Friends in High Places

by Toni DeMaio

  At first I couldn’t believe it when Daddy said we couldn’t go because we were imposing on Kat because I know we aren’t. Kat loves to have us around. Kids know when they’re wanted and I don’t know why daddy can’t see that too. If only they would make up and be friends again…

  I don’t know exactly what happened between them but I hope it isn’t because he’s friends with Isabella too because even I can tell Daddy doesn’t like her like that. I think he likes Kat a lot more and for some reason that doesn’t bother me. It’s probably because I really like Kat too. It’s not like she’s some random stranger. She’s amazing and she gets me and…I just wish…I don’t know… I can’t think straight.

  “Tori, did your dad say it was okay for you and Anthony and your cousins to spend the night with me tomorrow night?” Kat asked as if she could read my thoughts.

  She’s the best; she didn’t forget. Gia and I shot a look at each other. “I asked him,” I said, “But he thinks we’re imposing on you.”

  “I asked my mom and she already said Sal and I can come,” Gia said quickly.

  “That’s great, Gia,” Kat said, putting an arm around each of us and pulling us both a little closer, “And I’m sure I can convince your dad to let you and Anthony come, too. I’ll speak to him at the restaurant.”

  We were so lucky to have Kat. I just tried not to worry about what Uncle Mario would do when he found out we’d outsmarted him again. Thank God the boys will be safe with us.

  “What are you all planning?” Mrs. Donovan asked, “I hope you’re not leaving me out?”

  “I’m having all of the kids at my place tomorrow night for a sleep-over,” Kat said. “You’re always welcome, Mom.”

  “Well, I hope you aren’t planning all that fun without me,” Mrs. Donovan said, “And I’ve got a really great idea about what we can do tomorrow.” She turned in her seat to beam at us, “I’m going to decorate the Bed and Breakfast for Christmas this weekend and I’d absolutely love to have all of you help me. Would you girls like that? We can start early in the morning and then we can bake Christmas cookies, we’ll get KFC for dinner like last time and then have the cookies and hot chocolate by the fire in the evening, with all the decorations lit up. How does that sound?”

  “Perfect,” I said, and Gia agreed.

  “That would be great, Mom,” Kat said, “And we can all do each other’s hair and nails, too, if we have time.”

  “And I’ll bring super hero movies to watch with the boys while you girls are busy baking us cookies,” Mr. Potter added.

  This really does feel perfect, and I don’t think I’ve been this happy since my mom died. Maybe if I pray really hard Uncle Mario will just give up and go away, or maybe if it’s really windy tomorrow morning a tree will fall on him and life can go back to normal. Then Gia and I can just be regular kids again.

  ***

  To be sure to avoid Uncle Mario, Gia and I shadowed Kat and Mrs. Donovan into the restaurant and for most of the evening we managed to stay out of his way. He ended up sitting at a different table with Aunt Carmella and Uncle Jimmy because there wasn’t enough room for him at ours.

  I don’t think anyone in the family likes him that much anymore except maybe Aunt Lisa and I think she’s getting sick of him too, because no one ever saves him a seat at our family parties. I’m thinking Aunt Lisa won’t be as upset as Gia thinks she will be when the truth comes out about him, because even though Gia hopes it doesn’t come to that, I can’t see any other way to stop him.

  We’re going to have to blow up his world or we’ll never be safe again and then it will really be over for him around here. He might as well run away, kill himself, or face jail time. I know I wouldn’t want to be him when Daddy and my uncles find out the truth.

  The more I think about it it’s hard to believe Aunt Lisa is really happy being married to him because she isn’t stupid and even though he puts on an act, he looks angry and miserable most of the time. And who would want to live with that?

  Aunt Lisa looks really beautiful tonight with her hair halfway down her back in curls, and I notice Mr. Potter thinks so too. He looks like he likes her a lot more than he should and Gia told me a secret about them. She said her mom has pictures of the two of them from high school in the back of her closet and it looks like they used to be boyfriend and girlfriend.

  Aunt Lisa’s nice to everyone, but it does seem like she’s spending a lot of time at our table tonight, laughing and joking around with Kat and Lilly, Tom and Dad… and especially Mr. Potter.

  The other thing that seems funny is that even though Isabella is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, none of the men at our table seem to notice her that much or pay extra attention to her. I felt bad for her, so when she got up to go to the bathroom, I went with her. She showed me some make-up tips while she fixed up her make-up and I hope someday I’m half as pretty as she is.

  “I have some light peach lip gloss that would be perfect for your coloring, Tori, and I don’t think your papa would object.”

  “I’m hoping he won’t even notice,” I said, standing very still so it wouldn’t smear when she dabbed it on and then I checked myself in the mirror, “Thanks, Isabella,” I said, “I love it!”

  I did look just a little different…but in a good way.

  “You’re so pretty,” she said, handing me the lip gloss. “And I love your gorgeous hair.”

  “It’s different,” I said, pulling on my curls, “I don’t mind the color but it’s hard to do anything with all these curls but tie them back,” I said.

  “I bet Kat can give you some good ideas because her hair is exactly like yours. It’s almost as if you are related to each other.”

  I stared at myself in the mirror thinking about what she’d just said. I really did have the same hair as Kat and we even looked alike; a lot alike.

  “You know I’m adopted,” I said without thinking about it first, “Sometimes I wonder what my birth mother is like. She probably looks a lot like Kat.”

  Isabella looked surprised as she sank down on the little velvet-covered bench Nonna has there in the restroom. She pulled me down next to her. “I didn’t know you were adopted,” she said, in a quiet voice. “So your parents loved you so much they chose you to be their daughter. That’s very special. And then they were able to have little Anthony?”

  I nodded.

  “I’ve heard that happens often. You made your mama so happy she was able to get pregnant.”

  “That’s what they told me,” I said, “And they told me I was adopted when I was a tiny baby so it never has bothered me…it’s just that…now that my mom isn’t here I wonder what my birth mom was like and where she is now and if she wonders about me, too…If I had a little baby I would never give it up.”

  Isabella squeezed my hand, “I’m sure she thinks about you all the time, Dolce Bambina. She had to have loved you very much to give you to two good parents. It’s a sacrifice of love to bear a child and give it the gift of a good home when you know you are too young, or not in the right circumstances to provide for a baby.”

  I nodded and looked into Isabella’s eyes. Her lips were always smiling, but not her eyes, and tonight they were especially sad. “Are you happy here, Isabella? Do you miss your home and family?”

  “Very much,” she whispered, “And I miss Luigi the most of all. He was my fiancé but when the time came for us to plan our wedding he decided to postpone it indefinitely. Instead of marrying me he decided to accept an offer to go to Milan and sing lead tenor at La Scala.”

  “Really? That’s so cool. I mean, he’s like a star now! He must have a really great voice. But you do too, Isabella, so why didn’t you go with him?”

  She frowned and stared down at her hands. “It would not have been the proper thing for me to do. My family would never have agreed to let me go, and I was not yet finished with my studies. He left me behind and even though he said he would come back to see me and someday we would be married he turned out
to be too busy to even take the time to come home for visits. I waited six months and then I showed him I wasn’t going to just wait around forever and I left the engagement ring with his mama in Naples and came here to America to pursue my own goals in life.”

  I squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

  She smiled at me. “It’s okay now, Bambina. I like America. There is much opportunity for me here. I’m being praised for my singing and I will graduate this June. I have found I would rather teach voice and do musical therapy than perform. I am not like Luigi. I don’t need a spotlight to make my happiness.”

  “So you haven’t heard from him at all?”

  She shrugged and stood to gather her make-up from the counter and put it back in her purse. “He has called several times but I am the busy one now. I don’t have time to talk to him. And I haven’t opened his letters. He has made his choice and now we must both live with it.”

  “Well, our family is glad to have you here.”

  She beamed at me. “You have all been wonderful to me, especially your nice papa. He has been like…”

  At that moment Kat breezed through the door and stopped suddenly, looking a little embarrassed, probably because she heard Isabella saying nice things about daddy.

  “Gino asked me to check on the two of you,” she said, “The band is getting ready for your song, Isabella.”

  “She was just fixing up her make-up,” I said.

  “I’m looking forward to hearing you sing, Mama Maria says we’re in for a treat,” Kat said, pulling the door open and slipping her hand in mine as we all three turned to leave and instead, nearly ran right into Uncle Mario who was standing right up against the door, listening to our conversation; sneaking around like the weirdo he is…

  “Oh!” Kat said, startled as we took a step back from him. “Are you okay, Mario? You must know the men’s room is in the other direction.”

  Looking scared at first, he pulled himself together and flashed a fake smile. “I’m sorry I startled you. I was coming to see if Tori’s okay. We were all missing her out there.”

  “I’m fine,” I said, glaring back at him. If looks could kill he’d have fallen dead on the floor.

  I felt Kat stiffen beside me as she drew me closer. And that was when I could tell Kat knew for certain something is crazy wrong with Uncle Mario. Yes! I thought, Gia and the boys and I will need as many good people on our side as possible. I’ll have a lot to write in my diary tonight. It was the one place I could say everything I’ve been thinking.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  KAT

  As we exited the restroom, Tori held my hand tightly; as if she needed my protection. There was no denying Mario was bad news. Just how dangerous he might be, or become, remained to be seen, but I was determined to make certain Tori and the rest of the Rossi kids were kept safe from him. I hoped Gino wasn’t so done with me that he wouldn’t listen to what I had to tell him because I saw no other way than to tell him of my suspicions along with what I’d observed the day of the victory party.

  ***

  Isabella sang like an angel on the little stage at the rear of the restaurant. We’d all turned our chairs around to see her better and I had to admit I’d never heard ‘Oh, Holy Night’ sung any better.

  I glanced over at Gino to see if he agreed with me and our eyes met and locked. Unable to look away, I was caught and held by what I saw in Gino’s deep, dark eyes. He had regrets, and I got the strong sense he did care for me. What man in his right mind would be sending me messages with his eyes when a beauty like Isabella was singing her heart out under a spotlight right in front of him? How confusing.

  Then Mom slipped up behind me and leaned in to whisper, “Apparently God has a sense of humor because he gave Isabella talent too. I guess one super power wasn’t enough.”

  I giggled; then whispered back, “She’s pretty amazing, but I have a problem a lot worse than Isabella.”

  Mom dropped into the empty chair beside me, “What?”

  “The other afternoon at the Victory party at Lisa Rossi’s I happened to step into the yard to see what Tori and Anthony were up to out there, and I walked in on a nasty scene between Mario and all the Rossi kids. Both of the little boys were crying and it was just awful. Luckily Lisa came running and I knew she’d get to the bottom of it so I got the kids out of there as fast as I could.”

  Mom looked pale and she cleared her throat, then spoke, “What happened, Kat? What did he do?”

  “He was being an asshole, as usual. Tori and Gia looked really scared, but it didn’t stop Tori from blurting out that he’d just kicked both Sal and Anthony head-first into a metal garbage can and that’s why they were crying.”

  Mom didn’t look surprised so I asked, “Did you know about this?”

  “I knew something was up with him and the kids, and that he’d hurt the boys because Brian and I overheard a terrible fight in the kitchen between Lisa and Mario soon after you and the kids came back into the party. She was really giving him hell and we got the impression their honeymoon is over and if Mario doesn’t shape up, she’s shipping him out. At least that’s what she told him.”

  “Wow,” I said, “Do you think Gino knows?”

  “Brian and I agreed that I should say something to him about what we overheard so tonight after the tree lighting I pulled him aside and told him about the bad fight between his sister and Mario that we almost walked in on. He confided in me that he doesn’t care for Mario and he said he was going to get to the bottom of it. I know he wasn’t aware Mario was hurting the boys because, I doubt he’d let him baby-sit any of the kids ever again. I think we should both tell him everything we know.”

  I nodded. “You’re right. We owe it to the kids.”

  “And I’m going to volunteer to have them all stay with me at the bed and breakfast every Saturday night from now on. That way Lisa can work in peace.”

  “Great idea, Mom, and you know I’ll be there, too. I’d love to spend weekends with the kids. And when you and Brian want an evening out together, they can all come to my place.”

  Mom squeezed my hand, nodded and we grinned at each other.

  “Let’s tell Gino and Lisa together when the show’s over.”

  ***

  “Are you f'ing kidding me?” Gino asked, scanning the crowd for Mario. “I’m sorry, Lisa, but I’m going to have a little talk with your husband. And this is the end of his babysitting days. The kids can all stay with me when you work Saturday nights.”

  Mom and I had just taken a leap and told Gino everything we knew about Mario and his treatment of the boys and he was as angry as I’d expected he would be, but he was louder than I’d hoped and starting to cause heads to turn.

  He’d called Lisa over immediately and confronted her. All Mom and I could do was stand there and back up what we’d said. Lisa looked stressed and stricken at the same time.

  “But sometimes you have to show property late on the weekend, Gino,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. “You can’t tell your clients they can’t make an offer on a property on a Saturday afternoon because you have to cut out and go baby-sit! I’ll handle Mario. You stay out of it.”

  “Hell, I will,” Gino said.

  “Please, Gino,” Lisa pleaded, and I felt terrible for her. She was in a bad situation. “ Listen…I’ll just tell Ma I can’t work weekends anymore, that’s all.”

  Then Mom broke into the conversation. “But why not let me keep the children on Saturday nights. I’d enjoy it so much, and I know they love to come to the Bed and Breakfast. We always have a wonderful time together, isn’t that right, Kat?” Mom asked.

  “We do!” I said quickly, and I want to help out too. And when Mom and Brian want an evening out, the kids can stay with me at my place. I hope you’ll both say yes. It would mean the world to me.”

  Gino looked at me funny, “Why would it mean so much to you, Kat? You’re young and should keep your weekends free. I don’t think Brian Jr
. would like this plan of yours.”

  “Why would he have an opinion?” I challenged him. “It doesn’t have anything to do with him. My time is my own, Gino. And there isn’t anything else I’d rather be doing than spending time with all of your kids.”

  Lisa put her hand on my arm and grabbed mom’s hand with her other one. “You are both Angels…but we take care of our own, and Gino and I will work this out. But thank you both for your kind offer.”

  “What’s going on?” Mario asked, suddenly appearing over Lisa’s shoulder. “I could hear you guys going at it all the way across the room.”

  “Step outside with me, Mario,” Gino said, his eyes flashing, “And I’ll explain everything to you.”

  Mario shrugged and started to follow Gino toward the door when Mama Maria swept over and stopped them both in their tracks. “Wait a minute, Gino, I couldn’t help but hear you all discussing who should have the kids on Saturday nights and I’ve come to an executive decision.”

  Mama Maria was the kind of a woman you didn’t contradict so we all waited to hear what she had to say. She reached out and pulled Mario close to her first, holding him firmly around his shoulders, even though she only came up to his chest.

  “From what I hear, Mario, you need a break from babysitting so I have decided you should be the weekend chef now. Giovanni has been begging for some weekends off so he will get his wish. You’re taking over as the weekend chef. Giovanni can cover days on Monday and Tuesday, and you and Lisa will have the same days off.”

  Mario looked mad as he tried to pull away from Mama Maria, but, she didn’t loosen her grip or lose her smile. “And the best part, Mario, is that you will be given a new title of Head Chef and with that honor comes a raise in pay!”

  “That’s wonderful, Mama,” Lisa said, glowing with relief. “Isn’t that wonderful, Mario.”

  He backed away from the group and broke Mama’s grip on him. “Not really. I didn’t ask for a promotion and I’m the only father Gia and Sal have now and I don’t appreciate how you Rossi’s make all the decisions around here. Forget about head chef, I am the head of my house and I need to be consulted in all decisions regarding those kids. This isn’t decided yet and I intend to stay with them, as planned, tomorrow night.” And with that he spun and stalked out the door.