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Getting Enrico hired as my driver was the least I could do after getting his brother, Santiago, fired from the airport. San is now a bouncer at Gotcha’s, making twice as much money as he was at the airport, not to mention meeting beautiful women nightly. Their sister, Lana, is moving to the city soon, and I’m sure they’ll find a way to get her hired as well.
Once we are settled in the back seat of the Bentley, he drives us back to the Village.
Home.
We step inside the house and I take in all the changes I’ve made since I’ve been here.
Dolores loves her room. I had the office painted a soft green, her favorite color, and outfitted it with a matching set of furniture, a queen bed and a dresser with a mirror over it. She loves to read and as soon as I found that out, I added a deep evergreen velvet armchair to the corner of the room, with a cushy matching ottoman to prop her feet up on after a long day.
Dante’s room is more masculine, decorated with hints of his old house. The walls are white, and thick wooden shelves filled with leatherbound books line his walls. He loves his books. He’s read over fifty classics and they’re all here.
I’ve created a shrine to his late wife on the wall opposite his bed.
A painting of his dear Adrianna hangs in the center of the wall. To the right, her guitar. To the left, her track medals from school and a glass memory case of her jewelry. The case holds a necklace I found in a crate of her belongings.
A silver sword pendant with an emerald inside it. I’ve seen the other wives wear similar pendants of their own, so I figured it was important to her. I had it encased in the glass with her wedding rings.
The shrine was a bold move, I know.
I was careful to make sure I was making the right decision before I carried out my plan. I asked Damian for permission before going through Adrianna’s things, then spoke to Dolores, who seems to know Dante the best right now, to be sure he’d like it.
All that prep and my heart was still in my throat when I unveiled it to Dante, worried I was making a mistake. I knew it was the right decision when he hugged me tight, thanking me with tears of joy. I catch him admiring the wall with a smile on his face at least once a day.
Adrianna shouldn’t be hidden away.
They’ve done that for too long, pushing her memory down deep with their pain. Thinking it would ease their suffering, when it only keeps them from healing. Her memory should be celebrated. In this family, they have celebrations of life for the people they loved and it’s time Dante and Damian lean into that idea.
I’ve taken to asking about her over dinner. Dante and Damian share funny family stories, opening up to share sweet memories of their time with Adrianna. I’ll need to get cooking soon, for tonight.
I head upstairs to change out of the dress and heels I wore to our ladies’ lunch, opting for cozy loungewear to cook dinner in. I think of our conversation about Patrick, and I realize for the first time in my life, I feel like myself. No one else molding me into anything. I look down at my ruby ring, thinking I’m no groupie, bending, shaping to please, to move up in this world.
I’m a rose in full bloom.
Damian is busy, training his new recruits. I’m holding down the fort. I spend time with Dante, caring for him on Dolores’ days off. They have a service to do a weekly deep clean, but I keep up with the daily cleaning, cook meals for all of us. And laundry for four.
I walk downstairs to the utility room to turn a load over from the washer to the dryer. Of course, the place has been Bachman-ized with marble floors, gorgeous blue walls, and thick white trim. Above me is no ordinary drywall but is instead covered with decorative tin ceiling tiles, their pattern circles with dots and flowers and hearts, making this room one of my favorite rooms in the house.
I inhale the scent of lavender and the freshly washed towels as I empty the dryer. I know—I’m one of the truly crazy people who enjoys doing the wash. I don’t see it as a never-ending burden. I like the satisfaction I get from putting a neatly folded, lightly scented, still-warm pile of clothing away where it belongs.
A fresh start.
I put clean towels in all the bathrooms, happy to help out. Dante needs help. He needs a Lindy in his life.
I feel like I belong here.
I’m back in the laundry room to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer when I hear the front door open. Damian, returning from work, and my heart skips a beat as it always does when he comes home.
“Lindy?” he calls.
“In here!”
He enters the laundry room. A smile stretches over my face at the sight of him. He kisses my cheek hello.
“Join me for dinner?” he asks.
I laugh as he buries his face in my neck, tickling me with his kisses. “Of course! I’m making a stir-fry for your dad.”
“Yum,” he says, dipping his hand under my sweats, rubbing me over my panties. “I can think of an appetizer I’d like to have first.”
