Aurora startled and then quickly composed herself.  "More than I thought possible."  She admitted and then rushed over to begin filling the pot with water as instructed.

"When I first met him I thought perhaps we'd be friends, because my his father worked for my birth mother... I thought maybe he could tell me something about her, since I don't really remember her."

She shook her head.  

"There's just ... not a lot of people left alive who knew her well, I guess."

Marina nodded, and pulled out an onion.

"Chop. And you should know, my grandson holds no love for his father anymore. His father chose to leave his family, like a coward, he sent money, but no love home."

She continued to peel the tomatoes and squeeze them with her bare hands into the pot of sauce that was simmering over the fire.

"See here? You crush the fresh tomatoes, but you have to peel them first or they don't crush right. You see? Look."

She took a bulb of garlic off of the shelf and grabbed a knife to crush it with.

"He can tell you no more of the woman who was your mother than you or I. That is not love. You love him you say? Well, skip to that part then. Tell me why and I will tell you if you will last."

Marina began to crush the garlic then and tossed the pieces into the pot.

Aurora furrowed her brow when she called Lordian a coward.  She shook her head, clearly disagreeing with the old woman but holding her tongue not wanting to upset her.  Without thought she flipped the knife around her hand and then began dicing the onion fast, and with precision as she contemplated how anyone could speak of their own son that way.  Lordian had kept Billy safe.  He'd provided for him.  All at the cost of being able to see his own son growing up...

Tears began to well in her eyes.  She couldn't be sure if it was due to the onion or if it was because of her emotions about the matter... the thought of Sal and Marie and what they must have been thinking (or not thinking about) when they brought her into such a dangerous life.

She opened her mouth and was going to tell Nona about why she loved Billy when the taste of the garlic and the onions and the tomatoes all hit her at once and saliva filled her mouth.  Her stomach lurched and without a word, she ran out the door at the rear of the kitchen and all of her lunch (light though it was) came rushing out into the world once more.  

It took her a few moments but eventually, she found her footing again and walked back into the kitchen, knowing that was DEFINITELY NOT the first impression she wanted to make.

Marina watched as the girl rushed out and reached out to sniff the onion. Nothing funny about it. She shrugged and got a glass of water for when the girl came back.

"Are you feeling alright? Still seasick? That does happen sometimes."

She patted the stool near the counter for the girl to sit.

"If you're not up to it, I won't make you keep working. You just use that mind of yours and study. But keep talking. Billy is out looking for his cousins, but you still haven't told me why you love my grandson. How am I supposed to give you any sage advice if I don't know what to base it on?"

She smiled then, the same kind of smile Billy would have given if he was in the room and gestured toward the onion.

"You want me to take over?"

Aurora sipped her water and looked thoughtful.  Why did she love, Billy?  Who asks something like that?  Old Italian women she supposed.  She didn't think she was getting out of this kitchen with an answer.  

"We probably aren't great together, if I'm honest."  She laughed at how horrible that sounded.  "We spent our first few dates together bouncing between making eyes at each other and saying things that upset one another horribly.  Which, probably should have made me want to never see him again.  I mean, he makes me feel like I'm... always trying not to fail and I hate failing.  Billy is one of the most difficult people I've ever had the displeasure of having a conversation with."  

She laughed.

"And yet... never once did we not want to have time together.  We talked through the odd things, we didn't let the conversation end at the moments when it would have been easier to walk away.  He followed me into a bathroom on three separate occasions that's how absolutely stubborn he can be when I'm being thick-headed."

She shook her head.

"No one has ever worked so hard just to hear my thoughts as Billy.  No one has ever worked so hard to share his thoughts with me and to make sure I didn't just hear his words but that I could understand his heart.  I've seen a lot of people in relationships, and they all seem some perfect on the outside... but, Nona, I have to admit... my parents fight alot.  They don't always see eye to eye.  My mom is forever messing up and my dad is always there to listen and forgive her no matter how badly she manages to screw up everything.  My dad doesn't love her in spite of her mess ... my dad loves her because of them.  And my mom doesn't love my dad because she can walk all over him... she loves him because he challenges her and makes her ... be better than she would have been otherwise."

She sighed.

"I don't need another person in my life who tells me how smart or pretty I am... when I do marry, I want to marry a man who cares enough to follow me to the ends of the earth to make sure I understand what's in his heart ... and to make sure he understands what's in mine.  I want man who will dig candy out of my purse, who will buy a train of orphans on a whim... who will find the people who've hurt me in my life and make sure that they can never do it again.  Not because he must, or because I ask it of him, but he because he doesn't know any other way to be.  And he's just too stupid to know that it's probably more trouble than he's aware of."

She laughed.

"I like that Billy doesn't give up on us.  He loves us as much as I do.  And, so long as he'll have me around... I strongly suspect we'll continue to torment one another in both love and aggravation, but I'm okay with that.  So... does anything I've said make any sense?  My mother is so much better at these sorts of things... than me."

Marina wiped her hands on her apron and then took the girl by her head and kissed the top of her head.

"You really are as smart girl. You love my Billy, and that is good, but you should no be afraid to smack him with a spoon."

She picked up a wooden spoon then.

"I broke three on my husband. One week into marriage, he almost burned my sauce. Fifteen years into marriage, we almost lost our olive crop. Last spoon is because he die without me and leave me here."

She stirred the sauce then and tossed the onions in before beginning to chop up the herbs.

"I don't know about buying you a train. Billy is not rich. But he loves you, so he will maybe steal one if he figures out a way. My Billy is a smart boy. Not smart like you with your books, but you never corner my Billy. He finds a way. Just like his grand papa he finds a way."

She tasted the sauce, and then gave a spoonful to Aurora.

"Taste, and tell me what is missing. I know you say you are no good, but try."

"Oregano?"  She shrugged after taking a taste, sure she was probably wrong.  

"I don't know that hitting Billy with a spoon would do much good.  He's pretty big, but I did warn him on our first date that I could hurt him if I wanted to.  I may be small, but I'm quick and he'd never see it coming."

She smirked.

"My father taught me a lot about how to handle men who were too big for their britches... of course he hasn't made me that mad yet.  I hope for his sake he doesn't.  Or, if he does, that it's a rare occasion like you and your husband."

Aurora touched the woman's arm, "Your husband must have been an amazing man... is that where Billy gets his good looks from?"

Marina scoffed.

"No. Enzo was not a pretty man like my Billy is. You never saw his mother? She was beautiful on the outside. Some of the ugliest are so beautiful on the outside."

She picked up the salt and poured a little bit into the sauce.

"Salt. It is good that you have so much good for you. Pretty and smart, and know how to use a knife. You are not good in the kitchen, but we can fix this."

She smiled at the girl again and then sat down on the other open stool.

"I tell you one secret. The spoon is not meant to hurt him. It is meant to break. You don't try to hurt him, he is the man, we don't hurt them, they are no good if they are hurt. Men are weak, they get sick, or hurt and they lay in bed for days crying like babies. No, the spoon is meant to remind him that you got hurt. That you are sad, and fragile, and can break like the spoon. Remind him that it's his job to not break the spoon. You break the spoon, and you cry in anger and he will fix it. Whatever is wrong in the world, your husband will fix it if you break the spoon and cry."

She nodded.

"Now. The water boils, so we make the pasta. You tell me how your mother is Italian as well? You are a beautiful girl, and Billy loves you you must be Italian. Do you want him to ask you to marry him? If you want him to, he will ask before you go home. Nona will show you. Then you can have lots of healthy babies. But don't give him a boy first, he needs a girl first, a boy will go to his head. Billy is a good boy because he is humble, you don't mess him up just because you are pretty eh?"

She took out some pasta from a copper container and dropped it into the boiling water as she watched Aurora for a response.

"My birth parents are both Sicilian."  She admitted.  "The woman who raised me is as well.  The man who raised me, his people come from Ireland ... but we don't hold that against him.  He's a good father and husband."  

She was clearly making a joke at her father's expense as she watched the old woman taking the pasta out and filling the pot with it.

"As for Billy's humility... well, I suppose he must be far more humble than I gave him credit for if he hasn't yet made you aware of his success in America.  I promise Nona, I'm not lying when I say he's able to take good care of himself and his future family.  He's obviously just not prideful enough to boast to you about it."

She smiled, realizing that after throwing up she actually felt a whole lot better.  The smell wasn't so hard to take anymore.

"As for marrying him, well, I'm hoping he'll ask... but I don't want to put pressure him."  She let her right hand brush across her lower abdomen.  "I want him to ask me because he wants me as his bride, because he loves me... not for any other reasons."

She let her hand fall away from her belly.

"I'm hoping the whole reason he wanted to take this trip was to introduce me to you and get your blessing before he decided to ask.  I mean, a romantic trip to our home country - to meet family, you have to admit it does sound like the perfect situation to ask a girl for her hand."

She sat back down on the chair and waited for the pasta to come to a rolling boil.

"If he doesn't ask on this trip, I think maybe he'll ask soon after we get back.  This is really a good chance for he and I to spend some time alone away from school and work and just focus on us and our future together, you know?"

Marina raised an eyebrow at Aurora when she spoke of 'no other reason'.

"Would there be another reason?"

She walked over and patter the girl on the hand.

"It's alright if there is, there's still plenty of time to make up for it. A good Catholic girl like you knows that God's got a plan, and yours is coming soon."

She smiled and then walked over to the window and pulled on a rope that led through the house and outside. A bell rung above them, not a large one, but one that was loud enough to be heard quite a distance. Marina focused on finishing the sauce then and taking out bowls for everyone, letting Aurora alone to her thoughts. As soon as the pasta came out of the water Billy and his two cousins appeared as if by magic.

"Smells great Nona. Hey Roar."

He leaned in and kissed Aurora then.

"These are my cousins, Giorgio and Adalgisa."

Twins stepped forward from around Billy then, they were closer to Aurora's age than they were to his. Both had dark eyes, and olive skin from working in the sun, though clearly Giorgio was the one who did most of the work based on how sweaty his clothing was. Adalgisa on the other hand had on a dark red sun dress and a smile. She held out her hand to shake Aurora's.

"Billy has told us all about you on the way back. He forgot to tell us how pretty you are, he just kept going on and on about how smart, funny, and uniquely talented you are."

She lowered her gaze at Aurora. Billy had clearly let something slip he shouldn't have.

"Don't worry, my cousin is very big, but he's not very bright. I could always pull things out of him easy enough, not his fault."

She grabbed a piece of bread and dipped it into the sauce still over the fire. Marina chased her back with a spoon, but not before she had already gotten what she was aiming for. She sat on the opposite side of the table from Aurora then. Billy sat next to Aurora and put his foot beside hers.

"Hope Nona wasn't giving you too much trouble."

Marina shook her head toward Billy.

"Your love here, she is very handy in the kitchen Billy. She knows her way around, just doesn't know what to do with any of it yet. There is hope for her yet."

She smiled and put a large bowl of pasta on the table, followed by a pot of sauce filled with meatballs and Italian sausages.

"Eat up boys, I know you're hungry. Addie, you wait for Aurora to eat, she is the guest, let her have first."

Marina piled some pasta into a bowl and filled it with meatballs and sausages for Billy, sliding it over to him. She did the same for Giorgio, and then also for Aurora. She made sure to give Aurora just as much as she gave to either of the boys. In comparison, hers and Addie's looked like half portions.

"Hey, you two want to go into town with me and my brother later? We were thinking about going dancing tonight."

For the first time, Giorgio's gruff voice burst through the room.

"Heh, you were going dancing. You were only taking me along so that when the boys got too much for you I would get another bloody nose. Not gonna happen this time. This time, Billy can get a bloody nose for your honor."

He pointed his fork at Billy. Billy smiled in response.

"Oh a bloody nose huh? You forget how to fight cousin? Or did you just get real bad at it since I left? I mean, you were never great to begin with but..."

Giorgio stabbed at Billy then with the fork. Billy took the hit and reached across the table to grab Giorgio by the head, but before he could make another move Marina coughed, once. That ended whatever it was that the boys had started.

"After supper you boys can go play outside and not break my house all you want. But right now, you eat. How is your food Aurora?"

Aurora was hungry, though not as hungry as Billy - she never could be that hungry.  But the pasta was good.  The sauce was a bit hard on her, but she ate it none the less.

"It's delicious... you are every bit the wizard in the kitchen that Billy claimed."  She smirked.

She looked to Billy's cousins, "Dancing sounds nice.  Billy is quite the gifted dancer actually.  You know I've never met a man who could move with such grace as he does.  He's like a fish in water when he's spinning me around the dance floor.  So, count me in if dancing is the plan."

She looked to Billy, "You didn't tell me you had twins in your family."  She glances to Nona.  "I bet they've kept your family quite busy over the years... I've heard twins can be very mischievous as children."  

She looked back to Addie, "So, maybe you should let me know what Billy's told you so I can correct any over-embellishments he's made or fill in anything he's forgotten to mention other than my good looks."

Billy shook his head hard at Addie, but she just laughed and went on.

"Well, it seems my dear cousin here was concerned about a relationship you might have with Sonny DiCaprio. He said, or at least he came close to saying, that you had some history with him. You know, a sort of close family history."

Marina's face dropped and she smacked Addie on the back of the hand with her fork and shook her head.

Addie looked to Aurora and shrugged, indicating that they would discuss later that aspect of her life.

"He also told us all about some school you went to in the new world, and your mother and father are very nice to him. He told us you have a sweet little brother just like I do."

She leaned over and kissed her brother on the cheek, and in turn he promptly wiped his face as if she had left a bad mark on him.

"Most important, he told us you own your own restaurant!"

Marina looked at Aurora then and nodded. She was trying to be a modest girl. She was more like her Billy than she gave the girl credit for. She would not forget this.

Aurora narrowed her eyes at Billy and then looked back to Addie, "I'm sure he forgot to mention how I came into ownership of the restaurant?  You see... we were on a date and your cousin made me angry with him.  Actually... he made me cry if you want to be specific."  She said that to Nona more than to Addie but then looked back to Addie.

"Anyway, I ran off to cry in the ladies room and what does he do but follow me!"  She laughs.  "He stands outside of my stall where I'm cleaning up my tears and he's telling me all about how much he loves me and the next thing I know this elderly woman comes out of her stall and tells Billy he's a sweet boy and that she'd forgive him if she were me."

Aurora's laugh was a full belly laugh and her smile touched her eyes.

"I felt so bad for him I just had to dry my tears and come out to hear him out."  She shook her head.  "He kisses me and I tell him how much this place will always mean to me because it's the first place he told me that he loved me.  And what does he do?  He walks right out of the room and goes straight to the owner and starts offering him money to buy the place."

She shook her head.

"Of course the fellow wasn't quick to offer but Billy's a shark, the moment he sees what he wants and there's a hint of blood in the water, well... watch out!"  She beamed at Billy.  This was the man she was going to marry one day, she was sure of it.  A man who took something when he decided it was going to be his, regardless of what anyone else said or did. 

"He bought the place and handed me the keys right then and there.  It's the second stupidest thing I've ever seen him do... and I love him for him."

Addie stared at Billy.

Marina stared at Aurora.

Giorigo shrugged and moved to get himself more pasta.

Marina smacked Giorgio's hand with her fork and took his bowl from him to serve him more. Addie spoke first.

"You, bought a restaurant and then just GAVE it to her?!"

She looked to Aurora then.

"So you took it right? If my cousin was dumb enough to just hand you the keys to his lief's work, you took it from him and didn't look back right?" She turned to face Billy again. "I mean, what kind of an idiot are you? You bought a whole restaurant? How much could that have cost you?! And then you just give it away? Hmph, I would love to see what you're gonna buy your favorite cousin for her birthday next month. Better be something good I'll tell you that!"

She crossed her arms and legs in protest.

Marina sat quietly.

"You should not tell lies like this Aurora, it is not healthy for you."

She looked down at Aurora's belly then.

"You want to be healthy now do you not?"

If the girl was lying about this story, she could be lying about many things. So, Marina stood and poured everyone a glass of wine, including the girl. She placed the glasses on the table then and continued to eat.

"Billy, tell your Nona the truth now, did you buy this girl a restaurant, or no?"

Billy went beat red and slowly nodded.

"I did, cause I wanted that place to be special forever and never go anywhere. So I gave it to her when I bought it that night. It didn't cost as much as I thought it was going to though. Nowhere near as much actually. And it's a priceless place to me now, so there's no reason to get all knotted up about it. And Addie, if you're real nice and stop laying into my girlfriend, maybe I will buy you two something for your birthday."

Giorgio smiled, Addie stuck out her tongue.

"Well, you had better, or I won't dance with you tonight."

She turned back to Aurora.

"So, you're telling me my cousin is the kind of man that can just buy a restaurant now? What other miracles can he do? Can he fly as well? Or pull down the stars?"

She clearly was not happy with this tall tale. Or perhaps it was just that she was unhappy that she was not a part of it.

Aurora couldn't help but notice everything about Nona, what she said, what she did with her body. 

Aurora was frozen.  She held her breath. 

She knows.

Even being accused of lying didn't shake her as hard as what the old woman had done just then. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Billy as he obliviously joked with his cousins and defended her honor a little by admitting he had bought a restaurant.  Still, Aurora sat shock still for a long while before reaching out and pushing her wine away ever so slightly and instead she picked up the glass of water she still had from earlier.  She was holding Nona's gaze as she sipped it, and with a silent prayer, she gave her a nod behind her glass as she drank.  It was her way of confirming to the old woman... she had guessed right.  Though, she said nothing.

She put her water down, "Billy is a good businessman." 

She said looking to him and giving him a gentle smile, realizing that perhaps her attempts to brag up Billy weren't in his best interest.  Looking around this simple house, she should have known that.  So, she decided to back peddle a little, for her lover's sake.  

"I'm sure it all sounds ridiculously impressive the way I said it... but take it with a grain of salt.  I am hopelessly infatuated with Billy.  While he's done well enough for himself, perhaps my feelings for him make me quick to brag him up?  I sincerely doubt he's changed all that much from the Billy you've always known."

She chuckled and put a hand over on his arm.

"I have to admit I am a little worried about taking you to dance tonight.  If these local girls see you dancing I'll have to borrow one of your Nona's wood spoons to fend them off you."

Addie laughed.

"Oh sure, we know all about that don't we Giorgio? You know, Maria might be keen to lay more than just her eyes on you Billy."

Giorgio grunted.

"Yeah, well, maybe she won't be there tonight. You never know with her, she might be off with someone somewhere."

Marina scoffed.

"That girl will learn one day that she has made mistakes, and when she does we will pray for her."

With that she patter Aurora's hand.

"You may borrow my spoons anytime you wish to fend off other women my dear, you earned them."

Billy stopped eating then and furrowed his brow looking at his grandmother. What in the hell did she mean by that? Something had happened and he missed it. He did not like missing big things.

"Nonna, what are you."

The older woman wagged a finger at Billy.

"No being rude now Billy, finish your supper."

Billy nodded.

"First though." He put down his bowl. "Aurora isn't lying, and she isn't bragging me up. She's right. I am a good business man and I could buy ten of those restaurants I bought that night. I own a flower shop, and I cigar factory. I own a couple of warehouses, and a mechanic's garage. I own a candy factory, with a little shop attached, and I even am looking into buying a hotel. Nonna, Addie, Gio. I make a lot of money and I make sure a lot of people have jobs. That's what I do now."

He nodded.

"And yes, Nonna, I still give money to the church, but I also started an orphanage. Aurora gave me the idea, she is the person who makes me better than I ever was before. It's why I love her, so please, don't call her a liar anymore, she would not lie to you, about anything that wasn't going to put you in danger at least."

He reached out and put an arm around Aurora then, holding her close to him. He kissed her on the top of the head and took in her scent. He could not wait to have time alone with her again.

Marina simply nodded and put one hand up to stop Addie from speaking.

"You are a good boy Billy, and you picked a good woman too. Now I understand why you don't come to visit though. You are so rich, but you have no time. Tell me Billy, tell you Nonna what happens when you need more time, you know for marriage, or for babies. Can you step away from all your work? You have so much money, you can be a good father yes? Better than your father was?"

She stared a steely dark gaze straight into him. Billy felt as if she was staring through to his soul. Nobody Brought up his dad to him. Nobody except maybe Gavin. Billy stiffened, and felt the air go cold for a minute. Addie and Gio had both decided that the food was too good to stop eating now. Neither of them would say a word, and for the first moment in his life Billy recognized something. He was supposed to be the man of the house. Of THIS house.

Billy nodded.

"I will. I would make Nonno proud."

"You had better Benedict Joseph Michael Mastrosimone."

And with that Marina got up and started to clean up from supper.

Aurora smiled brightly at hearing all four names which Billy's grandmother used.  She immediately began committing them to memory.  

I KNEW his name wasn't Billy!  No one names their kid Billy!

Clearing the table was something Aurora did know how to do and so she got up and began helping Marina.  When she walked out into the kitchen she said to the old woman, "Is this Maria an old girlfriend of Billy's?"

Marina tutted Aurora as she began to help.

"You sit, go, sit, you are a guest, you don't help."

She gestured to Addie to take the girl and began to do the dishes. Billy and Gio made their way outside to have a smoke and talk. Addie turned and took Aurora's hands and kept her voice low.

"You don't have to worry about Maria, she's the talk on every man's lips for about three seconds. I'm not actually sure that Billy has ever given her the time of day."

She smiled and leaned back.

"So, how long are you and my cousin staying with Nonna? Is this just one stop, or a long vacation?"

Marina finished the dishes and then made her way to her bedroom.

"Oh good, she's gone to bed. So, there's something you should know. Billy is not actually my cousin, not really. His dad was my dad's, sister's first husband. She died in childbirth and he left for the States after that. He was real young, probably younger than Billy is now actually. So we aren't really related. That being said, you should know one other thing. Some people might tell you that Billy and I had a thing when we were younger. We didn't. I liked him, I mean, look at him who wouldn't? But he never thought of me as anything but his cousin. So that's that."

She nodded and waited for the other woman to decide how she was going to take that.

Bella called after Nona, "Good night Nona."  

She looked back to Addie.  "A week though we won't spend all of it here.  Some of it's supposed to be spent at this luxury hotel that I've been dying to visit.  I've heard all sorts of good things about the place, apparently, they have an underground hot mineral spring like the Romans had and you can swim there."

She smiled.

"I'm glad to hear about Maria and as for you," she shrugged.  "I think it's clear seeing you together that there is nothing happen.  You live on opposite sides of the world from each other, I could hardly expect that he'd bring me all this way just to revisit something with you." 

She chuckled, "But thank you for the heads up.  I will, however, be keeping an eye out for this Maria though.  Billy's a real catch.  And while I trust him, between you and I, he sometimes isn't really aware when women are paying attention to him.  So it falls to me to pay attention for him and trust me... no one is getting within a mile of Billy while I'm on this trip with him.  I won't let anyone ruin this for us."

She smirked.

"So, was I reading too much into what you said earlier or did Billy let slip a little about my background?"

Addie nodded and then slipped a drawer in the kitchen open, pulling out a couple of cigarettes and offering one to Aurora.

"Yes he sure did. He told us about what he did, about how Don DiCaprio is a friend of your family, and asked us what we knew. We told him about the Don and how he was nice, but ruthless about getting what was owed to him. We also told him we had no idea who you were, so he filled in the blanks. All we really know though is, you're the daughter of a Don in the States, a woman Don mind you. Which is something isn't it?"

She puffed on her cigarette and looked outside.

"I think the boys are ready to go if you are. It's a bit of a walk, and we only have the one bicycle, so we should head out now if we are going to get there with any energy to dance with."

She got up and then pulled Aurora out of her own chair.

"Come on, oh!"

She reached out and drained the wine glass that sat in front of Aurora, still full.