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Post by Clarice Santino on May 20, 2009 23:13:33 GMT -5
I'm coming home.
These were the last words Clarice had heard from her son, just a few weeks ago. Since then, she had heard nothing. Anita hadn't seen a sign of Dante in New York, and all of her husband's connections had turned up dry. Had Dante actually meant that he was coming back to London? Or had he meant something else? Why didn't she know?
She was working silently in the kitchen, getting dinner ready for her husband and daughter. Altohugh the house elves did the cleaning, Clarice preferred to do the cooking herself, because she was good at it. It was also a form of stress relief for her. And these days, she was so worried about Dante that she seemed to spend a lot of time cooking and baking.
It was almost 30 years since her brother Tommy had disappeared, and the memory still haunted her. She couldn't lost Dante, too. Not her baby. If she didn't hear something soon, she was going to have to talk to Marcello about it.
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Post by Gabriella Santino on May 22, 2009 16:19:49 GMT -5
Finally, she was finished making one of her newest designs. The dress was flowy and it was made out of a light blue material. Gabriella took a look around her room. Scraps of fabric were everywhere as well as pins. With a quick wave her wand, the materials were put away where they went.
Once she was statisfied, Gabriella went downstairs. Her father wasn't anywhere to be seen, which usually meant he was either in his study or outside doing something. The smell of her mother's cooking greeted her as she reached the bottom step. Her feet led her directly to the kitchen. "Dinner smells lovely mum."
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Post by Marcello Santino on May 22, 2009 23:51:02 GMT -5
Marcello walked into the house with light steps. He was in a cheerful mood, for no particular reason. The house smelled good, Clarice must be cooking dinner by now. He walked into the kitchen and grinned. His beautiful wife, his wonderful daughter, it was one of Marcello's weeknesses, those girls. He loved his family, and seeing all of them, at home, just living thier normal lives...it was great.
"Evening sweetheart," Marcello walked in, kissing Gabriella's temple. you look nice," he commented. he moved from his daughter to his wife. "Smells great love," He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.
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Post by Clarice Santino on May 23, 2009 0:58:05 GMT -5
Clarice was humming contentedly as she worked. Despite her worries about her son, she was generally happy with her family. She loved her husband and adored her daughter. And she loved cooking for them. It made her feel satisfied to know that they were provided for and that they were eating well.
When Gabriella entered, Clarice smiled at her daughter. They looked so much alike, the two of them. Gabriella had inherited her mother's vivid red hair and pale skin. But Dante had taken after his father, with dark hair.
Before Clarice could say anything to her daughter, Marcello entered, and Clarice's smile widened. Leaning into his arms, she closed her eyes and let herself fall in love all over again. "I'm glad you're both here," she said. "Dinner should be ready in about ten minutes. How was your day, darling?"
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Post by Marcello Santino on May 24, 2009 12:26:21 GMT -5
"It was fine," Marcello said. There was nothing to complain about today really, he was just in a great mood. He held his wife closer to him and grinned."Do you need my help with anything?" He offered as he looked around the kitchen.
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Post by Clarice Santino on Jun 7, 2009 10:46:34 GMT -5
Clarice loved it when her husband came home in a good mood. It didn't happen very often, so when he did, she wanted to celebrate.
Shifting slightly so that she was facing him, Clarice kissed him on the lips, then pulled back and smiled. "Well, you can set out the plates if you want. And why don't you open a bottle of wine? I think a white wine will go best with tonight's dinner."
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Post by Marcello Santino on Jun 16, 2009 20:24:25 GMT -5
"As you wish Love," he said, kissing Clarice gently before moving to the cupboard where the dinner plates were stored. He grabbed three of the four plates. All the kitchen ware, except those that were put aside for when the Santino family was hosting a party or some event, were in sets of 4. His heart gave a twinge of....what was it? Guilt? Maybe. Marcello pushed the feeling aside and placed the plates on the table before moving to the wine cooler.
"How was your day Gabriella?" Marcello asked as he passed his daughter.
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Post by Clarice Santino on Jun 27, 2009 12:57:59 GMT -5
Clarice felt the absence of her eldest as well. The scene was so warm and domestic and perfect, but Dante should have been there. It didn't feel right without him, and she felt like there was a gaping hole left behind where he was supposed to be. Of course, it wasn't like he was gone, not really, but he'd been away for so long that it almost felt as if he was. And she'd never fully get used to it.
Nevertheless, Clarice smiled over her shoulder at her daughter. "Yes, sweetie, how was your day? Anything new?"
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Post by Gabriella Santino on Jun 27, 2009 16:50:17 GMT -5
"It was fairly productive," Gabriella answered. "The dress shop has new material so I picked up a little bit of it today. I finished a dress just before I came down." She had her own sense of pride when it came to making her own designs yet she seemed to lack a little confidence to attempt to sell any. "I might start on something else later."
It was no secret to her parents what she loved to do. She didn't feel any need to hide anything from them, except for three things. Dante was home, but there was no way she was going to tell her parents that yet; her best friend was Sedona Rossi; and the two girls wanted to start their own shop together. Other than that, her parents pretty much knew everything.
"Other than that, nothing too special."
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Post by Clarice Santino on Oct 8, 2009 23:31:23 GMT -5
Clarice smiled. For as long as she could remember, Gabriella had known what she wanted to do. It filled her with such pride for her daughter. The family was well off, and it would have been easy for Gabriella to just sit back and become one of those spoiled little rich girls who just shopped all day and did nothing of consequence. But her interest in fashion had taken a different direction. She only hoped that one day soon, Gabriella would get up the nerve to start her own business officially. Surely, Marcello would be glad to help as well.
"That's lovely, dear. Although sometimes I do wish you would get out a little more. Maybe meet a nice boy?"
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Post by Gabriella Santino on Oct 13, 2009 20:11:12 GMT -5
Gabriella could only hope that her father might help her eventually. Of course, it would take money to actually buy a shop and fix it up. She had a little bit of money stashed away, but she wasn't sure if that would help a whole lot or not. Gabriella would worry about that whenever it came time to really worry about it, like when she was actually going to break the news to her parents about opening a shop with Sedona.
"Madre," she said, allowing the Italian word for mother slip out. Gabriella smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine where I am. Besides, if I ever did meet a nice boy, Padre would question him to no end." She gave a teasing glance toward her father.
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Post by Marcello Santino on Oct 15, 2009 1:18:30 GMT -5
"Now Clarice," Marcello started, nearly choking on his own tongue. The thought of his little girl seeing a boy bothered him to no end. In Marcello's eyes, Gabriella was the same sweet little princess who was nine and played dress-up. Not a young woman who dated. "Meeting boys really?" he made a face that he knew the girls would probably tease him about, but he just couldn't help it, he couldn't picture his little Gabriella seeing some strange boy that he knew nothing about.
"That's right I would," Marcello agreed, walking over and kissing his daughter on top of her head. "And then maybe Ryder could stop by and meet him. And Declin would of course have to follow along to see that you're safe..." He was only half joking.
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Post by Clarice Santino on Oct 29, 2009 15:17:53 GMT -5
Clarice rolled her eyes at Marcello. “Honestly, she’s a smart girl, I’m sure she wouldn’t choose a boy who is untrustworthy. You can’t always be so over-protective, she needs to learn to live her own life.”
Turning back to Gabriella, she smiled. But it was a sad sort of smile, as she thought about the missing member of her family. She missed her son terribly, and it was at times like this, when the three of them were together, that she felt his absence most acutely.
“I don’t mean to push, darling, but I am positively desperate for some grandchildren to dote on, and Merlin only knows if your brother is ever planning to come home. So I’m counting on you for that.”
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Post by Gabriella Santino on Oct 29, 2009 22:41:16 GMT -5
Gabriella nearly laughed at her father's response. She just smiled and shook her head at her father. "Yes, I'm sure that they would go check up on the guy and then it would scare him half to death. As a result of that, he would probably break up with me and then it would be hopeless." She looked teasingly in her father's direction.
Looking back to her mother, Gabriella let out a quiet laugh. "Oh madre," she said with a shake of her head. "It will probably be a few years before you have any grandchildren, especially from me." She looked back to her father with a widened smile. "I'll be on the look out for an approved guy. In fact, I believe I'll ask Declin his opinions on different guys whenever we go back out."
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Post by Marcello Santino on Nov 2, 2009 1:27:23 GMT -5
Marcello nearly choked. "Grandchildren?! Clarice, she's nineteen, good god..." He shook his head and he was sure his face paled. "Let's just go back to where Gabriella can't date, at all, 'till she's 30."
"I knew I hired that Martin kid for a reason," Marcello said after Gabriella brought him up. "Always liked him, he watches out for you." He would have added that it was because it was Declin's job, being a body guard, but he knew that Declin kept an eye on Gabriella especially, being her best friend and all.
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Post by Gabriella Santino on Nov 2, 2009 9:29:36 GMT -5
A laugh came out of Gabriella. "Padre! Don't worry about becoming a grandfather right now. I still have to find a guy first." She shook her head. Of course her father wouldn't really want her to date because that would be a sign that she was growing up and she was his only daughter.
She let out a giggle. "Dec can always be counted on," Gabriella agreed with her father. She would have to admit, if her father hadn't hired him, then she wouldn't be where she was now. Declin let her get by with a lot of things. "Oh, and speaking of Dec, would it be alright if I invited him to dinner tomorrow?"
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Post by Marcello Santino on Nov 16, 2009 2:22:36 GMT -5
Marcello sighed a breath of relief. "Good," Marcello said. "Well, sort of," He still wasn't too keen on the idea of his little girl dating. No one was good enough for his Gabriella in his opinion, and Marcello was sure he knew what was best for Gabriella.
"Yea, it's fine with me, if it's fine with your mother," Marcello looked up at Clarice. "Declin doesn't need an invitation either. Anyone in the family is welcome at any time." Marcello added with a grin.
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Post by Clarice Santino on Dec 29, 2009 16:28:40 GMT -5
“Of course Declin is welcome,” Clarice replied. “Ryder, too, for that matter…. I’ll never understand why that boy never joins us for dinner. You should make sure he knows that the invitation is always open.”
Her smile was slightly forced, and she paused for a sip of her drink. She pretended not to know about her husband’s business dealings, but she knew a lot more than she let on. She didn’t entirely approve, but she trusted her husband. So she just turned a blind eye to it, knowing that if she voiced her disapproval, she would push him away. She loved him too much for that.
“Do you have any idea what Declin’s favorite foods are? I can make them for him if he comes tomorrow night.”
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Post by Marcello Santino on Jun 7, 2010 0:11:51 GMT -5
"He knows he's invited, he's just," Marcello thought for a moment, trying to describe Ryder. "The boy keeps to himself a lot. Doesn't talk to anyone really." Which was a bit why he hired him. The men that worked for Marcello, Ryder and Declin for example, were usually people who didn't have a lot of ties that could be threatened. He looked at his own family. It was the reason he had one of his men with Gabriella at all times. He tried to have someone stay with Clarise, but she wouldn't have it.
"Declin eats anything," Marcello added with a chuckle. "Place a plate in front of him and he'll lick it clean that boy."
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Post by Clarice Santino on Jun 13, 2010 0:24:27 GMT -5
Clarice shook her head. Ryder was something of an enigma to her; a difficult boy to get to know. She thought she had heard him once mumble something about two younger siblings and a cousin, but she didn't remember much else about them. She wondered whether he spent any time with his younger siblings and if he could be persuaded to bring them over some time. She did know that his parents were dead--some terrible tragedy that Ryder refused to speak of--and if that was the case, the younger ones might be in need of a little TLC. And Clarice loved taking care of people.
But all of that would have to wait until another time. For now, she would focus on Declin. "Well, that may be true, but I'd still like to make something special for him. The boy is far too skinny... his clothes just hang off of him. It's like he bought them from a second-hand store. I'll see if I can come up with something special to make."
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