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The coughs go on for a whole minute. I swear I spot a drop of blood on his lips when he wipes them. “You need to stop womanizing,” he says, his voice weaker. “It looks bad.”
“Doesn’t interfere with business.”
“That’s not the point. We are an ancient family. We have standards to uphold.”
“Giovanni has fucked around as much as me.”
“Not since he got married, he doesn’t. Which brings me to my point.” He coughs again, this time it’s worse than before. His spine curves, his arms shaking with the effort. “Goddammit,” he snaps when he’s done.
“You taken your meds this morning?”
“You sound like the nurses. Yes, I’ve taken them, Nico. Not going to stop me dying though, are they?” He leans back in his chair, taking the cigar back from me and inhaling deeply, letting the smoke out slowly with a smile. “That’s better.” He looks at me without blinking. “Your brother is settling down and you need to do the same. Tongues wag and there are tales that you have several bastards dotted about.”
“I have no children, father.”
“I know that but these rumors are bad for business. You must uphold the standards of the Casella famiglia. We set the tone around here.”
“I get the sense you’re going somewhere with this.”
“I made a decision last night.”
“What about?”
He gets up and crosses to the window, looking out at the extensive lawns outside. With his back to me, he continues. “It’s wrapped up in legal language in the will but the premise is simple. Out of you and Giovanni, whoever gets his wife pregnant first becomes the next Don.”
Ten
Nico
* * *
Ithink he’s joking at first but then he turns and there’s no smile on his face. “You’re serious?” I say. “What is this? Some bullshit reality show?”
“You could be Don,” he says. “You are the more levelheaded in business, that is true. But you don’t care enough about women, Nico. Your brother is married and will have children soon enough. They are already trying. You are still sleeping around like you did in your twenties. I need a grandchild if the family name is not to die out.”
“How am I supposed to get my wife pregnant? I’m not even married.”
“That is the point. I want you to get on with it. Stop sleeping around. Find a woman and get a ring on her finger. You have until Giovanni gets Santina pregnant to do it. The clock is ticking, Nico.”
“You know I’ll never do it in time.”
“Fight to survive, Nico. You want to be Don or you want your brother to be in charge around here?”
“You know he’d be a bad choice.”
“He is married. You are not. Women are the backbone of this family, Nico. They are the only way future generations come along. You look after women, they look after the famiglia.”
“I know all that.”
“Do you? Then why fuck around so much? Another one night stand last night. How many more before you think of settling down? You’re not James Bond. You can’t just fuck a succession of them until you’re my age and wearing a corset to hold in your gut.”
“So I get married and get my wife pregnant and then I become Don when you die?”
“You want to know what I think? I think you’d rather fuck than work. You’ll never settle down. You’re too much of a loose cannon. Too impetuous. See a woman, fuck her. See a drink. Drain it. You should try being a bit like your brother.”
“Giovanni has lost money in every business he’s started. Without your back up he’d have gone bankrupt ten times over. You really want him taking over the whole empire?”
“No.” He says the word like it’s a gunshot to my gut. “And that’s the point. I want you to care enough to do something about it. Get some fire under your ass. Sink or swim. Shit or get off the pot.”
