Chapter Forty-Three: A Mother's Wisdom Pt 2

The moment is interrupted when we both hear a firm knock at the door. Silas is on his feet in an instant, his body rigid and alert leading me to roll my eyes at his attack dog stance.

“If someone came all this way to kill me or us, I doubt they’d bother knocking on the door.”

I walk over, look through the peephole and sigh when I see the calm face of my mother waiting patiently on the other side. This is likely to go about as well as a seal sunbathing on a block of ice with a hungry orca approaching.

I unlock the door, brace myself and open it, gracing my mother with a warm smile. “Ciao, Mamma,” I greet her.

"Ciao, Stellina,” she replies, stepping into the apartment and kissing my cheek.

I close the door behind her as I observe her assessing the state of my place, her brows furrowing in consternation. While it may be cleaned up, it still looks like the aftermath of a hurricane. As she scans the room, her eyes fall on Silas, creasing at the corners in that familiar way they do whe