Eventually, Matteo headed back to the table with Isa wedged under his left arm. Amo carried his little brother Valerio upside down so the kid’s blond hair fell into his face. He reminded me so much of little Fabiano, it sometimes gave me a wistful pang until his gray eyes reminded me that he wasn’t my brother. Flavio trotted after them. He was easier to handle than Isa and Valerio but far more trouble than sweet Sara. Lily sometimes said it was a boy thing, but Isa proved that theory wrong.
Matteo set Isa down in the chair beside mine.
I gave her a stern look when she was about to get up again. “Dinnertime.”
My tone made it clear that arguments were in vain, so Isa nodded with a small pout. Lily waddled outside, pregnant again, followed by Romero who always kept a close eye on her now that she was about to pop any day now.
Eventually everyone sat at the table, and the food was even still moderately warm.
Soon we all dug in and chatter filled the table. I cut Isa’s steak and she eagerly wolfed it down, much to Matteo’s delight. The girl loved meat and her dad’s motorcycle but she never missed our weekly mother and child yoga either. I brushed a few of her reddish-brown curls away from her forehead and she gave me a grin around her fork, those bold blue eyes getting me every time. So far Isa hadn’t encountered any restrictions. She was allowed to brawl with her cousins. The older she got, the more people would speak up to tell her what she could and couldn’t do because she was a girl. I’d make sure they all shut up, and if necessary, I’d even let Matteo use his particular scary talents to keep anyone at bay who’d try to make Isa believe her potential had limits only because she didn’t have a penis.
Matteo leaned over to me. “You got your fierce mother bear expression. Worrying your pretty head about Isa’s future again?”
I gave him an annoyed look but didn’t deny it.
“Trust me, babe. I’ll make sure our girl has all the freedoms she wants as long as she never brings a date home, unless it’s her lesbian lover.”
“You are impossible,” I muttered, trying to stifle a smile.
“That’s why you love me, admit it.” Matteo kissed me briefly until Valerio let out an ewww.
“Your mom and dad are being disgusting again,” he said with a scrunched-up nose.
“I know,” Isa said as if she had to suffer under our PDA all the time.
“You wouldn’t be sitting here if your mom and I didn’t enjoy being disgusting,” Matteo said. I rammed my elbow into his side. Marcella shook her head in disgust and Amo let out a laugh.
“What does that mean?” Sara asked, and the younger kids all looked from Matteo to Romero then Luca.
The latter sent Matteo a death glare. “Ask Matteo.”
Matteo leaned back and opened his mouth. He would explain the birds and the bees in every detail if anyone let him so I wasn’t sure why Luca provoked him like that.
Aria hit her palm flat on the table. “No disgusting topics at the table. We’re having dinner now. Can’t we act like a well-behaved normal family for once?”
I shrugged. Luca seemed only amused by her outburst but tried to hide it.
At least the kids all sat up a bit straighter and focused on their food again.
“That’s how she got Luca in line,” Matteo said.
I snorted. And all hell broke loose at the table again.
I mouthed sorry to Aria, but she shook her head with a badly disguised grin. A normal family we were not, but none of us really cared.
The end
SHORT STORY #2
Liliana & Romero
Romero
It was past eight in the evening when I returned home from a long day doing business. The negotiations with our main distributor of high-quality absinthe and whiskey had taken longer than expected.
Since Luca had made me Captain five years ago, I’d often worked long days. As the son of a mere soldier, not to mention after the war my love for Lily had caused, I had to gain the respect of my men and fellow Captains. I’d come a long way. The men working for me were a loyal lot and they didn’t need any more convincing, unlike some of the Captains and Underbosses, but they weren’t my main concern. My men appreciated that I didn’t mind getting my hands dirty instead of just showing my face at the clubs on the Eastside in my responsibility. Partying wasn’t part of my job description after all.
I preferred to deal with the drug and alcohol distributors myself to make sure the prices and quality were right. You needed to know the details in your establishments if you wanted to control them.
Of course, that meant I often returned home later than I wanted. Lily never complained though. As usual a soft glow came from the windows of our home, a cozy brownstone townhouse in a tree-lined street in peaceful Greenwich Village. When our neighbors had found out who was moving in, they’d avoided us like the plague, terrified we might bring war into their midst. That was the farthest thing on Lily’s and my mind. We’d moved here to find peace not destroy it. We wanted a normal life despite our background and my job.
Lily had done her best, with tea invitations and homecooked meals for one of the elderly neighbors who’d broken her hip, to improve our standing in the last six months. People still avoided me, which was fine, but I wanted them to like Lily, because it was important for her.
I opened the front door. The scent of a homecooked meal, something meaty from the oven, greeted me when I stepped into the foyer. I hung up my jacket when Lily came into the foyer, her cheeks rosy with excitement. She wore a beautiful long-sleeved blue dress, her dark blond hair framing her gorgeous face.
“You look beautiful,” I murmured as I pulled her into my arms, trying to remember if I’d forgotten any kind of special occasion. Usually Lily didn’t wear dresses or her hair down for a standard dinner. Something was the matter. It wasn’t her birthday, that had been three weeks ago. I’d never forgotten a birthday or anniversary before.
“You sound surprised,” she said with a soft laugh, her eyes tender and emotional.
“I’m never surprised by your beauty. I’m just…. Is today a special day?”
She took my hand, biting her lip. Something was definitely the matter. “I’m happy, that’s all. Today, Mrs. O’Hara invited me over for coffee.”
That our old lady neighbor had finally accepted Lily hardly explained her strange mood. She led me into the kitchen where the scent of roasted meat and tomatoes got even stronger. A casserole with bubbling cheese baked in the oven.
“Your favorite.”
“Cannelloni al forno?” I asked.
Lily nodded with a secretive smile. My mother had taught her how to make the dish, which had been part of our family for generations. Candles cast a romantic glow over the table and at my usual place a parcel waited on the table.
Fuck. Had I really forgotten a special date? Something important? But no matter how hard I racked my brain I couldn’t come up with anything.
Lily squeezed my hand. “Why don’t you open it?”
I sank down on the wooden chair and reached for the red ribbon wrapped around the white parcel. Lifting the cover, I peered in. It took my brain several seconds to process what I was seeing. A long stick stating “pregnant” and a tiny onesie stating “Best Dad in the World”.