Episode Twenty-Eight
“ Z io Romeo, thank god you’re home. Did Dante come back here?” My nephew runs into my house.
My entire being is set on high alert. “No. Why?”
“He’s losing his damn mind. You need to talk some sense into him, Zio. Seriously, before he burns this city to the ground—scratch that! He’s going to burn the entire state down.” Orlando continues his pacing across my foyer.
“Slow down. What the fuck happened?” I ask him.
“He broke up with Josie.” Orlando stops and stares at me.
I laugh. “No, he didn’t.” I shake my head.
“Yes, he did. I was there,” Orlando insists.
“There is no way those two broke up. You must have heard wrong,” I tell him. I know my son, and I know that he has a hard time leaving that girl for a minute. It’s not possible for them to not be together.
“He threatened to shoot me if I followed him. They had a fight. She drugged him to sneak out, and when he woke up, he lost it,” Orlando rambles on.
“I know what happened. But I’m telling you they’re not broken up.”
“Okay, sure. You’re right. Of course. They can’t break up. That would be insane.” He nods his head. “But they did break up. I know what I heard.”
“I’ll call him,” I tell Orlando. Clearly, I’m not going to get rid of this kid until he knows his cousin is fine. So I take my phone out of my pocket and dial my son’s number.
“Pops, what’s up?” he asks, sounding way too cheery for someone who just dumped their soul mate.
“Why do I have Orlando here telling me you broke up with my future daughter-in-law?” I question him.
Dante chuckles through the phone. “Because I want him to think that.”
“Why the fuck would you do that?” I raise my voice, which only has Orlando cocking a brow while he gives me that I told you so look.
“The fucker needs to learn to stop eavesdropping,” Dante says. “And he got way too much entertainment out of our fight.”
“First, there is no reason for you to be fighting with Josie,” I remind my son. “Second, sort your shit out, because it’s currently wasting my time.”
“She drugged me.”
“And you’re still alive, so get over it.”
“She could have been hurt,” he says.
“And she wasn’t.”
“Zio Luca was.”
“Zio Luca can handle a bullet. He’s had plenty of practice. Josie is a good girl, Dante. She’s going to be my daughter-in-law. So, like I said, sort your shit out.” I cut the call before turning back towards my nephew. “He’s fine.”
“But they did break up. I told you.”
I look at Orlando. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell the kid the truth, that my son bullshitted him. I won’t do that, though. That’s up to Dante. “Go and find him. Make sure he fixes whatever needs fixing.”
“How am I supposed to find him?” Orlando asks.
“I don’t know. Find My Phone maybe?” I suggest. “But do it somewhere that’s not my house.”
“Livvy, holy shit, we’re not going,” I tell my wife when I find her standing in front of the mirror in our bedroom. She’s wearing a long red dress that hugs all of her curves. I don’t know how but this woman gets more beautiful every day. I fall in love with her more and more every day too.
“We’re going. Wipe that look off your face and save it for later,” Livvy replies.
“What if…?”
“Nope, your mother is expecting us. I’m not going to turn up to your parents’ house late and looking disheveled because you can’t control your urges.” My wife laughs.
“It’s your fault I have urges. If you didn’t look so fucking delectable all the time, I wouldn’t be so horny whenever I see you.”
“Ew, gross. You’re going to have to increase my trust fund because my therapy bill is going to be huge.” Tilly walks into the room, ruining any chances I had at convincing my wife to ditch the dinner plans and stay in bed with me.
“Sweetheart, I didn’t know you were coming around.” I hug my daughter.
“We’re going to dinner with you,” she says.
Tilly moved out a few months back, but I swear she’s still here every day. I wouldn’t have it any other way, though. If it were up to me, she never would have moved out to begin with.
“Let’s go. Is Dante on his way?” Livvy asks.
“Last I heard from him, he was at Theo’s,” I tell her, taking my wife’s hand as we walk downstairs together.
My daughter’s boyfriend is waiting by the door. The same boyfriend I wish I could fucking shoot and bury in a shallow grave somewhere.
“Antonio, it’s good to see you,” Livvy greets him with a one-armed hug because I refuse to let go of her other hand.
“It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Valentino. You look beautiful, as always,” the cocksucker says.
“Thank you.”
“Does anyone have any idea what this dinner is about?” Tilly asks.
“Nope. Nonno didn’t tell you anything?” I press. My daughter is usually able to get all the secrets out of my father.
“Nothing. I tried. He just said to be there on time. And that everyone was coming,” Tilly says.
“Guess there is only one way to find out. Let’s go.” I lead my family and Antonio out the front door.
Walking into my parents’ house, I can tell almost everyone is already here. My family is a bunch of loud fuckers. I don’t think they understand the meaning of talking quietly. But it’s not until I step out onto the porch that I know the reason for the noise. My cousins Lily and Hope are here with their husbands and children.
Guess Pops wasn’t fucking around when he told Tilly everyone would be here. “Hey, when did you all get into town?” I ask, hugging Lily first.
“Yesterday. You’re losing your touch, Romeo. How did you not know?” She laughs.
“I do have a city to run. Believe it or not, I’m not keeping tabs on you two 24/7,” I tell her. Truth is, I do keep tabs on all my family. What’s the point of knowing how to hack into any system if I don’t put it to good use?
Even my niece, Aurora, who thinks she’s off the radar and keeping herself hidden. I know where she is at all times. It’s one of the first things I do each day. Check on her. I might not be able to control what she’s up to, but I can make sure she’s as protected as possible.
“I heard Luc got shot again,” Hope says. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.” I hug my other cousin. “Probably going to wobble in here like he lost a leg, though.”
“I’m sure.” Hope laughs.
“Do you have any idea why we’ve all been summoned here?” Lily asks me.
“You guys were called here? By whom?”
“Me,” Pops says from behind us, and I pivot to face him.
“What’s going on?”
“You’ll find out when everyone gets here,” he says, walking past me to the table and chairs.
I look at my wife. “Any idea?”
“Nope. But I’m sure it’s fine, right? I mean, everyone is going to be here, so everything is fine?” Livvy replies.
“Yeah, they’re probably announcing another family vacation or something,” I tell her. “Come on, let’s grab one of the good seats before everyone else gets here.” I take her hand and lead her over to the table. Whatever this dinner is about, I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.
I purposefully sit in the middle, right in front of the basket that Pops likes to use to ensure our family dinners don’t end with someone in a body bag. If the basket is out, then one of us isn’t going to like whatever it is he has to say.
Great, and I wore my good suit too . I’m going to kill anyone dumb enough to get blood on it.