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“No,” she says looking uncomfortable.
“Maybe you should learn.”
“It’s not something I want to know,” she says, letting go of my jacket.
“If I came at you with a gun, what would you do?”
“Are you going to come at me with a gun?” she asks getting off the bed.
“No, but it’s good to protect yourself. Walk towards me,” I instruct her. “Good, now redirect yourself away from the gun and as you’re out of shot, then elbow here, and that should disorientate your attacker.”
“What if they’re stronger than me?”
“It doesn’t matter, an elbow to the side of the head is going to concuss the biggest motherfucker.”
“Well, thanks,” she says looking momentarily stunned. “I guess I should start dinner.”
“Dinner? I have a cook on staff,” I snort.
“We’ll see about that,” she says wrinkling her nose and walking out of the room.
For starters, she dismissed the cook and insisted on cooking every meal herself, telling me staunchly, “I’m not wasting years of home training.”
Later on, I found out that when Sophia was growing up, her mama would make her spend hours in the kitchen and wouldn’t let her leave until every meal was correctly prepared. And if one inch was so much as burned, she would have to start again. She is an exceptional cook. I wasn’t used to having meals at the table with cutlery or real plates. Maria used to leave my meals prepared for me and then when I would have time, I would enjoy them at my desk or in front of the TV.
Most of the time, I would eat out or be at the club, so this was something entirely different for me. One thing she did draw the line at was laundry. I had to contain my laughter when she pressed a large hole into one of my shirts and turned the rest of the laundry pink from when she put red underwear in with a white load. I was surprised at how quickly I found myself in a routine with her. Even when I was working late or on a job, I looked forward to coming home to her. Even in the dead of night she would wake up automatically when I entered the bed, and she would be receptive to my touch; our frenzied fucking going on till the early hours of the morning.
Despite my every anxiety about living with someone, I had gotten used to her being there when I woke up every morning. Sometimes she would wake up early and we would hit the gym or go swimming together in the pool. When I wasn’t working or at the club, we stayed up late watching movies from the eighties and nineties. She preferred horror, while I liked thrillers and comedies. Some nights we even rode out on the bike, although I was doing this a little less frequently as the bike offered less protection than a car.
Damon and Dominic were spending more time at the club so I could have nights in with Sophia. As soon as we got home, I contacted Dr. Mancini to put her on the pill. I could sense her hesitation at first and knew she thought I was still fucking around, but the truth was I had no reason to.
I was comfortable with Sophia; she had fast become a fixture of my life. It wasn’t forced or mechanical, it just felt natural. She also started to hang around more with Lucia. I held my breath awaiting the crash, but it never came. Instead of Lucia being the poor influence I thought she would be, it was the complete opposite. Lucia seemed to change slowly, and I often saw her and Franco exchanging conversations which was surprising as Franco barely spoke to any women longer than an hour, tops, since his divorce.
“You know that when I hate you, it is because I love you to a point of passion that unhinges my soul.”
—Julie de Lespinasse
IWAS A MAN WHO ENJOYED MY OWN ROUTINE AND LIKED THINGS DONE MY WAY.
However, with Sophia I didn’t object to her changing things. In fact, I didn’t object to a lot of things she did.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Slowly our two separate lives seemed to stitch into one. My old routine disappeared in front of my eyes, but strangely enough, I wasn’t disappointed to see it go.
“I’m surprised, but she is just the kind of wife you needed.” Franco muses as we work in the office.
“Huh?” I say looking at Franco.
“She’s bringing everyone together with all these weekly dinners and getting to know the other wives. You can’t see it, but she’s stamping out any insurgence of dissent. Creating a family atmosphere beneficial for everyone. She’s definitely been taking cue cards from her mama and papa.”
“People are happier? Weren’t they happy before?”
“You’re a good Don, but a great Don has a wife to bring everyone on board. She’s doing her job well.”
“I don’t think she even sees it as a job, it’s just Sophia being Sophia. She’s even got my deadbeat sister’s ass back in college.”
“Maybe it’s more Lucia than Sophia on that front,” he says diplomatically.
“The only college-related thing my sister was interested in before was frat parties. It’s Soph for sure.”
