Coming Back Home

Getting to Know You

"Alright, everyone, let's eat!"

Giada's POV

I look around at my bubbas to see if anyone else has food, but no one does. I am going to ask Papa where the food is when a bunch of ladies come into the room. One of the ladies comes up to me and smiles as she puts a plate of food on the table in front of me. "Tank you!" I tell her. She just smiles and nods at me, before leaving. I look back down at the plate. I see some yellow strings, with red stuff and brown lumps on it. "Papa, what dat?" I point to the plate.

"That's spaghetti, dolcezza," he explains. I tilt my head. "Yummy?" I ask. "Well, I think it's yummy, and so do your brothers. So, I think you'll like it. Why don't you give it a try?" He offers kindly. "Otay, Papa," I reply. I pick up some of the spaghetti in my hand and put it in my mouth. Oooh, yummy! I think I've had this before, but I don't really remember.

Riccy leans down to me and points at the brown lumps. "Those are called meatballs, angioletto. Have you ever had those before?" he asks me. "No no (I don't know)" I shrug. "Fink so." He picks up some shiny funny-shaped sticks and uses them to make the lumps smaller.

Riccy takes one of the sticks and puts a piece of meatball on the end. "Here, try it." He lifts it to my mouth. I open my mouth and eat the meatball. That's super yummy, too! I nod my head excitedly. "Me wike!" Riccy smiles down at me. "That's good, angioletto. Instead of saying 'me like', you should say 'I like that', okay?"

"I wike dat (I like that)," I say unsurely and look at Riccy to see if that was right. He claps in response, making me clap, too. "Yes, Giada, great job!" I smile proudly. "Mo skabedi, pwease? (more spaghetti, please)" I ask politely. "Of course, angioletto. Do you want to try eating with the fork?" he asks while showing me the shiny stick.

I tilt my head to the side in confusion. "Fowk (fork)?" I ask. "Yes, you hold it like this and use it to eat food." Riccy shows me how to hold the sti-fork. I try my best to use the fork, but I can't figure out how to get the spaghetti on it. The meatballs are easier to pick up, but eventually I get frustrated and just use my hands.

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Alessandro's POV

Dinner is a very enjoyable experience and not because of the food, though it is delicious. Giada is the star of the show, her face getting absolutely covered with spaghetti sauce. She made a valiant effort at using the fork, but gave up pretty quickly. Dinner is coming to a close, and I look over at my daughter. She has a furrowed brow and is staring at her dirty hands.

All of a sudden, her lower lip begins to wobble. Oh, fuck! What happened? I am snapped out of my thoughts when she starts to bawl. I reach out for her, not caring that I'm getting dirty. "Oh, dolcezza. What happened?" I ask as I bounce her up and down. She grips my shirt tightly in her tiny fists. Her wails won't stop. "Dad, what's going on?" Xavier looks at her with a worried glance. "I'm gonna take her up to my room," I respond.

I carry her up the stairs and walk into my room. The whole time I am still trying to calm her down by bouncing her softly. "Shhh, baby. Everything is okay. You are safe with me. Let's just take a few breaths, and you can tell me what got you so upset, huh?" I boop her on the nose. She nods hesitantly, taking shallow breaths. "Papa!" she sucks in air trying to regulate her breathing. "Shhh, let's breathe together." After a few minutes, she is calm enough to tell me what happened.

"Diwty (dirty), Papa," she whimpers, laying her head on my shoulder and still gripping my shirt. At first, I'm confused. Dirty? Well, yeah, she ate like a little piggy. A cute little piggy, but still, a piggy. "You don't like being dirty, dolcezza?" I question. She nods against my chest slightly. "Mama no wike Giada diwty (Mama doesn't like when Giada is dirty). She has 'da bad face. (She has the bad face/angry.)"