Chapter Twenty
Leaving the store, Franco held tightly to the gifts he planned to present to Gina and Rico tonight. Uncharacteristically, Franco almost bounced with excitement and couldn’t wait to see their reactions. Sounded like Rico and Gina both needed these diversions.
Rico had invited him over this Friday night for a fish fry dinner before game night. Actually, it would be a movie night this week. Rico and Gina wanted to watch The Wizard of Oz. After a tough week at work, Franco was ready for good food and companionship, regardless of what activity they chose.
Franco hadn’t realized how lonely his apartment could be until he’d started spending so much time at Rico and Gina’s. No wonder he’d been frequenting the Masters at Arms Club as often as possible on his nights off. He’d mostly wanted to be around people he could be comfortable with.
Funny, but after spending so much time with Rico and Gina, the desire to go to the club had decreased. However, he couldn’t wait to get Rico into another scene, whether the power exchange happened at one of their residences or at the club.
But that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
While the two of them hadn’t really entered into a solid Dom/sub dynamic, Franco had tried from the start to be a good Dom to Rico at every opportunity. The amount of contentment he found in spending time alone with Rico after Gina went to bed had been amazing. They could talk about anything or do nothing at all and merely sit together and have a beer or some wine.
Sometimes, they reminisced about school days. Other times, Franco shared what he could about one or more of his fire investigations. He tried to keep it light, joking about all the burned sex toys he’d found while combing through debris looking for clues.
He chose not to talk about the more gruesome details of any serious fires, and there were so many unsolved cases he couldn’t discuss. He’d only had one case go to trial since he’d started working with the unit. Even when police caught a suspected arsonist, the case rarely went to trial unless there had been a fatality or some other crime committed along with starting the fire. Getting a guilty verdict for whoever killed the Richards family last month would give him a lot of satisfaction, and he’d do everything he could to make it a rock-solid case for the district attorney.
There were still some leads he hadn’t been able to track down yet and several fires he suspected were related to the same perp but he hadn’t been able to connect the dots yet. Franco was nothing if not persistent and methodical, but also frustrated that he hadn’t solved this one. He’d catch whoever did it eventually, hopefully before another fire was set. Serial arsonists were the worst, though, often impossible to identify.
Victor had been more distracted lately, worrying about his girlfriend, Patti, whose ex-boyfriend had been paroled. Adam provided the security for her, but Franco could tell Victor was having trouble focusing on his cases when they chatted. He’d told Franco the bastard had been abusive to Patti, delivering many beatings, and then had locked her in a cage and left her alone. The apartment building had caught fire soon after and her apartment was filling with smoke when Victor, a firefighter, had found and rescued her.
What kind of asshole leaves someone restrained and alone?
Shaking off those thoughts, Franco rang the intercom at Rico and Gina’s building. Gina buzzed him up as soon as she recognized his voice. Juggling the items in his hand, he opened the door from the outside and took the stairs two at a time. Wanting to surprise her, he tucked one gift behind his back. He’d bought them on a whim, hoping to cheer Gina up a little. Rico had texted earlier that today had been a rough one for her at school.
As if she needed any other hassles or worries in her life. While she seemed to be adjusting to life without her mama as well as any ten-year-old girl could, Franco had a feeling she didn’t always let Rico and him know when she was going through a tough time. He wondered how Rico had figured it out this time.
When the door opened, Gina greeted him, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. With some fanfare, he pulled out the bouquet of bright yellow and burnt orange flowers from behind his back and presented them to her.
“Hi, honey. I thought you might like these.”
Her eyes opened wider. “For me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Her expression remained sober momentarily, but the flowers did the job and coaxed a smile to her face. “They’re beautiful! Nobody ever gave me flowers before!”
“Don’t you worry. I guarantee a beauty like you will be the recipient of many bouquets in her lifetime.”
Poor Rico would have to fight the suitors off with a stick. Franco could provide backup too, because no one would disrespect or take advantage of their little girl without having to answer to them both.
Their little girl? You mean Rico’s, don’t you?
Hard to believe that she’d wrapped herself around his heart in such a short time.
Gina took the bouquet and held it up to her nose to breathe in the scent. Her nose wrinkled.
“Sorry,” Franco apologized. “Mums don’t smell all that good.”
“It’s okay,” she assured him. “They’re all beautiful. I’ll get a jar to put them in.”
Franco entered the apartment, set the envelopes on the desk, and closed the door. He turned toward the kitchen where Gina rummaged in the cabinet below the sink.
Rico looked sexy, even in that pub apron. He grinned in Franco’s direction. “Beer or wine?” Rico asked as he floured the whitefish fillets.
“Beer, but I’ll get my own. Want one too?”
“You know it.”
Franco pulled two bottles out of the fridge. “Can I do anything to help?”
“Nope. I just started pan frying the fish when you buzzed and the onion rings are in the air fryer. We’ll be sitting down to eat in a few minutes.”
His siblings said Rico’s fish fry nights at the pub were out of this world, but Franco simply looked forward to spending this time with them.
“And for dessert, while we’re watching the movie, we’ll snack on Munchkins from Dunkin Donuts and some lollipops.”
Leave it to Rico to even make the snacks part of the movie theme.
Gina filled a mayonnaise jar with water and took it to the dining table, then began arranging her flowers. Franco set Rico’s beer next to the stove and stood close to him in a way that his body blocked Gina from viewing his hand squeezing Rico’s ass. Franco whispered, “I’ve missed you, boi.”
“The feeling is mutual, Sir. But you’re pure evil.” That Rico still felt the Dom/sub connection between them made Franco’s day.
“Remember your place,” he muttered with a smile. Franco inhaled—not just the food but the scent of the man standing next to him. “Smells good.”
Regardless, Rico turned to give him a sexy grin, which vanished at Gina’s words.
“Zio Rico!”
Rico jerked away from Franco as if burned, and both men turned to face her. “Look at the flowers I got from Zio Franco!”
“They’re beautiful! But not as beautiful as you are, Sweetie.”
Seeing Gina’s face light up at the attention they’d both given her hopefully made up for her bad day.
Franco noticed the black shirt she wore. Dorothy’s ruby slippers peeked out from under the ruffle of a dress with splashes of bright rainbow colors. The saying from the beginning of the movie about a place far, far away, beyond the moon, beyond the rain made Franco think about where Gina imagined her mama to be.
“I love your shirt,” he commented.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Rico said as he went to the couch. “You have to wear one too.” He picked up an adult-sized T-shirt and handed it to him. “We have a few minutes. Put this on. I’ll show you mine when you get back.” Rico returned to the kitchen without a backward glance.
Franco looked at the shirt in his hands, which read: You always had the power all along, my dear. The word Power was written in rainbow colors.
Themed shirts for their movie night? Rico might have a little too much time on his hands.
“Go!” Rico urged. “Get dressed! We’ll be eating soon.”
After changing into the shirt in the bathroom, Franco returned to the table where Gina had cocked her head as she assessed her lopsided bouquet. He noticed the stems were way too long for the jar Gina had chosen. Apparently, Michelle hadn’t received flowers very often, if at all, because she didn’t seem to have a vase. Next time, he’d be sure to buy one of those too.
“Why don’t we cut off some of the stems?” Franco suggested as he pulled out the kitchen shears from the drawer and joined her at the table. “A fresh cut also will help them drink the water better.”
“Flowers can drink?”
“Sure!” He spent the next few minutes showing her how to cut the stems at a diagonal. Gina giggled when some of the pieces flew across the table. He then handed each flower to her one at a time and let her arrange them again. “You’ll want to give them fresh water every two or three days, and they’ll last for weeks.”
Gina stared at the flowers a long moment as if mesmerized. “Mama used to buy flowers to decorate the table,” Gina said, “but the fall ones were always her favorite.”
Had Michelle steered him to the flowers at the store? Probably.
Turning toward Franco, she added, “Thank you so much, Zio Franco.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m going to keep them in my room at night and on the table during the day so I can see them all the time. Well, except when I’m at school.”
Man, he’d never expected a ten-dollar bouquet of cut flowers could give someone so much joy.
Thanks, Michelle.
Franco rubbed Gina’s back in a comforting way, then left her alone with her memories and her bouquet. “I’ll set the table.” He went to the silverware drawer and pulled out what they’d need then took down three dinner plates. He didn’t see a salad, but who wanted a salad with fish and onion rings anyway?
With Gina’s back turned toward them, Franco felt playful again and leaned in to give Rico a quick peck on the cheek. “You look hot as fuck in that apron,” Franco whispered, “but I’d rather see your bare ass in the back rather than those tight jeans.”
Rico glanced around him at where Gina remained engrossed in her bouquet then gave Franco a smoldering stare. “That can be arranged, Sir.”
Franco laughed and smacked him all-too-lightly on the butt before carrying the silverware and plates to the table.
“I’ll help!” Gina jumped up from her chair and laid a folded paper towel at each of the three places for Franco top with silverware.
When they finished, Franco thanked her for her help.
“You’re welcome!” She carefully set her flowers in the center of the table. They were a little tall for a centerpiece, but he’d make sure Gina sat at the head of the table. Rico and Franco would be able to see each other over the bouquet.
“Dinner is served,” Rico announced as he brought a platter of fish and onion rings to the table before removing his apron. Franco’s gaze zeroed in on the shirt he’d chosen for himself before he rolled his eyes.
Come out, come out, wherever you are.
Again, the rainbow colors, along with some starbursts or pixie dust or something, permeated the design. Somehow Franco didn’t think it was Munchkins Rico wanted to come out of hiding.
“Very subtle.”
Rico merely grinned.
By the time dinner was over, Franco hadn’t gotten a clue as to what had upset Gina at school, but she seemed to have bounced back. After they cleared the table and before they moved to the living room to watch the movie, Franco went to the desk near the door and picked up the two envelopes.
“I have something to give you two before we start the movie.” They moved back to sit at the table, and he slid one thick envelope toward each of them. “These are some of the photos I took on my phone during our trip to Chicago. I thought you might like to have them as keepsakes.”
Rico pulled out his photos first. “Wow! That’s a lot of photos. I only remember seeing you photographing us that one time while saying goodbye to Aunt Sophia.”
“I can be sneaky when it’s called for.” Franco grinned. He’d tried to be surreptitious as he took photos of them that weekend, hoping to capture spontaneous moments.
Franco watched silently as they pored over the pictures one at a time. He enjoyed watching them smile and reminisce about each memory. He’d printed more than a hundred and fifty of the ones he thought worth sharing.
“Mama’s giraffe!” Gina showed Rico the photo Franco had taken of her in silent communication with the giraffe.
Rico took the photo and held it up closer. He turned to Franco. “Did you see this?”
Franco came around to stand between them and looked at the spot where Rico pointed. There was an anomaly there. “I guess the sun was at a bad angle.” Usually, he was careful to avoid that, though.
Rico showed him two other photos he’d taken seconds apart. “But it’s only in this one and you didn’t change positions. Looks like an orb to me.”
Did Rico believe in the supernatural? Franco did to some extent, more so since losing Papa. “You might be right.”
“What’s an orb?” Gina asked.
He’d let Rico field this one. “Some believe it’s how our loved ones in Heaven show us they’re still around us.”
“Mama! It’s right where I saw her face!” Gina took the photo back and clutched it to her chest with her eyes closed. When she opened them again, she asked Franco, “Can I put this one in my memory box?”
Franco smiled. “They’re all yours, so you can put them wherever you’d like—on the wall, in a scrapbook, wherever you’d like.” Maybe he could help Rico start that memory box with Gina that Mama J had talked about. “If you need reprints of any of them, let me know, and I’ll take care of it.”
Rico tried to surreptitiously wipe away a tear, but Franco caught him. He cleared his throat. “These are amazing, Franco. Thank you so much.”
He shrugged it off as being no big deal but was pleased the photos meant so much to them. “You wouldn’t let me drive your BMW very often,” he joked. “I had to earn my keep somehow.” Thank goodness he’d thought to take lots of photos, though.
After they’d almost finished going through each of their first stacks, he remembered something else. “Oh, there’s one more.” Franco went to the desk where he had stashed what he thought originally would be the most special one. “I took this photo of the one in Aunt Sophia’s room.” He laid the framed picture between them. “I thought you might like to display it here in your apartment too.”
Rico cleared his throat. “That’s one of my favorite photos of Michelle. She was a senior in high school then.”
“Mama’s so beautiful,” Gina said, her fingertips gently stroking her mother’s cheek despite being separated by the glass.
That photo had haunted Franco from the moment he’d seen it. Michelle looked so young, and a beautiful light shone from her eyes, but something else had intrigued him. It was as if he’d known her, even though they’d never met. He’d finally decided it was because of her strong resemblance to Gina, who also reminded him of Angelina.
“Glad you both like it.” Helping the two of them heal while they continued to grieve their loss made him feel a little more useful at least.