by Jolie Damman
He was a mafia member, and I was nothing more than the waitress of his father’s establishment.
I’d do well to keep that in mind.
✽ ✽ ✽
It’s another day and the restaurant was packed, as usual. I had to go from table to table, taking the customers’ orders, deliver them to the cooks, and then come back with their plates, pizzas and drinks.
No wonder Mr. Romani had chosen this line of business to build his fortune on. He probably made much more than what I could wrap my head around.
I opened a door and walked from the main compartment of the Bello Italiano to the backside of it. That’s when my eyes landed on Angelo.
He was at the end of the hallway, chatting with Prudenzio and two of his other soldiers. On his face was a painting of absolute seriousness and attention.
I didn’t know what they were talking about, but I still stood there for a couple of seconds, watching Angelo.
Once again, I couldn’t help but admire the lines of his face, his mud-colored eyes, and that pitch-black hair. And his stubble… Ahhhh. It was, in my opinion, one of his best features.
Everything about him seemed flawless, as if it had all been made to look the way it was, and his excessive self-esteem was like the cherry on top of everything.
He was my type, but I knew I wasn’t his.
He’d never paid any att-
But that was when his eyes zapped to me.
They were trained on Prudenzio before, but when he and another soldier started talking about something I couldn’t be bothered to remember, that’s when he glanced and stared at me.
Just like that time I was serving him and his friends, we’d locked our eyes with each other.
I froze. I didn’t know what to do. I knew he was the son of my boss. If he as much as thought I was going to become a nuisance here, he wouldn’t hesitate to fire me.
And that’s not something I could afford. Luca needed me, after all, and I was his only light.
Prudenzio then suddenly prodded Angelo, and he finally broke the stare. I could almost thank him now, I thought with a sigh.
I sighed out of pure relief, and went on to do what I’d been told to do, which was to ask Mr. Romani how he would like the new Italian flag to be set up in front of the restaurant.
But for a couple of unnerving seconds, I’d thought the stare was going to last forever.
Angelo
For a moment, I’d deduced her gaze was going to eat me alive. Did she know about the marriage thing already? Did my father finally tell her about it?
Doubtful.
Had he done it, she wouldn’t still be here working as a waitress.
That meant… Well, I didn’t want to think about it that way.
Prudenzio then articulated something about drawing Vinicio out of the Ancelottis’ hideout somehow, and I listened to him, though half of my brain was now focused on Alide. And I hated myself for that.
Why should I be thinking about her when we had no chance of ever making the marriage happen?
And ah, of course. She first needed to be told about it.
It needed to come out of my mouth – that’s what father kept insisting on, anyway. It was what he wanted, even if I was stalling for as long as I could.
Someone blurted something about a shootout near the Ancelottis’ hideout while I still thought about Alide.
She’d looked so gorgeous and angelic, even in her waitress uniform.
There was something about it – maybe it was the lack of makeup – that brought the best out of her. She had no idea what was going on, what father wanted, and I really wanted to keep things that way.
That innocent look in her eyes… It was something she wouldn’t continue having if she were to learn about his plans for her.
I nodded and shared, “We’ll get him out of there.”
They all dipped their heads too, showing me they understood what was at stake, and I then sauntered back to my bedroom. I grabbed a book, sat on the bed and began to read it.
Infertility Doesn’t Have To Be A Problem.
Yeah, right. I need to control this obsession, I reprimanded myself for still having this book.
Nevertheless, pushing that thought to the sidelines for now, it was not like the people who wrote this knew what was going on.
For the most part, it didn’t have to be an issue, but after the marriage and if Alide wanted a child of our own, I didn’t know if I would have the courage to tell her we just couldn’t make it happen.
Or I could simply avoid the subject while we kept trying. By then, my father would be dead and Alide would just think we hadn’t been having any luck.
Maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal after all…
I closed the book and read the author’s name. This guy understood nothing about it, if he even was a dude. So many authors used pen names these days to hide their true identities, after all.
I went to the balcony of the restaurant and smoked. As I watched the people down below, the cars, and admired the buildings, I conjectured what the future held in store for Alide here.
The sun began to set in the distance, and the customers had started to leave the establishment. Little Italy grew a bit silent and serene as the minutes went by.
Maybe half an hour or an hour had already passed since I opened the book, I thought before tossing the cigarette butt over the balcony and strutting back inside. I took the stairs down to the ground floor and heard a faint sound.
It was of something or someone rustling.
Somebody could be changing clothes, or maybe it was one of the Ancelottis having funny ideas about sneaking in here to kill my father.
I pulled out my Colt and peeked inside the room.
That’s when my pupils landed on her. Alide.
It was the first time I was seeing her naked like this. Well, not fully naked. She had her bra and panties on, and was in the process of putting on her jeans pants. Still, that was the most of her I had ever seen until this moment, and I couldn’t help but feel my cock hardening.
Control yourself, Angelo. She isn’t for you.
Yeah, I knew that, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t contemplate beauty when it was exposed like this.
She had curves to make most women envious of her, and she was even more striking than Tiziana. The innocence in her eyes was something I couldn’t find easily elsewhere. It was alien, and it should be protected.
Problem was, by putting her here and forcing me to approach her, father was ending all that.
She had a hair I had never seen before. It shone brightly under the soft light of the room she was in, and it looked smooth like silk.
I knew she was poor and, thus, also probably didn’t tend to use many beauty products to keep it that way. And considering she had been working here for eight hours straight today, the quality of her hair was a testament to her natural splendor.
I sighed and put my gun back in my waistband. She had just finished putting on her black top and was going to leave the Bello Italiano. I padded out of there without making much noise and before she could realize I’d been spying on her.
No point letting her know I was nearby, I warned myself. She felt so distant, and I just had no chance of making us work.
Father will, one day, just have to understand that.
✽ ✽ ✽
I took the stairs and swaggered down to the ground floor. Alide had been working for us for some months now, and dad had been just as persistent as usual about me telling her about the marriage.
He had many other things to occupy his time, like Vinicio and the Ancelottis, and so, he hadn’t been pestering me much about the wedding.
Outside, the sun was glowing like a hot spotlight, and the street was teeming with people and all kinds of vehicles.
I rounded a corner and was heading to the parking space behind the establishment. I needed to get my car and drive to the bowling alley Prudenzio was.
He enunciated to me before he had somet
hing important about Vinicio to tell me. It will make getting him out of there much easier was what he’d informed me over the phone.
And that was when, abruptly, I picked up her voice. Alide.
She was in the kitchen room, talking with someone over the phone. I couldn’t see her, but her voice was as clear as day. I could also pick up some scattered words from her friend too.
They mattered nothing to me, though. What was of great importance was learning what Alide herself was beaming about.
I leaned on the wall of the room which helped to compose the hall, and listened.
“Rita, I had no idea you have a boyfriend. I thought you were over dating.”
Strangely enough, leaning on the wall and closing my eyes made me capable of making out the words from who I assumed to be her friend. Rita? I could almost be certain I had heard that name before. Maybe my father had mentioned her once months or years ago. Alide didn’t have a mom anymore, after all.
“Yeah, I know. But he’s getting so fat and is also refusing to get a haircut. I need to do something about him.”
“But do what? If he’s your boyfriend, then I’m assuming you like him.”
“Yeah, I do, but I began dating him partially because he had perfect abs. Seeing him in his current condition is so depressing…”
Alide chuckled. It sounded like the most charming chuckle I had heard in quite a while, and it brought a gentle smirk to my face.
“You know, I don’t really care about someone’s looks that much. I mean, it matters for an initial attraction, but after that, I want something more substantial, but that’s just my opinion.”
“Alide, stop with that bullshit. You are making me cry. I don’t want to give up on him. It’s just that…” She stopped for a moment. “I can’t go out anymore with my friends without them making fun of me.”
Alide chuckled again, and it sounded just as adorable as the first time. “Forget about them. I’m the only friend you need.”
“You are right. You are a precious jewel, and I don’t know what I’d been doing right now without you.”
Alide chuckled adorably again. “Look, Rita. Just speak with him. Tell him what’s bothering you. If he likes you that much, he will listen and change.”
A moment of silence as Rita digested her friend’s advice.
“Alright, Alide. Thanks. I’ll do that.”
“And just for the record, I also don’t really care about things people can’t control. Some people are born with problems they can do nothing about. It’s okay. We all have things we wished we could change.”
There was a long, audible side on the other side of the phone. “You are right, Alide. You are a good girl. I need to go now. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Okay, see ya.”
They completed the call, which meant I needed to resume heading to the parking space behind the Bello Italiano.
Huh. I hadn’t thought, when I halted by the wall, that I was going to hear Alide babbling about how problems people could do nothing about didn’t bother her.
I knew the connection was silly, but I thought back to my infertility.
It was something I could do nothing about, and I had been doing a lot of research on the subject, so I knew my conclusion was most likely the right one.
If only I weren’t sterile… It was the only thing about myself that cracked my confidence. If father or Tiziana were to find out I couldn’t make a woman pregnant…
Well, let’s just say the outcome wouldn’t be nice.
Still, it was reassuring to know Alide would probably not be bothered by that. Maybe marrying her wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.
Chapter 8
Shattering False Perceptions
Alide
Ichecked the time on my phone. Six in the morning. Wow, I got here way too early, I thought before opening the front door. I didn’t need the key. It was already open. Maybe Fantino had already arrived and was changing to his work attire.
If he were here, then I couldn’t wait to chat with him.
I had something very crucial and good to tell him. I had finally saved up enough money to buy a PS4 for Luca!
But that’s when my ears picked up a discussion. It was heated, fiery. Two men were as if they were going to rip each other’s throat out with their bare hands. I froze where I stood, not knowing if I should proceed or take a stroll in Times Square to kill some time until it was 6:30.
I shook my head and thought there was no point in wasting time. It would be good to do some things beforehand to make the day feel less convoluted.
I couldn’t help but notice how their heated discussion was the only thing cracking the otherwise serene atmosphere in Little Italy.
Everyone else was either napping or having breakfast right now, I considered, though I quickly shoved the thought away. No point thinking about something like that at this moment.
I walked to the small changing room they had by the kitchen when I recognized who was discussing with you.
It was Mr. Romani and his son, and I was now close enough to make out their words.
“It’s been months and you still haven’t told her anything.”
“You are not making this easier on me!”
“I should have known you were a pussy.”
What the fuck were they arguing about?
“Forget it. I’m leaving now.”
“No, you are not.”
I heard a loud thud, which probably came from Mr. Romani slamming the door closed.
Witnessing him so pissed off like that made me afraid of him. Of course he could be like that. He was the Don of his mafia family, after all.
I shouldn’t have let his excessive gentleness make me think highly of him. He probably killed many people and committed so many other crimes I most likely couldn’t even imagine how many they were.
“You need to tell her about the marriage. She can’t continue to be left in the limbo like that.”
“I’ll do it, father, when the time’s right.”
“And when will that be? I thought I had raised you better. You are just stalling.”
“I’m not. It’s just not easy. Nothing of this is.”
An arranged wedding? I wondered who he was going to marry.
And… there went any chance I had of ever getting as much as a date with him. Internally, I cried. I should have known his father had already chosen the woman that will marry him. That’s how the Mafia operated, after all.
“Well, then stop being a coward and just tell her, or else I’m going to have to do it myself.”
A moment of silence, and then, Angelo spoke, “About Vinicio…”
“Tell me you know a way to get him out of there.”
“I do, and it will work. Don’t worry about it. I’ll bring him back.”
“You better do. I’m not in the habit of letting the Ancelottis think they got me with my pants down. They are going to regret what they did.”
“Father, I spoke to him. Vinicio is frightened. He swore he’s not telling the Ancelottis anything about us. He still cares about the family.”
“Like hell he does! He’s nothing more than a traitor, and when I get my hands on h-”
“Please, just let us first get him out of there, and then we can decide what to do with him.”
“Why? You think you can convince me he’s not a rat? If it’s not the Ancelottis he’s consorting with, then it will be the feds, and I can’t risk the wellbeing of our family more than it already is.”
Vinicio? I remembered that name...
So, he’s hunting down his own brother? An immense wave of pity for him flooded my heart. I had no idea he was being forced to do something like that.
I thought back to Luca. I would never be able to lay a finger on him, much less chase him with a gun in my hand
“Nothing, father.” Angelo lamented. “I’m going now.”
Silence, and then, the door crept open. I finally moved and strode away to the changing room
by the kitchen.
But when I crossed the hallway, I almost collided against him. It was a good thing he dodged me at the last second.
Fire and ice stormed in his eyes at the same time. He examined me for a second, and I evaluated I could see something different about his stare, as if there was a problem consuming his mind.
Maybe it was his brother? I could only guess what was going on in a mind like his.
“Sorry, Alide.” He stepped aside and continued, “Good to see you here again.”
Those sentences were already more than what we spoke to each other in months. And I couldn’t help but love the tone and intensity of his voice.
Despite having just had a heated discussion with his father, he managed to recompose himself in a matter of seconds.
The front door opened and closed. His father was inside his office room, and I could hear the sound of a pen writing on paper.
He was working.
On what, I had no idea, but it had to be something related to his Mafia business.
I wondered, though, what woman Angelo was going to marry, and why he felt so reluctant to tell her the truth. I kind of felt some pity for him.
It was clear as day his arranged wedding was consuming him from the inside out, after all…
Angelo
I pulled over and got out of the car. I checked my Colt. It was there, loaded and ready. I needed to talk to this man – John – about getting some guns. We were planning a shootout outside the Ancelottis’ dominated neighborhood to draw most of them out.
During the confusion, I would snatch Vinicio out of there and convince father not to hurt him.
That was my strategy.
Lower Manhattan was teeming with people and cars, as usual. The sky wasn’t overcast, but it had enough cumulus clouds to block a good portion of the sunlight. I had to dodge and zig-zag my way through the many people on the sidewalk.
For the first time in my life, I wished John lived somewhere less crowded. Better to hide in plain sight, I could almost hear him reprimanding me.
I circumnavigated a corner and stopped dead.
A man grunted and complained about me being in his way, but I paid no attention to him. I had seen her. Alide.
