Read Online My Mr. Manny by Jennifer Garcia - Free Book Online

doesn’t work she will get hurt,” I said. I thought back to the previous evening.
    After my dad and Dominic had a few words, I invited them to stay for dinner. I didn’t want to send Dominic back to his hotel to spend the rest of the evening alone. I also wanted to watch him interact with Lucia more. Dominic agreed, but my dad had to leave. While I stood in the kitchen, preparing spaghetti with marinara sauce and garlic bread, I watched while Lucia bombarded him with random questions and information.
    “Dominic, did you know I’m going to learn ballet? Dominic, do you want to play a game with me? You know I go to school? My mom says I’m smart.” She went on and on, but I thought it was funny how Dominic did not seem flustered at all. He looked interested in and intrigued by her every word.
    While I defrosted and warmed up the homemade sauce I had in the freezer, I heard Lucia talking about a candy board game she had.
    “Dominic, you can be the green furry monster because his fur matches your eyes.”
    I laughed at that, because even she had noticed his beautiful peepers.
    Dinner was almost ready so I popped the garlic bread in the oven.
    “Lucia, I don’t know how you do it. Look at where your character is and where mine is. I keep getting sent backward,” said Dominic in mock surprise.
    My baby laughed at him. “I don’t know, but I’m win-ning,” she said in a singsong voice.
    “Okay, you guys, dinner’s almost ready. Lucia, you want to show Dominic how to set the table?” I yelled out from the kitchen.
    “Yes, Momma. Come on, Dominic, let’s go.” She got up, pulled him into the dinning room, and showed him where the place mats were and where to get the silverware.
    So far, they worked well together. Dominic pretended to put the fork on the plate instead of on the placemat. Lucia had fun with that and playfully scolded him. “Hey, silly. The fork doesn’t go there. See where I’m putting mine? It goes on the side.”
    “Wow, you’re good at this.” He smiled at her.
    Peeking through the oven door, I saw the bread had turned a golden brown. “It’s ready. Get drink orders, Lucia,” I called out.
    “Dominic, what do you want to drink?” she asked.
    “Umm, water? How about you?”
    “I’m gonna have milk. Momma, what do you want?”
    “Water, baby, please.”
    While I placed the bread in a basket and plated the spaghetti, she asked Dominic for help pouring her milk. The bottles of water were easy for her to pour into glasses, so she did those on her own.
    We all worked well together to get the meal on the table and sat down. Our usual seating arrangements had me at the head and Lucia to my left corner, but today she placed Dominic in that position and herself on the other side of him, far away from me.
    Before we dug in, Dominic asked, “Do you say grace before dinner?”
    “We do most of the time. It’s Lucia’s job, but if you’d like to, we’d be fine with it. Right, Lucia?”
    “Yup, you can say it. I don’t mind.”
    He nodded in agreement and looked thoughtful for a moment.
    “Okay, let’s hold hands.” I held Dominic’s hand, and he held Lucia’s. “Thank you, Lord, for your gifts that we are about to receive. Thank you for bringing me into the lives of Mia and Lucia. Amen.”
    “Amen,” Lucia and I said in sync.
    “That was nice; thank you,” I said. “All right, dig in, and later we’ll have some dessert,” I said, winking at Lucia.
    She squirmed in her seat with excitement. “I love dessert,” she said.
    We must have been very hungry because there was not a lot of conversation. But I did watch as Dominic helped Lucia wipe sauce off her face, twirl the spaghetti onto her fork, and encourage her to finish all of her food so she could have the after-dinner treat I had prepared.
    “I’m done,” announced Lucia.
    I smiled when I spied her empty plate and said, “Wow, great job.”
    Once Dominic and I finished, we cleared the table, and Lucia placed spoons