Olivia • Hardzello au

9.

I wake up to muffled voices coming from the bathroom. I'm pretty sure it's Joe, talking on his phone; he always tries to be as quiet as possible but he's not really good at it.
I sit up, enjoying the coldness of the floor under my feet and with a sigh, I walk towards the bathroom, opening the door carefully.

"No, Olivia ricomincia la scuola a settembre, quindi abbiamo tutta l'estate libera. Non vede l'ora di conoscere te e mamma!"

I tilt my head to left, knowing he's talking in italian. Then I smile, proud of myself  for recognizing some words, like "mamma".

He looks at me, flashing a quick smile.

"Sí, perfetto, ci vediamo ad agosto. Ciao papà."

He hangs up the phone, and I look at him, fascinated by his ability to speak two languages so perfectly.

Joe moved away from Italy when he was thirteen because his dad found a better job here; he had to finish middle school in America.
So he and his father speak in italian with each other to avoid forgetting it.

I met him only in college though, and I asked him about his surname, cause it wasn't really common.
I still find this really cool. Wish I knew italian, even a little bit.

"Good morning, did I wake you up?"
"Yes, but don't worry"
"So uhm, my parents are coming here in august, to meet Olivia. Is that okay for you?"
"Course it is, I love your parents!" I touch his arm briefly, smiling sweetly, then I go back to our room, just to check on Liv.
Thankfully she's still sleeping, so I sit next to her, stroking her head as I close my eyes.
Joe comes in a second after, sitting on the other side and taking Olivia's hand with a sweet smile.

"She looks so peaceful..." he whispers, looking at me for a second. I just nod in response, and when he looks back at her, I stare at him, blinking a little.

His eyes shift back at me; he gives me an awkward smile, and when I look down, I notice that our hands are really close, so I carefully place mine on his, feeling a lovely sensation in my chest for a few seconds.

We smile at each other, intertwining our fingers carefully; my hands are shaking and I'm probably blushing, thank God it's dark so he can't see it.

In less than a second, he's stroking my hand with the point of his thumb, giving me goosebumps everywhere.

I close my eyes, enjoying this pleasant feeling.

He stares at me, getting up slowly and reaching the other side of the bed. The one where I'm laying.

I freeze, unsure of what he's gonna do. Then he lays behind me, placing his arm around my body and pulling me closer.
My eyes widen as I try to get comfortable, but then he rubs his nose on my neck, and after a minute like that, we fall asleep.