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19
New York City, 2000
The women were nice, but they turned out to be a lot to take in. Muse was a very sweet host, checking on me to see if I needed anything and if I was comfortable. Catherinelle was here too and that was comforting because she was a familiar face. Also, I’ve got to meet Lola and Bianca, Catherinelle’s cousins, and Patty, Bianca’s mother. I also knew that Muse’s mother-in-law was coming later, so I tried my best to learn everyone’s name and not make a fool of myself when obviously everyone was here to meet me. And all the girls were so damn nice, it was hard to remember they shared their beds with the mafia. And now I did too.
Romina was having a great time with the nanny, playing with the kids, even if Lola’s sons were one and two years old and Enzo was still an infant. He was adorable-looking in his onesie and it really made me miss babies. Everyone was pleased that Lola came with her nanny, because it gave everyone a chance to just relax and enjoy a glass of wine. I abstained from alcohol, which made everyone ask me if Roman already got me pregnant again, but in reality, alcohol would cut off the effect of my meds.
“You will never believe what happened to me last week,” Lola said and came to sit next to me, “I was at the salon and a client walks in. A man, a good-looking guy, maybe in his forties.”
“You work in a beauty salon?”
“I own a couple here in Brooklyn and one in Manhattan. We usually only serve women, but from time to time a guy walks in to ask for a manicure, or highlights – it happens. So, this idiot comes to me and says he would like to have his arms waxed and insisted I do it. I walked him into the cosmetic room in the back and went to find some gloves. When I came back this motherfucker is standing there completely naked.” The room exploded in ‘what’ and ‘wow’ and ‘Jesus.’ “Yes, and this is not the creepiest part. He told me to not be afraid to touch him everywhere because he’s been watching me for a week from the coffee shop across the street and he was there to seduce me.”
“God, Lola,” Bianca gasped, sounding infuriated with that gross man, “What did you do?”
“I kicked him out half-naked and gave his picture to the boys who watch my places.”
I turned to look at her.
“What did your husband say?” I asked. Roman would lose his mind if I’d told him this. About seven years ago, when I was working as a barista, the coffee shop owner hired his nephew who made one too many jokes about my rack and Roman almost dragged him outside.
“Oh, honey, don’t say a word to Cenzo about it. He would find that poor guy and his small penis and kill him and I’m in no mood to burn his blood-stained clothes again.” There was no hesitation on her face or signs of humor. At first, I thought that she might just have an incredible poker face, but then I realized she was telling the truth. Vincenzo would kill a man who showed his penis to his wife without any hesitation.
What surprised and horrified me most was my own reaction. There was not as much repulsion to the idea as I'd expected there to be. Instead of being scared that I was surrounded by people who felt about murder the way I felt about baking a chocolate cake, I admired Lola. She had a husband who loved her and would do anything to protect her. And I was proud that I could say I knew Roman would do the same thing. When did everything become so different?
“I see. Yeah, then better keep it to yourself.”
“Did I make you uncomfortable? I’m sorry. Sometimes I forget it’s hard to…adapt. Muse was the same. God, she hated this life and everyone in it. Including Gino.”
“Really?”
Muse nodded before putting her lemonade glass down.
“My father wasn’t a great person. No, scratch that, he was a cruel man who almost forced me into prostitution.” Oh, my God. That was not what I expected to hear. “The first time I met Gino, I was terrified. I knew who he was, I knew about his family, and all I wanted to do was run the other way. Even after we started dating, I never wanted to end up with a man who had blood on his hands.”
I could relate to that. It seemed like Muse and I had quite a few things in common. She wasn’t born into this either.
“How did you…I mean you’re married now, you have a son.”
“I love my husband. I fell in love with him a long time ago.”
“I know. So it’s enough, right? Loving him? It’s enough to move past all the fear?”
“No. Gino still terrified me after I fell for him. And then my brother died.”
“I’m so sorry.” Roman mentioned something about it.
“My father shot him while he was trying to get to me; it was…umm…”
“You don’t need to talk about it.” I said to her, looking around the room to see sheer pain covering everyone’s face.
“What can I tell you is that my father died shortly after. He died slowly, alone, and in pain, paying for everything he did to me. Salvatrice, I know I might sound cruel and you might want to run the other way, but I felt protected, not frightened. Whoever did that to my father didn’t do it to get off on the violence, they did it for me.”
She was very careful not to make any affirmation or give her husband’s name.
“No, I get it. For what it’s worth, your father had it coming. Whoever did that to him deserves a high five.” I knew one or two things about abusive guardians who needed to face hell sooner rather than later.
“Yeah. Salvatrice, all you have to do is not overthink it. Roman loves you, I knew that long before I knew who you were. To me, it looks like you love him too.” It was close to intoxication.
