6.
C ONSTANCE
“I have a question.” I glanced over at a scowling Ciro before he asked, “Do you do this on purpose?”
“What?”
“Do you wait to go shopping until it’s my day to work?”
I smiled at him and asked, “You don’t like to shop for home decor, Ciro?”
“Do I look like it?”
“It’s kind of cute when you’re grumpy. Do you think it’s because you’re old?” I heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like a growl and chuckled before I went on. “Or were you this grumpy when you were young too?”
“I’m not even old enough to be your father!”
“Really? You could have fooled me.”
“I’m not even forty yet, Stan.”
“You act like a cranky octogenarian who yells at people to get off his lawn.”
“I’ve never done that. You want to know why? Because I’ve never lived in a house with a lawn. I’ve lived in the middle of the city where the only grass you’ll find is in the park where it belongs.”
“You live in a house with a lawn now.”
“Under duress.”
“Should I get you a lawn chair and some binoculars so you can sit in the yard and watch the birds?” There wasn’t a growl this time, but I did get a glare. “We can get you a membership to the bird watching society so you can make friends who do the same thing.”
“I’m not one who believes in beating children, but I think your father should have tried it with you at least once.”
“Do you think that would have made me easier to handle?”
“I guess we’ll never know.”
“What do you think about this set? Sit on the couch and see how it feels,” I suggested as I did just that. I looked up at him and said, “Well, come on. Give it a try.”
“I don’t see why.”
“Because it’s for your suite, Ciro. Avi told me you only have a bed and a dresser in your suite. You don’t even have a nightstand, for goodness’ sake.”
“Oh, the horror!” Ciro said dramatically before he flopped down onto the couch.
“Why didn’t you choose some furniture when we first moved here?”
“Do you want my honest answer?”
“You’re not normally one to hold back. Why start now?”
“I didn’t see the point of getting comfortable, because I figured we wouldn’t be here very long.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought for sure that you’d realize that nothing’s ever going to be the same with Park and Sully and go home in defeat.”
“Well, that’s depressing.”
“It may be, but the doctors have said that the odds of Park regaining the memories he shared with you are next to none, and Sully is never going to be the man he was before.”
“I know and that holds its own sadness, but it upsets me that you think I’d give up so easily.”
“Are you still holding out hope that they’ll both suddenly have a miraculous healing moment and remember the promises you made to each other?” Ciro asked.
“No, but I didn’t forget those promises. Just because they can’t remember them doesn’t negate what was said.”
“So, you’re going to waste your life hanging around the hospital watching two men who can’t remember that they love you fall in love with each other all over again?”
“Park understands that Sully won’t ever be the same and will always need care.”
“But he doesn’t understand why you think that’s your problem.”
“He doesn’t have to understand it to make it true.”
“You know, kiddo, I hate the situation, but I respect the fact that you’re much more caring than most people would ever believe you’re capable of, considering where you come from.”
“Loyalty is paramount in my father’s life. You know that.”
“I do, but your dad made it his mission in life to keep you out of the thick of things.”
“I still understood what was going on, even though he tried to shield me from the worst parts of that world. I may not have ever been down there, but I know what goes on in the basement, Ciro.”
Ciro’s facial expression and demeanor stayed exactly the same as he innocently asked, “The hotel has a basement?” When I rolled my eyes, he said, “I know there’s a parking garage beneath the hotel, so I guess that could be considered a basement, but I can’t imagine what you think goes on in a garage other than parking. ”
“Do you really hate it here, Ciro?”
Grudgingly, he said, “It’s not really that bad.”
“Do you miss being at home with the other guys?”
“Not yet. That may be yet to come, though.”
“When it does, let me know. I don’t want you to be here against your will.”
“Are you ever going to go home, Stan?”
“New York will always be in my heart because I love the city and my family is there, but Colorado has definitely grown on me. I really like it here.”
“Why?”
“Because here, I’m Stan. I’m not Constance Romano, daughter of a mafia crime boss who the paparazzi chase through the park when she’s trying to go on a run.
Here, they don’t follow me into nightclubs to see what sort of compromising position they can find me in or allude to me being in.
I don’t have people looking at me like I’m some pampered little bitch who can throw a fit and have her daddy make their life a living hell. ”
“You’ve never been like that.”
“But it’s much more interesting for the people who read about me online to think so, isn’t it?”
“I like your new friends, Stan,” Ciro said, abruptly changing the subject.
“I do too. They were so much help when the boys were visiting. I really liked getting to spend so much time with them. I’m meeting other members of their family bit by bit, including their parents. They’ve all been so accepting of me.”
“You’re pretty cool. I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t.”
“Because it’s not just me they’re accepting, it’s you and the girls too. They’re pretty chill about that.”
“I actually like hanging out at those apartments where they live.”
“Admit it. You’ve made some friends too.”
“Maybe.”
“You want to hang out with me in Colorado for a while, Ciro?”
“I guess.”
“If that’s the case, we should probably get some furniture for you, huh?”
Ciro’s sigh was answer enough, but then he said, “I don’t like this couch. The leather one over there looks much more comfortable.”
“Well, let’s go sit on that one for a while. I’m all yours today, my friend, and I’m going to do my best to get you settled in.”
“You’re a pain in my ass, Stan.”
“I know, but you love me anyway.”
Ciro scoffed. “Keep thinking that if it makes you feel better.”
My laughter rang out in the mostly empty showroom before I stood up and extended my hand to Ciro. “Do you need help getting up, old man?”
His reaction was just what I expected, and I laughed all the way over to the couch he liked.
No, he wasn’t Park or Sully, the guards who had become so much more than that after stealing my heart, but Ciro had become a good friend. I was happy that he wasn’t too upset about having to live in Colorado with me.
Because I never planned to leave.
◆◆◆
RIN
I sorted through the papers in front of me, but I couldn’t find the right sketch. None of them felt right. I hated it when the people in my family did this to me, but they really seemed to enjoy it.
Most people would think it was insanity to give their tattoo artist free rein and let them ink whatever they chose, but my family didn’t seem to see a problem with it. After the first one did it, which I tried to talk her out of, others had followed her lead.
It was maddening.
A tattoo should be a very personal thing.
It should mean something to the person who would be sporting it for the rest of their life unless they shucked out thousands of dollars and went through hours of pain to get rid of it.
Even then, they never fully disappeared.
So, why would anyone let someone else make that decision?
Why?
Obviously, because the people in my family were a few nuggets short of a Happy Meal.
“I quit!” I announced to the room.
“Again?” my dad asked.
“It’s the first time this week,” Shady called out from the front counter. “I think that’s a record.”
“It’s only Wednesday, and he was off on Sunday and Monday,” Natty pointed out. “But you’re right. This may be a record.”
“What’s got you giving up now?” Dad asked before he grabbed a paper towel to wipe the tattoo he was working on. He glanced up at his client and smiled before he said, “My son is one of the most talented artists this family has ever had.”
“Thanks a lot, Uncle Loki,” Natty grumbled from her chair a few stalls away. She frowned at her client before she asked, “See what I put up with?”
“I said one of, Natty, not the only one. Of course, I’m still the master, but everyone knows that. Anyway, Rin is a talented artist, but he gets in his head and threatens to give it up daily.”
“Like he has any other skills,” Natty teased. “Can you imagine him working in the service industry? He wouldn’t have to quit a job like that, because they’d fire his ass the first day.”
“Or he’d end up in jail for assaulting some pompous asshole who wouldn’t shut up.”
“ He is sitting right here, you know.”
“Hush. We’re talking about you, not to you.” When I gave my dad a dirty look, he laughed before he said, “I’ve really gotta start coming in more often. This is fun. It reminds me of arguing with my brothers back in the day.”
“As if all of you don’t argue all the time now,” I pointed out.
“He put Aunt Freya in a headlock the last time we were at my parents’ for dinner,” Natty tattled. She chuckled before she said, “I thought she was going to kick his ass.”
“Is that how you pulled that muscle in your back?” I asked innocently. When my dad shot me a glare, Natty and I roared with laughter. “Admit it, old man. The younglings have taken the top spots here at the shop and knocked you off your throne.”
“Boy, I may be older now, but I’m wiser, too, and I can still kick your ass.”
“That sounded like a challenge,” Natty said in a singsong voice. “Somebody’s going down!”
“When was the last time you stepped into the ring?” I asked.
“The last time I whipped your ass.”
“Hmm. When was that? Twenty years ago?”
“I’m gonna call your father and tell him you’re being an asshole.”