“I’ve heard a thing or two about those, too. Allie has had a field day trying to explain things to people…without “really explaining” what has happened. Most people are just as confused as we are… right, honey?” Mark looked at Allie, who had a grin on her face as wide as Texas, metaphorically speaking.
“Oh, yes, absolutely,” she agreed. Allie’s intrigue was revealed by her twinkling eyes, confirming Mark’s suspicion.
“Yep, she leaked it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jen had a hand in that as well,” he chuckled.
Allie laughed. “Oh, you crazy investigative types, always looking for what isn’t there. Maybe you should’ve been a journalist!” Allie smiled widely.
Julie playfully rolled her eyes at them, and stood to clear the dishes.
“Let’s go see what’s good on T.V. Allie-cat. This could take a while,” Julie gestured towards the living room.
“What?” Mark and Williams said in unison.
“You know what,” Julie pointed at Mark and smiled. “This on-going banter of yours and talks of a conspiracy theory concerning an already closed case,” Julie said.
“It’s all in good fun,” Mark held out his arms playfully.
Julie blew a kiss at Mark.
“Leave the dishes in the sink, Williams and I will get them,” Mark leaned over and kissed Allie on the top of her head. Both the girls paused for a moment.
“Go, go, go!” shouted Allie. The girls pretended to bolt from the dining room, gladly accepting his offer.
“Get outta here before he changes his mind!” yelled Allie.
~
“So, how is Julie doing with everything? You guys sure do look happy together,” Williams said as he rinsed the salad bowl that Mark just washed.
“She’s doing great. She fits in here really well,” Mark said smiling.
“She’s moved most of her things into the house, while slowly sorting out her legal affairs with Nick. The divorce papers were signed and Nick has surprisingly, stayed true to his word. He gave her practically everything, even though she didn’t want any of it,” Mark commented.
Williams nodded.
“It’s not like he’s going to be using any of it any time soon. The charges brought against him, are mounting up… he‘s looking at a life sentence in the least,” Williams added.
“As soon as they had the chance, Lucy and Nick couldn’t wait to spill the beans on each other… they even did it without making deals for lesser time, stupid criminals,” Williams and Mark chuckled to themselves.
“Whatever happened to “honor amongst thieves?” Williams added.
“With the exception of Nick’s personal stuff, Julie has decided to sell everything, including Nick’s truck and their home. Nick’s sister took his family pictures and put important papers and stuff in storage and let Julie donate the rest. Clothes, furniture, his books, magazines… she just put it all out on the curb and made a call,” Mark said.
“That’s good, I suppose. Clean slate. I bet she’s anxious to put that life behind her,” Williams said.
“Yeah, I think so, too. I told her she had all the time in the world to make up her mind… she could stay here or there, if she was more comfortable, but she really just wanted to get it over with and stay with me and Allie. She said it was nothing but a house of lies, and she doesn’t ever want to live like that again,” Mark said.
Williams nodded. “I could only imagine how difficult that must have been for her to deal with. It’s such an awful thing to happen to such a nice girl.”
“It’s his loss and my gain for sure. For the first couple of days, I kept asking Allie if she was alright with Julie moving in. You know, just trying real hard to include her in the decisions I was making, and every time, Allie would say… “Of course, I want her here silly. Or, “Dad, stop asking, you’re going to hurt her feelings if she hears you!”
“I just wanted to make sure she felt good about it too, you know. A lot has happened, really fast,” Mark said.
“I understand,” Williams nodded.
“Allie surprised me the other night after I had asked this last time and she turned to me and said, “You and Julie being together, seems more logical to me than anything else that has gone on lately. I have always felt that there was something missing here in our home and with Julie being here, it suddenly feels… whole.”
“Wow. That’s a pretty bold and direct statement,” Williams said.
“Yeah, tell me about it. I was so happy to hear that. My daughter never seizes to amaze me. Just when I think I have an idea of how she feels or if I think I know what she’s going to say, she just blows me away with how compassionate and incredibly smart she is. She’s way more mature than I give her credit for,” Mark said honestly.
“Does Allie plan on staying local after high school?” Williams asked. “I always wanted my daughter to stay with me and attend the University here.”
“Allie will be graduating High School in the spring and plans on moving out. Allie and Jen have plans on finding a place together and going to the University. Allie thinks Julie moving in is perfect timing, and this way she won’t, “feel like she’s leaving me all alone.”
“That makes sense to me! I wouldn‘t want to leave you alone either. We all know what happens! You turn into a renegade vigilante!” Williams smiled as he listened to his friend.
Mark laughed. “Ha-ha, very funny. Allie feels like she won’t have to worry about me as much and she can feel more confident about her decision to move and be more focused on school.”
“That’s good,” Williams agreed.
Mark continued. “It kind of resonated with me, to hear that my daughter feels so responsible for me and worries about me so much. So, I’m glad that she’s going to gain some independence from this.” Mark said truthfully. “I just never realized that most of her decisions were based on me and what I wanted or needed.”
“Well, she cares about you very much, Mark. I think it’s a good thing she’s going out into the world. She needs to know you support her. Not that you need my opinion, but I’m glad to hear everything is coming together for all of you. Everything is going to be just fine from here on out,” Williams said sincerely.
“Thanks. I appreciate it, bro. I think you’re going to be doing pretty well for yourself also,” Mark said.
“Speaking of Allie, she seems like she’s doing good with the fall-out from her role in the investigation and all,” Williams asked.
“Well, despite all the attention she’s been getting from the newspapers and numerous reporters wanting her exclusive interview, she’s actually doing quite well. She doesn’t seem traumatized by it at all. In fact, she thinks it was the coolest thing she has ever been a part of. I told her she’s going back to school tomorrow, to get back in the swing of things. I think she’s okay, emotionally, so I thought it would be best for her to go right back to school and get back to normal. It‘s been a week, I think it‘s been long enough,” Mark said.
“I completely agree,” Williams added. “That girl has guts, doesn’t she? Most girls her age and even older wouldn’t have pulled that off. She was very brave.”
Suddenly, Allie came into the room to say goodnight to them.
“Am I interrupting the discussion on how cool I am? I could sit over here and wait till you’re done,” she joked.
“No, you need to get to bed,” Mark walked over to her hugging her.
“Now, are you 100% sure that I need to go back to school tomorrow, Dad?” She grinned up at him.
“Yes, I’m definitely sure. There’s no getting out of it,” Mark said sternly.
“You mean I can’t call in dead?” Allie winked.
Williams and Mark laughed.
~
That night, before leaving, Williams told Mark and Julie about his plans to take a REAL vacation, and go visit his daughter in Washington. “It will be a couple of weeks before I get back. I’m hoping that she will want to come here to visit over Christmas break
, and be able to meet everyone,” Williams said hopefully.
“Oh, that would be wonderful!!” Julie exclaimed as she hugged him.
“Going to spend time with your daughter is awesome, I’m happy for you. It‘s about time,” Mark patted him on the shoulder.
“Thanks guys. So, looks like I’ll be doing a lot of shopping over the next couple of weeks and walking the windy beaches getting to know my daughter,” Williams said optimistically.
“Oh, she’s going to love that, I’m sure,” Julie said kindly.
“I think we can manage to stay out of trouble for a couple weeks… at least until you get back,” Mark said.
Williams laughed as he stepped outside and they waved goodbye.
~
Mark thought that everyone’s lives seemed to be headed in a positive direction, with a newly renowned sense of purpose and drive… except his own. His path seemed blurry in comparison. He felt unsure about his future now, than he ever had. Before this, his focus was always on Allie, working, and burying his painful memories under layers of pent up anger and hidden regret. Now, there was nothing to hide, and Allie was practically grown. Well, almost. Besides his daughter, he had Julie by his side, and that alone gave him the feeling of hope.
Despite how he felt about Dom, Mark would have to return to work sometime. Wouldn’t he? After all, it was his job, his livelihood. But Mark sensed that there was more than just a disagreement with Dom, other than how things went down. Now that they knew each other’s secrets, it would all be different. Mark wasn’t entirely unrealistic, but he didn’t expect it to be the same. He had thought about quitting the restaurant all together and going to work at the Police Station. Captain Haddock had called and offered him a job, with Williams putting in a good word for him. He just hadn’t called him back. He hadn’t returned anyone’s calls.
“You know, I think I read somewhere that Angelo’s is re-opening this week,” Julie mentioned that night. They were sitting up in bed together. Mark was watching a rerun on television, while Julie read a book.
“Oh, yeah, does it say that somewhere in your book? Let me see that,” Mark grabbed at her book and pretended to try to read it.
“I don’t think so, smart guy!” she joked. “You know where I’m going with this,” Julie closed her book and gently smacked his arm with it.
“Why don’t you just go down to the restaurant, and tell Dom how you feel? You can base your decision off of how that conversation goes, on whether you can work with him again, or if you even want to stay at the restaurant at all.” Julie grabbed his hand and lifted it up and over her head, wrapping it around her, snuggling closer to him.
“You didn’t have a problem voicing your opinion at the F.B.I. headquarters, or when dealing with anyone else for that matter,” she glanced up at him, and he shrugged his shoulders, not disagreeing.
“Speaking my mind isn‘t the problem,” Mark said.
“I know that. I also know that you’re not talking to Dom because you want to avoid him. You’re avoiding him, because you’re mad that he betrayed your trust. You’re mad, because he’s your friend and you care about him and hurt feelings are involved.”
Marks body felt suddenly rigid. Julie knew she hit a nerve on that one.
“He WAS my friend,” Mark corrected her. “He put my daughter in harm’s way, to accommodate his own agenda and I won’t ever forget that,” he said sharply.
Julie sat up now and faced him.
“I understand. I really do, and I know why you feel that way. I respect that, and I know it’s your choice to make, and I support you no matter what, but I do think you should talk to him, man to man. You‘ll feel better,” Julie said convincingly. “There. That’s all I’m ever going to say about it.”
She pretended to zip her lips.
“Good. I was just wondering if you were ever going to shut up,” Mark said smiling.
“Hey! You want to fight? I know how it get’s you going…” Julie shoved him backwards with both hands. Mark gently grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her close to him.
CHAPTER 21
PRIDE
Mark slowly walked in through the front doors of Angelo’s Restaurant. He didn’t quite know what to expect, but he was very determined to talk to Dom and hear his explanation. It would not consist of the usual pleasantries, like any old conversation the two of them would’ve had in the past.
Mark is a confident man and isn’t used to feeling this uneasy or uncertain, but walking into the restaurant seemed to comfort him somehow, and take the edge off.
The ambience seemed normal, like any other day. To Mark, it was exhilarating! He had definitely missed this place. The immediate faint smell of the wood polish used in the entry way seemed like a welcome card to his senses. The familiar sounds of food being prepped in the kitchen and old-school Italian music over the stereo system was more than just music to his ears. It was like Italian chicken soup for his soul.
He noticed a couple waitresses that were busying themselves with the silverware and napkins, arranging them at the tables. He politely nodded “good afternoon” to Sophia, who smiled up at him as she organized menus at the Hostess podium. Mark made his way past the bar, where Josh, the bartender was finishing up his inventory. Mark was glad he had hired him because he always had a great attitude, very up-beat and was always smiling.
“Hello, Mr. Anderson! How are you today, sir?” Josh was surprised and glad to see him.
“I’m wonderful, Josh! Thank you. How are you today?” Mark asked.
“Fantastic, Sir, thank you for asking,” Josh answered cheerfully.
“Good to hear it, Josh. Have a nice evening tonight,” Mark added.
Mark walked through the main dining hall and turned right, heading down the hall towards Dom’s office. He stopped and gave himself a moment before knocking.
“Please, come in!” Dom yelled as he looked up from the paperwork at his desk. Mark slowly walked in and closed the door behind him.
“Marko,” Dom was truly surprised. “It’s good to see you. Please, sit down,” Dom stood and gestured in front of him at the empty chair.
“Thank you,” Mark sat down and looked at Dom.
Here they were now… face to face.
“How are you?” Dom and Mark asked each other at the same time.
“I’m fine, thank you,” Mark answered.
“Good. Good to hear,” Dom smiled warmly.
Mark felt surprisingly better about talking to him. He wasn’t as angry as he thought he would be.
“I know you’ve come to discuss many things with me and that’s perfectly acceptable, in fact I look forward to it. With all due respect, may I just say something first?” Dom asked.
“Sure, by all means,” Mark said.
“First, I would just like to say that I am very glad that you have come to talk and I’m grateful for that,” Dom said sincerely.
“I don’t expect anything from you and I know I am not deserving of your trust, so regardless of what you say to me, good or bad, I will respect you and your feelings,” Dom finished nervously.
Mark felt alarmed. He had never seen Dom act so nervous before. There would have to be a good reason for it in order for Dom to be so outwardly sensitive.
“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. And you’re correct, There are certain things I came here to say,” Mark cleared his throat.
Dom gestured with his hand, for Mark to continue.
Mark looked at Dom for a moment and steadied his voice.
He began speaking calmly. “I understand why you couldn’t tell me about Allie. I know it would have interfered with the investigation surrounding Lucy. I know now, that you had every intention of telling me, but because of miscommunication with your F.B.I. contact and my lack of availability, that never happened according to plan. With that said, I am still upset that you didn’t tell me BEFORE it happened,” Mark said adamantly.
Dom listened closely and respectfully nodded in agre
ement.
Mark fought off his agitation as he thought of what to say next.
“You led me to believe that my daughter had died, Dom.” Mark shook his head. “For that I will never truly understand how you could do that to someone, especially a friend, who was supposed to be like family,” Mark said bluntly.
Dom opened his mouth to say something and Mark held up his hand to silence him.
“Just listen, please. I’m not finished,” Mark said sternly.
“I’ve had some time to process this whole thing and try to think rationally about why I think you did it. There’s a certain part of me that wants to believe that you had nothing but good intentions towards us and you, being an informant, would have to comply with the Fed’s rules and demands. I get that part of it, but what I don’t get, is WHY? Why do they have you on such a short leash? Do I not deserve to know what they could possibly have on you, to make you be a part of something so deceptive?” Mark asked.
Dom stared at Mark. He was speechless.
Mark could see what appeared to be apprehension in his expression. He was holding something back.
“You’re an informant and you did what you had to... for what? What is it? What are the reasons why?” Mark anxiously awaited his answer.
“It’s very complicated Marko,” Dom said in a hopeless manner.
“Why can‘t you answer the question, Dom? Do I not deserve an answer?” Mark began to get impatient.
“I mean, how could you do that to me and everyone else and use my daughter as leverage for an F.B.I investigation? You know why I acted the way I did. My family is in witness protection for good reason, which, I’m assuming you knew already… correct?” Mark said sharply.
Dom lowered his eyes for a moment.
“That’s correct,” Dom said clearly.
“I practically went insane with grief and anger… I could have killed someone… and all for nothing, because it wasn’t real. It was a ruse and I was a fool,” Mark said finally.
Dom swallowed hard before he spoke again.
“I’ll tell you, Marko. I will answer your questions. I will tell you everything you want to know. The truth will be difficult for you to hear, but I will tell you regardless. You’re right, you deserve to know. You deserve to know everything,” Dom slicked the hair back off his fore head and rubbed his eyes.
Vendetta Page 18
