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“I’m not really an animal person,” I declared.
“Yeah, I kinda figured,” she murmured.
I didn’t know if it was being outside in the fresh air and among the gardens and trees or if it was because we were starting to get used to each other, but today felt more relaxed, even after what happened last night.
Being outside with her dog seemed to relax Juliana. The estate’s grounds were huge, and we followed the dog who seemed to already have a good sense for his way around the gardens, no doubt due to the long walks that Debi and Danio had been taking him on.
Juliana had brought the ball thrower with her and when the dog returned to her and started jumping at the thrower, she threw the ball for him to retrieve. “I can’t tell you how good it feels to be outside,” she said, as she raised her face to the sun and let her skin drink in the warmth of its rays.
“I don’t really spend as much time out here as I did when Danio and Debi were younger. Danio is more interested in computer games these days and Debi is always doing whatever girls like to do.”
For most of our time outside we walked in silence. But it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Juliana was enjoying the feeling of being outside and it was with reluctance that she headed back to the bedroom when I said it was time to go back in.
We walked back via the front of the house. “Why do you have the Virgin Mary here on your front lawn? You’re hardly the pious kind, are you?”
I looked at the stone statue. “When we moved to this house, Debi wanted to bring the statue from my parents’ house. I had it brought here for her.” My memories caught in my throat for a moment, causing an unwanted wave of emotion before I mentally shook myself. “It took six guys to move the fucking thing.”
“You shouldn’t blaspheme the Virgin Mary.”
“I’m not blaspheming Mary, just the stone she’s made of. Anyway, I’ve grown to like her for some reason. She makes the place feel like home.”
She looked carefully at me. “She’s someone to watch out for you guys?”
I looked away from her. “I don’t need anyone to look out for me. But I do like the thought of her taking care of my siblings.”
***
Later that morning, a knock sounded at my door, and I looked up to see Anni. She was the wife of my cousin, Lorenzo.
“Hi Marco,” she chirped.
She came in and sat in the chair in front of my desk. As usual, she was dressed in her own quirky way. Her cobalt-blue dress had puffy sleeves and a green trim, and she wore it with Converse sneakers, while her white-blonde hair was styled in its usual short bob. She completely rebelled against being a typical Mafia wife, both in terms of looks and attitude.
“It’s customary to wait to be invited into someone’s office.”
“It’s okay. I know you don’t go in for social niceties and would probably have just left me standing in the doorway, so I invited myself in. I have something I want to talk to you about.”
I checked the time. “Where the fuck is Lorenzo? He’s supposed to be meeting me now.”
“He’s still in the car, on a call to someone about some issue. He said to tell you he’ll be here in a few minutes.”
Given that my cousin hadn’t yet graced me with his presence, I didn’t really have an excuse to get rid of his wife. “What did you want to talk about?” I asked carefully.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t be at the wedding, but you know how everyone thought it wouldn’t be that safe.”
“No problem. I’m glad you weren’t there given what happened.”
She nodded. “Yeah, about that…Lorenzo tells me you’ve brought the girl home with you.”
“And?” I barked. Anni wasn’t shy about saying what was on her mind, and I knew that I should just get this conversation over and done with as quickly as possible.
She sighed. “Look, I know that there are no girls in the Fratellanza you’re attracted to, and I know that you probably feel you’re at the age where you want to settle down, but there are better ways to find a girl than bykidnappingone.”
“I didn’t kidnap her. She was mine as soon as she signed the contract. I just took what belonged to me.” My tone was abrupt and held a dark edge, but Anni didn’t let that deter her.
“You know that mine and Lorenzo’s engagement and wedding didn’t exactly run smoothly, and then we struggled with our marriage at the start.”
“Your point is?” I gritted out.
