The Well Wisher

Cecilia Romano had known from an early age that she did not want children. Not because she did not love them, but because she knew she would not make a good mother.

Her temper too cold, her tongue too sharp, her worry too cloying. One would argue that there were plenty of mothers like that out there, Cecilia had known better. She would not have been like those mothers who were paranoid about their children but did not have the means to do anything about it. She had the wealth and power of the Romano clan behind her and with those at her disposal, she could have easily broken a child by worrying too much.

No children, no worries.

And then her nephew had been born. Cecilia had taken one look at the squirming bundle in her brother's arms and had fallen in love.

She had watched him go from a tiny toddler who used to go candy hunting in her purse to a capable young man who led the family with more finesse than people twice his age.

But in that growing up face, Cecilia had also been there for his highs and lows. She had been there when he had taken his first steps. His two teeth on full display as he laughed, tiny feet feeling the earth for the first time. His first day of school it had been Cecilia who had bought his school bag. The ugly thing shaped like the cartoon he had been obsessed with at the time. It had annoyed Cecilia to no end, but knowing that her brother and her sister-in-law were exposed to it daily had made it worth it.

When Gio's mother died, Cecilia had been the one to hold Giovanni, offering him comfort and trying as much as she could to lighten the pain. Her brother too lost in his own grief to be of much help to his son. Years later when his father had died, she had been the one holding him then too. He had still clung to her just as fiercely, crying just as he had the day they had buried his mother.

From then on her Giovanni had been quieter, more reserved, not willing to let anyone close.

"Gio," She would call whenever he came to visit "When are you going to bring a nice girl home, I worry about you," And though she said it teasingly, she had meant every word, and each time, his reply would be the same.

"I am too busy to date right now, aunty, when things are more under control, I will be sure to look for someone," But it had seemed that he was always busy. His visits getting further and further apart, his phone calls even rarer. It had broken her heart, seeing him trying to cut off all his emotional ties, scared of being hurt even if he would not admit it.

And then one day her nephew had come for a surprise visit… and he had been glowing. His eyes brighter, his posture more relaxed, like he had been on a month long vacation instead of tied up at work as she knew he was.

Cecilia had wanted to ask what had changed, but she had known better, but she had held back. Any mention of the sudden shift in his mod and her nephew would have clammed up. So she had called her people, and within the hour, she had known exactly what had her nephew in such good spirits…a woman.

From then on Elle Cutting had been the topic of conversation whenever Cecilia met up with Sofia and Carlo. All three of them waiting for the day when Gio brought her around. Butnof course, Giovanni being himself took five years to do so. During that time the three of them had taken turns talking each other out of having Elle kidnapped and brought to them.

When they finally did meet her, on their wedding day no less, they had been bursting with excitement. But they had managed to reign it in. Putting her through one final test, and she had passed, just as they knew she would. And now, finally, after many years of waiting, Cecilia finally got to meet a new member of the Romano family, and with any luck, her arrival would mean there would be more to come.

Just thinking of the pitter-patter of tiny feet filling her house once more brought a smile to Cecilia's face.

Her brother's child, her nephew, deserved all the happiness and joy that the world could bring him. He had suffered a great deal and carried many heavy burdens.

Cecilia worried about him a great deal, and despite him telling her not to, she still spent many countless nights unable to sleep doing just that.

But with the young woman who had managed to pierce the armor around his heart now being his wife, Cecilia felt like her worries would decrease exponentially.

She truly hoped they did, and on top of that, she hoped that Gio and Elle were together and had many, many years with each other.