Peppino
Page 5
“Suit yourself,” the driver said, concealing a grin as he began turning the wagon onto a side road.
Emilio watched the road fade into the distance as the dirt path they had turned onto started to climb upward into the foothills.
I wonder how Elena is, he thought, hoping that she would recover and that he would see her when he got to the jail and Bovalino. He could not stop thinking of how brave she had been. She was not like any girl he had met before. How in the world could she be a prostitute? he thought to himself. As if I would know what one was like, he thought with a slight smile coming to his face and shaking his head back and forth slightly. All my big talk.
He noticed that the road was starting to enter into the edge of the forest. “Where are you taking—?” He was about to ask him where he was taking him, when he noticed three horses galloping toward them.
“Oh no! Looks like the monsignor is not even going to let you make it as far as the jail,” the driver yelled over his shoulder.
Emilio’s muscles tensed, realizing his words were probably true. Bracing his back against the bars, he started kicking the lock on the iron door in an attempt to free himself. He clenched his teeth and strained against it with all his might each time his foot made contact with the strong metal lock. Over and over again he pounded it with the almost supernatural power that is bred from terror. He could hear the sound of the horses getting closer. Glancing in their direction, he was able to see one of the men’s bearded faces. He looks mean, he thought, positioning himself for another kick at the lock. This time it bent slightly. One more time Emilio struck the metal. To his surprise the door flung open. Frantically and without taking time to think, he lunged through the opening, his feet hitting the ground in a run.
Without looking over his shoulder at his pursuers, he headed down the hill, veering into the shrubbery. Back and forth he ran, dodging and lifting his feet high enough to clear the vegetation and tree stumps. With each stride he gained momentum, his legs feeling as if they were moving faster than his mind was telling them to. Don’t stop, he told himself between breaths, refusing to give into the fatigue.
Suddenly his foot caught on the underside of a wild grapevine, and his body continued stumbling uncontrollably down the hill. Finally, knowing that a fall was inevitable, he managed to tuck himself into a ball. His body turned over in midair, hitting the sloped surface on his back. He continued rolling until the somersault was complete, and then he stretched out his legs and found himself landing upright on his feet, still in a run. Then back into a somersault he went tearing down the hill. He watched the countryside turning over and over again as he continued to tumble out of control. Suddenly he careened into a cluster of bergamot trees, coming to a stop on his back. He looked up at the pear-shaped bitter oranges above him but couldn’t move. His arms were outstretched, and every muscle in his body was aching. The riders, reining in their horses, slowed beside him to a stop. They towered above him.
Emilio lay there smelling the strong orange blossom fragrance as his chest heaved. His lungs were gasping for air as tears started to well in his eyes, blurring his vision. Refusing to give his captors the satisfaction of seeing him afraid, he brought his wrists to his eyes, rubbing away any indication of weakness. Putting a grimace on his face, he lifted his head over his eyes to block out the harsh sunlight and painfully lifted himself up onto one elbow, trying to focus on the men above him.
Roars of good-natured laughter filled Emilio’s ears as he sat there humiliated.
“Hey, sport, you run faster than a gazelle,” a familiar voice said.
“He sure got a lot of spunk for a young’un,” the other agreed.
“I’d say he passed the initiation, wouldn’t you, Nicola?” the third man asked while dismounting his horse, then bending over Emilio.
“Nicola?” Emilio said, removing his weight from his elbow and letting his head fall back into the grass. “If you were trying to scare me it worked.”
Nicola dismounted, bending down to talk with Emilio. “You all right?”
“I guess so.”
“Good, I hope you didn’t think that I would let the monsignor get his hands on you. Did you?”
“I don’t know, but when that officer showed up at my house, I thought I was done for.”
“You would have been for sure. As soon as my men found out that the sheriff had been instructed to pick you up, we made our own arrangements.”
“What do you mean?”
Nicola smiled a mischievous grin. “Well, we decided to waylay the sheriff before he reached your house.” He looked up at his friends, and they started to snicker.
“Then who came to my house?” he asked with a tone of confusion.
“One of my men.”
“You’re kidding. He sure didn’t sound like it.”
“He had to make it appear real so that your parents could answer believably to the authorities. It had to be done that way if we were to keep them safe. I am sure you understand. Plus, knowing him, he was having a little fun with you as well. Actually, he was quite impressed with you and your friend Peppino. Give him a chance, and I think you’ll like him.”
“What happened to the real officer? Did you kill him?”
The three men started to laugh. “Nothing quite so drastic, I’m afraid,” chuckled Nicola. “We jumped him in the woods just outside of Bianco and borrowed his uniform.” The other two men were laughing so hard they were holding their sides.
“Right now,” one of the men started the sentence through his laughter, “the guy is probably trying to make his way back to the police station.” He tried to continue choking the words out through his hysteria. “Buck, stark naked!”
At that the three joined him in hearty laughter. Emilio felt a smile begin to emerge on his face, and soon he was laughing along with the rest of them. Emilio looked up as he saw the driver walking toward them. The other two noticed and turned also. “Look!” Emilio said, pointing and noticing for the first time that the man’s pants were so short that the legs were up around his calves. Then all four were in fitful laughter.
The driver walked over to Emilio and stretched out his hand. Emilio grabbed it, and the man pulled Emilio to his feet. “You got a lot of guts there, my young friend. I like the way you stood up to me back there.”
“Thanks,” Emilio said cheerfully as he clenched his hand and pulled his arm back. Then with all the strength he had left in him, he let go, landing his fist smack at in the middle of the man’s stomach.
The man flinched a bit but continued to laugh. “OK, I’ll give you that one; I deserve it. But give me a little time, and I’ll teach you how to lay a man on his back with a single strike.”
Nicola jumped into the conversation. “What we’re trying to say is we want you in our little group of rabble rousers.” He smiled, “But it’s your choice,” he said seriously. “You’re going to have to face it, Emilio. You’ll never be able to go home now. You can stay with us if you want, or we will help you get some money, and I’ll send you off to Naples to a friend who will take care of you until you can get settled. What do you think?”
“I think I want to stay with you,” he said, smiling.
The three men let out a cheer and then playfully punched their new comrade on the shoulder, rustling his hair affectionately. “Come on then,” said Nicola. “Let’s get going.”
Nicola extended his arm to Emilio and in one swift motion swung the boy around onto the saddle behind him.
“How about Peppino? Are you going to let him join too?”
“In a sense, but he won’t be living with us, at least not for a while.”
“Why? What do you mean?”
“Peppino will be all right where he is. The baroness will never let anything happen to him, and the monsignor is powerless to do anything without her permission. The fact is, the monsignor knows it was Peppino who helped you, and I’m sure by now the baroness does too. But they will do a little dance and play a little game, and P
eppino will be off the hook. You watch and see.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but he’s my best friend.”
“And a good one at that! He’s the first one in that family who shows any common sense. He’s got gumption,” added one of the other men.
“Emilio, we need him right where he is. He can be more help to us there,” stated Nicola.
“How?”
“Simple,” said Nicola. “Peppino is the first son of the most powerful family in Reggio Calabria. One day he will inherit that power. When he is older, he will be able to help the peasants more than my little band of men. But we must allow him to grow up under the influence of his family.” Nicola paused. “Don’t worry, Emilio, we’ll be in contact with him. He’s a good boy and a good friend.”
“But he hates the baroness. He’s always talking about running away. In fact, I think if it wasn’t for his brothers and sisters, he would have done it a long time ago.”
“I’ll have a talk with him.”
“When?”
“Don’t fret yourself about it; you’ll see him yourself in due time.”
“What about my mother and father?”
Nicola smiled, reaching back to pat Emilio on the leg. “They’ll be fine. They’ll hear that you were captured and let out a sigh of relief when they find out it was me. I’m sure your father knew that if you made it to Bovalino you would have been killed. Besides, I’ll make sure your parents are OK.”
“Thanks,” said Emilio.
“Emilio, you’re one of us now, and you’ll find that we take care of our own.”
“My dad says you’re part of the Mano Nera, the Black Hand, Mafia. Does that mean that I’m a member too?”
Nicola pulled the reins in on his horse, bringing it to a stop, and turned himself around far enough in his seat so that he could look Emilio directly in his eyes. “We are not the Mafia or the Black Hand, as you say, and remember that!” he said sternly. “They are people who are out for themselves. We are not. All my men are ordinary men but believe in God and in what is right. I believe in the Christian God, but Abramo here is Jewish and waits for his Messiah; but we both believe in the same God and that He is the great architect of the universe.
“Emilio, I told you once before, the monsignor might tell you that he prays to God, but with his motives I can assure you that God is not where he is getting his answers. Where do you think the monsignor gets all his power? I can assure you it’s not from the Vatican. No, Emilio, the monsignor is deeply involved in the Mafia himself.”
“You’re kidding!”
“I am afraid not. That’s why we need Peppino. When he grows up, he will have power, and sometimes it takes power to fight power. It may take time, but we will win this battle. What we do now will make a peaceful land for your children, Emilio. No lasting change comes overnight. We must have patience and persevere.”
“Why not just kill the monsignor and get rid of him?”
Nicola turned back in his seat and kicked his heels into the side of his horse, trying to catch up to his men who had moved farther ahead. “That’s not our way. If we got rid of him, there would be someone else in his place within a few days. Corruption goes much deeper than the obvious. You will find that in life things are often times seldom what they seem. The root of the problem is not the monsignor but a corrupt political and religious system. It’s not just one or two people. It is many, and the monsignor is only their local mouthpiece. He can use the fear of God with the people, whereas the politicians can only use force. You must always remember that these people are smart, and we are going to have to be smarter.”
“I think I understand.”
“Good.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’ve got a camp in the foothills near Palizzi. We’ll be safe there for a while.”
Emilio sat high in the saddle, happy that he was now a part of this group but sad that his friend Peppino would not be able to join them and instead be forced to stay in a life that he hated.
“What happened to Elena?” Emilio asked pensively.
Nicola paused for a moment before answering. “She was hurt pretty badly. If she does make it, I’m not sure she will ever walk again.”
“What will they do to her if she lives?”
“No telling what those animals will do,” Nicola said. “No telling,” he repeated, his voice trailing off.
Emilio nodded, understanding that there was nothing that any of them could do for her at the moment.
Chapter 6
“Is it true you helped Nicola escape?” asked Vincenzo.
Peppino smiled at his brother as he walked over and plopped himself down in the living room chair. “What would you say if I told you it was?”
“I’d say that I wish I’d had the nerve to have done it.”
“You’re serious? I thought you would be on the side of the baroness.”
“Not this time. I believe in what Nicola is doing too. The church is wrong and so is the baroness to have any part in it.”
“Why this sudden interest? I’ve never known you to care about the townspeople before. You won’t even talk with the peasant kids.”
“I care plenty, Peppino,” Vincenzo said defensively. “Why do you think I want to become a doctor when I grow up? It won’t make me rich, but at least I will be able to help people.”
“So why don’t you have any friends from the other side of the line then?”
“Because,” he said, embarrassed, “I don’t want to make trouble in the family. You know how the baroness gets. It just makes it harder on Mama and Papa when we disobey her, and they love us so much.”
“You maybe.”
“That’s not true, Peppino, and you hurt Mama when you say that! It’s hard enough for her.”
“Then why don’t they just leave? We don’t need the baroness or her money.”
“I don’t know. Sometimes I wish the same thing.”
“You do?”
“Sure, I don’t like it either. I know she must have something over them, but I don’t know what it is. But, Peppino, as strange as she is, I really do think she loves us, especially you.”
“She doesn’t love me, Vinny; that’s where you’re wrong. To her, I am an heir, that’s all. She wants to make me like herself. But you’re right. I do think she cares about you and the girls, at least a little. But then, everyone likes you,” he said with a snicker.
Vincenzo got up and walked over to the balcony, and Peppino followed. “Did you help Nicola?”
Peppino thought for a moment, debating whether to confide in his brother or not. “Yes, I did,” he finally confessed.
“I thought so,” he said without surprise. “The baroness is pretending she is offended that you are even suspected. She told all of us that it was a vicious rumor, and if anyone mentioned it to us, we were to tell her right away, and she would handle it.”
“Well, she knows the truth. She’s not trying to protect me, only the family name,” Peppino said excitedly, changing the subject. “Vinny, can you keep a secret?”
“Sure. What’s it about?”
“You’ve got to promise not to tell a soul, blood oath!”
“I promise,” Vincenzo said with growing interest.
Peppino lowered his voice secretively. “Emilio got away. He’s with Nicola right now.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, last night one of Nicola’s men snuck through my bedroom window to give me a message. He wants me to meet them on Saturday, but in order to go I’m going to need your help. Will you cover for me?”
“Sure, but how?”
Peppino moved closer to his brother. “All you have to do is tell the baroness that you want me to go hunting with you and ask her for the horses. She’ll do it if you ask. Will you do it?”
Vincenzo hesitated for a moment, thinking of the trouble they both would be in if she found out.
Peppino, seeing the look on his brother’s face and not wanting to give him a
chance to say no, continued. “Listen, there is a girl whose life might depend on it. She may be killed if we don’t do something to get her away from the monsignor. Come on,” Peppino urged. “If you want to be a doctor, it means you want to save lives. Here is your chance. You can start now.”
“I don’t know, Peppino. Are you talking about the one who helped you and Emilio?”
“Yes, I’m told that as soon as she gets well enough, she will be shipped off to the women’s prison near Rome. I’ve got to do something to help her.”
“What can you do?”
“I don’t know,” Peppino said in exasperation. “That’s why I have to meet with Nicola. I’m sure he will know what to do. Come on, Vinny, you’re my brother; you gotta help me!”
“Are you sure you’re not going to end up getting us both into trouble?”
“Who, me?” Peppino answered as innocently as he could.
Both of the boys looked up as Antonia walked into the room, followed by their sisters. Concettina, the youngest, walked directly over to Peppino, holding her hands out to be picked up.
“What are you two boys talking about?” Antonia asked.
“Nothing special,” Vincenzo answered.
“Come on. I can tell you two are up to something.”
“No, really, Antonia; we’re just talking about school.”
Antonia let out a knowing sigh. “That will be the day!”
“Peppino?” Concettina asked, looking to him fearfully. “Are you going to go to jail?”
“What gave you that idea, chubby cheeks?” Peppino asked, pinching his baby sister on one cheek and then planting a noisy kiss on the other.
Concettina giggled and wrapped her arms around him.
“She overheard Mama and Papa talking,” Marianna said.
“What kind of trouble are you in?” Carolina probed.
“He’s not in any trouble!” the familiar voice thundered coldly from behind them.
The children and Antonia turned to see the baroness standing in the doorway. “Children, I’ve already told you that your cousin was a target of malicious gossip. I will not have you talking to him about it, and I do not want to hear any of you mention it again. Now then,” she said, changing the subject, “I’m glad you are all together. I have an announcement to make.”