by Tessa Thorne
I laugh. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Mom. I’m only twenty-three.”
“All the stars are getting married and having kids at a young age, you know.” She divides the eggs onto three plates. “It’s the hot thing now. I read about it in all the magazines.”
“Well, I’m no star, Mom.” I finish off my dad’s cup and set it on the counter on his tray. It’s the one with the four eggs, sunny-side up.
She puts her mittened arm around me and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “You are to me.”
“I love you too, Mom.” I smile, feeling my cheeks blush. “I’m going to take Dad’s tray down to his study, okay?”
“Okay, princess,” she says. “Just don’t take too long, I don’t want your food to get cold.”
“Alright, Mom.” I wait for her to finish setting his food on the tray, put my own espresso on it and head to my dad’s study. It’s where he likes to read the paper in the morning.
The door to the study is ajar. “I’m bringing in your food, Dad.”
“Morning, princess.” He looks up from his paper as I come in and set the tray on the table before him. “Thanks for the dine-in service, but I was planning to come upstairs and have breakfast with you and your mother.”
I close the door softly and pull up a chair to the side of his desk. He looks at me curiously as I take my cup of coffee and have a sip. My stomach is starting to do flips and it’s comforting to have something to hold on to while I have this conversation.
He takes his own cup and leans back in his brown leather chair. “I’m not sure I’m awake enough yet for a talk.”
“I’m sorry, Dad.” I lean my elbows on the table. “I wanted to make sure I caught you before you left.”
He folds the newspaper back up and places it next to his breakfast tray. “You have my attention.”
I bite my lip, but go on before I let my nerves get the best of me. “What do you think of Gio?”
He slowly crosses his arms in front of his chest and looks at me for a moment before going on. “He worries me.”
I swallow a lump in the back of my throat. “Why?”
“Because I’m not sure about his motives.”
“Is that why you had us followed out of the restaurant?” I know I’m pushing my luck, but I might as well. As Sarah loves to quote, go big or go home.
He barks out a laugh. “Yes, not that it worked.”
“Gio doesn’t like being followed.”
“No, I don’t suppose any security contractor likes that.” He smiles.
“Then why aren’t you demanding that I stop dating him?”
He looks at me for a long time before speaking. “Did I ever tell you how your mother and me started dating?”
“Mom told me.” I smile. It was an old school courtship. It involved a lot of flowers and permission from her parents.
He chuckles. “Her version of the story isn’t what I’m talking about.”
I tilt my head at him. “Oh?”
“You know your grandparents on her side.” He stands up and turns to an old photo hanging on the wall. It’s a black and white photograph of him and my mom when they were young. “They come from a proper family of doctors. Respectable people, living in respectable neighborhoods.”
He turns back to me. “My family, not so much. My dad was a hard worker and earned a living for the family. But he was just a mechanic. My mother, she took care of the children of other working mothers and cleaned houses to make extra money for Christmas. We weren’t respectable Italians.”
I finish my espresso and set it down on the tray. I’ve never heard the story told like this before.
“The one place the respectable families and families like mine mixed was in church.” He grins. “So I did what you did back then. I asked her dad for permission to take her out to dinner and a movie.”
“What did he say?”
“He practically set the dogs loose on me.” He grins.
I can’t help but laugh.
“So what’s a young man who’s fallen in love with the prettiest girl he’s ever seen to do?” He shrugs. “We started sneaking around her family.”
I can’t believe I’d never heard this story before. “That’s so romantic.”
“You know me.” He laughs. “The consummate romantic.”
“When you told me you’d been seeing someone, I saw the same determined look on your face that I saw on your mother’s when she told her dad that she’d be marrying me, whether he approved or not.”
He walks over to me, and cups my chin in his big hand. I look up at him and see the warmth in his eyes. “You had that same determined look on your face,” he marvels quietly.
I blink and feel tears starting to well up in my eyes. “That’s such a sweet story, Dad.”
“It was a long time ago.” He smiles down on me and kisses my forehead. “And I’ve changed a lot since then. I don’t trust easily. That’s why I had you followed. I just want to protect you.”
I stand up and wrap my arms around his neck, and he gives me a warm hug. “I trust him, Dad.”
“I know.” He nods into my shoulder. “You’ve always been a good judge of character, and you’ve always been the perfect daughter. That’s why, despite the misgivings I can’t help but have, I’m going to let you two be.”
I turn my head and kiss my dad on the cheek. “Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate that.”
He chuckles as he pulls back from the hug and holds me by the shoulders. “Not that you need my permission.”
I laugh. This is going so much better than I could have imagined. Time again to push my luck.
“There’s one more thing I wanted to ask you.”
“Of course there is.” He laughs as he sits back down on his chair. “Go on.”
“You said the police are too incompetent to find out what happened to Gio’s family.”
My heart is pounding in my chest as a dark cloud passes over my dad’s eyes. “I did.”
“Could you look into it?” I look up at him, trying to ignore the churning in my stomach.
“I’ve already started looking into it.” He pats me on the cheek. “Dominic was an old friend, and he and his family deserve justice for what was done to them.”
“Could you finish that shit later?” Sarah is leaning over my shoulder, staring at my invoices.
“You know that doesn't help, right?” I glare at her jokingly.
“I’m not trying to help you.” She grins. “I’m trying to make you stop doing paperwork so we can gooooooo…”
“We can’t leave till Gio gets here anyway.” I say. “So I might as well finish this. The bills won’t pay themselves.”
“They do if you let them!” She laughs. “It’s called auto-pay.”
“You can’t run a business on auto-pay.” I shake my head and laugh. I take what I’ve finished and put them in my outbox, and take the sizable stack left to go over, straighten them back up and return them to my inbox. I don’t know what I was thinking, trying to get work done after Sarah arrived.
It’s a hot day out today, and she’s taking advantage. She’s dressed in a romper that barely covers anything. She’s all legs and arms. I walk over to my mirror and make sure I look good for when Gio comes over. I’m dressed a bit more conservatively than Sarah. A pair of booty shorts and tank top from Theory, plus the Coach wedges Sarah gifted me the other day. I turn around and check out my ass in the mirror.
“Gio’s gonna love it.” Sarah smacks my ass and laughs.
“He better.” I grin.
“I can’t wait to meet him.”
Almost on cue my phone buzzes--my iPhone, not my burner. I finally gave him that number and told him he can text me on it. It’s such a pain to text on the Nokia, and now that my dad’s okay with me dating him, I don’t have to hide his texts.
“He’s outside!” I stuff my phone in my purse. “Let’s go!”
Coney Island is packed today. The high is in the mid-eighties and it loo
ks like everyone took the day off to come to Coney Island. I’ve got my arm wrapped around Gio’s, who’s great at making a path through a crowd, and Sarah’s between the two of us, but a step behind, talking our ears off.
“You guys want to go on the Cyclone?” she asks, her eyes on the old wooden roller coaster. A train of cars rolls by, sending the whole structure rocking in the air.
“No way!” I laugh. “It's going to collapse any second now. No way I’ll be caught dead on that thing.”
Sarah puts one arm on my shoulder and the other over Gio’s and sticks her head between ours, grinning. “Come on! It’s not that scary.” She turns to Gio. “You’re not scared, right, Gio?”
Gio looks at her and laughs. They’ve been getting along great from what I’ve seen. At least Gio hasn’t gotten annoyed with her yet, despite her constant teasing.
“I’m good to go if Allie is.” He squeezes my hand. “What do you say?”
I stop to look at the roller coaster. The line isn’t too bad. Everyone else is more interested in the Thunderbolt, the new roller coaster they finished a year ago. But the Cyclone is a classic. It has a mystique that only comes with age.
I turn to him and Sarah, who’s grinning like a maniac. “Alright, fine!”
Sarah pumps her fist, grabs our hands and makes us run to get in line. A short while later, I’m locked into a metal seat with a thinly padded metal bar locked down over my thigh. Gio barely fits in this thing, and the attendant had to come over to make sure the bar was locked over his thick thighs. Sarah’s in the car behind us, taking a million selfies.
“You’re gonna lose your phone if you keep it out!” I yell back at her as the roller coaster jolts us forward.
I grip Gio’s hand tightly as the chain starts to ratchet us up the first hill. My stomach is doing flips, and I’m grateful we haven't stopped at Nathan’s for hot dogs yet. He leans in toward me, kisses me on the cheek, and puts his arm around my shoulder. I start to feel comfortable under his protection.
Then we round the first crest, my eyes go wide, and I scream as my stomach drops and we tumble down the first hill. The Cyclone feels even more rickety when you’re on it, which I thought would be impossible. How is this thing not condemned?
I scream and Gio laughs as we go into a tight turn and start climbing again for another fall. I grip his hand tightly, my knuckles turning white. I can’t believe I decided to do this. I look back and Sarah’s laughing her ass off, still taking selfies with her phone. I can't believe she hasn't lost that thing.
I’m out of breath by the time the train rolls up to the exit ramp and my body is tingling with the rush of adrenaline. Gio helps me up on my wobbly knees.
Sarah joins us, and pulls on us to stop us at the photo booth. She grins and points at the big picture showing me screaming with my hands in a death grip around the bar, ponytail waving in the air behind me, and Gio laughing with one arm held around my shoulder and the other up.
“You’ve got to buy that picture!”
Gio looks at me, and I smile and nod. “Would you?”
He laughs, pulls some cash out of his wallet and heads over to the cashier.
As we wait and try to figure out where to go next, a group of guys approach us. I look up at them and then look back at Sarah, trying to ignore them as their leader steps up to her.
“Hey, baby.” He looks her up and down. “I love your legs.”
Sarah glances up at him, then turns back to me and laughs.
“You think I’m funny, bitch?” He steps directly in front of her and grabs her arm.
“Fuck off!” she yells.
Before I can call out Gio’s name, the guy yells as Gio pulls him off Sarah’s arm. Gio twists the guy's arm till his elbow is bent at the wrong angle. Gio looks him in the eye and says, “The lady isn’t interested in a little prick like you.”
His friends form a semicircle around Gio and I look around for a cop or security, but I don’t see anyone around. The crowds are just ignoring what’s happening. No one wants to ruin their day off by stepping into the middle of a fight.
“You got a problem, man.” The guy yells as he tries to wrestle out of Gio’s grip, but he doesn’t let go. “Four against one, man, you gonna get fucked.”
Gio breaks his thumb with a sickening crunch and kicks him inside the knee. The guy collapses to the ground and can’t seem to decide whether to nurse his thumb or his busted knee as he howls in pain.
Gio steps between us and the rest of the guy's friends. The guy is clutching at his knee, and Gio steps over his face and looks down on him. “That's three on one now.”
“You gonna get fucked up, man!” Another guy gets in Gio’s face, screaming and puffing up his chest, but he doesn’t make a move.
Gio looks to the three of them. “Which one of you wants to join your friend on the ground first?”
One of the guys backs up half a step and Gio barks at him. “Walk.”
The last one tries to convince the others to leave. “Let’s go, the bitch ain’t worth it.”
Gio takes a step toward him and the man nearly stumbles trying to back up. “Show some fucking respect.” The thug glowers, but then flushes when he sees the look on Gio’s face. He knows none of them stand a chance.
“Come on, let’s go.” He bends down and taps his fallen friend on the shoulder. “Get your ass up, Ivan!”
I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding as they pick up their broken friend and walk away. I look around and there’s a small crowd around us. Someone’s even holding up his phone, recording the fight.
“Run, bitches!” Sarah screams after them and laughs. She turns to Gio. “Holy shit, man. That was amazing.”
He grins as he watches them disappear into the crowds. “You two okay?”
I nod and kiss him on his stubbly cheek. “Yeah, thanks to you.”
“You think you could have taken all four of them?” Sarah asks, mock punching him in the arm.
Gio laughs. “Only an idiot tries to fight four guys at once, but those punks weren’t looking for a fight.”
He puts his arm around me and pulls me into his side. “You two wanna pick where we go next?”
“Fuck, I’m starved!” Sarah says. “Let’s get some dogs at Nathan’s.”
He looks at me and I nod. I snuggle my head into his shoulder as we walk down the boardwalk to Nathan’s. “I’m so happy you get along with Sarah.”
“She seems like a good friend.” He kisses my temple.
“She is.” I kiss him back on the lips. “She’s been your number one cheerleader since day one, you know.”
“Oh, yeah?” He looks back at her and she snaps another picture of us. “Then she must be a really great friend.”
Chapter Thirteen
Giovanni
The gateway to the Pavoni driveway lifts up and Phil waves me in. It’s hard getting used to this. I meant to kill the guy a couple of weeks ago, and now I’m rolling into his house to pick up his daughter for a date on a Tuesday afternoon.
I look up at the sky. Father, please forgive me. I felt guilty the first week, started getting used to it the second week, and now I think I’m actually starting to enjoy living life again. It’s an odd feeling being happy, but it’s hard not to be happy around Allie. I don’t have to try at it. It just comes naturally.
I pull to a stop in the driveway in front of their door and kill the engine. The door slams shut behind me and I hop up the steps to their elaborate double doors. I ring the doorbell and the sound of chimes rings from the house. A moment later Mrs. Pavoni opens the door.
“Good afternoon, ma’am.” I smile and give her a light hug.
“I told you to call me Gina.” She smiles back. “You don’t have to be so formal. You’ve proven you’ve got manners, Gio.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I grin, and she laughs in return.
“Alessandra!” she announces. “Gio’s here.”
“Coming, Mom!” Allie’s voice comes down from
the curved staircase that leads to the second floor.
“Do you want to wait inside?” She steps aside to let me in.
“Thank you, ma’am.” I wipe my boots on the doormat and step inside. My soles barely make a sound on the marble floors. “I must say you have a truly lovely home.”
“You're such a charmer, Gio.” She reaches up and pinches my cheek lightly. “Don’t take that as me asking you to stop though.”
“Never.” I laugh.
I look up as I hear Allie rushing down the stairs. She’s wearing a flowing summer dress dyed with an abstract geometric pattern. Her hair is pulled up into an elaborate bun, showing off her beaded earrings.
I take her hand when she reaches the bottom of the stairs, and give her a light kiss on the cheek and whisper into her ear. “You look gorgeous.”
“And you look handsome as usual.” She beams at me and kisses me on the mouth. She turns to her mom. “We’re going to be out late, Mom, so don’t wait up.”
“Alright, honey.” She looks at me as I lead Allie out the door. “You keep her safe, Gio.”
“Always.” I smile at her.
It’s a short drive to Brooklyn, and it takes a little bit longer to find paid parking with room for one more car. Allie’s face brightens up as she realizes where I’m taking her.
“Are we going to Marcello’s?” she asks.
I smile and nod at her.
“Alright, but hands off the goods this time.” She curls her arm around my bicep and pulls herself close to me. “If we’re going to be regulars there, I don’t want Marcello thinking I’m some sort of freak.”
I grin at her. “Fine, as long as you’ll be my little freak in private.”
She laughs and reaches behind me to pinch my ass. “No fair. Your ass is too solid to pinch.”
I smirk at her and open the door to the restaurant for her.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Gio.” Marcello’s eyes brighten as he sees us come in. “And with the lovely Alessandra on your arm again.”
I smile at Marcello. Allie blushes and says, “It’s nice to see you again, too.”