head.
“I’m taking you shopping,” she said curling her lip, disgusted, “I’m guessing that your mother only spent a small amount of the money Sophia sent on you.”
I blushed, “Ion bought my clothes.”
Aurora narrowed her eyes. It didn‘t take a genius to realize that there were dangerous thoughts running through her head, “Maybe she’ll run off the road and I won’t need to hunt her down and kill her,” she hissed, confirming the darkness in her eyes.
I blanched, “You wouldn’t do that would you?”
She looked straight into my eyes, “Yes, I would,” she said but a grin split her face before she rolled her eyes, “Don’t worry. Andre wouldn’t let me. It’s too dangerous.”
I laughed nervous, “Well, I guess it will be nice to go shopping,” I said, shifting, “I’ve never really been.”
She gave another disgusted look, “I hate it,” Aurora said with a shrug, “But I’ll bring Mirella. She loves to shop. Who knows? You may save me from having to go so much.”
“Who’s Mirella?” I asked, confused.
Aurora tilted her head as she studied me, “They didn’t tell you everything but they still told you more than me,” she said with a shrug, “Mirella is Andre and Marco’s sister. By the way, they have five more brothers.”
My mouth opened in shock, “Five?”
“Yeah,” Aurora said, grinning, “You’ve went from having a small family to a large one and you will be meeting them all tonight.”
My eyes widened, “All of them?”
“Don’t worry,” Aurora said with a laugh, “They don’t bite. Well…they won’t bite you.”
I bit my lip and shifted. Aurora’s grin faded, “I’m just joking,” she said with a frown, “Lilly, I realize there hasn’t been a lot of fun in your life but you are able to have fun here. No one is going to get mad at you for it.”
I looked into her eyes and slowly, I shook my head. I took a deep breath. Finally, a slow grin stretched across my face.
Aurora grinned back, “That’s better,” she said, “You have such a pretty smile. Now, let’s see what we can do to make Marco‘s jaw drop open in awe.”
I nodded as she led me to her bedroom in the back of the mobile home to get ready for my engagement party.
*********
Aurora walked beside me as we entered the field where the bonfire pit blazed. The flames reached upwards as the people from the park talked or danced around the field. Laughter filled the air. The scene was jovial and somehow, that made me relax.
The first person we met was a girl of about fifteen who joined us at the entrance to the field. She hugged Aurora with so much energy that she nearly knocked her over. When she turned to me, I found that her resemblance to Sophia was remarkable with long black hair which seemed wild and untamed in the wind. She possessed the same hazel eyes as Sophia but the green in them shined brighter. There was no question about who she was. She had to be Sophia’s daughter.
“This is Mirella,” Aurora said, waving her hand toward her and confirming what I already thought, “She’s Andre and Marco’s sister.”
I nodded and the girl gave me a wicked grin in response, “I’m so happy to have more females around,” Mirella said, laughing, “As a matter of fact, I am looking forward to being your favorite sister-in-law.”
“Hey!”
Don Rickles and David Ritz