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I nodded. "I was at school when a boy in my class went into anaphylaxis during snack time. Apparently he was allergic to nuts and there had been some type of cross-contamination. He started coughing and the next thing I knew he was turning colors and struggling to breathe."
"That must have been terrifying at such a young age."
"It was. The nurse came running into the room with an EpiPen. She injected him with it and almost instantly he was breathing better. They still had to take him to get checked out, but he was fine. Watching him go from gasping for air to almost as if nothing had happened fascinated me. After that, I was always the one trying to treat everyone's ailments. If someone scraped their knee at recess I would offer to walk them to the nurse's office and I would stay and watch as she cleaned and dressed the wound."
"That's incredible to know what you wanted to be at such a young age and to follow through with it at that. It's very impressive."
"And what about you? I'm sure as a little boy you didn't say ‘I want to work for the mafia’. What did you want to be when you were growing up?"
"I wanted to be a soldier. I wanted to be able to fight and protect those that I cared about."
"You mentioned before that you were a soldier for a while. Why did you stop?"
"I didn't agree with some of the decisions that were made by the higher-ups so when my time came to reenlist I didn't. After that I took on odd jobs until I met Teo."
"And you're happy now? Working for the mafia?"
"I am. Don't get me wrong there are certain parts that I don't love but we are a family. I love the camaraderie. We look out for each other, and we try to help those who can't help themselves. We work hard to build up our city and the people who live there."
I nodded thoughtfully, having heard a lot of that from him before. It was clear that he truly believed it, but I still had a hard time understanding how someone could do good by doing bad.
Chapter 14
Sienna
The flight went by quickly and before long we stood outside of my father's nursing home. I’d already called ahead so that they would have my father ready for a visit. I took an anxious breath before Alessandro, and I walked hand in hand into the building.
I checked in with the nurse at the front desk before heading to my father's room like I had so many times before. I knocked softly on his door that was slightly ajar and he called out in his usual gruff voice. “Come in.”
"Papa?" I called out quietly as I slipped into the room.
"Is that my little girl finally here for a visit?" I could hear the smile in his voice, and it made me smile in return. He sat in his favorite chair in the small living space.
"Papa, I've missed you." I let go of Alessandro’s hand and hurried to him, bending down to kiss each of his cheeks.
"You look beautiful as always." His eyes drifted over my shoulder to where Alessandro stood quietly. "Who is this?"
"Oh, this is Alessandro. My...boyfriend."
"A pleasure to meet you, sir,” Alessandro said confidently as he stepped from behind me and shook my father's hand.
"Boyfriend, aye?" My father studied him intensely. “I hope he's better than the last one.”
“Papa,” I playfully scolded, secretly hoping that he wouldn't go any further with the topic.
"It's true. You were far too distracted with that one."
"Distracted, huh?” Alessandro glanced at me as he took a seat next to my father. “You mean that she was so in love with him that she couldn't see anything else? Should I be worried?"
"No. More like her head was so far in the cloud that she couldn't see what was in front of her. The boy seemed to bring out her clumsy side. Always bumping into something, turning up with bruises."
"Papa," I tried to interrupt him, but he continued.
"One time she even got so distracted she tripped down the stairs. Broke a wrist and dislocated her shoulder. She almost lost her residency over that. Can you imagine? Letting a boy distract you that much?"
"No, sir. That sounds uncharacteristic of Sienna.” Alessandro looked at me with a knowing frown. “I can't see your daughter letting some boydistracther in such a way."
I squirmed uncomfortably and was relieved when the nurse came in to see if we’d like to take my father outside for his midday stroll. We spent all afternoon with Papa, strolling in the garden, playing cards, and catching up on life.
