BY ELAINE DE VALLE
 edevalle@herald.com

 Young Jonathon Colombini is relearning English and reacquainting himself with American relatives almost a month after returning from Cuba where his mother took him
 without his father's permission, sparking an international custody battle.

 ``I'm ecstatic,'' Jon Colombini, Jonathon's father, said about having his son back. ``I've got everybody who loves me, everybody that I love, close to me. It's the way it
 should be.''

 The shy 6-year-old boy appeared happy Sunday as he and dad watched the heavy rain at their home in Homestead. They were waiting for it to stop so they could go
 outside and play.

 Life seems good, as Jonathon readjusts to being home in South Florida after living in Cuba for nine months. The boy's mother, Arletis Blanco, went to the island with her
 boyfriend and two children, unbeknownst to Jonathon's dad. He turned 6 there in May.

 Colombini, who won custody of his son upon his wife's return and arrest, has his own date in court: Friday, he will appear before a family court judge to seek permission
 to move out of state so he can start a new life.

 Blanco and the boy returned Aug. 16. Federal agents arrested Blanco, 29, of Key Largo, shortly after she stepped off the flight from Cuba with her boyfriend, Agustín
 Lemus, 37, and their 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Jessica.

 A lawyer hired by Colombini had negotiated Jonathon's return, but Blanco insisted that she, her boyfriend and their toddler daughter be part of the deal as well. She knew
 she faced arrest upon her return to the United States.

 In Cuba, she reportedly told the press that she wanted her son to have a better life and that she had uncovered an anti-Castro plot developed by her boss. She has been
 accused of embezzling more than $150,000 from that same employer.

 Blanco remains in jail in Monroe County on charges of grand theft and forgery. She also has been charged with international parental child kidnapping.

 TALKED TO MOM

 The boy talked with his mother last week for the first time since returning, after she made a collect call to Colombini's house.

 ``He was a little upset at first. But he was fine 10 minutes later,'' his father said.

 Colombini wants to move out of state because he has two jobs, one with a flooring company and another with a package delivery service, lined up. Both are in Alabama,
 where his second wife's family owns 140 acres just south of Montgomery, in a place called Hope Hull.

 ``Has a nice ring to it,'' said Colombini, 32. He hopes to move there with wife Marcy, Jonathon, his other two children -- Austin, 2 1/2, and Jordan, 6 months -- and their
 two dogs, Mia and Hunter.

 ``I just want what's best for our family. The cost of living here is so high,'' said Colombini.

 ``Plus we got four-wheelers down there,'' he said, nudging Jonathon.

 ``Yeah,'' the boy said excitedly.

 ``And go-carts and motorcycles,'' his father egged him on.

 ``Four-wheelers and three-wheelers and two-wheelers.''

 Peals of laughter.

 ``And cows,'' Dad said.

 ``Moooooooo.''

 More laughter.

 Jonathon has already been to Hope Hull. He went to visit relatives in Ohio and Alabama as soon as he came home from Cuba. In Ohio, he visited the Columbus Zoo and
 Paramount's Kings Island, an amusement park near Cincinnati.

 He's being home-schooled for now because of the plans to move.

 DAD PROTECTIVE

 Colombini is very protective of his son. He asks a reporter not to ask Jonathon anything about his mother. Questions about Blanco are asked out of the boy's earshot.

 ``He knows about everything, but he doesn't need to have it pushed in his face,'' Colombini said. ``He's dealt with it and come out of this situation really, really well.''

 Jonathon is just starting to speak English again after forgetting much of it during his stay in Cuba. He speaks it with a distinct Spanish accent, however. His father is not
 fluent but understands Spanish.

 SPELLING PROBLEMS

 ``When he came back, there was no English whatsoever being spoken by him. If he had been gone much longer, there might have been a serious problem,'' his father
 said. ``But there's no psychological effect. There's been a lot of damage done to the information he has learned. He forgot how to spell his name. He forgot his ABCs.
 Stuff like that.

 ``So we've been working on it with him.''

 Marcy Colombini is relishing her happy family -- now whole.

 ``Jon is a lot happier, a lot more content with life. It's like he's regained hope. I don't even know how to describe it,'' she said. ``There were times when we lost a lot of
 hope. We just had a real hard time. Now it's like we almost regained faith in humanity.''

 Jonathon doesn't speak much to strangers. The boy has grown even more shy since he returned, his father says.

 The boy barely talks about life in Cuba or asks for his mother, Colombini said. But when a stranger asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said a truck
 driver.

 ``I want to work at the same thing my mommy worked that last time,'' he said, referring to a time Blanco drove a truck with Lemus, her boyfriend.

 ``He's my friend,'' the boy said.

 WANTS CONTACT

 Colombini, who had the boy on weekends before the journey to Cuba, does not want to cut Jonathon's mother out of the boy's life. He expects Blanco -- after she resolves
 her legal issues -- to have visitation with their son.

 ``I always want his mother to be a part of his life, but I need to do what's good for my family, for him and the rest of my family,'' Colombini said about moving to Alabama.
 
 
 
 

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