The Twelve Zenati Pt. 40

"Brothers can be like that, I guess. I never had any brothers, but I bet they would be easier to live with than sisters," Marcella wrinkled her nose. "I had a big sister and a little sister," she confided.

"I am the big sister of everyone except those two over there," she pointed to the television again. "They came a couple of minutes before me, and they are taller than me too."

"Tell you what, let's see if Nanny will pull her chair out a little more and we can just hide here, and I can tell you the story of a courageous princess who had to try a million things before she found what she was good at and liked doing best," Marcella suggested wanting to get closer to Lucinda who she could see peaking out now and then from her hiding spot.

Noah watched from a distance as Marcella patiently spoke with Eden Donati to coax Lucinda from her hiding spot in the back of the recliner where the material had pulled away from the sides, making it like a small tent. Maybe this battle of wills would assuage her reaction to being given everything she wanted by the families and more by the sounds of what Nora and Zachariah were offering.

"They're special, our women. Survivors who even now can't put themselves first," Ricco said quietly from beside him, startling Noah out of his reverie.

"They are. Very special," Noah agreed.

"I think we needed her voice to bring our tables back together," Dante said from his other side as his fellow oracles stood with him. He wasn't used to being with his peers like this. He missed Dom every day, but he could never complain about the support and friendship these men and the other oracles afforded him.

"Even in the books, it's Marcella's words that Olivia and Cat have recorded," Ricco added. "She's healing more than her own family."

"And if she gets that kid out of that chair, she is doing better than anyone else here in the last two days," Dante grumbled. When Peri had come to him in despair, he had been the one to eventually haul her out flailing and screaming to bathe and change for today. Pete had offered a sedative, but he had no wish to drug her as her family had done. So instead, he had stood by as the nanny who now sat with her hummed show tunes and gently cleaned and dressed her. The music seemed to be the key, but he wasn't about to interfere in whatever Marcella was doing with the girls. He had never seen his anxious daughter look so calm and at peace with anyone aside from her immediate family.

"Care to wager on that?" Ricco asked.

"How dumb do I look," Dante asked, raising his hands in surrender. I wouldn't bet against any of the women here today."

They stood there talking and surveying the room as eventually, Marcella not only coaxed Lucinda from her hiding spot but also had most of the children gathered quietly around her.

*****

Helena stood from beside the bed where Arturo lay asleep and smiled at Marcella and Noah. She indicated they should talk outside and led the way. There were seven children in the house now, and while they were building a bigger residence, this one remained their overcrowded home until the new house was complete. It seemed Marcella just couldn't say no to any request for help, and Helena had practically been on call permanently for the tricky brood of temperamental children the couple had adopted.

"He'll be fine. It was a fairly severe reaction to a caterpillar; I believe or a bunch of them. Children are curious, and usually, they would just get a small rash or an itch. But unfortunately, Arturo's reaction isn't rare or unusual. All you can do is keep giving him the antihistamines if he needs them twice a day and use Panadol and camomile lotion to ease the discomfort in between. He will be fine in a day or two at the most," Helena lectured.

"What do these caterpillars look like so we can get rid of them?" Noah asked in full protector mode since he saw large angry red welts cover his son's body rapidly. They couldn't keep up or work out what had bitten him or where the bite was.

"Usually brown, but they have long fine white hairs that surround their whole body. They are small, so children are curious and want to touch and play with them. They won't kill a child just make them very uncomfortable for a few days," she reassured Noah. I believe it's a moth of some kind, but I would need to see one to be sure.

"That's our mission tomorrow, Hadrian," he ruffled the boy's hair as he came into the hallway.

"Okay, but," he turned and looked over his shoulder. "She's singing."

"Who's singing, buddy?" Noah asked, squatting down in front of the boy.

"Lucinda. She is singing to Artie," he said as if he was worried by the fact. Noah raised an eyebrow and looked at Marcella, who shrugged. The girl hadn't said a word since arriving in the busy home eighteen months ago, and Marcella had started teaching her Auslan and some signed English to help her communicate at school.

"I told you there was nothing mechanically wrong with her voice or hearing," Helena said and watched curiously as Hadrian dragged Marcella down to the bedroom door.

The three adults stood in the doorway listening to the musical lilt of Lucinda's voice until she noticed them standing there. She immediately froze and stopped singing, ducking her head and quickly moving away from where she had been helping the nanny dab on the soothing pale pink lotion with a cotton ball.

Marcella smiled up at Noah. Lucinda had come such a long way since their first meeting and this small moment of sweetness towards her adoptive brother was miraculous in her eyes. There was always love and hope in this house, and the strangest thing of all was that most of it came from her. She wrapped her arms around Noah's waist and once again thanked God he never gave up on her when she more than deserved it at times.

*****

This is the end of the Sagas of the twelve tables. Thank you for all the support and love I have felt for it over time. See you all for the next adventure!