by Ava Catori
But then again, while I was in town, I couldn’t avoid dropping in on my mother. And dinner at her new favorite place sounded like a good idea when she offered. After all, I hadn’t eaten much earlier. Gino had been the best appetite suppressant ever.
“It’s bad enough that I need to worry about your father not eating right in prison,” she added as an afterthought.
Seriously? That’s what she was worried about? That he wouldn’t be getting proper nutrition while he was locked away? I took a big breath and let it out slowly. I wished I knew how she did it. At that moment, I would have taken a one-way ticket to the land of denial and never looked back. Yeah, I’d be happy to be like her, oblivious to everything that annoys me.
When I told her that my taking a job in Ocean Crest was responsible for putting my father in the mess he was in, the only thing she heard was that I was back on the East Coast and within driving distance from her.
I observed her savor the bite of veal parmigiano she’d just put into her mouth and wondered what it would take to smack away her pink colored glasses.
“Do you know the Guarnieris?” I asked without bothering to whisper. We were in a corner booth and the noise level of the restaurant was such that I didn’t have to worry about anyone listening in on our conversation.
My mother’s eyes flew open. “Of course, I know them. I went to high school with them. Two boys and one girl.” She looked up as if searching for something in her memory. “Roberto, Dante, and Francesca. I haven’t thought about them in ages.”
“Do you still see them?” I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for, but it was worth a try. Maybe they all went to the same church or something, but no. My mother shook her head.
“I was friendly enough with Francesca, but we lost touch after she got married. Her husband is Irish, you know.” The last sentence was whispered as if being Irish was some sort of shameful disease. “Dante is the only one who’s still around. He took over the family business after his father retired.”
“What happened to the other brother?” I asked.
“Oh, Roberto, he became a priest,” she answered. “A shame really because he was a very handsome and kind young man.” She shuddered and added, “The polar opposite of their father. What a dreadful man he was, or is. The dreadful man is still around. I see him at church every single Sunday. People like him never die!”
Nicer memories came back to her and she spilled them out with a large smile. “I remember people used to joke that such a sweet boy couldn’t possibly be Domenico Guarnieri’s son. But the only other man Domenico allowed his wife to spend time with was her confessor and…” she stopped for an instant and blurted out, “Oh! I never thought of it before, but Roberto could be the son of his mother’s priest! That would explain the religious calling. Do you think it could be hereditary?”
I looked at my mother and wondered if she was joking or not. With her, it was hard to tell. She could be dead serious while making the most absurd observation. It was not that she was an idiot; it was just that the words usually flew out of her mouth before her brain had a chance to process them.
I was about to point out that if religious vocations were hereditary, we would have ran out of priests and nuns a while back since most of them don’t reproduce, when a blond woman caught my eyes.
Tiffany was crossing the room. What was she doing here? I scanned the room for Hunter but he was nowhere to be seen. I breathed out. The last thing I wanted was to introduce the Ocean Crest people to my family, because that would make it look like there was indeed a conspiracy to take over their territory.
Half listening to my mother who was now listing all the very religious families she knew as evidence of a possible mystic gene, I waited for Tiffany to come out of the ladies’ room. When she did, I watched her walk to a table on the other side of the restaurant. It was a table for two. As soon as she neared it, a man stood and held her chair for her. Mister Good Manners was a good ten years older than her and not bad looking. I thought about a young looking father but quickly chased that possibility away.
They weren’t sitting across each other, but side by side. And there was no doubt the man was taken with her since he grabbed one of her hands as soon as he returned to his seat.
Tuning out my mother’s chatter completely, I observed them until I had no doubt they were more than friends. Their attitude made it very clear. She was all but pushing her breasts in his face. He looked as if he’d like nothing better than to dive into her cleavage.
“Do you think he’s going to jump her on the table?” my mother asked, startling me. She’d followed my gaze and was staring at Tiffany and her companion. “Notice how his right hand vanished under the table?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. When it came to that type of thing, my mother was indeed very observant. And she did have a point. The guy’s hand seemed to be reaching interesting territory, because Tiffany was starting to blush. When she bit her lower lip and appeared out of breath, my mother and I turned our eyes away. That’s when I learned that neither of us had voyeuristic interests.
“Now you have to order one of the tiramisus,” she purred. “I tasted the traditional one last time and it was heavenly, but now I noticed on the menu that they have one with raspberry. I think you should order it.”
“Okay, one raspberry tiramisu,” I agreed. “And what about you? What will you have?”
“Oh I’ll take the coffee one, of course, so we can share!” She laughed as if she had not a care in the world.
A few minutes later, we were devouring the scrumptious desserts we’d shared and the pure pleasure of it took my mind off my trouble.
It washed all the worries away until my mother pointed to Tiffany’s table with a movement of the chin. “Oh look, Blondie’s getting mouth to mouth resuscitation!” She shook her shoulders and started on a diatribe about the loss of manners of my generation while I wondered how I was ever going to manage to look at Hunter tomorrow.
It wasn’t my job to tell him, but clearly keeping my mouth shut would be difficult.
* * *
12
Hunter
I picked up my father and together we headed up to the hospital. It was the big day. Aidan was coming home. Ryder had his hands full, so I told him to just worry about his wife and child, and we’d gather up the gifts and flowers.
On arriving, we were met with a doctor entering Barbara’s room. She needed a simple discharge, and we’d be good to go.
“Good morning. How are you feeling today?” His face was somber, not something you want to see in a hospital.
“I’m tired, but otherwise excited to go home.” She winked at me and I took it to mean that she was itching to sleep beside her husband.
He nodded. “It’s to be expected. You’ll get your energy back shortly. I’m going to discharge you. A nurse will be in to go over the paperwork, but everything looks good on our end. Unfortunately, we need to keep your baby here a little while longer.”
“What’s going on?” Ryder’s tone grew edgy.
“It appears your son has a heart murmur. Now, most are innocent and can be common, but he has a murmur we’d like to investigate further.” The doctor didn’t leave them any time to digest the information. He continued, “I see that you filled out your family’s medical history, but it’s not complete, is it?”
Barbara spoke up. “We gave you everything we have. I don’t know who my father is.”
“I see.” He paused for a moment. “We're going to keep Aidan here a little longer and have a pediatric cardiologist run some tests. He could be fine, but you need to be aware it might also mean a congenital heart defect. We really won't know until we do further testing.
“I understand it's traumatic to hear news like this, but I wanted to be open. You have a right to know what's going on. Now, he doesn't show signs of a significant problem. His feeding and breathing are okay, so it may be that he'll grow out of it. We feel it's best try to find answers, before sending him on
his way.”
“What are you looking for?” Ryder ran his hands through his hair. The rest of him was so still it looked as if someone had cemented his feet to the floor. The color had drained from his face.
The doctor’s calm demeanor helped. “It could be anything from abnormalities of the valves or flow, or other issues like heart muscle disorders. A septal defect has to do with the walls of the chambers. Once we learn more, I'll be able to offer you detailed information. I’m sorry to bring this news on the day you expected to go home, but we’ve just heard the murmur, and I truly don’t feel comfortable sending him home with you today.”
“When will we know more?” Barbara batted her eyes trying to stop the tears that silently slid down her face. “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care if you discharge me. I refuse to go home before he does.”
“Of course you can stay with him as long as you want, but it would do you good to go home and rest for a bit before you come back. We’ll do the tests today, maybe tomorrow, and get the results to you as soon as we have them. Please double check that the numbers we have on file for you are correct, and see if there’s any other family history we’ll want to know about.” With that, he turned to leave. Just before walking out the door, he turned slowly. “Try to remain optimistic. It could be nothing.”
Ryder nodded. He stepped closer to Barbara and squeezed her hand.
Once the doctor left the room, we were alone. “I’m so sorry,” I offered. It didn’t feel big enough.
Barbara closed her eyes. “He’s going to be okay. He has to be.”
Ryder leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Whatever comes along, we’ll tackle it together.”
If now wasn’t the time, there would be no other. I turned to my father. “Okay, enough already with the mystery. I don’t care what you swore, we’re dealing with your grandson’s health. Tell them what you know!”
Dad looked down avoiding my gaze. “It’s complicated.”
“Please don’t tell me it’s you,” Ryder shot out.
“No, of course not!”
“But you know the answer? You knew all along and you never said anything. Please, do it for your grandson, Dad. He could be in trouble. You can’t hold back.”
“I made a promise.” Dad turned away, torn over the complication. “I don’t know what to do.”
Barbara pleaded. “Dylan, please. My baby needs you. If we knew more…please.”
My father took a long deep breath and sighed. He nodded and admitted he had answers. Dad couldn’t let his grandson down even if he’d made a promise all those years ago. He would do whatever it took to help that baby.
“Dad,” Ryder nudged.
“Barbara, your father is Roberto Guarnieri,” he said letting out another heavy sigh.
“Wait, isn’t Roberto Guarnieri a priest?” Ryder shook his head confused.
“Are you telling us it’s Tony’s uncle?” I added.
Dad dropped his gaze. “Yeah, you can see the conundrum.”
“How did… what did... how did you know about this?” Barbara tripped over her words. “My father is a priest? That doesn’t make any sense.”
My father dropped into the armchair, showing he surrendered. He knew he’d have to fill in the details. “It started-”
A nurse walked into the room. “Good morning, I’m here to go over your discharge orders and then you’re free to go.”
Everyone stared at the nurse. Her timing couldn’t have been worse. We were on pins and needles, but waited for her to finish, thanked her, and then turned back to Dad.
“Domenico Guarnieri is your grandfather,” he said addressing Barbara. “He wanted his boys to go into the family business, and while your father started in it, he decided to break free. He hated the violence, which went against everything he wanted to stand for.”
Dad closed his eyes and stayed silent for an instant.
“He hated the business, hated all of it, and decided to become a priest. He wanted to make up for the sins that his family had committed. Just like that, one morning he woke up and turned his life around. Anyway, shortly before he entered the seminary, things had happened with Barbara’s mother. The rest is history.”
We were stunned into silence.
Dad looked down again. “I only know all of this, because one night after your mother passed, Barbara’s mother came to visit me. She was … not herself when she showed up on my doorstep. She was looking for something I wasn’t offering. She spilled a world of secrets at my feet. I set her up with some coffee and drove her back home.” He stood, shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at Barbara again. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
My father was now paler than Ryder. Barbara was raw. Not only was her father a priest but he was a member of a crime family.
Ryder shook. I couldn’t tell if it was with anger or frustration. It was too much to take in between the news of Barbara’s father and Aidan’s health crisis.
I turned the focus back to Aidan. We’d figure out the rest later.
* * *
13
Gia
The office was deserted when I arrived. It was too early to call Barbara or Ryder. After spending their first night at home with a newborn, they had to be exhausted. I turned on the lights, started the coffee machine, and fired up my computer. It was still booting when Hunter arrived. He looked like someone who hadn’t slept most of the night. Had Tiffany dumped him? He grunted something that sounded like hello and dropped in his chair.
I looked at him from my side of our partner’s desk and asked, “Coffee?”
Without waiting for his answer, I got up and prepared our cups, mine all black and bitter, the Italian way, and his loaded with cream and sugar. I put his mug on his desk, and he mumbled a thank you.
“Did you see Barbara yesterday?” I asked. “I didn’t get a chance to call and check on her.”
Hunter looked up from the desk. “Oh, you haven’t heard?”
I shook my head. I was filled with dread. He wasn’t upset about Tiffany; it was more serious than that. Something happened to his family.
“The baby’s got a heart problem. They had to keep him for tests,” he said. His tone was so doom and gloom that I was already thinking about the worst possibility.
Before my too vivid imagination took over, I asked him. “What kind of problem?”
“The doctor talked about a heart whisper,” he said holding his cup with two hands and staring at the content as if it were some crystal ball in which he could read the future.
I pondered a second and then I got it. “You mean a heart murmur?”
“Yeah, maybe.” He took a sip and turned paler.
“Are you all right?”
“No, not really. Barbara insisted on spending the night in a chair by her son’s bassinet and she sent Ryder home.”
He paused and drank more coffee. He didn’t need to finish the sentence. I knew how the day must have finished. The three of them went home and drank. Why do men think getting smashed can solve any problem? Of course it may have dulled their worry for a moment, but at what price? If something happened and Barbara called, no one would have been able to get to her. I want to scream at him, but instead I looked at my email.
“My head is killing me,” he said with his little boy’s voice which usually melted my heart.
Well, that day it didn’t work.
I didn’t care that he’d lost his mama at a very young age. I didn’t care that he’d lacked affection and all that jazz. He was a grown man, for god’s sake. He needed to behave like one and not like an ass. I raised my eyes from my screen to find him looking at me with a sad puppy face. I shrugged and looked back at my computer. If he was waiting for me to offer help he could wait all day.
Of course, he knew that being subject to migraines I never go anywhere without all sorts of pain killers. He’d actually made jokes about my handbag being a survival kit he could take with him in case of an apocalypse. If he wanted somethi
ng for his head, all he needed to do was ask. But he didn’t.
The phone rang and he winced as if a drill had gone through his skull. I picked up, and while I was taking a message for Ryder, watched Hunter rest his head on his folded arms. If Ryder was in the same state as his brother, he was going to be useless for twenty-four hours at least. Maybe it was time someone went to check on Barbara.
Hunter didn’t stir when I got up, and he didn’t budge when I turned off the lights. Yep, he was out cold.
During the short drive to the hospital, I wondered what to do. Of course, I could follow Gino’s advice and stay away from all the mess I’d created until he got it fixed. But the thing was, I didn’t trust him anymore. It didn’t really matter to me that he wanted to be the new boss, for all I cared he could become the Capo di tutti Capi as long as he didn’t let my father rot in jail.
The more I thought about it, the less I believed letting him handle the situation on his own was a good idea. I needed to reach out to the Guarnieri family myself. I’d have to call my mother and ask her if she could get me a phone number or at least some sort of introduction through her old girl’s network.
I stopped to pick up donuts, and by the time I parked at the hospital I’d come to a decision. I would meet Mister Guarnieri and make him understand that this was all on me. My father never intended to invade his territory. I would present my sincerest apologies.
I made my way to the pediatric section and found Barbara pacing the hallway. We hugged, and I could see she’d been crying her heart out.
“They’ve taken him for some more tests,” she said.
“Good, so you can come with me and have some breakfast.” I showed her my bag of goodies. She laughed through her tears and followed me to the waiting room. We sat together on one of the battered benches.
“You know a heart murmur is usually not a big deal,” I said while she devoured a Bavarian cream. “I had one when I was born.”
