Picture Prompt - Lake

By the time Andre and Maria reached the house Gabriella and Giovanna were squaring up outside.

Giovanna went to punch Gabriella who deflected it.

She tried to kick her legs from under her, but Gabriella jumped out of the way.

Giovanna lunged her full body at Gabriella who knocked her to the ground.

‘Mum stop it.’ Maria ran and pushed Gabriella away from her aunt’s prone body.

‘Let me at her.’ Giovanna scrambled to her feet. Andre stepped in and held her.

‘Let’s get you inside.’ Andre dragged Giovanna in the house.

‘You need a walk to calm down.’ Maria pushed Gabriella away from the house.

‘I don’t want to calm down.’

‘And I don’t want you to put Lucy’s mum in hospital there’s enough going on already.’

Gabriella sighed.

‘Where are we going?’

‘To the lake. It’s where I eat my lunch sometimes when I want some peace.’

‘I used to do that.’

***

‘We should have brought supplies.’

‘If I can trust you to stay here and behave I will go and get some.’

Gabriella laughed.

‘Not my finest hour.’

‘No mum but I do understand.’ Maria touched Gabriella’s arm. ‘You still can’t beat your sister up.’

‘She used to beat me up back when we were kids.’

‘Really?’ Maria paused her sandwich halfway to her mouth.

‘Just play fighting but she always won. She always won everything.’

‘Apart from Dad.’

Maria swigged her water.

‘Yes, apart from your father. It was kind of inevitable she’d want him too.’

‘He could have resisted.’

‘Your father could never resist any woman who threw herself at him. That was why we broke up.’

‘You kept going back.’

‘I couldn’t resist him.’ Gabriella sipped her water. ‘Antonio is a wonderful man, and I should be happy, and I am but he’s not your father.’

Gabriella took a bite of her sandwich.

‘I didn’t know you knew ...’

‘That you shared a bed every time you came back? We all knew. All kids want their parents together. While you were here you were. We didn’t think about what happened when you weren’t.’

‘Is that why none of you would come to Italy? Seeing me with Antonio would have broken that for you?’

Maria finished her sandwich.

‘What about the women your father had?’

‘They never stuck around long and most of them didn’t come here so we didn’t really think about it.’

‘In time maybe you can all come to Italy and meet Antonio.’

‘Maybe.’

***

When they got back to the house there was a man sitting on the porch.

‘Is that?’

‘Yes, that’s Antonio.’