by S. W. Frank
Sophie had been there all along. Amelda and Lucia’s voices increased in volume. Her daughter was as shocked as her mother about what Giuseppe said. Bambino, what bambino? Lucia hadn’t given birth. Giuseppe was confused, he had to be. “Sí, mama is here figlio. Mama has never left.”
Giuseppe reached for her hand and held. The weariness from the medication rested on his eyelids. “I am tired…mama…I do not want to sleep.”
“Rest is good for healing.”
Panicked blue irises with the intensity of someone nearly crazed opened wide. “Carlo…mi donna…mi donna…dove sono?”
Sophie shrieked as her son seized her arms, shaking them so hard there was pain. She couldn’t break free which required Alfonzo’s intervention. He pried Giuseppe’s fingers loose but then Giuseppe took possession of his neck. His hands were iron clamps on his brother’s throat as he demanded the whereabouts of Shanda and his son.
Blood spread across one side of Alfonzo’s collar. The bandage nearly touching his ear stained like red dye to seep through Giuseppe’s fingers. Alfonzo’s face contorted. Veins under pressure protruded from Alfonzo’s skin, his hands were weak compared to Giuseppe’s strength. The heat climbing to Alfonzo’s skull flushed the color from his face and sharp bolts of electricity careened to his hands. The bodyguard tried to assist, but Giuseppe had such a vice-grip, nothing could break it.
“Dove sono?” Giuseppe asked again and again.
Alfonzo’s eyes fluttered. Weakness from his injuries made it difficult to deflect. By the hands of his brother he saw death.
Dizziness.
Twisting.
Weightless.
Numbness soon counter-balanced Alfonzo’s pain.
“They’re safe,” is the answer Sophie cried frantically. This seemed to calm her son’s fears.
Giuseppe’s fingers relaxed. The panic had subsided. Tired he slumped back. Alfonzo’s skin had a cyanotic tint. Blood dripped upon the white sheet. There’s a lucidity which replaces madness when a loved one is hurt. In such a moment, Giuseppe saw his brother’s injury and a gut-wrenching sadness stole across the chiseled face. Alfonzo’s eyeballs rolled to show white and the tiny optic veins. Alfonzo’s legs buckled and he collapsed. A soldati caught him before his head struck the floor.
Sophie squealed. Amelda and Lucia’s argument had turned into a physical altercation. Their fighting resulted in an overturned tray. Clatter is what Giuseppe heard and chose to ignore the incessant shrieking. Bloody hands fascinated him. The gurney being wheeled in, Alfonzo being lifted onto the plastic mattress without a covering was a dream. Women in fine clothing, screaming and pummeling one another was the fantasy of someone asleep. He’d become accustomed to such nightmares. But this blood, why did it seem so real? “How did this get here?” he asked the air.
More soldati entered straight into the chaos. They found the Capo de tutti unconscious and women rolling on the floor. The doctor ordered them out and hands touched waists in bold threats that silenced any further comments. The women were separated, Lucia escorted from the hospital. In parting Amelda shouted. “Non e 'finita Lucia!”
“Eravamo giovani. Avevo paura!” Lucia yelled before the door closed in her face.
Amelda hurried to her mother as frightened eyes assessed the mayhem. “Mama what has happened?” she asked as a nurse administered oxygen to her bleeding cousin.
“Giuseppe attacked Alfonzo.”
“Oh mio Dios!”
“Is it true about Lucia?” Sophie questioned through heavy breaths of anxiety.
“Sí mama, she says they were young and she was afraid, that is why she terminated the bambino!”
Sophie frowned. Giuseppe had never spoken of this. The past cannot be undone. She did not hate Lucia; frightened young girls sometimes do foolish things. Giuseppe had a son, his name was Carlo and he is the child who lived.
A doctor attended to Alfonzo’s wounds. Giuseppe’s fingers had reopened the site and another suturing was performed. The women watched helplessly, praying Alfonzo was not gravely injured.
Giuseppe turned to see his brother and shouted. “Fratellino, who did this to you, I will kill him. Tell me, who fratellino?”
Sophie clutched her breast. Giuseppe was hallucinating and unable to remember what occurred. Had he gone mad?
Thankfully, Alfonzo breathed and the pallor disappeared. The doctor’s informed Sophie, Giuseppe experienced an ICU psychosis. Once the medications were out of his body the condition usually disappears. Meanwhile, he was given a small dose of Ativan to calm him as a frightened mother chewed on her lip.
Alfonzo was readmitted for observation after the traumatic asphyxiation. Too weak to argue, he lay there, gazing at his brother and grateful Shanda or the baby was not present. The doctor warned the family Giuseppe may become confused or act erratically when he awakened. But, damn, they hadn’t mentioned the possibility he’d display any violent episodes!
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Home is filled with love.
In the Diaz household, there’s an abundance of affection.
Grateful for these blessings, Selange embraced her children. A bad mother is what Shanda implied she was, yet would a bad mother read stories to her children, kiss their cheeks, hug them and fall asleep in their beds when they cried in the night? Would a bad mother love her children more than life?
Words are weapons; they injure and cut wounds so deep, they can sever friendships. Selange didn’t answer the calls from a former friend. She’d forgiven Shanda’s insults in the past, but the hurtful words and her desertion of Giuseppe ended the hollow pledge. ‘Do or die’ meant just that. Perhaps, Shanda forgot the meaning. Growing apart happens. Selange reflected on the girl she was then who spoke the vows and realized she had changed as well. She was not a borough in New York City, but a woman who took another oath when she married Alfonzo and moved away. Shanda wasn’t willing to go to battle for any guy, not even one she claimed to love. Truly loving somebody makes you stand and fight when they can’t.
She sat at her desk in the afternoon to check the posting of the grades. If she passed, she’d finally have her degree, a personal goal she set for herself before the children, before Alfonzo.
Sal and Allie were at school. The twins napped, Maria was somewhere on the premises, undoubtedly supervising the staff. The final grade for one course brought a pout. D-plus. Why the plus, why the nicety? She was deemed unsatisfactory in the subject, yet achieved a sufficient proportion of the objectives necessary and did not have to repeat the course. That’s what stated in the Academic Rules and Policies which she memorized.
“Humph!” Unsatisfactory, but she passed. She’d have her Master’s Degree, a sour achievement when the grade should be an F!
Her cell rang again, nobody’s name appeared on the screen, only zeroes. She answered, “Hello.”
“Back at you kid.”
A sigh of relief followed. Nico was alive. “And have you started painting?”
“Ah, I will. Soon.”
“That’s a beginning.”
“Everything all right, you back to normal?”
“As close to normal as insanity allows.”
He chuckled. “Chin up. I have to go, you take care.”
“You, too.”
The short conversation lightened her mood. Receiving a D-plus isn’t anything to fret over; there were more important concerns for their family. She could live with an unsatisfactory grade. If there was a course for survival as a mob wife she’d receive an A-plus which is equivalent to Exemplar
y.
She pushed back from the desk, when her cell rang again.
Shanda.
Sheesh, the woman refused to get the hint. Angry, she decided to deal with Shanda once and for all. “What do you want?”
“Hey girl.”
“I’m not your girl.”
“Selange seriously, I can’t believe you’re still mad.”
“Seriously, I can’t believe you’d think I wouldn’t be,” Selange replied.
“I’ve tried calling the hospital for news on Giuseppe, but the people barely speak English and I have no idea what they’re saying.”
Rolled eyes fixated on the ceiling. “What the hell do you expect, they’re not English?”
“Can you please drop the hostility and tell me how he’s doing?”
“Hmmm…let me see, no!”
“Girl, cut it out. Don’t treat me like that.”
“Like what, a stranger? Only close family are privy to Giuseppe’s condition. You may have his baby, but you’re not his wife or real family. Now slink back to mommy and daddy or get off your ass and book a flight to see how he’s doing for yourself if you really care!” Selange seethed, then disconnected from the caller. The woman had a lot of nerve. The guilt probably had begun to eat her alive. Good!
Discomfort followed by a warm liquid spread to Selange’s thighs. She stood quickly before the bodily fluids contacted with Alfonzo’s leather chair. Shanda raised her blood pressure which caused a heavier menstrual flow.
Take it easy, calm down, she repeated in her head as she hurried to the bathroom to bathe and change in the mid-afternoon.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Alfonzo hung-up, exhausted from having to field multiple calls from worried family in the states. His cousin Domingo threatened to board a flight to Italy, although he’d recently visited days ago. Alfonzo assured him, things were okay, but the one thing about the Diaz’ they can read between the lines simply by a person’s tone. But, Domingo’s loud-mouth sister is the one who gave him a hearty laugh when she said, “See, primo that’s why I don’t want Emilio hanging around you. Every time I turn around shit’s popping off. Mas dinero, mas problemas. I love you though.”
“Te amo, tambien.”
“By the way, make sure you have me in that will. I want your cars, holla!”
Yeah, she was a hoot. “Give Emilio my sincerest sympathy for that grande boca of yours, chica.”
“Ah, shut-up. See you soon primo, hurry home.”
He still had the smile when Nico burst through the door with Sergio on his heels, looking like twins in dark bland clothes, sunglasses and caps. Now what the hell is this, Alfonzo wondered as an eyebrow crept to his head?
“What’s this I heard about Geo going berserk?”
Alfonzo’s smile faded, totally wiped clean by the sight of his cousin he hadn’t heard from in days. “Where the fuck have you been Nico and when did you get here Sergio?” Alfonzo asked.
“Uncle kidnapped me, for real.”
“Chiudi il becco!” Nico said over his shoulder to his nephew.
Sergio’s lips pursed closed. Besides learning his Uncle was a burgeoning psychopath, he also learned a shit-load of Italian profanity.
“I asked him a question Nico and don’t try to censure his answer, go ahead Sergio.” Alfonzo scowled.
Sergio smirked. Ha, see that’s why he liked his cousin. The dude wasn’t intimidated by Nico and could put the scary motherfucker in his place. “I’ve been here for a few days. I came to see how you were doing and Nico has me running around doing crazy shit ever-since!”
Alfonzo’s eyes narrowed. “Sergio, there’s a rule that I don’t want you to ever forget. If Nico asks you to do something you do it and keep your mouth shut. You want to be treated like part of this family, well then I suggest you stop bitching and man the fuck up, comprende?”
Confused by the attitude switch, Sergio squinted and threw up his hands in surrender. “All right you’re the boss…I get it!”
“Get the hell out of here for a minute; I need to speak with my cousin!” Alfonzo ordered.
“No problem.”
The second the door closed, Alfonzo slumped in the bed. Nico noticed the contusions on his neck. They were purplish-black, the kind from fingerprints. “How you doing?”
“Pissed!”
“At having your ass confined to a hospital bed or Geo?”
“You!”
“That’s nothing new,” Nico said out the corner of his mouth.
Alfonzo’s eyes flicked to the pair of soldati in the room who tried to remain inconspicuous. Whatever personal issues he had with Nico were private and he didn’t need witnesses to their family disagreement. “Guys give us a minute and keep an eye on Sergio. Don’t let him roam the halls,” he said to the men. When they exited he opened fire. “Why do you have Sergio in the field?”
“He’s getting a crash course on how to conduct a one on one interview.”
“Are you loco, the dude talks too much?”
“That’ll change.”
“I don’t see any improvement; he was just ready to give a run-down on everything you did.”
“He would’ve told on himself.”
Alfonzo became tight. “And brought down the house with his mouth.”
“Let me worry about Sergio. He’s my responsibility.”
“Bull-shit Nico. He’s the family problem-child and I get a say on how to deal with him.”
“I’m putting him to use while you recuperate.”
“And you think dragging him around is better than where I had him?”
Nico put his hands in his pockets and relaxed his stance. “Damn straight. He came here and now I’m dealing with him.”
“You know cugino, when it comes to how you handle things, I’ve never interfered, but Sergio’s a fuck-up and he’s green.”
“He has to start somewhere.”
“And you’re putting him right in the action?”
“That’s when he gets to show what he’s made of. What’s the worst that can happen, he catches a bullet…then the problem-child dilemma is solved, right?”
“You callous sonovabitch. He’s your brother’s son.”
“You’ve got something on your mind, just say it!”
“Are you still in love with Selange motherfucker?”
Ah, there it is, back to that. When the hell was Alfonzo going to stop? “Yes. I love her like a friend and you like my brother. It’s over you little shit!” Nico seethed and marched to the bed. “Ari and I are remarried. I love that woman more than anything in this world and I’m tired of this animosity coming at me from you kid. I screwed up!”
“Then why give her that bracelet?”
“Alberti wanted her to have it and I held on to it for safekeeping. The timing shouldn’t be an issue.”
“It is to me!”
“Maledizione!” Nico bellowed. His hand went to his waist, withdrew a gun which he pressed to his head. “Where do you want me to put the bullet?” he asked, pushing it to his temple. “Here, straight through the forehead or maybe here to the side. It’ll splatter though.” His hands were moving fast, placing the gun at different angles as he told Alfonzo the best alternative for a lethal execution. “Twice in the heart for caring about your ass and family should do it!” Then he pointed the barrel to his dick. “You want me to blow this off?”
Alfonzo watched impassively, although thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. Nico losing his cool was a rare event. “Go ahead, make my day.”
Nico chuckled. “Vaffanculo!”
“I did the same shit once and Selange called my b
luff. I felt like a goddamn idiot. Besides, you still have the safety on asshole.”
“Ah you found me out!”
“One thing I know about you Nico is you’re not suicidal.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. If you were you wouldn’t be here.”
Nico’s lips formed a sinister grin. “One day you might push me over the edge and I might really do it if you keep on with this jealousy. Are we finished now with this topic?”
“We’re finished and my sympathies to Ari for marrying you again.”
“Same to your other half, you fucking invalid. Now fill me in on what’s going on with fat-head and why you look like shit?”
“He had some kind of psychotic episode and tried to choke me to death.”
Nico laughed. “That’s how I feel sometimes, too.”
“Yeah, when I’m a hundred percent, I’ll take you on in the boxing ring.”
“Deal, you’ll lose but hell; it’ll be fun anyway, kicking your ass for play.”
Alfonzo found humor in the statement. “Cockiness Nico is how men like you get knocked on your ass.”
Nico pat Alfonzo’s chest, knowing good and damn well it’ll hurt. “When you’re better just set the date.” Alfonzo’s grimace made Nico smile sadistically. Goddamn brat. Alfonzo and Giuseppe didn’t know when to quit. They must love having their butts kicked by their cousin. “What’s this I hear about Lucia and Amelda tussling like wildcats?”
“Apparently my whore brother impregnated Lucia when they were teens and she had a secret abortion, some shit like that.”
“Whoa, that’s new.”
Alfonzo changed the subject. “So, what are you making Sergio do that’s insane?”
“Taking out bad guys. Helping me track down leads. He’s the lost tourist. Nobody will ever think he’s a hit-man.”
“Anything on the person who hired the shooters?”
“I’m working on it. Give me another week.” Nico omitted his mother may be the source of the lead. Alfonzo had enough to deal with and didn’t need further worries.
“Make sure you check in when you’re certain. I want to be there.”
“I certainly will.” The somber Nico returned. “I’m going to peek in on Geo and then I’m on my way.”
Alfonzo nodded, he needed a nap. Tomorrow he was discharged; getting rest became a priority. He was anxious to get on his feet again. “Take care of Sergio, Nico. I don’t want a Vincent repeat, understand?”
