Lessons in Love

Chapter 5

Francesca D'Angelo hugged Lucas tightly on her immaculate doorstep. Lucas hugged her right back, breathing in the smell of spaghetti sauce mixed with Chanel No. 5. No matter else was going on, he knew he could put aside his worries when he stepped into his mother and father's welcoming home in Lakewood. When he walked into the living room filled with a mix of faded and new furniture, accented by a multitude of family photos, Lucas relaxed. Normally he would not describe himself as tightly wound, but that seemed to have changed lately. And the reason had to do with the cool blonde teacher with wounded eyes who was frequently on his mind.

"I'm so glad you're here, Honey! How was your week? And where is my scrumptious munchkin?"

"She's with her mother, Mom. This is Brandi's week."

Francesca frowned. "I don't see why that woman gets to have Lily at all. She doesn't have a mothering bone in her body."

"Mom, let's not start this again. You know if I could change it, I would." Lucas sighed and rubbed his forehead.

Francesca's own mothering instincts clicked in when she saw how tired Lucas looked. "Okay, never mind. This is a problem for another day. Come back to the kitchen with me. Your brother and sister will help you perk up." She took Lucas by the arm and escorted him into the kitchen.

His brother Daniel, a dark-haired man who was a little shorter and wider than Lucas, got up to give him a one-armed man hug. "Look what the cat dragged in." Eyeing the faded Steelers T-shirt, he said, "Is this what you wear when you come see your Mama? Maybe I need to take you shopping."

Francesca poked Daniel in the belly. "I am happy to see any of my children at any time, however they are dressed, even if they're wearing their pajamas."

"I'll remember that," Lucas said. He bent down to hug the dark-haired woman chopping carrots for the salad. "Hey, Martina, what's up?"

She lifted her arms to hug him back, looking at Lucas with the same velvety brown eyes he had. "Your demon niece and nephew are up, that's what. Upstairs in our old rooms in timeout. They need a fun, patient uncle to help them find something else to do besides torment each other."

"I'm your guy," Lucas said as he popped an olive in his mouth.

Francesca was dumping pasta into a huge pot of boiling water. She stirred it a bit and then left it to cook. "Lucas, before you go up, I want to ask you about the pretty blonde girl you had coffee with this morning."

Lucas's mouth dropped open before he could plop another olive in it. "How do you know about that? It was only nine hours ago!"

"Ginny's daughter works at the coffee shop. She told her mother, who told me when I went to the salon today," Francesca said.

"This is clearly a perk of living in a small town—not being able to have a secret for more than a few hours."

Daniel jumped in. "So, it's a secret relationship with the pretty blonde girl!?"

"No, I didn't mean that."

Martina said, "Is there something wrong with her? Lucas, she's not married, is she?"

"NO! All of you, stop and listen!" Lucas pulled at his hair in frustration. "Aria is a new colleague from work. She teaches kindergarten, so our students are going to be buddies and do stuff together. We were planning some activities," Lucas said, winding down.

"What kind of activities?" Daniel said with a smirk.

"The kindergarten and sixth-grade kind, Daniel."

"Well, are we going to meet her?" Martina said.

"She's a colleague. That would be weird...although her mother showed up in the coffee shop and invited us to dinner tomorrow night at her house," Lucas said.