowl, and now two bowlfuls of Lucky Charms.
Nobody ever said eating for two would be easy. Or healthy.
Adriano is still asleep upstairs and Adalena was lucky that she was able to sneak out of his hold after multiple unsuccessful attempts.
But now, as she stirs in her loneliness, she can't help but regret sneaking off on her own. Apparently, being pregnant makes her crave company too.
And just as if it was a wish come true, she hears baby babbling and the sound of someone's bare feet hitting the ground. Seeing as she hasn't even been here that long, it's hard for her to recognize who it is.
So she waits for the voice to whisper to the baby. "Lo so, amore mio, ma tu continui a svegliare mamma e lei è stanca. Quindi usciamo in cucina, ok? (I know, my love, but you keep waking mommy up and she's tired. So we're going to hang out in the kitchen, okay?)"
She can tell it's Domenico and baby Serina.
Nico, himself, is seemingly unfazed by the fact that his brother's girlfriend is eating away at all the groceries and just taps her head when he passes her.
"Buongiorno, Lena." He greets, heading straight to the fridge with Serina in hand. She's babbling to herself and Domenico nods along and responds playfully along the way.
She smiles in return, "Buongiorno, Domenico." Adalena has known the men in the family for quite some time now. She was there before their father died, before the sons became the bosses, before Nico found the love of his life and became a father, and younger her wouldn't have expected that he'd do it so well.
Balance the dangerous life he leads and come home to the innocence that radiates from his wife and daughter. She's almost proud to see how he's softened and how Farrah brought out the saint in him.
Her gaze transfers to the baby in his hold, now hopeful and even more anxious for the arrival of her own.
As Domenico puts Serina in her new high chair, he glances at Adalena to see her already looking at his daughter with a smile on her face. He smiles too.
"How are you feeling?" He asks and turns to the fridge. Grabbing a small pack of yogurt, he puts it in front of Serina with a spoon in hopes that it'll hold her over and maybe put her back to sleep.
Adalena shrugs and looks back down to her cereal, "Hungry, apparently." He arches a brow. Oh, he meant mentally. "I'm fine."
He scoffs, accent thick as he responds, "You sure about that?" Serina babbles to fill the silence between them. Domenico stands across from the pregnant woman, his body propped up on the island with his elbows. "You and Adri finally confessed to each other, right?"
She nods and bites her lip, moments of last night replaying in her mind, "Did Farrah set you up to this?" She asks, jokingly just for Domenico to chuckle and shrug nonchalantly.
"Maybe, maybe not." He teases, stealing a quick glance to Serina who now has a hand digging into her bowl of yogurt. He sighs, knowing he has to wash her off before putting her back to sleep. "But, I was also curious. You know he hasn't been the best with expressing how he feels about you."
The letters are clear evidence. Adalena nods, "Yeah, I can see that." She pauses, quietly resting her spoon on the edge of her bowl in thought, "I think part of me knew." Domenico arches a brow. She continues, "Part of me knew how he felt but I ignored it. Thought it wouldn't be the best thing if we risk our friendship for something more. I was scared, I guess."
Domenico can't help the smirk that grows on his face, "The Adalena Washington — scared? Sounds so unlike you."
The woman rolls her eyes, "Part of me." She clarifies. "It just felt like a lot of pressure. So I ignored it and dated other people." She looks to Serina, the young girl now biting on her hand to soothe her aching gums. Noticing this, Nico turns around and gets her teething ring, now ice cold from being in the freezer all night.
The two spend a minute in silence, just watching her nibble.
Something about the scarcity of the moment brings Adalena to pure and complete honesty. And then, "All of me is scared to have a baby."
Nico doesn't act shocked. He kind of expected it — no one is ever really fearless when it comes to bringing new life into the world.
"Have you told Adriano?" He questions.
She shakes her head, "At least, not fully. He's busy, you all are. He's already worried about making sure I know he loves me, why burden him with him making sure I'm not scared anymore?"
"Farrah or Remi might be better at giving reassurance about this," He admits, "But, in spite of sounding like I'm mansplaining, as you Americans say it — it doesn't matter if he reassures you or not, you're still going to be scared. It's part of the process. You're having a baby, Lena. You're going to be scared even after you give birth. You're going to be scared that you might fail your child, that you might be too judgmental, that you might not be supportive enough. Obviously, you have the means to make sure they have everything material, but fundamentally? That's the hard part."
Adalena tilts her head, "Did pre-Farrah you ever think you'd get here? Wife, baby?"
He scrunches his nose in thought, "No. And that's the beauty of change. It happens and you feel so blessed when it does."
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