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Chapter Seven
Vito
Sent by a DeLuca
On the plane ride to Italy, I kept believing I would arrive, and Enzo would inform me that there had been a grave mistake and that the Don wasn’t dead. I still couldn’t believe he was gone.
The memorial ceremony went by in a blur. I remained in disbelief that some sack of shit had murdered Don Ermano, a man who was more than just the Don to me. He was my grandfather, mentor, and the next level in my bloodline since Alfonso was as good as dead in my mind. I wrote him off years ago. Now, it was only me. Since I had yet to have any children, I was the sole survivor of the Vito DeLuca bloodline.
After the graveside memorial, I walked into my grandfather’s house, and the feeling of old Italy hit me. The citrusy smell with the perfect blend of vanilla and the undeniable warmth and feel of home immediately wrapped their arms around me. I missed this place, and now, it would never be the same without my grandfather summoning me to his study for a glass of bourbon and to discuss how things were going in America.
As I went deeper into my thoughts, my mother appeared in front of me and pulled me close. “Vito, my son. I have missed you so.” She hugged me tighter. “I’m sorry about your grandfather’s passing.”
“Mother,” came out in a rasp. I hugged her back, allowing myself to receive more compassion from her than I had gotten my whole life. Her sympathy made me comfortable enough to reveal the transparency I tried to share with her when I was younger. “I’m devastated by the loss of grandfather. I don’t know how to deal with this loss. It’s a big one.”
She took me by the hand, and we shared a brief moment of looking into each other’s eyes and trying to reconnect. She smiled consolingly as she nodded. “I understand, Vito. Your grandfather poured so much love into you. He gave you what I could only wish your father would have attempted to give you.” Some of the light in her eyes disappeared. “Even your father is devastated by the loss of Don Ermano. And…” She paused. “He’s worried about you.”
Bullshit.
It was already taking everything in me not to lose it. The mention of my father didn’t help any. “Yeah, well, the Don was a good man, unlike the man who calls himself my father.”
“He’s flawed. That’s for sure.” She scanned the room until her eyes met my father's. She quickly averted them back to mine. I witnessed a bitterness in my mother I had never seen before when she stared at Alfonso. Something was there, but I didn’t fly into Bari to deal with problems I had written off years ago.
“Flawed is an understatement for Alfonso,” I said of the man who could never live up to the memory of Don Ermano.
“Son, you’ve come,” Alfonso ambled toward me with his arms wide.
The DeLuca’s were all about keeping up appearances but pretending to care for my father was one fantasy I would not participate in. Likewise, he didn’t need to pretend to be glad to see me.
I touched my mother’s hand, ignoring the man approaching me. “I’ll see you around, mother.” I stepped around her and walked over toward Enzo and Emelia, not one time looking Alfonso’s way. I was there to mourn my grandfather, not to pretend to care for my sperm donor.
I caught up with a few family members before speaking to Enzo about the plans to come. It was consoling to know the culprit for putting together this morbid family reunion would be handled on the same day.
Inside, the house was filled to the brim with DeLucas from around the world. The rain came down in sheets outside. God allowed his angels to shed tears for the Don. And the unreleased tears of the DeLuca men were thankfully pouring out of the clouds. We had a lot of challenges to face with the untimely death of Don Ermano. Our grief would have to wait.
Sure, Enzo would step up and run the family like my grandfather knew he would, but there would still be adjustments and pain to endure.
Enzo left to handle grandfather’s murderer when the time was right. I stayed back to ensure no one followed them or became suspicious of his leaving.
“Where’s Enzo going?” Cousin Rico asked a few minutes after he left.
“He’ll explain everything when he comes back,” I stated bluntly.
Cousin Rico shook his head. “Nah, we have to look out for our new Don. We can’t let this shit happen again. Shouldn’t you be with him, protecting him?”
I raised a brow at Rico. He had only asked one question and made one rebuttal, but I was actually tired of hearing him talk. “Enzo will be fine. Drop it,” I growled.
“He was my grandfather too, you know? We’re all we got left,” Rico scoffed as he walked away.
My heart fell after that exchange. I had held in my feelings too long. I needed to let them all out through rage or tears, but I had to keep them in for a little while longer. I stood stoic against the wall close to the entrance Enzo would return through, making sure no one came in or went out that way. I put up a good front on the outside while I was messed up bad on the inside. My grandfather was dead. My grandfather was motherfucking dead.
If Enzo didn’t make the person responsible for his death pay his way as the new Don, I would damn sure make them pay my way as a loyal grandson. Tearing them apart limb by limb, piece by piece and making them eat themselves would be too polite of a gesture. Some deaths deserved a bullet to the head, while others deserved the unthinkable. Taking away the man I loved more than any other man would earn anyone a special circumstance death. Cousin Rico was right about one thing, we were all we had left, so I was rooting for Enzo to give the Don’s killer far more than he signed up for.
About an hour later, Enzo returned wearing blood on his shirt. He had a murderous look, which told me he had inflicted harm tonight, but he wasn’t finished. Good. I wanted in on the next hit. I needed to do more than babysit the family to ensure they didn’t get out of line and mess up everything.
I could almost hear my grandfather admonish me by saying, “Everyone has a role to play, Vito. Play yours…”
My role at this very moment was to assist Enzo in preserving order in the family. I would trust the process, even though my carnal desire was to inflict pain and death.
Not long after returning, Enzo’s ritual to become the Don happened. In a whirlwind of events, the Don’s will was read, challenged, and Enzo was finally named the new Don over a few rumbling objections.
It seemed that we at least had a plan to move forward. We had hoped to gain a new sense of normalcy. All of that was fucked to hell when Enzo dropped a bombshell following his Don induction ceremony. In no uncertain terms, he informed the family that the person who killed the don had been sent by a DeLuca. Everyone in the room froze in shock.
