The Mafia's Babies by Kaycee Romano (howl and other poems txt) 📗

Enough With The Pleasantries

River started awake from her dreamless sleep, her hand reaching for the light switch. She heard another murmur outdoor. Turning it on, she grabbed the ceramic vase on the nightstand though she knew it was of no use if the person at the other side of the wall had a gun on him or her.

"Mommy?" She heard a distant knock and her baby's sleepy voice.

She sighed as she placed the vase back and got out of the bed, walking towards the door. She opened it to see Mateo kneeling down in front of Kiara, her back to her.

She turned at the sound of the door and held her arms open, not saying anything. Her little baby was half asleep.

"Come here my little world." She whispered as she picked her up, wrapping her arms around her small frame as she wrapped her legs around her mother and rested her head against her chest, falling back asleep within seconds.

"She wakes up in the middle of the night." River told Mateo who was staring sleepily and adoringly at their little princess.

"She gets it from me."

River rolled her eyes. Why was she not surprised?

"Good night Mateo."

"Good night River." He smiled and he watched them until she closed the door behind her.

.

.

.

"Why do I smell pancakes this early in the morning?"

River turned around to see Adam walk in a white tee and a blue striped pajama pants with light brown teddy bears on it.

And he was supposed to be in the Mafia! Though she knew she shouldn't be judging him based on his sleepwear preferences.

"Jeez sis-in-law, did you sleep at all?"

River sighed as she sipped on her expresso.

"Well, bro-in-law, your niece woke me up at three o' clock and then your nephew at five or something and woke up your niece again who played in my room and is now passed out on my bed." She yawned. And she knew that they will be cranky all day, missing her mother and grandmother because they had been staying with them for days.

"Whoa, they take after Mateo." He chuckled as he climbed on to the counter, just beside the stove.

River sighed again, feeling the exhaustion try to pull the shutters on her eyes.

Yeah yeah, they take after only their father. She got that.

"Only Kiara actually. Lucas sleeps better. I guess he woke up today because it's a new place." She yawned yet again.

She had come to accept the fact that proper and sound sleep just wasn't in her fate.

"You are up?"

The both of them turned to see Mateo walk in, dressed in a black suit and putting his silver Rolex watch on.

"Yeah, I know I need more of my beauty sleep but I decided to wake up early to make some breakfast for my little babies." Adam said, grabbing the spatula from River's hand and hoping off the counter.

River rolled her eyes as she just walked around the counter and perched upon the stool with her mug of warm coffee in her hand while he took the spot in front of the stove.

Adam looked at the spatula as if he was seeing it for the first time while Mateo poured himself a cup of black coffee and joined her and gave her a smile, "Morning, Kiara didn't let you sleep?"

"Kiara slept off till Lucas joined at around five and the two were playing till about an hour ago." She explained, turning back to Adam.

He went ahead and scooped the pancake on to the pile, breaking it into two pieces in the process.

Adam looked up at River who just gave him a flat look.

"Your pancakes need work. They are too brittle." He said gravely while Mateo chuckled and River narrowed her eyes.

"Okay next one." He said and went ahead and dunked the spatula into the batter.

River laughed out loud while Mateo banged his coffee mug on the table, getting off the stool. "Move aside." He pushed the idiot and took the spot, chucking the batter covered spatula onto the sink.

After rolling his sleeves up, he expertly poured the batter onto the pan with the ladle Adam's eyes had managed to miss.

"Cinnamon pancakes?" Mateo hummed, glancing up at the baby mama.

"The only breakfast our children never get tired of." She shrugged.

River didn't exactly know what they saw in it. Nothing beats good old cereal drowned in milk and chocolate syrup. That was just her opinion.

Mateo was good at cooking. She had to give him that. Probably not as good as her but whatever, as long as she didn't have to cook. At least that was what she inferred from his fluid movements around the kitchen and his confidence - he was cooking in a suit with no apron on.

"Capo?"

River turned in her seat to see two women who looked like chefs look at them surprised.

"We are so sorry we are late." They bowed down.

That's right. Bow down to your queen! And the mini-bitch was back.

'Jesus River, you are so freaking dramatic!'

She turned and raised a brow at the Capo, an amused smile on her face.

He rolled his eyes and said, "It's okay. My wife and I are just cooking breakfast for our children."

Umm... what?

"You only need to come in to make lunch." He said. They nodded and left after bowing again. Which century was this again?

"Please tell me wife means something else in Italian." She groaned as soon as they disappeared behind the door.

"I am afraid it doesn't."

She gave them a constipated look.

Adam cracked up while Mateo gave her an offended look.

"So that's who I am to all the people here?" She asked, wracking her brain for any other idea which could be comparatively less cringey than the present arrangement.

"Yeah, to the staff."

"Some people here are too old-fashioned so we had to do that." Adam explained as he plated a few pancakes for himself, drowning them in maple syrup.

She nodded. "Brilliant."

"We have a conference call in an hour." Mateo said, looking distastefully at Adam's appearance and then continued, "And we will be working throughout the day to make up for the work piled up with all that happened in the past days."

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