Chapter Text
After that first dinner at Anto’s home, Leo finds that he and the boys eat dinner with her nearly every night. It becomes routine and before Leo knows it he’s expecting it - looking forward to it — every evening. On the rare evenings where he and the boys are unable to stay, either because of his own obligations or Antonela’s, Leo finds himself lost and without purpose.
The food he makes at home or the food he orders in tastes like cardboard in comparison to the five star meals Anto made for him. Even when he tried ordering from that same Italian restaurant as she had for them a few times (a confession she made with pink cheeks after Leo complimented ‘her’ fettuccini alfredo) the food was soggy and he packed most of it up for the boys’ weekend lunches.
His time with Anto had been so sweet it made his time without her unbearably bitter. The boys seemed just as sad and frustrated as he during their days away from Anto and Leo wondered what that all meant.
As the weeks dragged on and summer melted into autumn, he realized that soon his time with Anto would dwindle. Soon, the boys would spend their days at school instead of at daycare. They’d spend what little time there was between them getting off from school and Leo getting off from work with her, but once Leo got off work he’d have to pick them up right away. The boys starting school meant that they could no longer spend long nights having dinner with Anto, not when their homework or sleep took priority.
These thoughts plagued him during that final week of summer vacation, and when he dropped the boys off that final Monday, he had been too engrossed in them to hear Antonela the first time she spoke.
“Sorry?” He said. “What did you say?”
She smiles at him softly, probably knowing that he had been too stuck in his own mind to hear her words. She had, in a weird but sweet way, been able to read him scarily accurately since their second week of knowing one another. “I said I’m leaving to go back home next week. I know it’s an inconvenient time since that’s when school starts, but I already set up a replacement nanny for the boys.” She handed him a card, despite his shock at her words, Leo took it robotically. “He’s a good man, very trustworthy. And he actually lives closer to you than I do.”
Leo stared at the business card in his hands. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Why the hard sell?” He does his best to seem casual about this new development, but he has a sinking feel in the pit of his stomach. “You’re making it sound like you’re never coming back.”
She averted her eyes from his. “If I’m honest Leo, I’m not sure when I’ll be back. My father is having heart issues and I want to be by his side…just in case.”
He understands, of course he does, how could he not? But it hurts all the same. The idea that she may leave next week and never return is not something he wants to think about.
It had taken some time, but eventually he came to terms with his feelings for Antonela. It didn’t necessarily feel good to realize that he was crushing on his children’s babysitter - it also didn’t feel that good to have a crush at his age - but he could no longer deny that he had fallen for her. Although the idea of ever making a proper move on Anto scared the heck out of him, that didn’t mean he wanted her to ever exit his life.
“I understand,” he said with a tense smile. He thought that she was right to leave, he just wished it didn’t mean goodbye. “Have a safe flight, Anto, I hope your father is okay.”
She seems relieved by his words. “Thank you Leo, I hope so too.”
Getting married and having children of her own had always been on her long to-do list of life. However, things had gotten in the way and eventually she was far too busy to worry about things like dating, much less trying to date and get married. No, her business came first.
She loved her job too, always loved caring for children and watching them grow from tiny little babbling babies into playful and curious toddlers.
Although…there were days where she wished she had her own children and someone else to share her family with. Lately those days were becoming frequent, daily even. Ever since she met Leo.
Leo! What to say about Leo! Had she brought him home when she was sixteen and introduced him to her parents they would have been so impressed with him. He was by far the most impressive man she had ever met, holding down a steady, well paying job, caring for three children all on his own, kind, smart, polite, attractive .
Gosh was he attractive! Antonela had never been someone to have a type, but if someone asked her what her’s was she finally had someone to point to. Him , she’d say, that man right there. The short one with the big brown eyes and the fluffy hair and glorious beard. He’s what I want from a man.
She could see herself marrying him, eventually. She certainly could see herself dating him, sharing an expensive bottle of wine at a candlelit dinner and coming home to play board games or watch movies with his boys. She imagined sometimes kissing him, softly, and how he would chase after her, eager to deepen the kiss.
Obviously she imagined other things too, things far too x-rated for her to admit to.
Anto thought Leo must feel the same way too. He was very easy to read, charmingly so. Most people tried to hide their emotions, choosing instead to reveal their true feelings when it finally seemed proper. Not Leo, however, he was all blushes and fluttering eyelashes and honest words - she had no doubt how she felt about him.
When the summer ended and the boys went back to school she had planned on telling him how she felt too, that she wanted to try this dating thing with him and see where it took them. But then her father got sick and her plans changed.
Oh how she hated to break the news to him that she would be going back home to Argentina for an extended period of time. There’s nothing she hated more than goodbyes. Especially ones where you didn’t know when the next hello might be.
Leo had taken the news as well as she thought he would. He had been clearly upset, but understanding, and wished her a safe flight and her father a fast recovery. His words and his general demeanor to her leaving had done nothing but strengthen her feelings for him.
On the Friday before her flight back home to Argentina, Anto invited Leo to stay for dinner once more. He agreed with a sort of eagerness that only teenage boys had when going on their first dates. It was adorable.
The boys, ignorant to her upcoming departure, made dinner without complaints, Mateo in particular spending the whole time taking her ear off about all the school supplies his father had bought them.
After dinner, and after Leo had agreed to allow the boys some bowls of Anto’s homemade dulce de leche ice cream, she sat down with him on her couch.
He fidgeted nervously, blushing when her hand rested gently on his knee. “Thank you again for being so understanding.” She said, quietly enough so that the boys couldn’t hear her. “My flight isn’t until noon on Monday so if you need anything at all or have any questions please feel free to call me before then.”
Leo nodded, eyes darting from her face.
She frowned. “It was really nice meeting you Leo. And taking care of your boys. They’re real special kids, you know that? You’re a great father.”
He looked up at her. “You’d make a great mom.” He sounds so sincere that her next words get caught in her throat. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll come back. Miami is my home just as much as Argentina is.” She sighs, brushing her hair over one shoulder. “And when I come back, why don’t we get a cup of coffee together?”
Leo smiles at the offer, one of his barely contained ones where his lips curl and his eyelashes flutter as he blinks. She longs to kiss him just then, something soft and sweet to seal her promise. But she can’t, not until things get better.