by Blue Saffire
“I was sick. I understand Mr. Pascoli’s reaction. He gave me the photo album and as I turned the pages, I glared at the pictures I had seen before in my own home, in my family photo albums. Her mother stopped me at a family portrait I had known very well.
“There she was. Maria’s mother as a little girl, standing next to my father and his siblings. I had no idea they were cousins. We were cousins.
“I still felt like I needed to do the right thing by Maria. I offered to marry her. We didn’t have to tell anyone the truth about our relation, but her father was firm.
“‘No!’ He told me. ‘You are next in line that is not possible.’ He ordered Maria to go pack because she was leaving.
“He wanted to talk to me. ‘Alfonzo, Maria has been promised to the La Marcello family from birth. I will send her to her aunt so she can have the baby, but next year she is to marry, Venncesso La Marcello. She will not disgrace the Botticelli name or the promise to the La Marcello’s.’ He explained to me. At once, I understood why we couldn’t be married.
“Maria and Sharon were best friends. Sharon was the only other person Maria told about you, before we went to her father. Sharon’s family was grooming her to marry a Botticelli. Maria’s father wanted to put you up for adoption. No child of mine would be raised without his true father.
“I married Sharon and we went to Italy to be close to Maria, while she carried you. When you were born, Sharon raised you as her own. I know it hurt Maria to give her best friend everything she wanted, her baby and the man she loved, but somehow, I think she felt better that it was Sharon. She knew Sharon would love and take care of us both.
“It broke my heart to find out that Maria couldn’t have children of her own, after you. Then I found out about Venny’s family with Lakeisha and it destroyed me. I have been happy with Sharon, but happiness has never found Maria.
“Well, maybe a little now. She loves Victoria in a way I don’t understand. She thought you were going to be a girl. That’s all she talked about. ‘Sharon, you will take great care of my little girl, right? Give her everything she wants, Alfonzo.’ She would say.
“However, when you were born, her eyes lit up and she insisted we name you, Lorenzo. You were her small victory, her prince, she said. I guess she got the girl she wanted in Victoria.
“I felt terrible that she didn’t know why we couldn’t marry for almost a year, but she understood once Venncesso was introduced.” At that point, my father was lost in his own thoughts.
“Do you understand, Lorenzo?” my grandfather asked.
“Umm, well, I’m waiting for the part where I’m not being asked to marry my stepsister and get her pregnant. Something like…Venny isn’t really married to Maria, but we’re pretending he is. Oh, and your mom and dad aren’t related if that helps. Oh, yeah, and by the way, we were just pulling your chain you don’t have to have babies right away,” I said dryly.
Victoria chuckled beside me. I don’t find it funny at all. I released her, snatching my hand away. I looked in her eyes, to find hurt.
I wanted her to see what was going on here. They wanted me to marry her and make her a teenage mother. Was I the only one catching that? Was I the only one seeing something wrong here? Was she nuts? She was so ready to do what they wanted?
I needed some fresh air. I stood up and headed for the front door. This was too much. All of this wasn’t what I came here for.
These families and their secrets. What were they thinking? Aunt Maria is my mother? She had to know Victoria was my stepsister, but she encouraged us. The fact that my real parents are related was just too much to add to all my thoughts.
I was outside pacing for almost fifteen minutes, fuming at what was said, all that I had learned. Victoria appeared at the entry to the wine house and stood watching me for a few minutes, before she walked over to me. I paced away a few steps when she reached me, before I turned to face her. It broke my heart to know how willing she was to put up with this.
“Lo, are you okay?” she said in a whisper.
“Not really, Victoria. I just want to wake up already.”
“I know the feeling. I’m sorry.”
“For what, telling me the truth? If it was left up to them, I probably would have never known.”
“You know you don’t have to be the one chosen for me. Someone else can marry me and save our families,” she offered.
I was even more enraged. I knew all the facts, but the thought of her being with anyone else drove me mad. I couldn’t see me with anyone else either. I was hurt that she even suggested it.
It felt like blades were piercing through my back. I narrowed my eyes at her and returned to pacing. How could I love her so much? It didn’t make sense.
“Lorenzo, please talk to me. I want to know what you are thinking,” she pleaded.
I turned and marched right up to her. “What I’m thinking is how could you say that?” I growled. “You would let them choose someone else? I’m thinking that it’s not fair.
“I’m so ridiculously in love with you and would marry you right now, but they want too much. I’m thinking that I’ll kill anyone that even thinks about touching one hair on your head. I don’t care if it’s someone from another family or a cousin they decide to choose over me. That’s what I’m thinking.”
“Lo, I just thought you didn’t want to be with me, with everything they said. The way… the way you pulled away from me inside. The disgusted look on your face.
“I don’t like it either, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you. It just makes it weird. If you don’t want to marry me now, I still need to do something to keep you and our families safe. I’d still do anything to keep you safe.”
Her words broke my heart even more. She did have to marry someone to save our lives. All at once nothing mattered.
All I wanted was to have her safe. We would save our families, but right now she was the one in danger. All I could think about was how long it would take for them to find her.
All they had to do was look for the group of Italians with the one girl whose skin didn’t fit. The same way I figured out who she was. The African American girl, who spoke perfect Italian. She was like a bullseye.
I threw my arms around her and pulled her to me. “Victoria, I told you not to worry about me. It’s my job to keep you safe,” I breathed. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I was in shock. I do still love you, as crazy as everything is. I can’t see you with anyone else. That’s ripping my heart in two.”
“So, what do we do now?” she asked, as she reached to touch my face.
“I guess we plan a wedding and keep you safe until it happens,” I replied.
“Wow, we’re really going to do this,” she said, raising her brow.
“Yes, we’re going to do this,” I sighed. “Yes, I’m going to marry my stepsister,” I frowned. “So, fucking gross.”
“Ugh, you had to throw that in there,” she grumbled. “This just keeps getting better. Lo, do you not want to have babies with me?” she asked looking a little sad.
“Yes, Victoria, I do want to have babies with you. I just don’t want to rush things. I want you to be a teenager and get to be a young adult. I want to be one for that matter. I mean we can be married and do a lot of the things others our age do, but to make you a mother at seventeen, that’s nuts,” I told her.
“But Lo, if you want babies. If it makes everything okay. I don’t see why we can’t,” she said, looking as if she would give me anything to keep me safe.
“Victoria, listen, I want nothing more than to have a family with you, but we’re not going to worry about that now. One thing at a time, first, I need you safe and protected. Then we can deal with the rest.”
We stood there, in each other’s embrace for a while, trying to figure out how to deal with all the new information. I was sick to my stomach that my real parents were related, but there was nothing I could do about that. It didn’t seem to have affected me in anyway. Other than, turn
my own stomach to know the truth.
I knew I was too far gone, not to marry Victoria. Maria was my mother not hers and I would get over her being my stepsister. The stepmother thing wasn’t bothering Victoria.
She was more concern with making me a father and being a good wife. I found that cute, amusing, and disarming at the same time. I knew when I did decide to be a father, Victoria would be a great mother. I’ve watched her with Lucie and Toni.
We were deciding what to tell the elders inside, when Victoria’s face changed. She had been looking past me for a few seconds, before her face twisted in confusion. At first, I thought things were finally registering with her.
“Lo,” She spoke quickly with narrowed eyes. “Was someone else supposed to be coming here?”
Before I could turn to look or answer, I felt her grab the glock from my back. She pushed me hard, throwing me behind the cars. Victoria cocked the gun, as I heard the first shots fired from the distance.
The gun in her hands returned fire. She had gotten off a few shots, before I grabbed her by the waist to pull her into cover. I grabbed the other gun and scrambled to find the danger and fire back.
I saw the vehicle that was coming towards us, but the passenger’s head was back against the seat with his right arm hanging limp out of the window. The driver was slumped over the wheel. The windshield in front of them held the bullet holes from the shots that ripped through it.
The car cruised off the road, into the vineyard bushes. By the time, I heard Uncle Mike behind me, the car had crashed. There was no longer a threat.
“Are yous two okay?” Uncle Mike asked, as he stood over us with his gun drawn. I was too stunned to speak.
“Lorenzo, are you alright?” Victoria asked anxiously. “I think I hit them both. Are you okay?”
I turned to look at her. “Yes, you hit them both. Yes, I’m okay.” I told her, still in shock. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” she said, as if nothing happened. “I wasn’t sure I got the driver. The car was still coming. I thought I had a clean shot, though.”
“Kid, she did that?” Uncle Mike chuckled. “Frankie said she was good.”
I ignored him and almost tackled Victoria. She had just saved both our lives. I kissed her with so much force, she fell back to the ground.
I felt the gun she was still gripping resting on the back of my neck. I reached back to pry it from her hand. When I freed her hand, she grabbed for my hair.
I dropped both pistols to the ground and used my hands to lift her from the ground, as I sat up and leaned my back against the car we were still behind. I pulled her up onto my lap, clutching the nape of her neck.
“Take it easy, yous two. We need to know what happened,” I heard Uncle Sal demand.
I pulled back, not taking my eyes off of her. Her breathing was coming heavy. Her eyes gave me a look that said, I told you so.
Victoria is, undoubtedly, the most dangerous woman I know. I had forgotten about everything I just learned. She was made to be my wife. I knew they were waiting for us to explain, but I was too wrapped into her. She was amazing.
“Lorenzo had his back to them. I noticed the car coming, but it was moving a little too fast. I asked Lo if someone else should be coming here, but before he answered, I saw the gun.
“I grab the one I knew Lorenzo had on him and pushed him out of the way. They shot before I had a clear one, but I took the one with the gun first, then the driver. The car was still moving, so I wasn’t sure if I had the driver, before Lo pulled me down.” She shrugged, not looking away from my eyes as she spoke.
“That’s my girl. I told your father you needed to learn,” Uncle Frankie said, as he came and patted her on the shoulder like one of the guys.
“Hey, fellas, yous might want to come see who that was. You did good, Victoria, real good,” Uncle Mike announced.
I was just happy she was okay. I wanted to take her home, to where she would be safe and didn’t have to worry about this craziness. We were getting married, and soon. The sooner the better.
We could’ve left for Vegas right then, if I thought it would help, but I knew it had to be public. The wedding was something the families had to be sure happened. Until then, I would guard her with my life.
chapter Twenty-Four
Special Surprise
Victoria
Things had changed so much over the summer. I was so broken hearted the night Lorenzo told me the truth that I shut everyone, except for Maria, out. We had become extremely close.
Maria was the only one I told about the break up. She told me to give it time that I would find it in my heart to forgive Lorenzo. I guess I’m not surprised, she’s his real mother. Maria has always had this way she gets with him.
Lorenzo and I were always together, it just never felt like enough. It broke my heart again, when I heard he was moving out to go to school. I didn’t want him to leave.
Things had gotten so crazy though, after a while I forgot all about it. I was too busy learning to protect myself. I wanted to talk to him about it all, but we just never talked.
I wasn’t ready to trust him before the night I showed up at his apartment. Going there and being in his arms made me feel so safe. I just wanted to forget everything else that happened.
Lorenzo was what was important. I needed to be with him. Staying the night with him proved that to me so much more. He was so sweet and caring, it never crossed his mind to take advantage of me at all. I could tell. It was as if he was being cautious not to scare me away.
Now we were trusting each other with our lives. I had already saved his once and he vowed he would return the favor. If only he knew, he already did, the moment he agreed to move me in with him.
The Maria and Alfonzo thing made things weird, but we were focused on saving the families from the pending massacre. We knew Maria could plan, large last minute events, and make them epic. So, we allowed her to plan the wedding.
We couldn’t move as fast as we wanted to because there are witnesses that needed to be flown in to view the union. Being that we had to wait, everyone thought it best if we showed our unity to the watching families anyhow. One thing was for sure, there was a mole in one of the families.
The two men I took care of hadn’t followed anyone there. Someone had to have told them where we were. Uncle Mike knew them from one of the smaller families.
He had said something about Florida. Lorenzo wasn’t willing to move back in with Alfonzo, yet. Not after finding out the truth about his parents. So, they thought it best that I move in with Lorenzo.
My father had some problems of his own, outside of the whole marriage mess. My mother was no stranger to money or power before she met my father. My grandfather, my mother’s father, is a very powerful and wealthy man.
He didn’t agree with my mother’s deciding to wait around for a married man, so he kind of disowned her. She isn’t to use her true last name and she was stripped of her trust funds. My grandfather sends for Toni and me about four times a year. Mostly, around Christmas and other random times during the year, but that’s the most contact we have with him.
Rumor is my grandfather threatened my dad when I was born. If anything, ever happened to my mother or me, he would kill him. Apparently, my grandfather is trying to make good on his word.
My mother has tried to calm things down, but there’s still some tension with the two families now. I have a bunch of uncles and aunts on that side of my family. They all love my mother dearly. That’s not helping matters at all.
My mother had returned home, but Toni was still with my dad, which was my mother’s idea. She thought he would be safer there. Toni and Maria were getting along a lot better.
Toni has Uncle Sal take him to see Lucie a lot. I think that helped him settle in.
I was being home schooled for my senior year. I was a little bummed about that, but they promised when things cooled down I could return to school. Lorenzo only had classes in the early part of the week
, so we spent a lot of time together. This all has been hard on all of us, especially Toni.
With the secret was out, we went to see Maria a lot. Lorenzo and Maria were getting along great. You can see how much she loves him.
One afternoon, Lorenzo asked. “Why didn’t you come around more. I understand you could be my mom, but why not spend more time with me?”
I watched the tears well in Maria’s eyes. “I would stay away because it hurt too much to see you with Sharon, doing everything I wanted to do with you. You were my little boy, but I missed out on so much. I came around when I could handle it,” Maria choked out.
My heart broke to see the sad look in Lorenzo’s eye, but I knew he understood. After that day, Lorenzo and I tried to make up for that as much as we could. We spend as much time with Maria as we can.
Lorenzo and I had been living together for five months and the attacks had stopped. We were getting along great. I take care of the laundry and we share the cooking.
Uncle Mike comes to take the dry cleaning out and brings it back. He also comes to stock the refrigerator and the pantries. I had to fuss a lot about Lo and the mess he makes in the bedroom, but he had been getting better.
We were running around a lot that week, with the wedding coming up. Lorenzo promised we would spend Saturday in that weekend. It was noon and we were still in bed.
I was curled up on my side as usual, while he consumed the whole bed. I totally understand why he always has king sized beds. I was about to give up and go take a shower, when he grasped my waist.
“Don’t move,” he mumbled into his pillow.
“Then give me some room, you hog,” I giggled.
He moved to the center of the bed, pulling me into his chest. It felt nice to have his warm chest against my back. I could feel his heat through my tank top.
I hoped he would stay still long enough for me to get a little more sleep. Maria was worse with the wedding planning than she was with the birthday party. At least we were getting a say in this though. I just needed one or two hours sleep most. Lorenzo started to play in my hair, which always helps me relax.