Losing Camila

Riccardo fed Camila in his bed inside an apartment with broken windows, torn paint off the walls, cigarettes on the floor, pills on the floor, and broken wine bottles on the floor. Camila started crying in Riccardo’s arms as he began rocking her, frustrating him.

“Stai tutto! You’re always crying for no reason!” yelled Riccardo, putting Camila on the bed as she cried louder. “I knocked Maria up, and this is the shit I have to deal with!”

Riccardo picked Camila up and went to the living room, where his father and brothers drank wine and watched TV.

“Get that bambina out of here! We don’t want to hear her crying all night!” growled Riccardo’s father.

Riccardo ran downstairs with Camila in his arms and went outside. He saw boxes near a dumpster and rushed to put Camila inside one. As she cried, Riccardo put Camila inside a box and put her blanket over her.

“I’ll be back, you cagna,” grumbled Riccardo, putting a cover over the box and leaving as Camila wailed. He ran back to the apartment and drank some wine with pills, then smoked some weed.

The Next Day

Samuele picked up trash off the ground in the same area of Riccardo’s apartment.

“Sono stanco! Why do I have to do a morning shift?” grumbled Samuele, picking up more trash. He walked over to the dumpster where Riccardo left Camila and picked up some boxes. “I have to break these boxes down.”

When Samuele picked up one of the boxes, he widened his eyes when he realized how heavy it was.

“Damn! Why is this box so heavy?” whimpered Samuele. He put the box on the ground and took the cover off. Samuele horrifically gasped when he saw Camila and rushed to pick her up. “Povera bambina! Where’s your papa and mama? I gotta get her to a hospital quickly!”

Camila cried in Samuele’s arms as he tried calming her down.

“Shh, shh. It’s okay,” said Samuele softly, rocking Camila. He went to the nearest hospital and rushed to the emergency desk. “I found this baby girl in a box near a dumpster. She looks like a newborn, too.”

“All right. Stay in the waiting room while we get the baby settled,” said the lady at the front desk.

Meanwhile

Riccardo got up, sipped some wine, put on his coat, and went outside. He ran to the dumpster where he had left Camila and threw boxes to the ground, but couldn’t find the one he had put Camila inside.

“Camila? Camila! CAMILA?!” yelled Riccardo. He dug through the dumpster as a drunk woman came along. “Where’s that damn rat?”

“HEY! Why are you digging in my trash?” yelled the woman as Riccardo ran away.

Samuele waited to hear back from the doctors on Camila’s condition. He saw his girlfriend, Bianca, enter the waiting room.

“There you are, Samuele! What happened? I got your call,” said Bianca.

“I was picking up trash in the slums for my morning shift, but I ended up finding a baby abandoned in a dumpster,” explained Samuele as Bianca widened her eyes. “How could someone abandon a baby at a dumpster in this cold New York weather? They could’ve left the baby at a church or a fire station.”

A nurse entered the waiting room and asked, “Samuele Ricci?”

“That’s me,” said Samuele as he and Bianca followed the nurse to a room. Samuele and Bianca entered a room where a doctor held a clipboard. “Hello, doctor.”

“I’m Dr. Klondike. You must be Samuele Ricci,” said Dr. Klondike, shaking Samuele’s hand.

“The baby? Is she all right?” asked Samuele worriedly.

“She’s in a stable condition. You saved her life.”

“Well, what about her parents? And does she have a name?” asked Bianca.

Dr. Klondike looked at some records in his hand.

“The baby’s name is Camila Calafiori, born here a few days ago,” said Dr. Klondike. “The parents never signed the birth certificate. So we don’t have their names.”

Samuele whispered in Bianca’s ear.

“That last name... It’s Italian, right?” asked Samuele quietly as Bianca nodded. “So the parents are Italian American like us... Doctor, can we see Camila?”

“Sure. I’ll take you there,” said Dr. Klondike. He took Samuele and Bianca to the hospital’s NICU, where Camila slept in an incubator. “There she is.”

Samuele saw how Camila looked and immediately fell in love.

“Lei è così bella,” said Samuele in Italian and awe. “I’ve never seen such a beautiful baby. What’s going to happen to her?”

“Since we don’t have any information on her family, we’ll place her in the foster care system,” said Dr. Klondike.

“Let’s go, Samuele,” said Bianca as she and Samuele left.

Later

Riccardo drank some beer and pills. He tried to get some more pills but realized he had no more in his jacket. Riccardo went inside a store where a police officer and store manager talked.

Riccardo put over-the-counter pills and cigarettes inside his jacket to try and shoplift. However, the store manager caught Riccardo putting stuff inside his coat on the cameras at the register.

“HEY! HE’S SHOPLIFTING!” yelled the store manager.

The police officer in the store started chasing Riccardo as he gasped and ran out of the store. Another officer jumped on Riccardo and put him in handcuffs as he screamed.

“LET ME GO!” yelled Riccardo. A bag of crack and his ID fell out of his jacket as the police dealt with him.

One of the officers picked up Riccardo’s ID and realized he was only 19 and smelled like alcohol, and then he picked up the bag of crack.

“You’re under arrest for shoplifting, underage drinking, and the possession of cocaine. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” said the police officer as he put Riccardo inside a police car.

The Next Day

Samuele woke up and went to the kitchen to eat Bianca’s breakfast.

“I made your favorite Maritozzi buns,” chuckled Bianca.

“Thanks,” sighed Samuele, putting some buns on his plate. Bianca realized how sad Samuele sounded. “I couldn’t sleep well last night.”

“Why? Is something bothering you?” asked Bianca worriedly.

“The baby from yesterday... Her own family doesn’t even love her and abandoned her like she was trash,” whimpered Samuele, crying a little. He wiped his tears, closed his eyes, sighed, and looked at Bianca. “I hope you’re not upset, but I want to adopt Camila.”

“Samuele! We’re only 19 and 20! We’re too young, and we can barely pay rent,” argued Bianca as Samuele sighed. “We don’t even know Camila’s biological parents!”

“We can become foster parents, and Camila can spend time with us for a few years, then we can finalize the adoption once we have enough money. We can put a lot of work into this,” explained Samuele. “I saw a great spirit inside Camila, and she has nothing, but we can give her something.”

Weeks Later

A prison bus dropped Riccardo and other patients at a rehabilitation center. Riccardo impatiently pushed patients and ran toward the entrance.

“Move out of my way!” growled Riccardo as he entered the rehabilitation center.

Riccardo and other patients went to a room where the rehab center director spoke to them.

“Your name is on your bed, and you must keep your area clean. You’re going to do a lot of work here and one mistake here, and we’ll put your alcoholic self back into the general public. Am I clear?” said the director as Riccardo and the patients looked at him in agreement.

The patients later argued.

“You know you’re lying!” yelled a patient.

“Do you think your kids are dumb and fall for your tricks?” growled a patient. “Where do they think you’re at? A cruise or some shit?”

“Shut up!” yelled the patient who was being argued with.

The patients continued arguing until one patient got up and yelled to stop the argument.

“GUYS! We can’t argue about each other’s addictions here. What type of father do we want to be for our kids? One they can look up to and cares about them, or one that only cares about drugs and alcohol?” said the patient as the other patients nodded in agreement. The patient noticed how quiet Riccardo was. “Riccardo? Do you have any kids?”

Riccardo looked down and hesitated, then lied, “I don’t have any kids.”

Samuele and Bianca picked Camila up from the foster care building.

“She has a lot of hair for a baby,” said Bianca as Samuele smiled.

“Yes, and I love it. It’s silky and beautiful,” chuckled Samuele. He and Bianca arrived at their apartment and went inside. Samuele took Camila out of her carrier and carried her in his arms. Camila opened her eyes and smiled at Samuele. “Ciao bambina! I’m your new papa.”

Samuele’s 18-year-old brother, Giovanni, walked out of his room and saw Samuele with Camila.

“Hey, Samuele! What’s that?” asked Giovanni.

“It’s the baby I was talking about. Her name’s Camila,” said Samuele, giving Camila to Giovanni.

“Ciao bella!” chuckled Giovanni in Italian. Camila started crying in Giovanni’s arms. “What? I don’t think she likes me...”

“Hehe. Camila’s probably just hungry. She needs to get settled in for a bit, too,” chuckled Samuele, taking Camila from Giovanni and feeding her. “Shh, shh. It’s all right.”

Samuele put Camila inside a crib as Bianca walked up to her.

“Do you think she’ll understand?” asked Bianca.

“Understand what?” asked Samuele.

“Her parents. How they abandoned her,” said Bianca.

“She’ll understand when she’s older.”

Three Years Later

Bianca gave a three-year-old Camila a piggyback ride on the streets of New York.

“My ragazza is three years old now!” chuckled Bianca as Camila giggled.

“Three years old!” yipped Camila.

“What day is it today?” asked Bianca.

“November 15th, my birthday!” chuckled Camila.

“Can you say birthday in Italian?” asked Bianca.

“Compleanno!” yipped Camila as Bianca took her off of her and let her walk.

“You’re a smart little girl, and Papa, Zio Giovanni, and I have a surprise for you,” said Bianca as Camila jumped happily. They arrived at the apartment as Bianca picked Camila up. “We’re home!”

“Good! Do you want to see your surprise, Camila?” asked Samuele as Camila nodded. Samuele opened an envelope and took out a letter. “It is accordingly, therefore, ordered that Camila Calafiori, a minor-”

“That’s me!” chuckled Camila as Samuele, Bianca, and Giovanni smiled.

“Shall be to all legal intents and purposes the child of Bianca Rossi and Samuele Ricci,” read Samuele.

“Poor kid, you’re stuck with them now,” said Giovanni sarcastically, rubbing Camila’s head.

“Can you celebrate tonight?” asked Bianca.

“Unfortunately, I can’t. I have a night shift at work. I’ll see you in the morning,” said Giovanni, leaving for work.

Samuele put Camila in her playpen and questioned Bianca, “Do you want to go to a restaurant?”

“I’m too tired,” grumbled Bianca, yawning and stretching her arms. “Why don’t we order some pizza?”

“Pizza!” yelled Camila.

“Camila would love that,” chuckled Samuele.

Meanwhile

Riccardo arrived at his counseling office, where his counselor, Lorenzo, was.

“Riccardo! How are you doing?” asked Lorenzo as Riccardo went to get coffee. “Any job?”

Riccardo flicked his hair and shrugged his shoulders.

“Do you have your own place?” asked Lorenzo.

Riccardo played with his earrings, then grumbled, “I got a small apartment with a bathroom.”

“Have you had a place to yourself before?” questioned Lorenzo as Riccardo shook his head. “All right, then stop complaining. Let’s get to work.”

Riccardo and Lorenzo sat at a table.

“Are you reading that book?” asked Lorenzo.

“I read some of it,” grunted Riccardo.

“Some isn’t good enough,” grumbled Lorenzo, getting a whiteboard.

“Well, the book is crap,” said Riccardo, throwing the book on the table and drinking his coffee.

“How do you know it’s crap if you’re not reading it?” asked Lorenzo.

“Because I am reading it,” grumbled Riccardo.

“Good. What’s going on with Alessandro and Lucia?” asked Lorenzo, writing on the whiteboard.

“Alessandro knocked up Lucia,” said Riccardo, drinking more coffee.

“Is he happy about it?” asked Lorenzo.

“Doesn’t say,” sighed Riccardo, shrugging his shoulders.

“Riccardo, why are you here?” questioned Lorenzo as Riccardo scoffed.

“Oh, so we’re going to share now?” growled Riccardo.

“You’re wasting our time, Riccardo,” grumbled Lorenzo as Riccardo rolled his eyes. “Well, let’s forget about it because it’s useless unless you want to do it. You already know how to read.”

“I don’t wanna read this bullshit!” yelled Riccardo, pushing the book away from him.

“Then why are you putting it on me? I have my lunch at home waiting on me,” said Lorenzo, smirking and preparing to leave.

Riccardo angrily opened the book and started reading it.

“Alessandro and Lucia just had their baby. Alessandro is now a father, and he has to be more responsible,” read Riccardo, turning the page. Tears slowly flowed from Riccardo’s eyes. “A-Alessandro has to m-make sure his b-baby gets good m-meals and s-sleep. He h-has to l-limit h-his a-a-alcohol...”

“Riccardo, what’s wrong?” asked Lorenzo worriedly.

Riccardo’s tears fell on the pages as he continued reading.

“A-A-Alessandro has to g-give his b-baby l-l-love so he c-can be a g-g-g-good f-father,” stuttered Riccardo. He wiped his eyes and looked at Lorenzo.

“Riccardo. What’s wrong?” questioned Lorenzo.

“I threw her away, my baby girl. I threw her into the dumpster. I killed her,” whimpered Riccardo, crying again and closing the book. “You got a book about that?”

Days Later

Riccardo rode the bus to his babysitting job. He knocked on a house’s door, and a man opened it.

“Good morning, Mr. Baker,” said Riccardo.

“Good morning, Riccardo. My wife and I will be back by four,” said Mr. Baker as Riccardo nodded. “Logan ate his breakfast already.”

Mrs. Baker kissed Logan on the cheek and got her purse as Riccardo took Logan out of his highchair.

“Bye!” chuckled Riccardo as Mr. and Mrs. Baker left. He started cleaning the living room, but the house phone and Riccardo went to pick up the call. “Hello! Baker residence.”

“Riccardo. It’s Lorenzo. We need to talk at the park,” said Lorenzo on the phone.

Riccardo went to the park to hear what Lorenzo had to say. He gave Lorenzo a shocked look after he told him the news.

“She’s not dead? My bambina’s not dead? Well, where is she?” asked Riccardo.

“She’s living with a couple in the city,” said Lorenzo, smiling.

“Well, I gotta see her!” exclaimed Riccardo.

“Slow down, Riccardo. There are a lot of issues. She’s been legally adopted.” explained Lorenzo.

“SO? She’s my baby. I need to see her! Where is she?!” argued Riccardo, picking Logan up.

“We’re going to work on that, but it will take some time,” sighed Lorenzo.

“NO! Come on! Andiamo!” growled Riccardo.

“Listen, Riccardo. I’m on your side and going to help you, but you need to be patient,” said Lorenzo.

“I can’t be patient! I need to see my bambina!” whined Riccardo.

“Listen to me, Riccardo. Don’t let everything you worked so hard for fall apart,” stated Lorenzo.

Later

Riccardo went to the counseling office and tried to find any files about him in the director’s office. He found a folder with his name and rushed to open it. Riccardo saw a sticky note with Camila’s name and birthday on it.

“Camila,” whispered Riccardo as a man turned the lights on. Riccardo rushed to put the folder back.

“What are you doing here?” asked the man.

“Um, I was just organizing some files,” lied Riccardo nervously. “Where’s Logan?”

“Oh, he’s playing in the hallway,” said the man.

“Thanks,” said Riccardo.

Riccardo left the counseling office with Logan and walked back toward the Bakers’ house, but he stopped when he saw Samuele, Bianca, and Camila across from him.

“Mama’s going out with her friends; she’ll be back in two days,” chuckled Samuele.

Bianca kissed Camila on the cheek.

“Bye, Mama!” chuckled Camila as Bianca entered a taxi.

Riccardo noticed Camila’s hair was the same color and length as his own and widened his eyes. Giovanni accidentally bumped into Riccardo, then ran toward Samuele and Camila.

“Sorry!” yelled Giovanni at Riccardo.

“Look who’s here!” chuckled Samuele.

“Uncle Giovanni!” yipped Camila.

Samuele gave Camila a piggyback ride and walked toward his car with Giovanni. Riccardo followed behind them with Logan in his stroller.

“Two days will be quick,” said Samuele as Camila giggled. “One, two! See?”

“How many wings does an airplane have?” asked Giovanni.

“Due!” chuckled Camila in Italian.

“How many hands and eyes does Camila have?” asked Samuele.

“Two hands and two eyes!” yipped Camila.

Samuele gave Giovanni to Camila as he put her inside a stroller.

“Well, I have to go to work! Bye!” said Samuele.

“Bye, Papa!” chuckled Camila, waving. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to the park,” answered Giovanni, smiling.

Riccardo continued following Giovanni to the park. Giovanni parked Camila’s stroller at the park’s entrance and let her out, while Riccardo parked Logan’s stroller next to Camila’s and let him out.

Giovanni went to talk with some other parents while Riccardo watched Camila play at the playground. Riccardo saw Camila about to go down a slide and ensured Giovanni wasn’t watching. He went in front of the slide Camila was sliding down, causing her to stop.

Riccardo put his hands on Camila’s shoulders and said, “Hi, Camila.”

“Hi,” said Camila, confused as Riccardo picked her up.

Riccardo realized Camila had his face too as he widened his eyes, but he lost all his focus on Camila when he heard Logan crying. He put Camila down, walked over to Logan, picked him up, and left the park as Camila watched, still confused.

The Next Day

Riccardo went to a lawyer’s office late at night.

“Hello?” said Riccardo, trying to find someone.

A woman dressed formally walked up to Riccardo holding papers.

“Mr. Calafiori. You’re late,” grumbled the woman.

“Sorry,” apologized Riccardo. He and the woman went inside a room. “You’re Alessia Romano, right? Lorenzo said you were a good lawyer.”

“Yeah, Lorenzo told me what’s going on, but there’s still a lot of holes here,” explained Alessia, looking inside a folder. “Lorenzo said you’d like to reinstate your parental rights.”

Riccardo raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“You put your baby up for adoption, and now you want her back,” said Alessia, trying to help Riccardo understand.

“I never put my baby girl up for adoption,” grumbled Riccardo.

“Well, you abandoned your daughter in a dumpster and never made an effort to find her. Legally, that’s the same thing,” explained Alessia.

“That was because I thought she was dead,” sighed Riccardo.

“Nobody sent you a letter about her whereabouts?” asked Alessia as Riccardo shook his head. “Or Samuele Ricci and Bianca Rossi’s intent to adopt her?”

“Nope,” grunted Riccardo, sitting down and crossing his arms.

“Well, Mr. Calafiori, you couldn’t read very well before going into the rehab program. Are you sure you didn’t accidentally throw away any official papers?” questioned Alessia.

“I never got any papers,” grumbled Riccardo.

“Not even in jail?” asked Alessia.

“If I got papers like that, don’t you think I would’ve remembered?” said Riccardo. Alessia sighed and shrugged her shoulders, then looked at some more files. “You don’t like me that much, do you?”

“I don’t like what put you in this situation, Mr. Calafiori. How do I know that once I help you get your baby girl back, you’re not going to go back to smoking crack and overdrinking, then abandon her again?” grumbled Alessia.

“I’m telling you, I’m through with that shit!” growled Riccardo.

“That’s what you guys always say,” sighed Alessia, shaking her head.

“You don’t have to talk down to me; I can pay,” grumbled Riccardo.

“There’s no fee involved here. We take on socially relevant cases; they set a legal precedent if we win them. Your case fits that profile. Donations take care of fees,” explained Alessia, looking inside the files again. “It’ll be tough. The couple she’s with is Italian-American and young like you; they’ve treated her well, too. They’ll fight this.”

“Well, I’m her father,” whimpered Riccardo.

“I’m certain that this young Italian American man thinks he is, and many people will agree with him,” said Alessia.

The Next Night

Samuele took Camila out of his car and went inside the apartment.

“Where’s Mama?” asked Camila as Samuele changed her into her pajamas.

“You’ll see her in the morning, sogni d’oro,” chuckled Samuele, kissing Camila’s head. He went to the living room and looked at some mail. Samuele ripped the junk mail but stopped ripping mail when he saw an envelope from a legal service. He opened the envelope and read the letter, then widened his eyes and rushed to his bag where he put everything. Samuele tried to find the letter about the adoption approval. “COME ON! WHERE IT IS?!”

Bianca got Samuele’s call and rushed to find a telephone booth where she could talk privately. She then called Samuele back.

“Samuele? What’s wrong?” asked Bianca worriedly.

“He wants Camila back!” whimpered Samuele.

“What? Who wants him back?” questioned Bianca, confused.

“We got a letter from some legal service. The biological papa never signed away his rights! He’s gonna challenge the adoption! WHERE DID HE COME FROM? What are we gonna do?” cried Samuele.

“It’ll be okay, tesoro,” sighed Bianca, trying to calm Samuele down.

“NO, IT WON’T!” yelled Samuele.

Camila walked over to Samuele.

“Papa, I want Mama,” whimpered Camila as Samuele cried and hugged her. “I want Mama!”

“I want Mama, too,” mewled Samuele.