Romantic Acquisition (21 page)

“Where are we going?” she asked when they were on the road.

“My family gathers for church and lunch each Sunday.  Whoever is in town just shows up at by oldest brother’s house.”

“Hmmm…sounds interesting.  You’ve told me too many stories about your brothers though.”

“Don’t worry, if you don
’t
bring a Barbie doll within their reach, you’ll be fine.”

Kate didn’t wonder about the significance of lunch with all his siblings.  She was sure he’d brought other women to the lunch so it was probably not an odd occurrence to
bring a guest to the family ga
thering. 

What she wasn’t prepared for was the chaos inside the monstrously huge house.  Upon first entry, there was no noise.  Then suddenly, a beautiful little girl with curly black hair screamed into the foyer, throwing herself into “Uncle Carlo’s” arms. 

Kate took a step back as two smaller, but equally enthusiastic boys arrived, both looking like identical twins.  Following slowly behind, but with just as much joy was another little boy who was thrilled to be included with the big kids.

“Where have you been?
”
one of the twins demanded once the hugs were completed.  “
Dad’s grilling burgers again and you know how Uncle Sal gets when someone takes over the grill!”

“Excuse me,” Carlo said
, and he turned in his kneeling position to look at Kate who was standing behind him, watching the whole scene with astonishment
.  “Where are your manners?  There’s a lady behind you.  Perhaps all of you could introduce yourselves?”

“I’m Emma,” the first little girl said and she walked right up to Kate and shook her hand.  “Are you Uncle Carlo’s girlfriend?”

Kate was dumbfounded.  “I’m Kate,” she said, as if that would answer all the questions.

“Oh, okay.  You’re her,” she said and was immediately pushed out of the way by one of the twins. 

“I’m Dennis and this is my brother Josh.  Our sisters are around here somewhere, but they’re too little to walk yet,” he said importantly
, his chest puffing up with pride
. 

“Pleased to meet both of you,” Kate said
and took the offered hands, shaking them with a serious expression on her face, mimicking their own
. 

She then bent down to the smallest boy.  “And what’s your name?” she asked, the shy boy standing behind Carlo’s leg. 

“I’m Adam,” he said then hid his face
on Carlo’s arm
. 
It was a little difficult to understand him and Kate guessed he was around two, maybe slightly older. 

“Adam, it is very nice to meet you,” Kate said, charmed by his smile.  “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

He nodded.  “Danielle, but she’
s just a baby,” he explained shyly. 

“Ah!  So you take good care of her, don’t you?”

The boy nodded, feeling important now that he could show how big he was. 

”
Come on, let’s go see who’s grilling now,” Josh said and pulled his little cousin behind him. 

Kate was thrilled with the small kids, wishing desperately that she had a future that included them. 

“They’re wonderful,” Kate said, standing up again. 

Carlo nodded in agreement. 
“They’re pretty neat,
” he said smiling, “
but
they
can be a handful when they’re all together.  Don’t let them intimidate you,” he joked.  “But don’t find yourself alone with a group of them.  They can sense your fear,” he said and Kate laughed at his semi-serious expression.

Kate was seeing a new side to Carlo.  He introduced her to his sisters-in-law, all of whom were in the family room, each with a small baby in their arms.  Josh rushed back into the house and grabbed Carlo’s arm.  “Come on,
Uncle Carlo.  Uncle Michael has the spatula.  Come quick!”

Carlo laughed but he allowed the small boy to drag him out into the crisp autumn afternoon to the patio where five other men were standing and discussing something serious, all staring at the grill. 

“Come on in,” a beautiful blond woman said, smiling as she
wave
d Kate into the room.  She was holding a smallish baby girl in her arms and there was another one at her feet that looked similar.  “Would you hold Olivia for a moment?  I think Sophia needs her diaper changed.”

Kate immediately sat down and took the small little baby into her arms, eager to hold the beautiful child.  Kate and Olivia stared in wonder at each other.  Olivia was the first to break the silence by making gurgling noises and grabbing at Kate’s nose.  Kate laughed and enjoyed the feeling of the tiny hand gently touching her face.  “You like that, huh?” Kate said, liking the way the baby
moved her hand to her cheek and teeth. 

“She’s a beautiful baby, Victoria.  How old is she?”

Victoria
smiled her thanks for the compliment.  “She’s eleven months old tomorrow,” she explained.  “And this is her twin sister Olivia.”

“Wow!  Twins.  What a handful,” Kate said.  “Who has the other set of twins?”

Victoria
smiled again.  “Those are mine as well.  For some reason, I was blessed with two sets of twins.”

Kate laughed at
Victoria
’s harried expression.  “Oh my.  That must be a handful.  What are the odds of that happening?”

“Well, let’s just say that I had better odds of winning the lottery,” she laughed. 

Antonia, the youngest sister who was a feminine version of her brothers with the dark, curly hair and long, black eyelashes, sat down and took little Sophia away from her sister in law.  “You lucked out, I’m thinking.  These two are too much fun,” she said.

Victoria
laughed.  “Yes.  I’m just glad that I have Thomas to help me,” she said. 

“And Libby,” Laci, Sal’s wife chimed in as she carried her fourteen month old daughter in her arms.

“Who is Libby?” Kate asked.

“Libby is my nanny.  She comes over and helps out during the day,”
Victoria
responded.  “And yes, she’s a godsend.”

“This little one,” Laci said, referring to the bundle of energy dressed in a pretty pink, frilly dress and trying to escape from her mother’s arms so she could play with the babies, “is Danielle.  She’s our second.  I think you met Adam at the door.  He’s my son.”

“He was very much a gentleman,” Kate assured the woman with soft brown hair and twinkling blue eyes. 

Michael, Carlo’s older brother by eighteen months, came into the room with yet another little boy under his arms who was giggling uncontrollably.  “Antonia, this little guy thinks he’s big enough to light the grill.  So I had to give him some tickle torture to show him who is boss.” 

Antonia rolled her eyes as her son was pitched upside down onto the sofa and tickled some more.  “I can see he’s trying to fit into his daddy’s shoes already,” she said and reached over her free arm to help
Michael
tickle her son.  Danielle, who had been trying to reach for Sophia, instantly stopped and moved towards her brother, eager to join in the fun. 

“How many children are there in the family?” Kate asked, watching with amusement as another man came into the room, carrying
five
year old Emma and
four
year old Josh under each arm.  “I have more that are becoming a nuisance and need tickle torture,” the man said. 

“That’s Brett, Antonia’s husband,” Laci explained.  “He’s harmless although he looks pretty mean,” she said and winked at her handsome brother in law. 

Brett growled at her, trying to scare her as he teasingly reached down as if he were going to bite her neck.  At the last moment, he stopped and kissed the soft head of the wriggling Danielle, who reached up and clasped her arms around his neck.  Brett just picked her up and carried her over to where Kate was sitting. 

“Good to meet you
, Kate
. 
I’ve known Carlo for five years now and I can only give you one piece of advice. 
Run,” he teased.  “Run as fast as possible away from this family.  I can guarantee that Carlo is evil and can’t be trusted,” he said but spoiled his warning by winking at Emma who just covered her mouth and giggled her delight. 

“No he’s not,”
Emma admonished
. 
The little girl
then wriggled out of her uncle’s arms and started running through the house, ‘Uncle Carlo! Uncle Carlo!  Uncle Brett is saying mean things about you to your girlfriend,” she yelled. 

A few minutes later, Carlo came into the family room and shoved Brett out of the way.  He then walked over to Kate and took her hand, pulling her to her feet and dragging her away from the chaotic scene.  The rest of the family watched for a few moments but as soon as the two of them were almost out of the room, the laughter erupted.  Kate’s face flamed into color and Carlo stopped, turned back to face his family and just shook his head. 

“Don’t listen to any of them Kate.  They’re all just a bunch of misfits.”

With that, he led her out to the maze and guided her away from his family where they couldn’t do anymore harm.

While they were gone, Gus and his wife Alana arrived with their new son, Damon who was only three months old and fast asleep after being fed. 

Lunch was wonderful and Kate enjoyed watching Carlo laugh and play with his nieces and nephews.  He even sat down with the smallest baby,
Damon
, who was
curiously looking at faces or any colored toy put in his limited line of sight
while his
mother, Carlo’s
sister in law,
Alana
, ate her lunch.  Kate thought it was very considerate to let a new mother have a few minutes of free time. 

It gave her hope that perhaps Carlo wasn’t like most of the men she knew
who cringed at the idea of children ruining their perfect, yuppy existence
.  Could he possibly want children?  Did he have father instincts just like women had mothering instincts? 

On the way home that afternoon, Kate brought up the subject.  “You really seem to like those kids.”

“T
hey’re great kids.  My brothers and sister do a great job with all of them.”

“They love you as their uncle.”

“Hey, it’s easy to be an uncle.  I can come over, spoil them and leave when the diapers get dirty,” he joked.

Kate was crushed.  His comment seemed to indicate that he didn
’t
want the grimy side of parenthood.  “I guess it’s the best of both worlds,” she said sadly.

“Exactly.  I
baby-sit
when I can but doing that full time, I can’t even imagine it.”

Kate stared out of the car.  Her hopes dashed but she had no one to blame but herself. 
So he didn’t want to have his own kids.  Who could blame him?  It was a tough job.  Raising kids took time, money and freedom.  She didn’t think he’d even notice the loss of money since he had so much, but he probably would mind the loss of freedom and time.  The man was used to traveling around the world at a moment’s whim.  He could come and go as he pleased. 

Kate remember
ed
her mother crying at night when she’d thought Kate was asleep.  Kate would crawl into bed with her mother, soothing her and they’d fall asleep together.  Kate didn’t want to be that scared.  She didn’t want to raise a child on her own.  No matter how much money a person had, raising a child with only one parent was difficult.  Kate didn’t think she had the guts to do it.