The Thrill Of Your Love

Chapter Thirty Three

"Relax, Terzo." Alice led Terzo to the nursery, her hand gently squeezing his as they walked. "They're going to be thrilled to see you again."

He just nodded and let her drag him through the red door leading to one of the classrooms. It was a bright, colourful room, filled with vibrant murals of flowers and animals. The walls were adorned with children's artwork, and the tables were scattered with colourful craft supplies and the floor full of boxes of toys. As they entered, the children's excited chatter filled the air, but the room fell silent when they noticed Terzo. Then all of the sudden the quiet turned into squeals of excitement and cries of joy seeing their Papa again.

"Papa!" The kids gasped, rushing towards him in a bustling herd. Terzo instinctively grabbed Alice's arm, his eyes stricken with fear.

"Eh...ciao piccolini." He nervously smiled down at the eager children gripping onto his trousers and smiling up at him and jumping ecstatically around him.

"Children!" Sister Ruby quickly stepped in, clapping her hands. "Remember what I told you! Papa is still recovering so we must use our indoor voices, and be gentle."

The children obeyed, though not without smalls huffs and groans, leaving Terzo and finding their seats while still stealing glances at the man who was reduced to a bundle of nerves. Alice guided him to a corner of the room, away from the crowd. She squeezed his forearm as he limped beside her.

"You're okay." She whispered, rubbing his back reassuringly. "I'm here." He smiled and nodded.

"Ah, come in!" Ruby opened the door to reveal Ethel along with some of Primo's ghouls, helping her carry all of the baked goods. "Copia and Lady Ethel have been working very hard to make these gingerbread houses and gingerbread men for you, so let's all say thank you."

"Thank you!" The children chorused in unison, making Terzo's lips lift into a soft smile. Alice couldn't help but grin at his reaction.

"These need decorating for the Yule feast." Ruby explained the task, pointing to the three gingerbread houses on each of the three tiny tables. "And here is a gingerbread man for each of you to decorate and keep and eat for yourself."

The children eagerly got to work, their little hands busy with icing and candies. Alice led Terzo to a quieter table where a few kids were already focused on their gingerbread house, struggling with the small icing tubes.

"Wow." Terzo smiled. "Look at this! You're little artists, si?"

The kids giggled and motioned for him to help with the gummy drops, pushing the bowl towards him. Terzo smiled and carefully placed a row of red and green gummies onto the gingerbread house, concentrating hard. He offered some advice, pointing out where he thought the white icing would look like nice icicles dangling from the house.

Alice watched him, her heart swelling with pride at his progress. She rubbed his back comfortingly as he went back to decoratimg his own gingerbread man with shaking hands, his pale complexion giving away how he still hadn't recovered fully yet. He added some sprinkles as the final touch and dusted off his hands, then turned to her with a teasing grin. 

"Amore it's you." He proudly handed it to her. "See?"

Alice laughed, taking the gingerbread man from him. It had blue eyes and yellow hair, with a big smile. She raised an eyebrow at the rainbow sprinkles for a dress. 

"It's perfect." She smiled. "But I usually wear white or black, Terzo. What's with all the rainbow sprinkles for a habit?"

"For the colour you bring to my very grey life at the moment amore." Terzo's expression turned soft. "You make everything brighter and happier whenever you're there. Like a rainbow after the rain...tu sei il mia arcobaleno, Alice."