My Mr. Manny (10 page)

“So, once you’re sure you have all of the tangles out, you can brush from the top. But be careful you don’t make more knots in it. Now, it’s your turn.”

I watched while he nodded and took the brush, and then I turned around so he could start.

“Just brush my hair to get the feel for how you would start with Lucia,” I said, trying to soothe his nerves.

His gentle hands worked light strokes over my scalp and down my mane. It felt so good and relaxing that I was almost falling asleep. I let him spend a lot of time with the brushing for selfish reasons, but before I could show him how to pull it up into a bun, I felt him gather my hair near my nape. His fingers skimmed my neck, either by accident or on purpose, sending shivers through my body. I wasn’t sure if he meant to do that, but I didn’t want to stop him. He continued to run his fingers through my hair, forgetting the brush altogether, and my eyes began to close.

Realizing I was falling asleep and I hadn’t shown him anything more than how to brush my hair, I decided it was time to get into the difficult stuff.

“That felt good, but let’s start with the hairstyles. Let me see the brush, please.”

He handed it to me, and keeping my back to him, I showed him how to brush the hair up into a ponytail in the back and secure it with an elastic band. After a couple of tries, he got it all and secured it without leaving any bumps of hair around my head.

“What were you like as a kid?” Dominic asked out of nowhere.

“Oh, well, you know Lori and I grew up in Boston, right?”

“Yeah, I knew that,” he confirmed.

I shrugged, not knowing exactly what he was looking for. “I don’t know. I was a tomboy. I never let the boys tell me I couldn’t do something just because I was a girl. How about you?”

“Let’s see. I never got to play outside. We lived in Manhattan, so we had a concrete garden, but my parents were too serious for kid stuff anyway. They treated us like adults from a young age, and we didn’t know any better. But I played sports, at least; Chris never wanted to. He was always more serious than I was, which seems almost impossible. I can see how uptight I was and how much I’ve loosened up since I’ve left New York,” he explained.

“So, you never got to play hide and seek as a kid?” I thought about that and realized it wasn’t that different for Lucia, either. Even though we had the grounds outside to play in, we never did.

“Nope, never.”

“Well, neither has Lucia. We’ll have to play by the lake sometime.”

“You didn’t go to Lori and Chris’s wedding, did you?” Dominic asked.

I shook my head. “I couldn’t. The timing wasn’t right, but I was upset that I missed it.”

“It was beautiful. My parents invited all of their friends, and your aunt and uncle were there with their other children. It was a good time, but so many people. I expected Lori to be overwhelmed, but she handled herself well.”

I wished I could have been there for Lori. That was something I could never make up to her, and it bothered me all over again.

After that, we spent several more hours talking while he brushed my hair, practicing making ponytails, buns, and braids. The feeling of his fingers running through my hair and skimming against my neck sent tingles down my spine. This man enticed me with even the simplest action, but I felt like that evening we’d shared something more. I looked forward to many more moments like that with him.

“I’m ready,” Lucia said while smoothing down her tutu.

Before every session, Lucia would rush us to the studio ahead of time so she could stretch and get a good spot at the barre.

Dominic held his hand out for her to hold when we headed out the door. He helped her into the car and opened my door before running to the driver’s side. Once we were in the car and buckled in, Lucia began chatting away.

“Dominic, today we are going to learn a new routine. Mrs. Caprisi said it’s for a ‘cital. She said we hafta practice a lot to make a good show.”

I chuckled at her excitement and loved to hear her talk; however, I was beginning to feel a little jealous at how much she addressed Dominic all the time instead of me. Although I knew it was foolish, just a small part of me felt it and it hurt––felt strange, because I’d never had to share her before. I caught Dominic’s smile; he knew I was brooding.

I turned to look at Lucia. “Do you know what a
recital
is, Lucia?” Continuing to look at her over my shoulder, I saw her face scrunch up in thought.

“Um, I’m not sure.”

I smiled because she was so excited over something just because it had to do with dancing, even though she didn’t know what it was.

Dominic made a right turn onto the street of the studio. “Well, it’s a show to demonstrate to your family and friends everything you have learned. We get to see you dance with your classmates in pretty costumes. It’s a very exciting night,” he answered.

He pulled into the parking lot, and Lucia seemed to be in deep thought.

“We hafta dance in front of people?” she said, and her voice trembled.

Once he parked the car, he jumped out and helped Lucia out. I stood behind him and said, “Baby, does that make you nervous?”

She nodded.

Dominic pulled her out of the seat and held her to his chest. He hugged her and stroked her hair. “It’s okay to be nervous. Even the best dancers in the world get nervous before they perform. But if you practice hard and try your best, you will be just fine. No matter what happens, we will be proud of you.”

She pulled back a little and looked up at him with watery blues and said, “I’m ascared that you and Momma won’t like my dancing, and if I make a mistake, you’ll be mad.”

“Oh, sweetheart, we all make mistakes. We would never be mad at you for that. All you can do is try your best and have fun. We love you so much.” He hugged her tight again and kissed her forehead before I ushered them inside the studio. Moments like those made my heart skip a beat, and I tried not to cry while we ran into the studio.

Inside, the walls were covered in mirrors, and across the middle were stretching barres. On one of the walls, the barres were shorter to accommodate the little children. Because it was the first time I had been able to attend a lesson, Dominic showed me the ropes. The parents sat by the entry of the studio in folding metal chairs. The scent of baby powder and sweat hit me; it was quite soothing.

If it weren’t for Dominic being here with us, Lucia wouldn’t have been able to participate in anything after school. Watching Lucia concentrate so hard on what she was doing and enjoying the activity just reinforced how right it had been to hire him.

Chapter 14

Four Square

I introduced Dominic to my friends, Danielle, Gary, and their son, Gabe. We invited them over for dinner, and Dominic immediately became close with Gary. Every once in a while on a Friday, they would go shoot pool and have some beers. I felt that it was good for Dominic to get out and make friends besides Lucia and me.

Dominic got along well with Susan, too, even though she teased him to death, and my stomach fluttered when she told me later that he seemed interested in me. I wasn’t sure of his interest level, but we did fit together pretty well. If I were honest with myself, I would admit to that I did notice something that seemed to be more than friendship, but I did not want to get my hopes up. The tasks he performed around the house for us were part of his job, and although he went above and beyond the call of duty, I thought that was just his way. He was kind, generous, and helpful, even when he was not asked. The two of us seemed to live like a couple without the intimacy, and I figured I would let nature take its course. I didn’t want to rush into anything or force it.

On a Friday night while Dominic was out with Gary, my cousin, Vitto, called me to let me know he would be flying out to Los Angeles for some interviews. It had been years since I’d seen him last, and I was dying to catch up. We planned to meet for dinner and drinks, and my dad agreed to babysit Lucia that night so I could take Dominic with me.

My cousin was in town, and I had been telling Dominic for days that I wanted him to go out with us.

“Are you sure you want me to go?” he asked, leaning against the hallway doorjamb. He had just showered and his thick black hair was wet and sticking up in all directions. Pictures of him wet and naked in front of the bathroom mirror, rubbing the towel back and forth over his hair to dry it flashed through my mind. His light purple button-down shirt made his green eyes stand out even more, and it looked good against his bronzed skin. I couldn’t help checking him out from head to toe and, by the look on his face, he noticed.

I shook my head and clicked my tongue in aggravation. “Listen, Dominic. I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t want you to go. I want you to meet Vitto, and this is when he’ll be available since he’s so busy with interviews. He scheduled a whole bunch of them in a small amount of time.” I bent down to fasten the strap on my teal suede pumps, and I could see from the corner of my eye that he didn’t move right away. Straightening up, I found him standing there, watching me with an unreadable expression that made me feel self-conscious. I looked down at myself and then back up at him. “What? What’s wrong? Does this outfit look bad?” I had on a matching teal top that hung off one shoulder and a pair of black skinny jeans.

Dominic moved to take a step forward and stopped. Instead, he placed his hands in his pockets and said, “Mia.” He paused, closing his eyes. Opening them again, he stuttered, “You look amazing. I mean, you always do, but this is just . . . yeah. Amazing.”

I felt the fire spread across my face and knew my cheeks were turning pink. Looking him right in the eyes but feeling embarrassed, I said, “Thank you.” Then I remembered we had to go soon. “Now get going. We’re going to be late.” I laughed.

We went to Stick-n-Stein in El Segundo for a few beers and dinner. Vitto told Dominic all of my most embarrassing stories—or at least the ones he knew.

“So, she thought she could hang with the boys all the time. I swear it was wicked annoying. All the kids on the street knew about the fort we had made underneath the porch of one of the neighbor’s houses.” His accent was so strong, his “I sweah” and “neighbahs” sticking out noisily.

“Somehow she heard that we were going to the center to hang out. We were meeting girls there, and she wanted to go. We all told her no, but she would have followed us anyway because she was a frickin’ brat. I had to come up with a way to get rid of her, so I told her we were all meeting at the fort and she should go wait for us there and we’d take her.”

Vitto took a sip of his beer, then ran his hand over his hair down to his mullet tail, holding it in a ponytail for a moment. Most of us had brown hair with brown eyes, and Vitto was no exception. He wasn’t that tall, though—about five-six. Although he was still stuck in the eighties, he owned it. Confidence rolled off him in waves.

Dominic looked confused and asked, “What’s the center?”

I laughed a little. “Oh, that’s the center of town. That’s where all the stores were. The CVS, McDonald’s, the grocery store, and a few more businesses,” I answered, and he nodded.

Vitto continued. “Man, she was wicked excited and ran over to the fort and waited for hours.” His guffaws were growing louder, and he was beginning to attract attention. “We had been to the center and back when my aunt called my house looking for her. She said she hadn’t seen Mia all day, and it was dark out already. I ran out of the house to the fort, and sure enough, she was still there, knocked out. When I woke her up, she was pissed. Didn’t talk to me for days after that.” Vitto’s hands were flying around while he told his story. Like a typical Italian storyteller, his voice got louder and louder as he spoke. I loved it and had missed the exciting conversations with my family.

The three of us had a great time; it was nice to go out and have some adult interaction. It was something I felt like I hadn’t done in years, not to mention spending time with Vitto—that was always important to me, since I didn’t have much family there.

I begged Vitto to come back for Christmas if he could. With luck, he would get a job soon and be living here by then. I was just starting to look forward to the holidays coming up. Dominic and I could take Lucia trick-or-treating, cook dinner for Thanksgiving, open gifts in front of the tree, and ring in the New Year together. Lucia and I had never shared those things with anyone else except for my dad. It had been just the two of us. Alex always seemed to have an emergency every single holiday, and he’d rushed to the office before we were even awake. It sounded ridiculous now; I couldn’t imagine myself living in a relationship like that, but I had. I had become complacent and let things go.

Well, not this time, I promised myself. If I were to get involved with Dominic, I would never allow myself to take things for granted again. I was getting ahead of myself, but I knew that with time we’d be a couple. He might be picturing us together, too. Thinking of everything he did for us, it was easy to see how much he cared. He was amazing and genuine inside and out.

~*~*~

Vitto called to tell me he would be in town for a few more days because he had a second interview scheduled with one of the businesses he had visited. Dominic and I decided to invite everyone over for a barbecue while Vitto was still available. I figured it would be a good idea for him to meet some of my friends since it was possible he would be living here soon.

Dominic, Vitto, and Gary were out on the balcony cooking, while Susan, Danielle, and I were surrounding the breakfast bar. Susan seemed distracted, and I watched her while she kept her attention on Vitto. I thought her interest in my cousin was a fascinating discovery and hoped the two could get to know each other better. Elbowing her side, I asked, “What ya looking at?” Payback was a bitch, so I teased her like she did me. “Either you’re stuck on stupid, or you’re watching my cousin out there.”

Her freckled face lit up bright red. I knew that I blushed occasionally, but her cheeks turned red at the drop of a hat. Immediately, she snapped out of her embarrassment and had me laughing hard.