Page 12 of Winter With You

‘You came here for coffee?’

‘That would be swell.’

* * *

What was he thinking? Why had he made his father’s best friend coffee? Why had he even allowed him to come inside his apartment? This was all pushing past firm boundaries he had set for very good reason. Except his father and his father’s friends had never been the kind of people who obeyed boundaries. But he needed to remember that he wasn’t like them…

Ronnie slurped, fingers completely enveloping the tiny espresso cup as he perched on one of the kitchen island stools. Hopefully, one gulp and it would be gone and then Ronnie could be gone too.

‘Not Italian coffee but it’s OK, kid.’

‘You need to cultivate your tastes.’

‘Cultivate.’ Ronnie nodded. ‘Always with the fancy words.’

‘Why are you here, Ronnie?’ Luca asked. ‘To threaten me?’

‘Kid, you were the one coming to the door with your pop’s umbrella.’

Luca sighed.

‘Yeah, you think I didn’t recognise it? He taught me how to use it. Gave me my own one when I qualified.’

Luca shook his head, mini-flashbacks of family life raining down like New York sleet. ‘Just tell me what you want.’

‘Me? I don’t want anything. Your pop on the other hand…’

Luca put his hands to his head. A giveaway of his frustration. A tell. He dropped them again, tried to regain some composure but then he found himself clenching his knuckles.

‘He wants to see you,’ Ronnie stated.

Straight away, Luca’s stomach started to feel ill at ease, the way it always had done since he’d discovered exactly who his father was and every moment thereafter. Before he had even realised it, he was shaking his head.

‘And, just so we’re clear, kid, this ain’t no request.’

And slowly, as Ronnie’s sentence seeped into the heart of him that fear began to dissipate, conflicting with his truth, his morality, the opposition he’d felt strongly enough to make his stand against. At his side he tightened his fists.

‘Just so you’re clear, Ronnie, I’m not on my father’s payroll.’

Laughter. Loud. Too loud.

‘That’s funny, kid,’ Ronnie said, pointing a fat finger. ‘That’s funny. You should take that to the Comedy Club.’

‘Ronnie, I want you to go back to my father and tell him, if I haven’t already made myself clear, that I won’t be seeing him again.’ He took a breath. ‘Ever.’

His intention was forceful, but still, even now, sometimes it felt like the words were navigating a slightly off-balance ladder. Conflicted.

‘Ah, OK,’ Ronnie said. He elongated his frame, stretching his legs out. ‘Then you better make more coffee. This could take a while.’

‘What aren’t you hearing, Ronnie? The answer is no.’

‘Yeah, I heard you,’ Ronnie answered, leaning back on the stool and putting his hands behind his head. ‘But, here’s the thing, kid, I can’t leave until the answer is yes.’

9

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK, USA

‘Oh! Would you look at that?’