a long stretching silence ensued. Then, May got distracted by something.
“Olivia, look at your belly!” she raised her voice in excitement. “Are you going to have a baby?”
I smiled and caressed her silky hair. “Yes, May. I'm going to have a baby. You’re going to be an aunt.”
She jumped in excitement and turned to Alessandro. “Alessandro, did you hear that? I'm going to be an aunt!”
“Yes, piccolina,” he said with a pinch of sadness. “I heard. It's very exciting, isn't it?”
She nodded in haste and grinned innocently. “Are you the daddy?”
Both our eyes widened simultaneously, while May waited for us to say something.
“Well, uhm...” I began and my head shot up, distracted by a voice calling May’s name.
I glanced at the front door and gulped in utter shock at the sight of the person that appeared on the porch. I blinked a couple of times, just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Then, I heard May's voice behind me and knew I wasn't imagining things. She was real regardless of the fact she didn't resemble her old self in the slightest.
“Mom, look!” May chirped in sheer excitement as everyone around her turned deadly serious. “It's Olivia! She came back and she's going to have a baby!”
For a few frozen heartbeats, the entire world around me stopped spinning, and I gazed at my stepmother in naked disbelief. “Trisha,” I breathed her name in clear surprise.
She didn't say anything. She just stared, as if she encountered a ghost. I gawked in the exact same way. The tension grew with each passing second and I didn't know what to say, where to look or what to do. Nothing made any sense. How was this possible? Trisha was supposed to be long dead. But she was alive and well and, by all accounts, taking care of May.
“Mommy, why aren't you saying anything?” May wondered in confusion. “Aren't you glad Olivia is with us again?”
I glanced toward May and consequently caught Alessandro's shimmering dark gaze. There was no way for me to mistake his expression for anything else. He looked guilty as hell. Tears reappeared in my eyes again.
“Cara...” he whispered.
“Don't,” I muttered the word as quietly as I could. “Not in front of May.”
“What is happening?” May demanded while she tried to get Charlie to stop jumping. “Why is everybody acting so weird? And why is Olivia crying?”
In an instant, I turned my head away to hide my tears from my little sister, but I knew it was too late. May wasn't a baby anymore. She was almost eleven, and she was smart enough to pick up on tension and realize something was wrong.
“Piccolina, Olivia is just a little bit emotional and overwhelmed,” Alessandro said gently. “Sometimes pregnant women tend to get that way. Don't worry about it.”
Shaking my head, I gave Alessandro a furious glare and he shrugged as though asking what else he was supposed to say.
“Am I also going to cry when I get pregnant?” May inquired in a curious voice, and both of us gasped an incredulous smile.
“I'm sure you'll be a real crybaby, piccolina,” he muttered softly. “Come...Why don't we let Olivia and your mom alone for a while. I can tell Charlie wants to play.”
May peered up at Trisha, as if asking for permission, and Trisha nodded with a nervous smile, carefully avoiding my gaze.
“All right! I've got the frisbee in the back,” she told Alessandro, then glanced at me. “Olivia, you want to come? I think it might cheer you up if you see Charlie run around the yard.”
I smiled, choking back the tears. “I'm sure you're right, sweetie, but I want to stay here and talk to mom first, okay? I might join you later.”
May smiled. “Okay. Come, Alessandro. I'll race you to the frisbee.”
Alessandro shook his head and followed May's orders, running after her in a pair of crazy expensive shoes and a suit. He even allowed Charlie to jump all over him with his dirty paws. He just didn't seem to care that all of his exclusive pieces which cost him thousands of dollars might get ruined.
For a while, neither of us broke the awkward silence, and Trisha still wouldn't meet my gaze as I came closer. At last, I stood on the porch and she lifted her head. Her eyes were wet with tears.
“It's nice to see you again, Olivia. Although I'm sure you don't feel the same way.” She gazed at me, waiting for a reply, but I was too taken aback