DESI
I shovedMick to the floor and stepped on his chest.Randy, Eric, and Tommy circled us as I crouched down and sucker-punched him straight in the nose.
“You think your little stunt was funny?” I asked.He sat up and scooted away.
“I panicked! I’d already torn the invitation up!” Mick’s nose bled as I shoved him back down when he tried to sit up.
“You shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Now she’s thinking you’re a fucking weirdo trying to sleep with her.” I stood and backed away, but not without kicking him one more time in the ribs.
He yelped and rolled over. “Why am I taking the fucking beating when you’re the one with two women?”
“No one asked for your fucking opinion or judgment.” I spat on the ground near his face. “Now, do you want to get up and try swinging at me again or are you done playing the fucking hero?”
All of our friends spread out as I circled him. While they didn’t agree with me not telling Scout about the situation with Aleida, they sure as hell weren’t going to rat on me like Mick tried. They were all more than happy to watch me kick his ass in his very own garage.
“She deserves to know. She’s a good girl.” He stood back up. “When do you plan on telling her? When she sees your announcement in the paper? Or what about when you and Aleida have your first kid?”
“I’m working on it.” I tightened my fists. Who the fuck did he think he was, showing up to Scout’s house and trying to tape an invitation to the wedding to her door?
“When? Before or after we got fitted for tuxes?” He scrambled up and lifted his fists. He bounced slightly on his heels, waiting for me to swing again. “I spent a hundred bucks on that stupid suit.”
“Is that what’s got you so bent out of shape? A fucking suit?” I spun around to face the rest of my friends. “Do you all feel this way?”
They grumbled and muttered various forms of… yes.
“Fine. You want money for the fucking suits? Here.” I pulled out my wallet and removed four hundred-dollar bills and handed them each one. “Now you can shut the fuck up and let me handle this.”
“Desiderio, how?” Randy shook his head. “You’re getting in deeper and deeper with this chick and the longer you wait to tell her, the worse it’s gonna get. Aleida Linotti doesn’t play. She’ll take you for everything you’ve got.”
“She’ll rip your balls off if you embarrass her at the wedding,” Tommy chimed in.
“I won’t let it get that far. I’m working on it, okay? I’m leaving for work after Memorial Day and I won’t be back ‘til sometime in September. While we’re gone, I’m going to call Aleida and tell her we’ve grown apart and the wedding’s off.” That was the plan. It wasn’t a good one, but it was all I had right now.
“We? Who is we?” Randy demanded.
“I’m taking Scout with me.”
Their eyes bulged and jaws fell as they took in my statement.
“It’ll be fine.”
Tommy shook his head. “You’re fucking insane, Desiderio. You know that? We’ve always known you were a little quirky, but dude, you’ve gone off the rails. Ever since you met her, you’ve changed.”
“So?” I flipped him off and reached for a cigarette in my pocket. “I want to do more with my life that smoke dope and hang out in front of the liquor store.”
“You think Aleida’s family will let you off easy? You know what they do.” Tommy’s expression darkened as he looked to our friends for support.
“Mafia.” Randy cleared his throat. “You know, they say the same thing about your family too.”
“They do?” I raised my eyebrows and feigned surprise. “What?” I finished my cigarette and flicked it to the ground, smashing it with my boot. “You all watch too many fucking movies.” I took a deep breath and adjusted my jacket. I stepped toward them and stopped near Mick. “Mind your own fucking business, and we won’t have a repeat of this.”
I stormed out and drove home. I had to call Scout as soon as I got home to explain Mick away.I got into the house and tossed my jacket on the couch. My shoulders fell as I stalked to the kitchen, only to stare at the phone on the hook for far too long before finally picking it up and dialing her number.
My stomach twisted in knots as I waited through each ring, praying she didn’t pick up. But finally, her voice came through, and I stiffened up and forced a giant smile.
“Hello?”
“Hey! It’s me. I just wanted to let you know I talked to Mick. He was embarrassed about the entire thing.”
