chapter 13 – Time Together

Selena

"That's me!" he crowed, eliciting chuckles from Mother and I both. "And now, the first amazing act - Talia the Terrific Tightrope Walker!"

I giggled at the name. Impressed.

For the next few minutes, Talia demonstrated some simple but impressively steady steps along a low raised platform meant to mimic a tightrope. She ended with a flourished curtsy, beaming all the while.

"Bravo! Nike job, principessa!" I called out, clapping enthusiastically. Beside me, Mother was laughing merrily at their antics.

"Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all week!" Talia crowed, bowing exaggeratedly in the way only a tiny diva can.

Ciro scampered back out then, doing a few adorably uncoordinated tumbling passes and kicks that had us roaring with laughter and applause. I could feel the lingering shadows over my heart evaporating in the sunshine of their uninhibited silliness.

After another few "acts", they switched gears to ask hopefully about presents, as children always do.

"We were such good performers, right Mommy?" Talia piped up, dropping her act. "Does that mean we get presents now?"

Ciro joined in eagerly. "Yeah! Did you bring us anything cool this time?"

My eyes widened in mock surprise. "Presents? For my favorite little stars?" I gasped dramatically. "Why, how could I have forgotten?"

Mother chuckled at their crestfallen looks before waving one of the nearby guards over. "Marco, be a dear and fetch those packages we had delivered earlier?"

The burly man nodded and disappeared briefly, returning with two brightly-wrapped boxes that he set down in front of the twins. Their eyes lit up like Christmas as they immediately set to ripping off the paper, squealing with delight at the contents.

"No way! Action figures from the new cartoon!" Ciro crowed, holding up a posable figure in awe.

Beside him, Talia was grinning from ear-to-ear as she gently lifted out a sparkling play tiara. "My very own princess crown! Thank you, Gram-Gram!"

They both barreled over to smother us in hugs and sloppy kid kisses, any thoughts of shadowy threats or looming peril banished for the moment. In their simple, single-minded joy, all the darkness weighing on me faded away like a bad dream.

For now, I could just be Mom - the giver of hugs and dispenser of treasures to make my babies smile. Reality and its hard edges could wait a little while longer.

As Ciro and Talia settled in with their new toys, chattering excitedly between themselves, Mother leaned over to give my hand an affectionate squeeze.

"See? As long as you have this...as long as these two precious lights have you, everything will be okay."

I couldn't find words around the lump in my throat, simply nodding as I blinked back grateful tears. She was right - my children were my north star, the reason I would never stop fighting no matter what monster tried to drag us back into darkness.

Blaze didn't stand a chance against the fierceness of a mother's love. And this time, I wouldn't be facing his sickness alone.

...

The next morning came in a whirlwind of joyful chaos as I immersed myself fully in my children's world. From sunrise to sunset, every moment was filled with the kind of simple domestic bliss I had been desperately craving.

The Morning began with a rambunctious group breakfast in the family dining room. While the twins babbled and played between bites, Mother and I would sip our coffee and go over any business that needed attending to.

"Marco's crew finished the weapons drop in Santa Monica last night," Mother stated one morning, scrolling through messages on her tablet. "Dante is confirming the payment cleared our accounts."

I nodded absently as Talia crawled into my lap, her cherubic face smeared with syrup. "Good, we'll need to be stocked up before that idiot Ramos tries anything else."

"I want pancakes, Mommy!" Ciro piped up from beside me, waving his fork demandingly.

Laughing, I obliged by cutting off a chunk of my short stack and depositing it on his plate, earning a toothy grin. "There you go, piccolino. Gotta keep your strength up to play pirates later!"

"Play? I'm not playing!" he insisted with furrowed brows. "A real captain has very 'portant work!"

Mother and I exchanged an amused look over his serious mien. Kids could be such little dictators sometimes.

"Aye, aye Captain Ciro," I replied earning a toothy grin from him before we burst into laughter.

After clearing away the dishes, their nanny Rosario arrive to start their daily lessons - everything from basic reading and math to language training. I often sit in on these sessions, helping out where I could.

"No, no, sweetie," I gently corrected Talia one afternoon as she struggled to sound out a word. "It's 'delicately', not 'delivately'. Listen to how I say it slowly."

She repeated after me carefully, rosy lips pursed in concentration until she had it right. Beaming, I rewarded her with a candy from the dish on the table.

"Very good, principessa! You're becoming such a smart little lady."

While the kids did their schoolwork, Mother would often retreat to her office to handle the day-to-day operations of our illicit businesses - negotiating deals, brokering disputes between contingents, managing the complex money trails to avoid scrutiny.

Occasionally, I would be summoned to weigh in on a thorny situation.

"Ramirez and the other families are pressuring for higher cuts on the shipments coming up from Tijuana," she stated through narrowed eyes one afternoon. "Claiming 'insurance fees' for added risk."

I rolled my eyes at the transparent attempts at extortion. "Tell them they're welcome to take their services elsewhere if our terms no longer suit them."

Mother's smile was all sharpened teeth. "Precisely my thoughts. These idiots seem to forget who the real queen is around here."

Regardless of any tenuous underworld politics, we always made time to simply play and bond with the children each day. Ciro in particular became my inseparable little shadow, following me from room to room.

"Mom, Mom! Can we go exploring in the gardens? Maybe we'll find buried treasure!" He bounce at my side, all bright-eyed excitement.

Chuckling, I scoop the giggling boy into my arms and press smacking kisses all over his flushed cheeks. "Well, if there's pirate loot to be had, I can't say no to that! Lead the way, Captain!"

With Ciro directing, we set off on expeditions across the sprawling estate grounds in search of imaginary riches. Talia usually stayed behind at first, declaring such games "silly" and preferring quieter pastimes.

But inevitably, her regal airs would crumble in the face of us hamming it up. Soon enough, she come sweeping out in her favorite sparkly dress and crown to "grace us subjects with her presence."

"Why if it isn't the queen herself!" I would exclaim, scooping her up in a whirling hug that set off peals of delighted shrieks. "Your loyal adventurers were just about to set sail for the fountain kingdom!"

For those fleeting hours of romping through the gardens, pulling Ciro in a little red wagon or pushing Talia on the swingset, all darkness seemed banished from my world. I could simply bask in the blinding light of their innocent love and joy.

Even when thunderstorms rolled through, gale winds rattling the manor windows, we would bundle up and run shrieking through the rain like a trio of wild things. I hadn't experienced such pure, unbridled happiness since I was their age myself.

Soon it the sun start setting, and we all reconvene for family dinners with Mother in the private dining room off the kitchen. A team of caterers would provide lavish spreads while waitstaff attended to any needs.

I sit with Talia on one side, brushing out her silky dark tresses and listening raptly as she chattered about whatever new book she was devouring. Across the table, Mother is walking Ciro through the correct way to handle a butterknife like a "proper young gentleman."

No detail was too small or insignificant to foster their continued growth and education - she wanted them to be fully prepared to one day inherit her empire if needed.

"A Villanueva must be ready for anything, day or night," she say firmly, demonstrating the proper forkgrip. "We make our own destinies through strategy and strength."

Ciro nodded along seriously, even if he lost focus and started making his green beans "talk" halfway through the lessons. I loved witnessing those moments when Mother's softer side as a doting grandmother peeked through.

Once the twins were sufficiently stuffed with food, it was story time in their lavish playroom before being bundled off to bed by Rosario. Those were some of my most cherished moments - reading aloud in silly voices, acting out the scenes, getting bombarded with a million questions.

"Why couldn't the Ugly Duckling just use an Expo marker to color himself?"

"Do mermaids have movies under the sea too?"

"If a dragon burps, does he breathe out fire??"

"Well..." I trailed. And did my sincere best to address each oddball query as Talia snuggled against my side and Ciro sprawled across my lap, their drowsy eyes slowly fluttering shut amidst the soothing cadence of my voice.

Pressing a lingering goodnight kiss to each of their foreheads, I would tuck them into their beds with a fiercely protective embrace.

No matter how fleeting these pockets of peace might be, I clung to every single one with desperate gratitude.