“Thank you, Vada. I worked hard to buy my own home and I’m pretty proud of it. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s mine.”
The house has an open floor plan with a breakfast bar separating the kitchen and living room. Two big glass windows behind the couch look right out to the ocean. “I like it, it’s quaint.”
Isaac smiles at me which makes me slightly nervous, so I break eye contact.
“So, what can I help you with?”
He nods his head toward his right at the kitchen. “You ever make a Cuban sandwich before?”
I nervously laugh. “No.”
“Well, we are about to make enough to feed,” he pauses for a moment. “Thirty four people. And we only have an hour before everyone is here.”
“Well, I guess I better be a quick learner, huh?”
The horizontally cut bread sits in front of us in stacks on the granite countertop of the kitchen island. Once I understood the layering of the roast pork, ham, and thick slices of swiss cheese, the job seemed to go by pretty quickly.
Benny is standing on a chair between us as part of our sandwich assembly line. He giggles as Isaac yells, “Pickle!” for the thousandth time as he slides a sandwich in front of him. Isaac gave him the job of putting on the pickles which Benny could not have been more ecstatic about.
“You are so silly, Isaac!” Benny giggles again.
Just as the last sandwich is assembled, Carlos and his wife walk in with their children following close behind. Their youngest, who looks to be about a year or so older than Benny, immediately runs over to him. He introduces himself as Luca and asks if Benny wants to throw the Frisbee outside. I tell Benny that it’s okay as long as he stays where I can see him. The thirty-something year old woman heads straight to me and envelopes me in a quick hello hug.
“You must be Vada! I’m Carlos’s wife, Mariana! It is so nice to finally put a face with the name. Carlos has told me what a great employee you are.”
“It is so nice to meet you, too. I love working at the café. I’m very grateful for Carlos giving me the job.”
One of her children calls for her so she apologizes and runs off to see what they need. After that, people start piling in one after another it seems, all of them bringing in different side dishes. Isaac introduces me to each person as they drift in and out of the kitchen where I’m helping him toast the sandwiches in the piancha. I believe is what he called it. It seems to be the Cuban word for a panini press. There is no way I’m going to remember all of Isaac’s siblings and their spouse’s names and I cringe at the thought of remembering of all the children’s names.
Gloria walks through the front door with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen as her children and the few grandchildren who are still inside yell, “Happy Birthday!” She makes her way around the room, kissing each of them on the cheek. Once she makes it around the breakfast bar into the kitchen, her smile radiates as she looks at Isaac and then to me. “Vada! What a surprise!”
I break my own rules and initiate a hug. “Happy Birthday, Gloria.”
“Where is my little Benny boy?”
“He’s outside playing with all the kids.”
“I’m so glad you two are here,” she says with the utmost sincerity.
~
After eating the delicious dinner and cake, everyone migrated outside to the back deck. Everyone has been laughing and enjoying each other’s company the entire evening as all of the kids and Isaac played a game of whiffle ball on the beach in front of us. It is so weird being around such a big, happy family. I’ve never witnessed one like this in real life. Though I feel extremely out of my comfort zone, I put on a brave face and fake away at conversation with everyone that tries to talk to me.
I catch myself watching Isaac as he plays with the kids. One of his younger nieces is up to bat. It takes her three tries, but once she finally hits the ball, he swoops her up in the air to help her run to first base. The biggest kid, who I would say is probably at least twelve years old, runs after them with the ball trying to tag them out. Isaac makes it to second and even third base before setting her down and then surprising him by turning around to take off after the boy. Once the rest of the children see them run away from their makeshift field, they join in and chase after the two of them as well. Listening to all of the children’s laughter is infectious. His sister, Camila, notices.
“Isaac is just like a big kid himself. He’s always been so good with all the children.”
“I can tell. Benny has had him wrapped around his finger from pretty much the first day he met him.” I laugh, thinking to myself how true that sentence actually is. I’ve never realized it until just now.
“Isaac turned out to be one heck of a man. He’s overcome a lot. I’m so proud of him. He worked so hard to graduate at the top of his class at the University of Miami and to get to where he is in the police department now. He’s never let anything get in the way of his dream.”
“Top of his class? That’s impressive for such a big school.”
“He never let anything get in the way of reaching his dreams. He’s always been a tenacious person.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” I smile.
“So, how long have you two been seeing each other?” she asks nonchalantly.
“Oh, we aren’t seeing each other. We’re just friends. That’s all.”
“Hmmm,” she says. “Funny, I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you.” She looks straight ahead where the kids and Isaac are now heading back toward the house. Benny is sitting on Isaac’s shoulders and the little girl he helped to get on base earlier is holding one of his hands. Isaac is smiling at me. I don’t like the way it makes my heart feel. My heart shouldn’t be feeling like this for another man, especially someone I have only known for a few short weeks.
Gloria sits down beside us. “I’m about to head home, but I had to stop and talk to you for a moment before I did, Vada. Thank you so much for the gift, but it was too generous of you.”
I welcome the interruption, I wasn’t comfortable with where the conversation with Camila was heading. I’m not ready to go there. “Gloria, you take care of my heart five days a week for me and make sure that it is still beating. You are the first person who has ever been around Benny that doesn’t make me worry. You make me feel safe. Something I haven’t felt in a very, very long time. That was a token of my appreciation for everything you do for me. So, please, accept the gift.”
Gloria stares into my eyes as if she is trying to read into my soul, to understand just what it is I’m telling her. “Okay, Vada,” she agrees softly.
“Could Benny and I possibly hitch a ride home with you? It’s getting late.”
“Of course. Alejandro is driving me home. He and Sofia drove separately.”
Isaac and all of the children finally make it back to the house. Gloria tells Isaac goodbye and heads to Alejandro’s car with her gifts.
“Come on, Benny. Time to tell everyone goodbye,” I say as Isaac sets him down on the ground.
“You’re leaving? I don’t mind taking you two back home.”
“That’s okay. We are riding home with Gloria. No need for you to go out when you are already at home.”
“Oh, okay,” he answers, unsuccessfully hiding his disappointment. This is why I need to leave right now. This can’t go any farther than a friendship.
We awkwardly hug as I thank him for inviting me tonight. I really am grateful to experience what I did this evening. Benny and I tell everyone goodbye and head out front to the car. Isaac insists on walking us out.
They are already waiting in the front seats, so I buckle Benny into one of Alejandro’s extra car seats. I shut the door and turn to Isaac, who is quietly standing behind me.
“I work tomorrow. Would it be okay if maybe I stopped by after my shift? I don’t want Benny to be disappointed the next time he sees me in street clothes again.” He laughs.
“Yeah, that should be fine. We’ll be home. Thanks again for
this evening. Benny and I enjoyed it.” I climb into the backseat, and we head home.
Chapter Eight
The old, musty smelling warehouse is dim. The few light bulbs that still show life flicker above with a hum. Vincent was supposed to have been here half an hour ago. Marco is getting impatient and keeps blowing up his phone. Marco’s explicit words get worse with each new time he tries to call and it once again goes straight to voicemail. I’ve never liked Marco. He’s Vincent’s younger brother and as impossible as it seems, he is more vile than any human being I have ever met.
Even Vincent.
I wish Dominic were here with me. Something doesn’t seem right. Not that anything that ever goes on when I’m around Marco is right. Just something about this very moment is making the hair on my arms stick straight up. I may only be fourteen, but I have seen more than most people. This, this isn’t right.
“I swear to God, if he doesn’t answer my call or show up in five more minutes, I’m out of here. I’m not risking myself for this. I’ll let them do what they want with you. Or,” he trails off. “On second thought, maybe I’ll teach him a lesson for putting me up with the last Antonio job. He knows how much I hate that rat.”
Chills run through my body at what he possibly has in mind for getting back at Vincent. I’m not naïve enough to haven’t noticed the way he’s been looking at me the last year or so since developing. I’m usually good at staying calm and collected during these business “meetings” but my brain goes into fight or flight response. I look toward the way we came in the warehouse and take off in a dead sprint, but I’m not fast enough. I’m yanked backwards by my hair, screaming at the pain that throbs through my scalp.
He clicks his tongue, shaking his head at me in disapproval. “Now, Addy, all that screaming just makes this more fun for me. You should know that by now.” His slimy voice alone makes me feel dirty. If I’ve learned anything from the business runs I’ve been forced to partake in the last two years, it’s been to hide every ounce of fear that resides in my body. I was stupid to have ran. I glare at him and spit in his face.
Marco laughs. Still holding a tight grip of my hair, he yanks me toward a door and throws me onto the ground once inside the room. I immediately hop back up to my feet.
“Don’t show fear, he doesn’t win if he doesn’t think you are afraid.” I repeat to myself in my head as he gets closer to me. I’m now backed up against a wall. I grit my teeth as he runs his hand down my cheek and then slaps it so hard my head ricochets off the cement block wall. I must black out for a few minutes, because the next thing I know, I taste blood from the inside of my lip that has torn on my braces. I hear the sound of a belt unfastening with hot, rancid breath breathing into the side of my face. I wish I was still unconscious. I’m scared of what’s going to happen next.
“Marco,” Vincent’s voice growls, echoing through the empty warehouse. Never in my life did I ever think I would feel relieved to hear Vincent’s voice.
Marco quickly refastens his belt that is still attached to his pantsuit. “You better not say a word about what happened here,” he warns me. I look him in the eyes with disgust, refusing to speak to such a monster.
We walk into the open area of the warehouse to where Vincent is standing. “What were you two doing back there?” he angrily asks.
“She tried to run, so I had to chase after her. She slipped and hit her head.”
Vincent looks at me with questioning eyes. I don’t dare say a word until he speaks to me first and even then, I’m not sure I want to speak today.
“What took you so long?” Marco asks in frustration.
“Feds were following me. I had to ditch my cell and make an unplanned stop at the dry cleaners to lose them. Operation is off tonight. She won’t do us any good with that bruise on her cheek anyway,” he says about me. I hate that they use me to deceive the others.
“She’s riding back with me so I can drop her off at home. I will meet you at your place in an hour so we can discuss where to go from here now that the Feds are involved. I told you not to piss off Antonio!”
~
We don’t speak the entire drive home. Vincent drops me off in front of the building. He must not be planning on coming back tonight. I take the private elevator to the top floor of our penthouse. My head is pounding and feels fuzzy. Once inside, I go straight to the kitchen to get some ibuprofen. Just as I lift the glass of water to wash down the pills, everything starts to fade to black and I drop the glass as I pass out onto the floor.
“Adaline. Adaline. Wake up, Adaline.” Dominic is leaning over me. I’m lying in his bed.
“I think you have a concussion.” He sits down beside where I’m laying and tries to sit me up more, propping me up on his pillows. “You need to keep your eyes open please. Tell me what happened to you tonight.”
I feel woozy and like I need to throw up. I try to tell him but know that if I speak it will happen.
“You look really pale. Do you feel sick?”
I close my eyes and try to move my head to answer him. He hops off the bed and quickly brings me the small waste basket from beside his door just in time as my stomach heaves and the pizza we ate earlier expels from my body.
Dominic sighs. “Yeah, you have a concussion. I know it’s really late, Adaline, but you can’t go to sleep. I’m going to get you a bottle of water.”
Once he’s back and I’m able to take a few sips of water, I finally tell him everything that happened tonight.
“He did what?” he seethes when I tell him about what Marco almost did to me. It finally hits me that I was almost raped tonight. My body starts to shake and I break down into a hysteric cry. Dominic lies down and pulls me to him so my head is on his chest as he wraps his arms around me in a tight hug in attempt to comfort me.
“I’ll make sure that you are never alone with him again. I promise. I had no idea he was having Marco take you there after your orthodontist appointment. If I’d known, I would’ve gone along, too.
“Can we please talk about something else?” I ask. My eyes want to shut and I know that I can’t fall asleep just yet. If I’m going to stay awake, I need something interesting to keep me alert. “Tell me some more about your mom. I love hearing stories about her.”
I like to live vicariously through Dominic when he tells me stories of his mom since I never had one.
“Okay, hmmm. Did I ever tell you that when she sang, it was the most beautiful voice I’d ever heard?”
“No, I haven’t heard about that yet. What was your favorite song she sang?”
“Don’t laugh. I know it sounds cheesy, but she always sang You Are My Sunshine to me when it was bedtime. That is how I always remember falling asleep. It was so peaceful. My dad hated when she sang to me, though. He always complained that she loved me more than him.”
“I don’t think it’s cheesy at all. It’s sweet. And who wouldn’t love you more than Vincent?”
That gets a laugh out of Dominic. It’s sad that something like that could be amusing to us.
“Don’t be mad at me for saying this, but, I’m glad that you were brought to live here. I know that sounds selfish of me because of the hell you live being here, but I don’t think I could survive without you. I know you wanted a family, and you thought when my dad fostered you that he was going to adopt you, but you’re better off not being a Rossi. I don’t feel like you’re a sister anyways. You’re my best friend, Adaline.”
I lean up on my elbow so that I can look at him. “You’re my best friend, too. Thank you for always taking care of me, from that very first day.”
“One day, we’re going to get away from here and never look back.”
“Could we go to a place where it’s always warm? Like, Miami?”
I hate cold weather, especially snow. I’m getting excited thinking about our made up new life.
“Anywhere you want.”
“We could go to college there together. It would be so much fun!”
“I would go anywhere as long as it was with you.”
“I don’t think my husband would like that when I eventually get married.” I laugh, bumping my arm into the side of his.
“He would have to get over it. You’re my best friend and we have a bond that no one will ever understand. I don’t care who you are with, I will always be there for you, Adaline. I mean it when I say, forever, for always. For all of time.”
I lay my head back down on Dominic’s shoulder as he tightens his hug. “I know. I don’t ever want to live without you, anyway.”
“You won’t have to. I will always be with you in your heart no matter what happens to us. We’re a part of each other now.”
Chapter Nine
It’s almost three thirty in the afternoon and Isaac has stilln’t stopped by like he had mentioned he would. I’m glad Benny didn’t overhear him when he said he would drop by in his uniform while on duty today, he would be disappointed. Not only that, I’d have had to hear him ask me a million times when he was going to be here. He either forgot or had a busy day. Either way, I’m not losing any sleep over it.
At least, that is what I tell myself.
“Benny, do you want to walk to the ice cream shop to get a waffle cone?” I ask him as he zooms past me across the floor with his police car.
He skids across the floor as he stops and looks up at me. “Yeah!” He hops up quickly with the car still in one little hand as he grabs a hold of mine with his free hand.
I open the front door and am met face to face with Isaac, hand clinched in a fist as if he were about to knock.
“Hey,” he says with a grin. “Did I catch you guys at a bad time?”
“We’re going to get ice cream. Do you want to come with us?” Benny enthusiastically asks.
I look down at Benny who is still clutching my hand. “Honey, Officer Monroe is on duty, so I don’t think he can come this time.”
Isaac interrupts me. “Actually, I just got off duty, so I’d love to get some ice cream.”
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