Tiny Dancer

19 - La Famiglia

AN: So I don't know if I'm quite happy with this chapter, but I'm also not really sure why. Hopefully, it is okay with you guys. Also, I know there are a lot of new characters and names. Most of them don't really pay that much to the story and are more just background. There are a few that will be mentioned throughout the next few chapters, but I do not think it will be too complicated. Let me know if it is.

Now time to meet the Rossi family.

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Sunday

For having dragged themselves out of bed at the crack of dawn, they were having a relatively good morning. Rossi had fixed a light breakfast, knowing that his mother was going to feed them like kings for the rest of the week. Penelope was nursing her second coffee while helping Nora Nora get ready. Nora was surprisingly wide awake, even if they weren't. After breakfast, they packed the car, and Penelope drove them to the airport with plenty of time to spare. A couple of tears were shed, and not just by Nora, but promises of video calls throughout the week made the goodbye easier.

Rossi hadn't expected the flight to be a problem, but he was surprised how well Nora did. He'd expected at least a little restlessness, but she was very content on the flight. Then he thought about what little he knew of her background and guessed flying was probably an old practice by now. Rossi had convinced his mother not to ambush them at the airport. So after their flight landed, they loaded everything into their rental car and headed to the Rossi house.

Nora still seemed happy and okay. She had Simba tucked under one arm and Rossi's phone in her other hand on the language app. Rossi was glad to see she was okay because he was a little of a wreck. His relatives were too much for him most of the time. Now he was unleashing them on a shy five-year-old. He just hoped they could get into the house before the craziness happened.

He knew by now the entire Rossi clan probably knew about their newest member, and anyone within an hour's drive was probably going to be camped out at the Rossi house. That was still a surprisingly large number of people. A lot of them had stayed close to home, and only a few of his nieces and nephews had moved out of state. That's one of the reasons he had decided to get such an early flight. He was hoping the earlier they got there, the fewer people that would be there already. He was hoping a small tinkle of people filling the house throughout the day would be better than tidal wave Rossi the moment they opened the door.

"Remember, if you get overwhelmed just let me know. They're just really excited to meet you." Rossi told Nora.

"Italian?" Nora asked, not looking up from the phone.

"Yes, there will probably be some conversations in Italian. My mother will be very happy to have a student."

"Kids?" It was quieter this time.

"Yes, there will be several children there. A few are around your age."

"Okay."

Rossi took a deep breath as he turned into the neighborhood. It was too late to turn back now.

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Adelaide Rossi lived in a modestly big house. It had six bedrooms and had a large living room and dining room. She may have lived alone, but the large house was rarely empty. Rossi was pleased to see not a whole lot had changed since the last time he had visited a few years ago. There was still a neat garden out front, toys and playhouse littered the front yard, and the driveway was full of cars. It constantly looked like the house was holding a party.

Rossi noticed Nora slink down in her seat when she spotted the five or so kids running around the yard. He turned around to face her after he put the car in park. "Everyone here already loves you. It's going to be a lot, but I'll be here the entire time. You don't have to talk to anyone if you don't want to. They also like hugging, but if you don't want to hug them just say no thank you, okay?"