Antonio Monty heaved a painful sigh as he stood in the doorway of his house. He hated coming home ever since his wife, Hero, had passed away. He no longer found the joy he used to in his life and coming home after work every day was just another painful reminder that Hero no longer existed. He was so deep in his pain that he no longer cared for anything, even his children, Benedick and Beatrice.

Shaking his head, he made his way into the kitchen where he found Carlotta, the cook and cleaner of his house, washing her hands in the sink. Hearing him enter the kitchen, she turned around and looked at him expectantly.



“Carlotta, were there any messages for me today?”

“No, Mr. Monty,” she said while shaking her head.

Nodding, he was about to turn away when he noticed that the house was unusually quiet. Realizing she was looking at him expectantly, he cleared his throat.

“Where are the . . . um . . . children?” He cursed himself for making it sound so awkward.

When her face broke out into a smile, he realized that she’d been waiting for him to ask about his children.

“They are upstairs with Jeannie, Mr. Monty. Why don’t you go say hello to them? They miss you an awful lot.”

Shrugging, he nodded absent-mindedly at her and walked away.

~*~

It wasn’t long before he found himself upstairs, looking through a window out at his daughter and her nanny.



Feeling like a coward for not being able to face his daughter, he turned away. She was beautiful, he thought, just like her mother.



Walking away from Jeannie and Beatrice, he made his way back downstairs. With the house so eerily quiet, he walked into the dining room’s bar section and decided to pour himself a drink. Looking out the window with a rueful smile on his face, he remembered the first time him and Hero found out about the twins growing inside of her.



Like a man in love, he had gone out and purchased everything he could think of to make them happy. Nothing was too much. He even went out and had an entire playground installed in his backyard.

Hearing someone enter the dining room, he was shaken out of his quiet thoughts. Turning around, he saw Carlotta hanging around in the doorway.



“Yes, Carlotta, what is it?” He asked on a sigh.

“Mr. Monty, your sister is here to see you. Shall I bring her in here?”

“No, I’ll see her in the living room.” He said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.



Bianca greeted him as he walked into his living room. Looking him over, she gave him a look full of pity.

“Hello, Bianca.” He nodded at her.

Shaking her head, she said, “don’t you ‘hello sister’ me, Antonio Monty. I haven’t seen you or the children in over a month. Actually, no one in our family has seen you or the children in over a month!”

Feeling like two year old being scolded, Antonio shrugged.



“What is it you want from me, Bianca? I barely know what I’m doing anymore. When Hero left, she took all of me with her.”

“You know, Antonio, I feel sorry for Beatrice and Benedick.” Bianca shook her head. “I didn’t realize that they were orphans.”

Antonio shot her a look of confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“You! Just look at you. You’ve completely changed and have let yourself go. It’s like you’re not living anymore. People pass away, Antonio. That’s life. But when you’re the lucky one to still be alive and have responsibilities to other people, you live. You move on. Right now, your children don’t have either of their parents present in their lives and that’s not fair to them.”

“It wasn’t fair to me that Hero was taken away from me!” Antonio cried.

“No, it wasn’t. But you’re lucky, brother. You still have your family, your children to be there to comfort you and you won’t even acknowledge that.” She shook her head sadly. “It’s a shame.”

Antonio slumped down into the nearest chair and covered his face.



“I don’t know what to do, Bianca.” He moaned. “What is it that I’m supposed to do? How do I move on from her death?”

“While you figure that out, I’m going to go see the children. They may not have a father anymore, but they still have an aunt who cares.”

~*~

Walking away from her brother, Bianca made her way to the upper part of Antonio's house. Seeing Beatrice with her nanny, she walked onto the balcony with a smile on her face.

“Hello Jeannie,” she nodded towards the nanny with a smile.

Seeing Bianca, Beatrice’s face lit up with a grin. Launching herself at her aunt, she pulled her down for a hug and a kiss.



“Beatrice, how much you’ve grown!” Bianca exclaimed. “Where is your brother?”

Beatrice shrugged, “he’s in his room, I think.” Turning away from her, she shot across to where Jeannie was sitting. “Do you want to play dolls with us, Auntie?”

“Maybe later, darling. I’m going to go say hello to your brother.”

Walking into Benedick’s room, she saw him playing around with his toys. Sneaking up behind him, she began tickling him.



Giggling, Benedick turned around and let out a happy shout when he saw her.

~*~

While Bianca was catching up with the children, Antonio was still where she’d left him downstairs.



As grieved as he was, he knew Bianca was right. It wasn’t right that he was avoiding his children because of the pain he felt for losing his wife. After all, they had lost their mother. Making up his mind, he got up and walked over to the kitchen where he found Carlotta cleaning.

“Carlotta,” he said clearing his throat. “Don’t bother with dinner tonight. The children and I will be having dinner at my family’s house.”



Barely containing her excitement, Carlotta let out a squeal and nodded at him.

“Jeannie and I will get the children ready.” She grinned at him. “Oh they’ll be so surprised, Mr. Monty!”

“They won’t be the only ones,” Antonio muttered.

He knew full well that his parent’s were going to be shocked senseless when they heard of his plans to visit.



~~*~~

Thank you for all of your comments, sorry for the lack of updates - however from now on I will be able to update this story at least once a week.