I turn the car off and get out. Furlotti’s
thugs watch me, but I don’t care. I stand over her and hold out my
hand. She looks up at me with a tear stained face and takes it
cautiously and with a shaky hand. I haul her up. I feel sorry for
her and her family.
“You’re...Lisa’s sister, aren’t you?” I
ask.
“Yes.” She wipes her face. “How do you
know?”
“It was a good guess. Come on. I won’t hurt
you. Let me take you to her.”
I call Carlo since he has been taking care
of Lisa, and we let the sisters talk on the phone while I drove her
to the casino. She had been looking for her brother and sister. She
suspected Demetrius had taken them. Her intention was to get
information from him through the use of drugs and sex, but her plan
backfired when she overdosed him.
She shook and cried the whole ride. Until
now tonight, she didn’t know her brother was dead. I think I feel
more empathy for these two sisters than I have in my entire life. I
wasn’t the only person Demetrius was harassing. But he can’t harass
anyone anymore. Sometimes it’s the person that you least suspect,
the seemingly weakest one, that will get you in the end.
Death is like sex...you can fool around all
you want, but once it's done, it can’t be undone. It's taken from
you, just like murder, there is no going back.
The bastard is gone...he made his own bed,
and he died in it.
*****
Megan:
I am at Lisa’s room when we get the call. I
had been frantic all morning. No one knew where he was. I thought
Vito was going to destroy the place searching.
I run as fast as I can to the garage,
leaving everyone in the dust. It is great not to be under lock and
key anymore. It seems as though I proved myself.
Carlo is bringing Lisa down to the garage to
see her sister, and Joey is calling Vito to let them know Antonio
is coming back. Erin is in the suite, patiently waiting with
Clarissa for any news.
When I woke up alone, I was angry at first,
but then I was just plain worried when we couldn’t find him. I
curse the elevator as it seems to move oh so slowly down the
floors. The doors slide open, and I bolt across the garage just as
Antonio is pulling in. He gets out, and I throw myself at him. He
catches me, gripping me tightly. I kiss him, then pound on his
chest with my fists.
“Don’t ever do that to me again!” I yell at
him. “Nobody knew you were! I felt so helpless!”
He ignores me and pulls me to him for
another kiss.
*****
Megan:
Antonio had some things to attend to after
the morning’s events, so I decide to go check on my father, who is
surprisingly staying here at the casino. He doesn’t even offer to
stay in our room, but he takes his own. I truly appreciate the
privacy. I feel as though it’s been years since I’ve lived with my
parents, even though it’s only been a short few months.
I knock on his door. I hear him pad across
the floor to open it.
“Hey, Dad. I just came to check on you. How
are you feeling?”
He walks back into the room and sits on the
bed with his back straight against the headboard. I take a seat in
a small chair by the window.
“I’m fine.” He pauses like he searching for
something to say. “Is your sister packed?”
“Yeah. And Clarissa is too.”
My father stares at the wall in front of
him, not looking at me. He hesitates, takes in a breath to speak,
then thinks better of it. I decide to help him out.
“I can’t believe they’re leaving tomorrow. I
hope they like it. It would be great for them to meet new people.”
I add, really thinking it is important for Erin and Clarissa to get
out into the world. Being stuck here isn’t doing them any good. You
can’t hide from problems, or people, or the general badness of the
world. You have to face it head on. Mostly, it is a great world. It
is exciting, eye-opening, and the only way to live is to be a part
of it. I lived with forced blinders on my whole life, and that is
going to change.
“There is something I’ve never told you,” my
father says in his deep rough of a voice.
“There’s a lot you’ve never told me,” I
don’t mean to sass my dad, but I can’t help it.
“I’ve made some mistakes. I think I’ve made
more serious ones with Erin than I ever had with you.”
“What you want to tell me dad?”
“This week was not the first time you have
shot someone.”
“Huh?”
“When we left Ireland when you were five, it
was because our house was broken into. Their intent was to kill
you, your sister, and your mother.”
“Why?”
“The why isn’t as important as what
happened. You and Erin were sleeping with your mother in our bed.
You must have known, even as a little child, that I kept the gun
underneath the bedside table. I wasn’t there but your mother says
you got the gun and shot the intruders in the dark.”
I sat still listening to my father’s story.
I try to search my memories of Ireland for any hint of this. It
dawns on me that the shadows and the men that I have seen flashed
before my eyes at different times in my life were the memories of
that fateful night.
“I just took the gun and shot them?” I ask,
wanting more details. He nods his head. “Did I kill them?” He nods
his head again.
“Straight through the heart.”
I do the nodding this time
and I process this.
Self-defense.
Instincts.
They have always been there,
locked away in the deep recesses of my mind and coming to the
surface when I need them.
Deep down, I feel everything that needs to
be said about my bizarre talent has been said. I don’t want to go
backwards, I only want to go forward.
I feel it is only fair to warn my father. “I
think Antonio wants to marry me,” I tell him honestly. I don’t
brace myself for a fight or reaction. I’m going to do what I want
to do, regardless.
My father looks at the ceiling now. “I know.
He has already talked to me about it.”
I’m not surprised, but I still get an
excited twang knowing that Antonio has already broached the subject
with my father. I really want to be girly and giddy, hounding my
father for every word said between them. Instead, I take the mature
road and leave it be.
I leave my father and check on Lisa and her
sister. Carlo is treating them like queens, and Doc Howie is seeing
to their wounds, mentally and physically. I think they’re going to
be okay. They are definitely two strong girls who had the
unfortunate experience of crossing paths with Demetrius.
*****
Megan:
My mother arrives at 10:00 a.m. I have mixed
feelings about seeing her, but in the end I am glad. Erin has been
packed and ready to go. Clarissa is so excited that it’s the only
thing she talks about.
The school is deep in California. It is a
boarding school that celebrities, actors, and politicians send
their kids to. Erin will be away from the underworld drama, but I
am sure she will find a different kind there. Spoiled brats and
paparazzi are on the menu for her for the next few months before
summer.
I can hear my mother in Erin’s room. She is
repacking one of her bags. She is so loud that, even in this huge
cavernous suite, I can hear her tittering away at Erin and the
proper way to pack luggage.
“Where did you get this!?” she booms,
chastising Erin. “This stuff is ridiculous! How did you get
it?”
Oh no!
The new wardrobe Antonio and Vito bought her. Well, mostly
Vito. I decide it is time for me to get involved.
I stand in the doorway to Erin’s room. My
mother’s eyes are like saucers as she picks up the clothes with
disgust and horror, one by one tossing them aside.
“You’re too young for these things!” she
says in reproof.
“They were a birthday present,” I say
flatly.
“Really. From who?
Your boyfriend
!” she
scolds. “Who buys a young girl these kinds of clothes? It is
improper. They are too sophisticated! Take them back.”
“They can’t be returned,” I tell her.
“Then give then away. My
daughter is not walking around in this
stuff
.”
“Mother,” I use my best
you’re-being-unreasonable voice. “Who would they fit? Erin is
tiny.”
Erin looks at me, then opens her mouth to
say something.
“I will not give these away. They are
beautiful gifts from people who care about me. From you, I have
received nothing, not even a phone call. I am sorry that you are
upset about me growing up without you, but that is the way it has
to be.”
She grabs the discarded clothes and shoves
them back in the bag, zippers it furiously, and drags it off the
bed.
I want to clap my hands and cheer, but I
stop myself. I turn when I feel someone behind me. It’s Vito. He
walks to Erin ignoring my mother and takes the bag from her, and
grabs two more. He carries them through the suite and disappears
into the hallway. Erin takes her purse off the bureau and her coat
from the hook on the wall. She smiles at me when she passes and
leaves my mother standing in the room alone.
Down in the lobby is a crowd of people. They
are all here to wish Erin and Clarissa a good trip...to say
good-bye. My eyes tear up a little. Everyone has been great during
a very rough part in our lives. Even Troy and Jake came.
Erin hugs everyone gratefully. Joey and Alex
load the bags into a black SUV parked outside the huge glass doors.
Between two fifteen year old girls, there are a lot of them. Doc
Howie and Lucia gush and tell them over and over to be careful.
Lucia cries. I hope it’s not because she’ll be out of a job.
Troy wistfully hugs Erin and kisses her on
the top of her head. Jake follows, moving forward. The two of them
huddle away from everyone. Troy comes over and hugs me too. I try
to see around him to spy on my sister and Jake. He moves to go
speak with Clarissa.
Jake pulls a small box out of his jacket.
Erin grins and opens it. It is a tiny heart necklace. She thanks
him and kisses his cheek.
Antonio comes up behind me and hugs me from
behind, watching with me the exchange between Jake and Erin.
“Hey, do you think she likes that guy?” he
asks thoughtfully.
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. I never
asked her.” I glance at Vito, he is by the door glowering at the
floor.
My mother watches the exchange between Erin
and Jake suspiciously. Ennio and my father come in from outside.
They are preparing to take them to the airport.
“Time to go,” Ennio announces. Erin and
Clarissa quicken their goodbyes. Erin hugs my mother and comes over
to Antonio and I.
“I’m going to miss you,” she says to me.
“I want to know everything. I even want
pictures. Take them with your new phone.”
Antonio steps around me, and envelops Erin
in a huge hug practically crushing her. “I’m gonna miss you,
kid!”
“Thank you...for everything.” They break
away still holding hands, and Erin looks at me, then back to
Antonio. “Take care of my sister.”
“You know I will,” he smiles.
Erin steps towards the middle of the crowd
and stands next to Clarissa. This is a big thing for Clarissa, as
well as Erin. Erin gazes around and looks like she’s mentally
ticking off in her head her goodbyes.
Erin and Clarissa clasp hands and walk
towards the door together...a united front to face a new chapter in
their lives. Erin hesitates by the door. She releases Clarissa and
swiftly hugs Vito around the middle, then lets go and dashes
through the doors. The last thing I see is her fiery red hair.
Antonio rubs my shoulders, consoling me.
Everyone begins to disperse. We’re going to be heading back to
Palmetto soon.
My father left for the airport with Ennio
and the girls, as did Joey and Alex. My mother looks at Antonio and
me severely.
“You ready to go?” Antonio asks me, taking
my hand.
“Yup.”
Antonio nods to Vito who goes to get the
car. “Where are you going?” my mother asks, disgusted. “I just got
here.”
I take deep breaths to tamper down on my
aggravation. “We’re going shopping,” I tell her.
“What do you mean you’re going shopping?
What could you possibly need?”
“A...ring,” I say slowly.
She screws up her face haughtily and
unattractively. “What do you need a ring for?” she spits at me.
Some things never change.
“Didn’t you hear, mother?” I pause
dramatically. “The mob boss’s son of Palmetto is getting
married.”
I enjoy the reaction I knew is coming. My
mother clutches her chest and opens her mouth in horror. Last
night, I received a call from a very ecstatic Antonio’s mom. I
think we are going to get along great.
“What?!” she yells upset. “What about
college?! You’re supposed to be going to Notre Dame in the
fall!”
“Yeah, I changed my mind,” I inform her with
my feet planted firmly. Heads turn around to look at us. “I decided
I’m going into the family business.”
Her face twists into ugly shock, and it
leaves her speechless.
I laugh inwardly at how out of touch my
mother has truly been. She doesn’t rule my life anymore. I have to
make my own decisions. I’ve never been as sure about anything.
I was born into this life and becoming Mrs.
Antonio Delisi, Jr., has always been my destiny. Things aren’t
always going to be pretty and wrapped up in neat little packages.
It isn’t always going to be rainbows and lollipops, but I’m with
the man I love, and that is enough for me.
Antonio brings my hand to his lips and
kisses it softly. I look into his eyes, and I am home. He places
his hand neatly on my lower back and leads me away. With each step
towards the waiting car, the more excited I get. I’m ready to face
our future together.