epilogue

                                    

                                          
•Aria Rossi•
       "Mamma I want to be like you when I grow up," My little Lana says to me as we are sitting together on a chair by the pool, my husband and sons all continuously throwing each other into the pool and playing around.
         I almost tear up at her words, but look down at her. "È così dolce, angioletta. Perché è così?" I ask her. She sits up further and looks at me smiling. (That is so sweet, little angel. Why is that?)
         "Sei molto gentile, tratti le persone con gentilezza. Ci insegni come amare noi stessi e tu e papà ci proteggi. E la tua cucina è davvero buona." She tells me, making me smile widely, and chuckle at the last part. I love my little girl. But I also love that this is the impression I have left her with, that I have been a good mother to her. (You are very kind, you treat people with kindness. You teach us how to love ourselves and you and dad protect us. And your cooking is really good.)
         I hug her tighter, kissing her forehead. "Thank you, angioletta. I love you so much." I say. 
         "I love you too, mamma," she replies. 
•••••
Matteo Rossi
       After a final rep, I place the bar back down, just in time to hear the door open. I breathe heavily as I am reaching the end of my workout routing.
       Leo and Enzo walk in, "Papà, what are you doing?" Leo asks me.
       "I'm working out, bud." I tell them, putting the weights back where they go as well as the bar. 
        "Can we do it too?" Enzo asks. I notice that his tooth that has been loose for a while was now gone. 
         I grab his chin with two fingers and open his mouth slightly, "Bud, when did you lose your tooth?" I ask him.
         "Only a few minutes ago. Mamma said that the fatina dei denti will send the topolino dei denti to raccogli il dente e lasciami una moneta." he tells me, although shrugging.  (The tooth fairy... the tooth mouse... pick up the tooth and leave me a coin)
         I smile, turning to Leo, "Il tuo è già caduto?" I ask him, making him shake his head. (Has yours fallen yet?)
        "Quasi," he says, showing me how the tooth moves when he uses his tongue to push it. (Almost)
         I laugh, pulling them both to me and hugging them. I show them some easy workouts that they executed perfectly with 2 kilogram weights and they said it was too light so I let them go up to 4.5 kilograms. 
         They they said they think they could do more but I wanted to be completely sure. I grabbed the 7 kilogram and walked over to them. "I am going to slowly put it in your hands and if you cannot do the exercises with it then we will go a little lighter, yes? But we want to start off light and slow so you do not hurt yourself. And it is okay if you cannot do it with these, it is only your first time lifting and you are only kids. It is better to start of light and slow than go too much and hurt yourself." I tell them, wanting to make sure they don't get too upset if they can't do it.
          They both nod so I grab one weight in each hand and slowly place it in each of the twins arms. They do five repetitions of the first exercise I taught them and get through with it fine. 
        "Papà, I want to be big and strong like you when I grow up," Enzo says, making me smile.
         "Me too!" Leo says excitedly. I chuckle, grabbing them both and carrying them upstairs to the main floor. 
        Enzo leans in to whisper to my ear, "Papà, can you lift mamma because you are so strong?" he asks me. I laugh, nodding.
         We go into the kitchen where Aria is making cupcakes with Addie and Marco. "Hi honey," she says, leaning over to kiss me. She kisses each twin on the cheek before continuing as she was.
         I place Leo and Enzo on the ground who back away before I squat down, putting one arm under my wife's knees and the other under her back, lifting her up with ease. 
         She gasps, "Matteo," she says, "Put me down." all of the kids are giggling as I carry my wife to the living room, sitting on the couch with her on my lap.
         Our kids run up to us giggling, getting on top of Aria and I, keeping us on the couch. 
         All of them are screaming and yelling random things as they laugh, surrounding my wife and I with that adorable sound that we love.
         The warmth that surrounds us, the love, everything. Aria is my everything. The most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. I love her with everything in me.
•••••
bye bye
~elle 🌸