Chapter Eight- Buddha
“Catalina!” I called out to her as she hurried down to a rental car that was parked out front. She held on to Enzo’s hand tightly as they made their way to the vehicle.
“Hey,” I said, reaching for her free hand. Catalina pulled away before she turned to face me.
“We need to talk,” I told her. The next thing I knew, Enzo placed himself between his mother and me, staring me down as though he wanted to start some shit.
“Lascia stare mia madre (leave my mother alone),” Enzo said, sticking his adolescent chest out, glaring at me. I could respect a son wanting to protect his mother from a man he saw as a threat. So I respectfully took a step back.
“Enzo, it’s ok,” Catalina placed a reassuring hand on her son’s upper arms, giving him a soft smile.
“I’ll talk to you, and then that’s it; I’m going back to Italy with my son.
You can meet me at the hotel we’re staying at; it’s the Marriott over on 54th Street.
Call me when you get there,” Catalina said before she turned and hopped behind the wheel of the rental.
Enzo gave me one cold final stare before he got into the passenger side.
I placed a hand to the top of my head as I watched the car drive off.
I had no choice but to deal with this head-on, so I jumped behind the wheel of my Bugatti.
Just as I was pulling off, I saw my father hurrying down the front steps.
Judging from the expression on his face, I could tell Victoria had gotten on his last nerves.
I shook my head because between my mother and my wife, I didn’t know which one would kill me first.
“Can we speak without Enzo being present?” I asked Catalina as I sat in my car outside the hotel where she was staying.
“Yes, I think that’s best. I’ll meet you at the restaurant downstairs. I’ll be right down,” Catalina said before hanging up the phone. I contemplated calling Dior before I got out of my vehicle, but quickly changed my mind. I’ll deal with her ass when I’m done.
Hopping out of my car, I walked into the hotel and asked to be directed to the restaurant. Catalina stood at the front, and I walked up to her.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said, pulling the door open so we could go sit and talk.
“First thing, my mother paid you to stay away from me?” I wasted no time as we sat down; this wasn’t a friendly talk.
“Yes, she did,” Catalina replied with a nod.
She took a deep breath before continuing to talk.
“I knew Edwardo would want nothing to do with me after he found out I cheated on him with his business partner’s teenage son.
So when Victoria approached me, asking if I would accept 500k to stay away from you, it was pretty easy to say yes. ”
“Let me guess, my mother made you promise to never contact me,” I knew my mother well enough to know what her terms of offering that amount of money would be.
“Correct, there were times I wanted to reach out, just to let you know that I think about you sometimes. But I knew that the right thing was for me to disappear as though I never existed. You still had your entire life ahead of you,” Catalina shrugged, looking away from me.
“Is Enzo really my son?” I asked, prepared for whatever she was about to say. Catalina looked at me and took a deep breath.
“There were three people who knew I was pregnant before I fled to Italy. Me, your mother, and one other person.”
“Wait, what? My mother knew you were pregnant? How?” I asked, confused, wondering why the fuck my mother would keep something like a child away from me.
“She accidentally bumped into me at the doctor’s office.
I was there for a check-up. Victoria can be intimidating, so when she began prying and questioning me about why I was there, I told her I was expecting.
This was before Edwardo caught us; I found out I was pregnant.
” Catalina’s confession made me think, and I smirked, shaking my head.
“So, you were cool with fucking me after finding out you were pregnant? So Enzo isn’t mine?” I asked. Catalina looked down at her hands for damn near a minute before she looked up at me.
“No, he’s Edwardo’s,” I expelled a loud, exaggerated breath. To be honest, I wasn’t even upset, more like relieved, because making it up to Enzo for not being around for all those years would have been tough.
“So, my mother knew you were pregnant and that it wasn’t mine? Does Edwardo know he has a son?” I asked, leaning closer to her.
“Yes, your mother knew it was Edwardo’s, and no, I never told him I was pregnant.
Edwardo is such a vindictive mothafucka.
I knew he would take Enzo from me, and I would have never seen my son.
I couldn’t let that happen, so when your mother approached me asking me to stay away from you.
It seemed like a win for me, and I took the opportunity to leave.
Edwardo wanted me gone anyway, so I left,” I pinched the bridge of my nose, processing what she said.
“Why the fuck did you tell me that Enzo was mine? Why the fuck did you do that?” I asked, angry at what Catalina’s lie could have caused.
“As I said, there were three people who knew about Enzo. The third person being Francesco,” my head snapped back as I looked at Catalina in shock.
“Francesco? How in the actual fuck does he tie into all of this?” This whole conversation started to get stranger by the minute.
“Look, before I go on, I just want you to know that I’m sorry I lied to you.
Enzo is a really good kid, and all I was trying to do was protect my son.
I’m hopping on the first plane back to Italy because I should have never come back here in the first place.
Victoria gave me the impression that all she wanted to do was talk so we could bury the hatchet.
I should have known better than to trust her,” I listened to Catalina, and for the first time in a long ass time, I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders.
This conversation was more important than she thought.
I always felt I still loved this woman, but sitting here talking to her, I could finally say I should never have done what I did.
I guess I was infatuated with the fact that an older woman showed interest in me.
Sleeping with Catalina almost cost me my life.
“Again, how does Francesco come into play?” I repeated, drumming my fingertips on the table.
“Well, for starters. Did you know that Francesco and Edwardo are friends?” I paused, rubbing my chin because this was news to fucking me.
*****
I took my time as I drove from the hotel. Inside my car was deathly silent because I needed to think. Catalina told me a lot, and all I needed to do was fucking think.
Enzo wasn’t my son; he’s a great kid, but I was relieved I wasn’t his father.
Not so much because I didn’t want to be, but more so because if I were, I’d miss out on a great part of his life.
Fatherhood is about being there and showing up for your child.
If Enzo had been mine, I would have been absent for major parts of his life.
I squeezed the steering wheel as I thought about what I learned about Francesco.
I had a tough decision to make. Do I tell my father?
If I did, I knew it meant that the upcoming deal we had with the Russians would be fucked.
Francesco was part of that deal; we couldn’t back out now.
The Russians would grow suspicious if we told them that Francesco was no longer a part of what we had already discussed.
They would pull the plug on everything, and I wasn’t going to risk that. I had no choice but to stick it out and leave Tomasso in the dark about what I found out. At least for now, I’d fill him in on everything after.
I squeezed my forehead; the feeling of being mentally drained took its toll.
At times, being in a family that dealt in organized crime was fucking exhausting.
There were many mornings when I woke up, all I wanted to do was hop on a plane and take my ass to a country where nobody knew who the fuck I was.
Then it would be easy for me to start a new life; hell, I may even change my name.
Most of the day had already gone by. I called my restaurant and let them know I wouldn’t be in and that they needed to hold down the fort.
I decided that I needed to go home and deal with my insolent wife for not listening to me.
Then, when I was done putting her ass in check, I would bury my dick deep inside of her and fall asleep with my body weight crushing her until the morning.
The ringing of my phone was a welcome distraction. I cursed softly when I saw it was my father calling. I was tempted to ignore it and let my voicemail speak instead. However, I decided against it and took his call.
“Tomasso,” I said, waiting to hear what he wanted.
“That woman will be the death of me. I love her, but she’s trying to kill me.
” My father and mother, even though they seemed like the perfect married couple, had rough days like any other couple.
However, those days were something else, which often left my father sleeping in a hotel.
Now that I was married, I had the pleasure of meeting the same fate.
“I’m not going home tonight; Victoria isn’t about to see me for the next week or more.” I made a face as I listened because he was fucking lying. He couldn’t bear staying away from my mother for more than one night, tops.
“I hear you, Tomasso,” I replied, shaking my head, knowing he was just talking shit.
“You think I’m joking? Guarda e basta (just watch)!” He shouted, knowing damn well he wasn’t going to do what he said.
“I hear you, Tomasso,” I repeated, about to end the call, knowing he just wanted someone to vent to.
“You should come with me. I’ll book you a room. I’m going to make my reservation now,” I creased my forehead in confusion because how am I in it?