and later became more reliable.
Alessandro’s family made mistakes too.
No villains.
No saints.
Just adults.
Mia listened.
Then asked:
“Why didn’t you just ask Alessandro if I could be there?”
I stared.
Alessandro laughed.
“This family has a recurring problem with children asking devastatingly simple questions.”
I answered:
“Because I thought I already knew the answer.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No.”
“Were you scared?”
“Yes.”
“Of him?”
I looked at Alessandro.
“Of what I thought he could do.”
Mia nodded.
“Different?”
“Yes.”
Then she asked him:
“Were you scary?”
He thought.
“Sometimes.”
“Are you now?”
She smiled before he answered.
“No.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“You answered yourself.”
“You make pancakes shaped like Italy.”
“They are not shaped intentionally.”
“Exactly.”
Family.
The backup-childcare program expanded.
Not because of me alone.
It became one part of a broader employee support system across Duca properties.
Emergency care.
Dependent-care leave.
Elder-care resources.
Shift-swapping
