Fourth Down Baby: A May-December Romance

by Lauren Landish

  "I've never met her, no," I said, trying to relax and be nonchalant. Margaret Bertoli was literally a member of the Bertoli household, living in the mansion along with the Don himself. Doing something for her would be the biggest chance I'd ever had to try and reestablish myself in the family. "But I know of her, of course. What's up?"

  "Her birthday is coming up next Friday night, and the Don would like to throw her a party. After all, the family has many things to celebrate over the past few years."

  "They have," I said, thinking that if luck had smiled on any Mafia family over the past few years, it had been the Bertolis. "What am I to do?"

  "The Don needs people to work the party," Julius said simply. "Now, most of the Bertoli men are going to be in attendance, so the Don has agreed to let some... lower ranked men work the party."

  “I’d be happy to,” I replied formally. "What time should I be there?"

  "I'll send you a text message, but most likely around six. Tomasso is in charge of planning it, and he didn't give me a hard start time yet. This won't interfere with your regular work, will it?"

  "Doesn't matter if it does or not," I said, thinking of my part-time job I had to take to keep ends met. “Nothing’s as important as Mrs. Bertoli's birthday. I'll call off sick if necessary."

  Julius looked at me carefully for a minute, then nodded. "Okay. You know Degrassi, this isn't the sort of job that comes around every week. There's going to be a lot of the right people there."

  "I know," I said carefully, trying to balance a certain expected nonchalance with a measured seriousness. “I’ll get the job done.”

  Julius nodded and threw back the rest of his whiskey. "Okay then. Well, you've got another delivery to make tonight, right?"

  "Yes sir. I need to stop by the docks and get a package to take over to the airport. They're expecting me in an hour or so."

  Julius nodded and got up. "Okay then. Let's make sure your trunk is clear then. Come on."

  Outside, I felt sweat pop out on my forehead as the warm night air smacked me in the face after the bar's air conditioning. I didn't want to wear a suit for work on hot nights like this, but I didn't have a choice. Bertoli men wore suits for work, and if mine happened to come from JC Penney instead of being custom tailored, well, that would change. I just had to keep working and give it time.

  "Here you are," I said, handing Julius the case. "You want to count?"

  "Do I need to?" Julius asked quietly, then shook his head. "You know what happens if you come up short."

  "I haven't touched a bit of it," I promised, trying to suppress my anger at being questioned. I wasn't a cheat, no matter what Julius may have thought of me. "I'm an honest man."

  "There are no honest men in our line of work, Dante. Here, here's your pay for tonight," Julius said, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out an envelope.

  I tucked the envelope into the inner pocket of my suit coat. "Thanks, Julius. Well, I better get going, if I'm going to complete my work for the night. Thank you again for the word about the party."

  I got into my car and said a quick prayer before putting the keys in the ignition. I didn't want to look like an idiot in front of Julius. Thankfully, my car started without too much of a problem.

  As I drove, I couldn't help but feel both excitement and anger at Julius' offer. Yes, it was an offer to at least go onto the Bertoli property, something I hadn't been allowed to do since I was seven years old. On the other hand, despite the fact that I was allowed on, I knew I'd be kept isolated, and probably wouldn't get any closer than seeing Don Bertoli at a distance that night. My pride told me that I should have told Julius to take his offer and to shove it up his ass.

  But I needed the money, and I needed the opportunity.

  Chapter 2

  Carmen

  I was sitting at my desk/reception area, sighing as I looked at the pile of bills that were sitting in front of me. I glanced at my computer, a used laptop that had been a gift from Daniel Neiman that worked well, even if it wasn't the coolest looking box in the world, and currently was displaying my bank account. After roughly three years of being in business, Dreamstyle Dance Studio was still barely keeping its head above water.

  "Guess it's another month of doing massages to make ends meet," I said to myself, sighing. I'd wanted to stop having to do massages for money numerous time over the past three years, but every time I got close, something happened that made the couple hundred bucks I got from massages essential. I glanced to my left at the curtain that separated the front of my shop from the back, and shook my head in frustration. In order to keep my costs down and still be able to afford my studio, I'd quietly moved out of my apartment and set up a place in the back, where originally I had a changing area for students. I had a hot plate back there, along with a microwave, my fridge from my old apartment, and my old sofa. It was enough, but after four months, things were getting tiring.

  It wasn't that I wasn't enjoying teaching dance, far from it. I loved working with both the children who came into my studio, and the moms who sometimes wanted to learn on their own as well. I loved working with each of them, and I had a very good retention rate, with over half of the students who'd started with me three years ago still with me. The problem was that I had no bling to hang on the wall. The dance studio a mile down the street had a head instructor I could dance circles around, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that they had a big pile of ribbons, trophies, and pictures adorning the walls in the entrance area.

  I didn’t. I couldn't. After all, few parents wanted to have their child taught by the former headline stripper of the Starlight Club. When I'd been a dancer, I hadn't regretted a minute of it. If you asked me now, I would repeat that line, I knew what I was doing and I never was forced into doing anything I didn't want to do. However, there were challenges that I had to still overcome, and one of them was I couldn't be as up front about my past as some instructors. Until I was able to get some of my students into competitions that won some awards, I was struggling uphill. Deep down, when push came to shove, I was feeling regret about my former choice in profession.

  I sighed and closed the cover on my laptop, knowing I could make it, but just hungry for that one break that I needed. I knew I didn't need a lot, I'd already been gifted with so much, but I needed just one more. Give me an inch, and I'd take the rest of the mile and a half that I wanted to get to my dream.

  Before I could get more frustrated, a horn honked from outside and I looked out the front window, smiling when I saw the red BMW X3 in the parking lot. Grabbing my keys, I quickly locked my door and walked out to the mini SUV, where my best friend was sitting behind the wheel. "Hey Ade, it's good to see you. Where's the little one?"

  Adriana Bertoli-Neiman, the only niece of my benefactor Don Carlo Bertoli, shook her head with a smile. "Johnny's spending the afternoon with Daddy. I asked if he could stop by later, I was hoping maybe he could try out one of your kid's classes?"

  "I've got a group of two year olds starting at four o'clock," I said with a smile. "It'd be nice to see Johnny in there. You know he's not going to be doing anything beyond bouncing and having fun for a while though, right?"

  "I know," Adriana said with a smile. "Actually, Luisa kind of had the same idea. Mariana is getting past her awkward stage, and well... you know what, I'll just let Luisa tell you about it."

  I grinned as Adriana drove us both to Matt's In The Market, one of my favorite seafood places in town, where I saw Luisa's Fiat parked outside. "I see Luisa's still rocking the sports car."

  "Oh, she and Tommy have a family car too," Adriana said with a chuckle, "but like me, she's having an all-girls lunch. Mari's hanging out with Tommy at the mansion if I remember right. I think Tommy's trying to teach her how to swim."

  I shook my head and smiled softly, looking over. "What happened to you two? I remember the ass kicking artist who was crashing on my couch three years ago after you went on the run, and now you sound... different."

&nb
sp; Adriana shrugged and put her keys in her purse. "I'm still an ass kicker, you know that. And if you ever doubt that Luisa's not an ass kicker still, I dare you to try and find out."

  "No thanks," I said with a laugh, getting out. "If anything, she's got nearly a foot on me. I barely come up to her boobs."

  It was true, seeing the three of us together, I was the midget of the group. Luisa was just a shade under six feet tall even without her almost ever present high heels, and Adriana was a good five foot eight or so. At five one, I often felt like their little sister, even though I was actually just a little older than both of them at twenty-six. I followed Adriana into the restaurant, where Luisa had already grabbed a table.

  "Carmen, boa tarde," Luisa greeted me in the flowing, lyrical tones of her native southern Brazilian Portuguese. "Como estas?"

  "Eh, bueno, y tu?" I answered in my own American flavored Spanish. While I had known Luisa long enough that I could understand her words, the two of us tended to just stick to our own variations when we spoke together.

  "We should switch to English, our sister here is looking lost."

  "Hey, I understand more each day, I know Italian after all," Adriana said with a laugh of her own. "If anything, I need to just to make sure I know what Johnny's saying to me. Between you, Tomasso and Daniel, he's growing up a freakin' polyglot. One of these days he's going to start throwing a tantrum and I won't know how to help him because he'll be yelling at me in about half a dozen different languages, and I'm stuck with just English and Italian."

  The waiter, a college guy whose eyes were nearly popping out when he brought us our menus, took our drink orders and walked away, Luisa following him with her eyes. "You know Carmen, he was giving you the eye."

  "Luisa, he was giving us all the eye," I replied, shaking my head. "Even after he saw the rocks on you two's fingers. I don't play around with guys like that, they never stay loyal."

  "You barely play around at all," Luisa commented slyly, in her normal direct to the point fashion that would have come off as bitchy if she wasn't so playful with her tone of voice. "When was the last time we saw you with a man?"

  "It's been a while," I said, not wanting to say that my last date had been nearly eight months prior. "The studio's keeping me busy."

  "So are Tomasso's work and Mariana, but I'm still finding time to have romantic time with my husband," Luisa said. "What gives, Carmen?"

  "Just... just busy I guess," I said, not wanting to tell my best friends about the financial pressures of running your own business as a one-woman show. "Don't worry about it for now. Tell me about you guys. I heard you're getting your black belt, Luisa?"

  Luisa nodded, smiling slightly, but I could see in her black eyes that she wasn't going to let the previous topic of discussion drop totally. "I did. With Tomasso training with me, I was able to really make a lot of progress. Of course, I had to take a few months off there for Mariana, but for the past year and a half I've been able to train."

  "It helps when Uncle Carlo turned a chunk of the garage into a sparring mat for you two," Adriana said with a laugh. "Last time Dan and I came by, we had to park outside. I haven't had to park my own car outside since college."

  "That's because you insisted on that horrible American car when you were in college," Luisa said with a laugh, all of us pausing when the waiter brought us our drinks. His flirting with all three of us didn't stop as he took our food orders, but he didn't bat an eye when I ordered an oyster sandwich along with fries. He did, however, give Adriana a bit of a raised eyebrow when she ordered two sandwiches of her own along with an a la carte side of fried clams.

  "You planning on taking some home for Daniel and little John?” I asked, using my own nickname for Adriana's son. "I don't think even Dan could put down that much."

  "It isn't for them," Adriana said, saying no more at the time. "So Carmen, how’s the dance studio going? I mean, I know I want Johnny to take classes, but I'm going to be honest sweetheart, you're worrying me."

  "It's fine," I said, "I'm turning a profit, kind of. Just... nothing."

  "Come on, Carmencita," Luisa said, rolling the last syllable, sitting back and crossing her seemingly mile long legs that I knew probably drove Tomasso crazy with desire. "You're not getting off that easy. Don't make me start wheedling, you know I can pitch my voice until Adriana cries."

  "Oh God, please don't," Adriana said with a groan. I knew exactly what Luisa was talking about, and couldn't help but laugh. After watching a movie with a whiny Latina character, I don't remember which, she'd copied the voice perfectly, creating a voice that sounded something that was akin to fingernails on chalkboard. Luisa only used it once in a while, usually to annoy someone when she didn't want to shut them down directly.

  I sighed and sat back. "I guess... I just sometimes wish that my dream was a little closer to what you girls have instead of what I have."

  "Is dancing not your passion anymore?" Adriana asked, concerned. "I mean, you've done it for so long, I can understand, but..."

  "No, I still love to dance," I hurriedly said, "but well, I guess it's hard to say it, but I'm jealous of you two, that's all."

  "Jealous? What for?" Adriana asked. "You're the one who still has visible abs and can get eight hours of sleep at night. Only time I've had that in the past three years is when Johnny spends the night at Grandma's house."

  I shook my head. "I guess... well Ade, like you. You just sold a piece what was it, a month ago? You're getting write ups in magazines, and Dan's got a client list that sounds like a pretty good afterparty in Hollywood. Not to mention your son is cuter than just about any two year old I've ever met."

  Our food came, and we dug in. Adriana smiled, then looked at me. "Is that how you really feel, Carmen? I mean, I haven't tried to make you feel bad about my luck. You know if it wasn't for you, Dan would be dead and we'd never have been together."

  "I know that, and I don't blame you at all. Just, well I mean, look at you Luisa. You've got Tomasso, a beautiful daughter, and you're going places within the organization."

  Luisa nodded, knowing it was the closest we could come in public to openly acknowledging her position as Tomasso's partner not just in marriage, but within the Bertoli crime family. "Which I also owe you for. So what do you want, Carmen? I mean, if we were your fairy godmothers, and all.”

  "Oh, I don't know," I said, sighing. "I guess I'd like to meet my Prince Charming too, that's all. To dance, to have a man like you two have, a family... that'd be nice. I mean, the three of us are family, but I mean a real family to go home to at night."

  "Well, I can't grant you three wishes, but maybe I have a way to help you out, and to at least give you some time off," Adriana said, glancing at Luisa. "What do you think, Luisa? Friday?"

  "That's a good ide," Luisa said. "I mean, the pickings will be slim, but better than at the dance studio."

  "What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "What are you two up to?"

  Adriana laughed and patted my hand. "It's my mom's birthday Friday, and Uncle Carlo's throwing a big birthday party for her," she said with a smile. "We're going the whole nine yards, a big cake, music, everything. Part of it I think is that Uncle Carlo wants the little ones to have a family party, and Mom's birthday is sort of a good excuse to do it. Besides, it brings the whole Family together."

  "Bertoli men?" I asked, intrigued but at the same time nonplussed. "Last I checked, the last two good Bertoli men were taken. Well, except for Angelo, and he and I just don't have a spark. I mean, he's a nice enough guy, but there's nothing between us, you know what I mean?"

  Adriana chuckled, thinking about her cousin. "Angelo's got his quirks, I'll give you that. But there'll be other guys there. Come on Carmen, I'm not saying I'm trying to hook you up with someone. I'm just saying leave the studio behind for a night, come out and have some fun. If worse comes to worse, you can dance with me and Luisa, we'll give those guys a show they won't believe."

  "Me, keep up with Luisa?" I said, laughin
g. "I don't know if I have enough energy for that, not without a good shot of coffee."

  "It's a gift, and a curse," Luisa said, smiling. "Brazilian genetics, and all."

  I knew what she was trying to do, and smiled. "Maybe we'll have to see, Luisa. Okay, I'm in. Friday night. I'm sure I can find something classy to wear, I'm guessing yoga pants and a t-shirt won't cut it?"

  "Yeah, it's a Bertoli party," Adriana agreed. "Don't worry, you'll do fine."

  After lunch, Luisa gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek goodbye before going back to the Bertoli mansion, where she was going to catch a nap before beginning her evening work with Tomasso. I watched the sexy blond Brazilian get in her car before turning to Adriana. "You ever jealous of her?"

  "Of Luisa? Hell no, I'm perfectly happy that my husband is not in the active side of the Bertoli family anymore," Adriana said with a laugh. "I'm much happier that he's in the security side now instead. Come on, jump in, I'll give you a ride back to the studio before going to get Johnny."

  Inside the car, we cranked the air conditioning up to high as we drove. "No, I can't be jealous of Luisa at all," Adriana continued as she drove. "I think we both have what is best for us. I'd never be able to stand having a husband like Tommy, especially one still in the family business like he is. Dan's the man for me, and while we are comfortable with the other side of our family's life, that doesn't mean I want Dan going out there and being an enforcer again. Helping out Tommy, doing the security work, that's what I am happy with, and of course Dan's personality."

  "He is different from Tomasso," I agreed. "Still, both of them are remarkable men. You two are lucky."

  "They're lucky to have remarkable wives," Adriana said with a smile. "And you know what? There's a guy out there for you too."

  We got back to the studio, and Adriana parked in front. She walked into the studio with me, taking a look around. "You want me to fill out some paperwork for Johnny?"