I hung up the phone and pumped my fist in the air. Things were starting to line up. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I could see Stefano getting out of prison soon. Very soon.
I knew that Bianca would be thrilled to have her brother back. Even if she never forgave me for what I did, I knew that if she was happy, I would be too.
Twenty-Eight
Bianca - Two Weeks Later
“Bianca, are you ever going to get out of bed?” Izzy asked me.
I was depressed, severely depressed, because of what happened with Lucca. I had to admit, I was in love with the guy. I had been in love with him my whole life, it seemed. At least since that summer when I was 10. I never forgot him. He came back in my life, and then poof. Gone. Just like that.
I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, forgive him for what he did with my brother. Therefore, he had to not be a part of my life. That depressed me more than I ever thought that it would.
“No,” I said, pulling the covers over my head. “I don’t anticipate ever getting out of this bed.” I rolled over and looked out the window. A light snow was falling, a sign that winter was on its way. It was just as well that the outside world looked gloomy – my mood was gloomy, so the outside world might as well reflect what was going on inside of me.
Truth be told, I was spending a lot of time in bed lately. I went out on my job search, as I half-assedly tried to find something, anything, that would bring in some income. Then I would come home and immediately crawl into bed. I watched television in bed, mindlessly flipping through the channels. I popped frozen meals into the microwave and climbed into bed and ate them on a TV tray. I fell asleep about 8 PM every night, got up at 8 in the morning, went back out to look for work, came home and did the same thing as I did the night before, and the night before that.
Izzy was worried about me, but I couldn’t help it. I had no energy, and all that I could feel was sadness. I had never suffered a broken heart before, but I definitely was now.
Izzy sat down on the edge of the bed. She still didn’t know how I felt about Lucca, and I wasn’t going to tell her. I needed her to concentrate on making her marriage work with him when he came back, and I knew that she couldn’t do that if she knew that I was in love with him. “Bianca, are you ever going to tell me why you’re so depressed?”
I shook my head. “I think that I’m just depressed over my job search. I had hoped that, by now, I would have already had a job in hand and be out of your hair. I didn’t think that it would take that long.”
Izzy nodded her head. “You can stay as long as you want, of course.” She looked around. “I hope that Lucca comes home soon. Maybe he knows something about where you can apply for a job.”
I had told Izzy, when Lucca left, that he had left because of what he did with Stefano. I told Izzy that I couldn’t be around him, so that it was best that he stayed away until I could get a chance to move out of their apartment.
Surprisingly enough, Izzy understood. She, too, was angry with Lucca, but she also knew that he was her husband, so she would welcome him back with open arms whenever he decided to return. That was how she was. She took vows, she was going to make it work, even though I think that she didn’t have feelings one way or another for Lucca. Plus, she depended upon him to make sure that she could keep her baby. That was the most important thing to her right at this moment.
“Maybe. Listen, let’s not talk about Lucca right now. Let’s talk about you. How excited are you getting?”
She beamed. “Surprisingly enough, I’m very excited.” She left the room and came back with pictures of her latest ultrasound in her hand. “I mean, look at this picture. It doesn’t look like much, but he or she is mine.”
I looked at the picture, which looked like a little tiny cashew. It was miraculous, really, that such a little squirt was going to someday be a wizened old lady or man, telling the story of their life to their grandkids before passing on. Life was short, that was for sure. This little guy or girl was just getting started, but I was amazed about how quickly it all goes by.
“It’s very nice,” I said with a smile. “You guys will be an amazing family.”
Izzy smiled and patted my hand. “I wish you would cheer up. I don’t think that you and I have even had the chance to put some of my headbands and purses together since you’ve been here.”
“You’re right.” I felt guilty about not helping her more, considering how much she was helping me in letting me stay with her. “Let’s do some hot-gluing tonight.”
Izzy and I were working on her headbands and purses, laughing about old times, when she suddenly clutched her abdomen. “Uh…” Her face went white.
I stood up. “What’s wrong, Izzy?”
“Nothing,” she said. “But I need to use the restroom.”
I sat back down and continued to glue some rhinestones on a headband. It was looking pretty, really. I loved the look of colorful rhinestones on a black background. I knew that, if nothing else, I could help Izzy get her little businesses off the ground. That would make me feel good.
Then I heard Izzy screaming. “Bianca, Bianca, come in here. Come in here please.”
I was on my feet in a split second and ran into the bathroom. Izzy was laying on the floor, looking as white as a sheet. Her panties were on the ground and she was surrounded by a pool of blood. I gulped, knowing what was happening. “Izzy, honey, let me help you up. Okay?”
She nodded her head. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” I lied. “But let me help you up and let me get you a maxi-pad. I have some in my first-aid kit. Let me do that, and then I’ll take you to the hospital. Would that be okay?”
She nodded her head. “Bianca, am I losing my baby?” Her voice was tiny, her face ghostly white. She was clutching her stomach in pain. She looked so small, so vulnerable, so helpless…my heart went out to her.
“I don’t know. Let’s get you a maxi-pad, get you dressed and get you to a doctor right now.”
I went to the first-aid kit, got out a maxi-pad, and went in to see Izzy. “Here,” I said, taking her underwear, giving her a new pair, and putting the pad on the new pair. “Let’s put these on, and let’s get you to see a doctor.”
She nodded her head, and put on the underwear and the pad. “I’m scared,” she said. “Bianca, I’m scared.”
“I know. I am too. But maybe it’s nothing.” I knew better. This much blood could only mean one thing. If it was light spotting, it might be nothing. But Izzy was surrounded by blood, and I saw clots mixed in. I knew that Izzy was having a miscarriage and there probably wasn’t anything that could be done about it.
Izzy got dressed and we got in my car and headed to the hospital.
Once we got there, we didn’t even have to wait long to see a doctor. Surprisingly enough, the ER was quiet that night. I felt relieved about that – I had no desire to have to wait around all night to see somebody.
Izzy was taken back to a small room where a nurse came in and took her vital signs and did the initial intake. My sister had tears in her eyes as she described how she suddenly felt severe cramping, went to the restroom, and discovered all the blood. The nurse looked at Izzy sympathetically. “The doctor will be right with you.”
I sat down on a hard metal chair and held Izzy’s hand. “Are you okay?”
She nodded her head. “Of course.” She looked away. “I guess this probably means that Lucca is going to want to leave me. I actually hope that he does. I mean, I like the guy just fine, but I really want to find my soul mate. I don’t think that Lucca is it.” She smiled weakly. “Silver linings, huh?”
I nodded my head. “Well, let’s not jump the gun. We don’t know…”
“Yes, I do. I know. I can feel the blood continue to pool on the maxi-pad you gave me. I might be young, but I’m not that naïve. I know that I’m having a miscarriage.” She looked up at the ceiling. “And I know that it’s probably for the better.”
I held her h
and and said nothing. I didn’t really know what to say. There was a part of me that was happy about this, as selfish as it sounded. Not that I could ever forgive Lucca for what he did. I didn’t think that I could get there. But at the same time…there might be a chance for Lucca and me. If I could ever get over what he did with Stefano, there might be a chance. As long as Izzy was having a baby, there was no chance at all.
The doctor came in. “I would like to examine you,” he said. “Would you like to do this alone or do you want your sister in here with you?”
“I want my sister in here,” she said.
The doctor nodded and Izzy put her feet in the stirrups. The doctor examined her thoroughly and stood up. “You’re having a miscarriage. It looks as if the fetus has completely evacuated, but I would like to make sure. I would like to schedule you for a procedure right away – it’s called a D and C.” He explained the procedure as Izzy nodded.
After the doctor left, Izzy and I sat in silence for awhile. I was thinking about her, but also about Lucca. I hated what he did with Stefano, and I couldn’t get past it.
Yet, I was thinking about how Izzy’s situation opened the door for Lucca and me.
Then I thought again about what he did with Stefano, and I knew that I couldn’t forgive him. It was better for Izzy that she didn’t have to be married to such a worm.
“Bianca, take me home,” she said.
“Okay.”
We stopped by to make an appointment for Izzy to come back for the D&C procedure and went on home.
When we got home, Izzy asked me to call Lucca.
“Okay,” I said, actually feeling like I was looking forward to talking to Lucca. I was still angry, very angry, but not as angry was I was. I was ready to be at least friendly with him, if not take him back to my bed.
I called him and he picked up on the first ring.
“Bianca,” he said. “How are you?”
“I’m great. Listen, there’s something that you need to know.” I was trying hard to be businesslike in talking to him. I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea – that I wanted him back. “Izzy has had a problem. She miscarried her baby today. I think that we will be moving out of your apartment, so you can return home in a few days.”
Lucca was quiet for a few minutes.
“Lucca, are you there? Did you hear me?”
“Yes, of course,” he said. “I’m very sorry to hear about Izzy.”
“It is what it is. So, like I said…”
“Bianca,” he blurted out. “I would say that I’m sorry that this happened, but I’m not sorry. I’m not sorry. Bianca, if Izzy isn’t having a baby, that means that you and I can be together. It means that I don’t have to stay with her. I can talk to Benito about letting me out of this arrangement, because there’s not going to be a reason for me to stay with her now.”
“In theory, that’s true. But Lucca…”
“Meet me for drinks. Now. I have some news for you, some news that will change everything. I was going to wait to tell you, wait until I’ve got my ducks in a row, but, now that you’re telling me about Izzy, I think that I will tell you now.”
“There’s nothing you can say to me. Izzy and I will be moving out of your apartment, and we’re both going to be out of your life. I would imagine my father will allow you to get an annulment, so it’s going to be as if nothing had happened. I would also imagine that you’re going to have to go to Plan B and give my father something in exchange for your getting out of the marriage. Maybe do the merger that you and my father had talked about before.”
“Meet me for drinks. Meet me at Sofia’s Wine Bar at 7. I’ll see you then.”
He hung up.
I sighed. He was so cocky. So arrogant. I should stand him up just to show him that I wasn’t going to be manipulated.
Still, I was intrigued. He said that he had news. What kind of news could he possibly have that would make a difference?
I was going to have to meet him, even though I didn’t really want to. I felt that I had to, though. I had to find out what information he had for me.
I showed up right at 7. Lucca was already there. My heart skipped about a thousand beats as I looked at his handsome face. He was dressed in a white dress shirt, open at the collar, a dinner jacket and black slacks. When he saw me, he stood up, a drink in his hand. “Bianca,” he said to me. “You look beautiful.”
“I was going to say the same to you.” I sat down, and tried to flag down the bartender. It was a weeknight, but this place always was busy it seemed. People were all around the bar and every seat was taken in the restaurant.
“I ordered for you,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” I said. “As long as you ordered correctly.”
He smiled. “Tanqueray and tonic, two limes, no twist. I know that you like to twist your own lime.”
I nodded my head. The man was observant. Still, he was responsible for Stefano being in prison. I couldn’t forget that, nor would I forgive him. “Thanks.” Lucca passed me the drink and I took a sip.
He turned his entire body towards me. “I’m happy to see you,” he said. “Bianca, I have something to tell you.” He looked around. “Or maybe show you.”
I rolled my eyes and thought about leaving. I was in love with him, yet I hated him too. I couldn’t forgive…
It was then that I saw him. Stefano. My brother. I squinted, thinking it wasn’t him. It wasn’t him, it was somebody who looked like him. That happened to me all the time – ever since Stefano went to prison, I always saw men who I mistook for him. I was always so desperate to see him, my mind conjured him up all the time.
The guy-who-looked-like-Stefano was walking towards Lucca and me. Lucca was looking right at me, a huge smile on his face. “I wanted this to be a surprise, and I guess that it is.”
The guy was standing right in front me, and I knew. It was unmistakably Stefano. He smiled as he gave me a big hug, and I embraced him back. “Oh my god,” I said. “Stefano. Stefano. How? Why? Who? When?”
Tears were running down my cheeks as I continued to embrace my brother.
“Little girl,” he said. “I’m free. Completely free. Thanks to Lucca, I’m free.”
“What?” I looked at Lucca, who was still smiling a huge smile. “What do you mean?”
“Lucca got me off. And so did our father. He finally came through for me. Our father spoke with my judge and got the drug charge thrown out. And Lucca’s brother managed to get my murder charge reduced to a simple assault. I was sentenced for the assault to time-served and I got out a couple of days ago. Lucca wanted to have a big surprise party, but he changed his mind to having us meet up tonight.”
I looked over at Lucca who was still smiling at me. “Lucca, you did this? You got Stefano out of prison? Your brother got rid of that murder charge? And my father helped get Stefano released too?” I shook my head. It was wonderful that this was happening, but surreal, too. “Our father? He hasn’t ever lifted a finger to help you, ever. Why did he get involved now?”
Stefano took a deep breath. “I wanted to know the same thing. I was sitting in prison, thinking that I was going to be in that cage for the rest of my life, when the warden told me that I was free. I didn’t even know that there were legal things in the works, so you could have knocked me over with a feather when the warden told me that I was free to go. I soon found out that our father was behind getting me out of prison. We talked, and I found out some information that explained everything. And we’re working on our relationship. I’m working on the relationship with our father.”
“What information did you find out?”
Stefano shook his head. “I’m sorry, baby girl, but I can’t tell you that. I promised our father that I wouldn’t say anything to you. Suffice to say that he and I are good. For the first time in my life, I can say that he and I are good.”
Lucca came up to me and I stood up. “Lucca, you did this?” I wrapped my arms around him. “O
h my god. I can’t believe that you did this. You got Stefano out of prison.”
“I had to. I couldn’t live with myself. I knew that you needed your brother back, and I knew that I had to make it right.”
I let go of him, remembering that Lucca was the reason why Stefano was in prison to begin with. He didn’t do anything remarkable. He just fixed his own screw-up. “Thanks,” I said coldly. “You undid the shitty thing that you did in the first place. Big whoop.”
“Hey,” Stefano said. “Listen, Bianca, you need to give Lucca a chance. Yes, he was responsible for my going down in the first place. But he did something else, Bianca, something that changed the relationship with our father forever. Changed it for the better. I can’t tell you what he did, but he’s the reason why I have a father again. Don’t treat him like shit. He loves you.”
I screwed up my eyebrows at Lucca. “What did you do? To bring Stefano and my father together?”
Lucca just shook his head. “I can’t tell you. But I’m asking for your forgiveness. I hope that you can find it in your heart to let me in. Stefano is absolutely right – I am in love with you. And now that I can probably get an annulment from Izzy, I want to be with you. Permanently.”
I looked down at the floor, wondering what to do. Here was Lucca, my soul mate, asking me for another chance. He got Stefano out of prison, and he did something profound to bring Stefano and our father back together. Who was I to tell him no?
Lucca: Azzarra Crime Family Book Two Page 17