“He seems pretty firm,” Luca murmurs.
“He seems pretty fuckin’ stupid.”
Luca chuckles. “That too.”
“If he doesn’t make contact in one week, I’ll deal with him myself,” I grunt.
Luca whistles as he shakes his head. “You sure you wanna do that? He ain’t worth that kind of movement, is he?”
Licking my lips, I jerk my chin. “It’s not about him being worth it. It’s about me showing that we aren’t going to put up with that kind of shit. If we let it go, then what does that say about us? It says we’re weak. It says that nobody has to pay and if they don’t think they have to, they won’t.”
“Yeah.” Luca nods.
“Let me know if you need me for anything else, I have to meet with Vino.”
Luca lifts his hand and gives me a two-fingered wave. I watch as he jogs toward his car as I open my passenger seat and set the cannolis down on the floor. It’s going to fucking suck if I have to knock this bastard off and can’t get pastries anymore.
Climbing into my car, I let out a frustrated sigh, I put in a call to Pippa before I head toward Gavino’s.
PIPPA
My phone buzzes in my hand. Without hesitating, I slide my finger across the screen and accept the call, placing it to my ear.
“What are you doing?” Massimo asks. His voice is sharp and I can tell he’s annoyed.
Clearing my throat, I look around the furniture store. “Shopping,” I say. “For furniture,” I clarify.
“You find anything?”
“No.”
There’s a moment of silence, I can tell he’s driving and I wonder what he’s doing today. Biting the corner of my lip, I wish that I could ask him such a simple question. I know that I can’t though.
Dropping my head, I look at my shoes. I wish he were here, that someone else was here with me. I feel really isolated and alone. Pinching my eyes closed, I shake my head.
Maybe I don’t really need to be so alone, I can call anyone that I want. He hasn’t told me that I have to cut off contact with anyone in my life, but it just doesn’t feel right to bother any of the other wives or to invite any of my old friends.
“I’ll be home by dinner. You’ll be ready for me.” He says the words, doesn’t ask, he tells me that I will be ready.
“I’ll be ready,” I whisper.
I don’t have any more lingerie that he hasn’t seen, so I mentally add going to Lenora’s store to my list. I have Massimo’s credit card in my purse, along with a huge envelope of cash just in case they won’t let me use his card without him.
He has encouraged me to buy whatever I want, without limits. I hate that. I feel as though I’m going to become one of those women, one of those wives, the exact thing that I despise. The thing is? I can see just how easy it is to become one of them.
“I’ll see you later, dolcezza.”
He ends the call and I’m left standing in the middle of the shop. Deciding that this is just way too overwhelming, I give up, leaving the furniture store and head toward Lenora’s. I guess I’ll be living with the whores’ furniture for a while.
Hailing a cab outside of the furniture store, I give him the address to Lenora’s shop that I found on my phone. Tipping my head down, I scroll through my phone. I pull up Instagram and start to thumb down the images.
My friends, though, are they? Not one of them has tried to contact me since I disappeared. They are all posting pictures, selfies, pretty food pics, and stories of them partying, clubbing, doing whatever they normally do in their carefree lives.
Pressing my lips together, I debate posting a picture of my wedding. I have a few that Rosana took that night and forwarded to me. Exiting that app, I find my picture one and scroll through the dozen photos that she sent me.
My gaze roams over the images. I look really pretty. I don’t know why that surprises me. I had help with my hair and makeup, my dress was gorgeous, it would make anyone feel and look prettier.
Pulling up Instagram again, I decide to click the button to add an image to my feed. I choose the third picture that Rosana sent me.
It’s both me and Massimo.
He’s standing behind me and to the left. His hand is wrapped around my waist and he’s looking at Rosana with a small smile on his lips. My body is turned slightly to face him. I’m not smiling, but I am looking up at him softly.
I don’t choose a filter, but I do write a status on it adding a couple of hashtags.
Mrs. Ferrucci.
#MrandMrs #Married #ModernBride
#WeddingDay #NewWife #Newlyweds
#Adventure
Holding my breath, I touch the share button. Pinching my eyes closed for a moment, I wonder if any one of the thousand people that follow me will even notice. Will any of the people that I have considered my friends over the years notice?
“We’re here,” the cabbie announces.
Sitting up straight, I reach into my purse and hand him cash, plus a tip, for the fare before I open the door and step out onto the sidewalk. The cab pulls away and I tilt my head back, looking up at the signage above me.
I’m in front of a small café. Turning my head to the side, I see that Lenora’s shop is about half a block down. A little too nervous to head into her store immediately, I decide to go into the café and buy an iced coffee first.
Once I have my drink in hand, I walk over to an empty table and sit down. Unable to keep from checking, I look through my phone. Pulling up the Instagram app, I blink in surprise at the amount of people who has hit the heart icon. It’s been ten minutes, I already have two-hundred hearts on my image, and thirty comments. They’re all simple, some are surprised but most are just sentiments of congratulations.
MARISSA: WHAT THE HELL? MARRIED?!!!!!
I’m not surprised that Marissa is the first to contact me. She and I have been the closest, she’s who I would have stayed with in her studio if I thought that I would have been able to get on my feet in a couple of weeks.
SURPRISE!
I text back, chewing on my straw. I see those little three dots on the phone pop up, then go away, then pop back up a few more times before a text finally comes through.
MARISSA: BITCH. WHAT THE HELL? I NEED DEETS PRONTO. COFFEE TOMORROW?
I think about telling her no, coming up with some kind of excuse, then I realize that I don’t have to. Out of everyone I know, she actually gives a shit.
WHERE?
MARISSA: OUR SPOT.
I’LL BE THERE. 10?
MARISSA: BE READY TO SPILL.
Shaking my head, I send her one last text telling her that I will and then shove my phone in my purse. Grabbing my coffee, I take one more long sip from the straw before I head out of the café.
Stepping out onto the sidewalk, I turn toward Lenora’s shop. With a deep breath, I take a step, then another. I don’t know why I’m so nervous. It’s not like I haven’t seen her several times over the past several weeks, but I am.
I want her to like me.
I want to fit in.