The Dons Siren

Chapter Thirty

Matteo

"Sofia, I told you I'm fine. Your new nurse, Sarah, is doing her job." Her father, William, gruntled.

Whereas their mother had platinum blonde hair and big blue eyes, their father had dark brown hair with strands of silver peeking out and almost hazel-colored eyes.

He was a tall man with a skinny build that I knew was because of all the surgeries and heart attacks. His face was sunken in with dark bags taking residence underneath his eyes.

Sofia ignored his complaint as she wandered around the house, tidying up, wiping down the tables, and finishing the dishes.

Sofia tossed the last load of laundry into the dryer and then returned to the living room and sat by me.

"She's not my nurse, dad. She's yours."

"I told you, I'm fine." He repeated, shaking his head.

"Uh-huh. You're fine? Dad, you just had another surgery. Fine is not in your dictionary."

"Will you control your woman?" He grumbled, giving me a severe look.

Ignoring the way Sofia was glaring at me, I responded, "She means well. She's just worried about you. We both are."

I wrapped my arm around her waist, and she relaxed slightly as I pulled her closer to my side.

I was just as worried as Sofia for her father and Sofia, and I have been on his back about his medication, health, and lifestyle.

We didn't want another scare. He sighed and wrung his shaky hands on his lap.

"Sofia, honey, you can't spend your entire life worrying about me."

"I can and I will." She stated sternly.

"At least I know where she gets her stubbornness from," I mumbled, and her father cracked a smile.

"I am not stubborn." She protested, and I flicked her nose.

"You are the most stubborn woman I've ever met in my entire life."

She rolled her eyes, "Anyways, are you taking your meds on time? Is Sarah doing a good job? If not, you have to tell me."

"I'm taking my medication. I'm eating healthy. I go on walks every other day. I'm fine. Sarah's fine. I'm alive."

"Good. Okay, good." She got up from where she was sitting and went over to sit next to her dad. I saw her grab his hand and kiss the top of it.

"I need you to stay healthy and alive, do you hear me? That means no getting upset, no stressing out, no nothing. Okay?"

"You worry about me too much, honey. You really do."

"I told you, it keeps me sane."

He pulled her in, kissed her forehead, and kept her close to his body as he hugged her.

"My sweet yet very stubborn little girl is all grown up, isn't she?"

"You're supposed to defend me, not call me stubborn."

Watching them together made me think about my father and how much I've missed him over the years. We weren't close like this, but I loved my father, and I knew he loved me.

He didn't have to say it, but it showed in how he took care of me, Mia, and my mother. My father was a stern man who didn't have time to make sweet childhood memories with Mia and me.

He didn't have time to sit us down and take family photos or take time off of work and buy us ice cream. Mia spent most of her childhood with my mother, and I spent it all with my father.