All for Giselle

chapter 8

Gaby

I silently prayed and wished away everything that happened today away as I tucked Giselle into bed. It was past her bedtime because we spent a lot of time talking after dinner. She had a lot of questions about "mommy's friend". I couldn't tell her the obvious truth. I didn't think I was ready to share her.

I place a kiss on her forehead and switch off the lights. I make my way back to the kitchen to finish doing the dishes.

I really don't know how long I could keep this thing about being Adrianna up. But it seems like the best bet. Who knows what would happen if Giovanni found out I wasn't really Adrianna. I just have to steer clear of arguments which meant I have to agree with everything he says to keep this out of the court room. A light tap sounded from the door. I move to check who was knocking through the window. Guess my prayers didn't work because he was here. Who visits someone at 9:55pm?. Clearly, this guy.
I contemplated ignoring the knock. If nobody answered, he would go right?. But I thought of the possible consequences and found myself turning the keys and letting him in.

" Hello, Giovanni."

"Hi." He replied while handing me an envelope.

Oh God. What could this mean?.

"What is this?" I ask as I close the door and open the envelope.

"An agreement." He says as he sits rather too comfortably on a couch taking in my living room with his ridiculously breathtaking eyes.

"What agreement." I was confused. Surely I didn't agree to anything I didn't know about.

"I need unrestricted access to my daughter. And this is the only way I can trust you to give me that if we are keeping this out of court."

He obviously doesn't trust Adrianna. Way to go Gaby. You have a lot of work to do.

"So you don't trust me to do what's fair?"

"No I do not. No person in their right mind would trust you. So either we do this now or I leave and take the other route."

"Are you threatening me?" I ask but he just kept a straight face staring me down.

"Okay. What do I have to do?"

"Sign the papers" he said gesturing to the envelope in my hands which I opened but didn't read.

"What is the agreement?" I ask

" The basic things. I get the weekends, you get the weekdays. She spends summer holidays with me."

"What? The whole of summer?"

"Yes."

"That's ridiculous. She can't be away from me that long." I tell him.

"You could always come with her. There is enough room for you" he said with a glint in his eye.

Was he flirting with me? No, he wasn't. He was flirting with Adrianna not Gaby. I just had to keep that in mind.

"No, thank you. One week in the summer with you. She has a lot of things she does during her summer holidays. She goes to a summer camp amongst other things."

He looked like he was about to argue.
"Fine. Other details are in the papers. Sign them." He said handing me a pen.

"Now?".

" Yes." He said

"Can i go through them myself before I sign?."

"Your call." He put the pen back in his pocket. "First things first. I want to meet her."

"You already did."

"No, I wanna meet her as her father." He said.

Wow so fast. He definitely knew how to cut to the chase.

"She is already asleep" inform.

"Tomorrow, then. At dinner."

"Dinner?"

"I wanna have  dinner with her. I expect you are gonna come, right?.

" Yes." I confirm.

"How are you going to tell her the news?."

For the first time I actually thought about how I was gonna tell her.

"That is for me to bother about."

He looked at me thoughtfully.

"What?" I ask

" I honestly came here prepared for a fight. But thank you for making this easy. You were never this understanding and definitely not this compliant. I am supposed to be mad at you for keeping Giselle from me all these years but I find myself letting go of that anger and hurt. I am looking forward to getting to know this new you because there has been a lot of changes." He said looking at me in a way I couldn't comprehend.

"You don't need to get to know the new me. Giselle should be your focus".

He smiled. "I'll pick you guys up tomorrow. 7 o'clock, okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." He stands up and walks to the door. I go behind him and he walks out of the door and says good night. I lock the door and place my hands on my chest to steady my fluttering heart.