by Amy Rachiele
“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 prepare to enjoy the reaction I know 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.
End of Part Three
Bonus Epilogue
Megan:
I never thought I’d be sitting in the principal’s office of my high school. Or I guess I should say former high school. The entire campus seems changed now; even the air smells different. I guess it’s the freedom. The walls are lined with the achievements of alumni: medals, certificates, and even a few flags of the teams who won championships over the years.
I’m here to pick up my diploma. I squirm a bit in my chair. It’s a hard uncomfortable, aged, wooden seat meant for students who’ve been called here for discipline. I’ve been waiting for a while for the principal to come back. He wanted to make an extra copy for his files.
Sitting back here in an academic environment reminds me of how I gave up my early acceptance at Notre Dame. Going away to school just didn’t seem to be in the cards for me anymore, especially now. My experiences and the knowledge of my father’s work in the mob underworld have changed my ambitions and perspective. I’m still going to go to college: I just said that I wasn’t to aggravate my mother. I plan on taking classes here at the local college. I think I am going to major in business.
One little phone call to the school from Antonio’s father and I’m walking away with my diploma early. Not that I didn’t earn it. My GPA was a 4.0, and I had more credits than I knew what to do with. Most of my senior year would’ve been spent in study hall or picking up some kind of half-day internship.
As I shift in my stiff chair, a sparkle catches my eye. I look down at my hands and smile. On the finger of my left hand is a gorgeous diamond ring that catches the light with miraculous shine. It has a round center stone with smaller diamonds adorning it in a neat circle. The setting is crisp, shiny platinum.
Engaged at eighteen: never saw that coming. Antonio, my fiancée, wanted me to get something bigger than what I selected. What I picked isn’t small, but it’s not the humongous rock he had in mind. If Antonio got his way, I would need a pedestal to support my finger when I walked, due to the grandiose size of a five-carat diamond.
The principal comes back in shuffling some papers and a fake leather case. He fumbles with the small official rectangular paper that says I am a high school graduate. He attempts to neatly place it in the case, and then enshrouds the corner
s with the provided ribbon.
“Here you go, Megan,” he says nervously as I watch him fumble with the diploma.
The principal finally gets his act together and hands me my certificate. A smile creeps across my face…finally. I’m done. I’m moving on and putting away childish things. I stand up and the principal holds his hand out to me. We shake cordially.
“Thank you,” I say.
“No problem. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate…” He stops when my phone jingles loudly with a text. It’s a rude but automatic reaction to look at the screen.
Antonio’s mom!
I just ordered the flowers for the party. I think u r going to love them
I turn back to the principal and he starts again.
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”
“Thank you,” I say very cordially and smile internally at Mrs. Delisi’s text. I think it’s a good thing when you actually like your future mother-in-law.
*****
Antonio:
“What do you think?” I ask Vito as I walk around scanning the gleaming metal vehicle.
“I don’t know. Whatever.”
“I think she needs something classy. Not something sporty.”
Vito rolls his eyes as the sales clerk pops the hood. We’re checking out a Mercedes sedan, cherry red. The more I look at it, the more I think it’s perfect.
“You think she’ll like it?” I question. I stick my head in the driver’s side window. The smell of new leather bombards me.
“Dude, yes! Who wouldn’t like a brand new benz? Fuckin’ buy it already.” I frown at Vito’s curt-ass behavior.
“Draw up the papers,” I order the salesman, Gino.
“What is up with you?” I ask Vito. The very happy salesman goes into the dealership to print out the endless paperwork that comes with buying a car.
“Nothin’, I just hate buying cars. It takes fuckin’ forever.”
“You wouldn’t be acting so shitty if we were shopping for a ride for your girlfriend,” I mock.
“Fuck you!” he spits at me.
“Oh, yeah, you don’t have a girlfriend… ass!” I taunt.
“Neither do you. You have a fiancée,” he hurtles at me a little too viciously for this mild bantering.
He thinks he’s cutting me down with that comment, but he’s not. I can’t help but smile like a fuckin’ chooch every time I hear that word: fiancé. I’m getting married. It’s too good to be true in my messed up world. I don’t know who is happier, Megan or my mother.
I guarantee this is going to be a full blown choquad wedding, with lots of homemade wine and drunk, ignorant relatives. It’s all good if the end result is me spending the rest of my fucked up life with Megan. Maybe then it won’t be so fucked up.
Vito taps his fingers in irritation on the roof of a silver C class next to us. He hasn’t been the same since we got back from Chicago. Something is bothering him, and he just won’t talk about it.
The car salesman, Gino, comes back out.
“The paperwork is ready. How are you planning on paying for this, Mr. Delisi?”
“Cash,” I tell him. “It’ll be here in a few minutes.” He nods exuberantly and goes back into the dealership.
The guy my father normally deals with has had a small accident and is out of work for a while. I wonder if this guy, Gino, is aware of what the owner of this dealership is into. He’d best tread lightly.
I called our friend Ronnie to stop at Pop’s to pick up the cash. Pop didn’t even scoff at the money. I knew he wouldn’t, even with my mother spending a small fortune on an engagement party.
“You bringing anyone?” I ask Vito as I stamp a cigarette out of a pack of menthols. I bring it to my lips and light it up with a zippo Pop got me for Christmas last year.
I should probably quit, I think as I inhale. Megan has never asked me to, but it seems like the right thing to do.
“Bring who, where?” Vito growls. His snarl takes me back to the now.
“To the engagement party.”
“Who the fuck would I bring?”
“A date, you dick!” I pull another drag on my cigarette in annoyance with Vito. I see the salesman Gino peeking out the window, probably wondering when the “scarol” is showing up.
“You didn’t have any trouble finding one before,” I inform him.
“Aren’t you supposed to buy a necklace or something for an engagement gift, not a freakin’ car?” Vito asks, in a lame attempt to change the subject.
Ronnie pulls up directly in front of us in his Audi. He’s got Louie with him. I toss my cigarette to the ground and crush the life out of it with my foot.
Louie rolls down his window and waves a manila envelope at me.
“Here you go, Dude,” he says. I take the money.
“Which one?” Ronnie asks.
“Right there.” I point to Megan’s new car.
“Sweet!” Ronnie says and whistles.
“Nice color,” Louie says. “I wonder why you picked it,” he adds sarcastically.
*****
Megan:
I pop back into the family mini-van parked for the first and last time in the high school parking lot and head for home. I never had an opportunity to drive the family car to school. Since I have arrived home from Chicago a soon-to-be-bride, my parents have treated me differently.
I navigate the road parallel to the short path I walked to school day in and day out. The van screeches along like the decrepit metal monster it is. Of course, my father uses it to transport his “work,” so it’s gotten pretty worn down.
I turn into the driveway. My father is there, loading trash bags into our barrels. I jump out and walk to him.
“I got it,” I say happily and wave my new diploma at him.
“Good,” he mumbles. He adjusts the barrels and fiddles with the covers. “Are you ready for tomorrow?” he asks, his face colorless.
“Yup,” I respond. “Ready and excited.”
My father turns back towards the house and climbs the cement steps to the back door. I follow.
In the kitchen laid out along the table are the party favors my mother’s been working on. It’s her contribution to the engagement party. She’s made her own goat’s milk soaps and wrapped them in pink netting with bows. I’m surprised that she offered to do anything. She lets me know daily how much she disapproves of my “union” with Antonio. I just block her out now. I couldn’t care less at this point. After the way she’s treated me, after she left Erin and me in the dark about our family’s life, she is lucky that I didn’t just run off and elope. In many ways, I’m still hurt and angry with my parents.
Mom is busy sorting and tying the soaps into small round packages. She barely acknowledges me as I enter the room.
“Here it is,” I tell her, beaming.
“Uh huh,” she mutters as she continues her work.
I decide not to even try with my mom and head up to my room. I place my diploma on my bureau and snap a picture with the phone Antonio gave me. I hit send and the picture of my new diploma goes into the atmosphere, cell tower to cell tower, to California where my sister is at school.
Almost immediately I get a message back from my sister.
Erin: Awesome!
Me: It’s a great feeling to be done. I wish you could come tomorrow.
Erin: I wish I could too. Clarissa, Joey, and I must have said a thousand times this week that we wish we didn’t have to miss it.
Me: Is school going okay?
Erin: It’s great! Gotta go to class. C ya!
Me: Have fun
*****
Antonio:
Morning strikes and I’m pumped to see Megan. I head to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and pour some sugar in my cup, opting for a little sweetness. Standing by the window, I see a box truck labeled party rentals back in to my driveway. A sharp beep echoes through the air as it pulls in. Mom materializes from somewhere in the house and
claps her hands, eagerly.
“The tables and chairs are here!” she calls out.
Donny meets the truck driver at his door. Everything has to be checked. Caution is important in the underworld. This party is very high profile and my mother invited everyone and their cousins. Everyone is acting like this is my wedding day and not an engagement party. I shake my head; puzzled at the amount of weight everyone is putting on this party.
I watch Donny check the contents of the truck and the truck cabin. He signs the invoice, and then he and the driver begin unloading the tables. I put my cup on the kitchen counter and go outside and help.
“Eh, Tonio. Big day, huh?” Donny says to me, flicking a knowing smile my way. I yank a white plastic table off the truck lift.
Another large truck pulls up, decorated with a huge picture of yellow flowers on the side. Donny leaves me to the unloading and goes to check out the floral delivery.
The delivery guy and I are just starting on the chairs when a black Cadillac parks out front on the street and Vito gets out. His door slams, and he takes long strides to meet up with me.
“Hey, you’re early,” I say. Vito takes the chairs I’m carrying from me.
“I’m here to help,” he mumbles and walks away to the backyard.
O-kay.
I grab more chairs and follow him.
“Tonio!” my mother yells from the house. “Six chairs to a table, not eight! I don’t want people shoved together! It’s uncomfortable!”
“Got it, Ma!” I call back.
My mother must’ve gotten dressed early just to come out into the yard and bark orders at us, I think sarcastically. I find Vito placing vases in the middles of tables. My mother goes over to him and I follow.
“Hi, Honey,” she says to him and gives him a hug. “How’re you doin’?”
Vito shrugs his shoulders. “Fine,” he answers.
“Antonio, don’t put that there!” Ma shouts at Pop. “The ice sculpture is goin’ there!”
