by Linzvon C
Our eyes met and I realised he meant every word. He was going to change his ways, and I couldn’t wait for us to begin our new life together.
But first, I needed to break the news to my parents.
Chapter 29: Sonography
Gretchen
“The gel is a little cold, so I do apologise.”
The lady smiled kindly as she squirted the gel onto my bare stomach as I inhaled sharply. Jesus! It was like ice, was there really any need for it to be so cold?! Don’t they know they are putting it on pregnant mothers not using it in a recipe? The sonographer gently pushed down on my lower stomach with a probe, the tv screen beside us flickering into life. It was difficult to make sense of it at first, and I realised I wasn’t even breathing as she used a finger to point at the screen.
“This is your uterus, and this area is the amniotic sac where your baby is forming,” she was pointing to a white rim around a clear centre, whilst the rest of the screen was a grainy black and white image. “This is your baby.”
My eyes focused on the centre, my heart pounding as I recognised the circular head and a tiny body attached to it. Cal squeezed my hand as I gazed at the screen in wonder.
“Everything looks as it should be, and I am just going to measure the little one to see how far along you are for sure.”
She zoomed in, clicking on various buttons until she nodded with satisfaction.
“You are approximately thirteen weeks. Which would make your due date around March time. Your midwife may be able to give you a more exact date. You can clean the gel from your stomach now. You will have another scan in about seven weeks which may be able to tell you the sex of the baby, should you want to know.”
She printed us a couple of scan photos and I dabbed at my stomach, turning to see Cal sitting, completely stunned. He was staring at the photo and I saw him gulp, a lump in his throat.
“Finally, we meet. Hello Bean. Wow, baby.”
He flickered his eyes over to me and I blinked back tears. Panic flashed over his face as I grabbed his hand in reassurance.
“Happy tears Cal.”
He nodded as I pulled my top back down and swung my legs down, standing slowly. I was starting to show a tiny bit, but I must confess I was more excited than ever at the idea of having a large baby bump. We made our way out of the hospital and Cal drove us to a little Italian restaurant we both loved, and he even ordered me a coffee without me asking. I ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara with extra cheese and a side of garlic bread and Cal watched me in awe.
“What?” I smiled as he gazed at me.
“I just really love you right now. I can’t believe our baby is in your tummy, listening to us. I want us to go and view some houses soon and stay with your parents until we find one. We need to leave New York honey.”
I nodded sadly. I had become so fond of the city, despite having recently only spent it with Cal, I had made some friends. My parents were shocked but elated when we told them about the baby, but more so they were ecstatic we would be moving back to Winterburg. They had offered for us to stay with them until we bought our house for when the baby was born. My stomach lurched when I thought about becoming a mother, but I had no real fear. I would be bringing our child into the world at the same hospital I was born in myself, going to the same schools I had, growing up in the same town I did. I wanted that for them; my childhood was idyllic.
“Have you considered names?” Cal asked, his eyes flickering with amusement. I had already gone through about a hundred baby name websites and still was no closer to choosing one for either sex.
“I can’t decide on any. What about you?”
“If it’s a girl she will need a plain name like Margaret. Or Beryl. She won’t need an attractive one.”
He scowled as I suppressed a giggle. I would really feel for Bean if it was a girl. “I like names like Grey, Thor and Theo for a boy.”
I scrunched my nose up as I shook my head. This was going to be hard work. Luckily, we had six months to argue about it. The food came and we both tucked in, unable to speak with his delicious the food was. When we had finished, Cal turned to me.
“I think we should spend your birthday in Winterburg. Shall we move out next week? I can have things shipped over to us, so I’m not concerned about that. Then we can get looking for our forever home.”
I nodded enthusiastically as I dragged my hair into a rough bun on my head as I yawned.
“You still take my breath away, Gretchen. The most beautiful girl I”ve ever laid eyes on. Shall we get you home?” He signalled for the bill and I sank back happily into my chair.
“Cal, are we sticking with Cal or Leo? You said you wanted me to call you Leo but you’re always gonna be Cal to me,” I shrugged and he smiled.
“Cal Fallon or Leo Cape. It’s still me, whichever way you look at it. But I think I’m going to stick with Cal. My old name had too much trauma attached to it,” his eyes turned dark as he gazed behind me, as though peering into a memory. He paid the bill and we left, walking to his car. The tiredness was overtaking me now, my shoulders slumped as I tried to keep my eyes open. I slid into the seat and watched as a huge truck drove by with a holiday promoted on the side.
“Summer,” I mused aloud as Cal studied me.
“What?”
“Summer. It’s a nice name.”
He nodded as he smiled.
“Whatever you say darling. Your choice. Always.”
Chapter 30: Business
Cal
“So you’re leaving us, boss?”
Eugene studied me, his black eyes darting around as he shifted uneasily. I sighed as I slid the whiskey glass towards him, watching as he threw it down his throat with incredible speed. Sometimes I wondered how this man was still alive; if he wasn’t drinking, he was smoking. He always seemed to be angry, which is what made him a brilliant executioner, I guess.
“You’ve got Carl. He will take over from me. You’ll be fine,” I tried to reassure him, and he nodded thoughtfully.
“So, you’re gonna leave, just like that? What’s the Don say?”
I lifted my eyes to his then as Mark and Teddy glanced at each other nervously. I knew that Eugene would be the nosey bastard he always had been, but he was right to ask.
Just not respectful.
I decided not to dignify it with an answer, my glare telling him to shut the fuck up. I rubbed my chin as I stood up, nodding at Carl who sat on the chair in the corner of the room smoking, watching me intently. He had wanted my job for as long as I could remember, so I knew he was more than happy with the cards he was being dealt. Unfortunately for the others, he had even less tolerance than me. He nodded back at me as I left the room, knowing my next conversation wouldn’t be a pleasant one.
The Don was informally known as Paul Gasio, a man with such charm that he could smooth talk a man into swallowing his own tongue. I’m not kidding, he fucking had once. I guess the alternative was too much. I waited outside his room for about twenty minutes, until a man walked out with soulless eyes. People came to ask the Don for favours of all kinds, and many were in debt to him. He called me in with a deep Italian accent which had thickened from a recent visit to Sicily.
“Leonardo. Sit down.”
I sat on the hard leather chair, my eyes meeting his as he studied me carefully. He looked like you would expect him to- slicked black hair, a thin moustache on his tanned face. His eyes were dark, and his tone intrigued.
“I hear you are going to be a father soon. There no greater gift than children, Leonardo. I have four boys. They keep me young.”
He smiled as he lit a cigar, leaning back on his chair as he waited.
“Indeed, I will be. That’s why I am here.”
I cleared my throat as I braced myself for the questions, but he waved his hand dismissively.
“You came to me in a strange way. You had avenged a fellow family, and I respected that. You work hard, follow commands and execute them seamlessly. Yet you want to be
a picket fence guy, no? You want to be at the football games, the charity cookie sales,” he raised his eyebrow at me and I remained very still.
“Carl is in your shoes already. That doesn’t concern me. Everyone is replaceable,” he said simply as I waited for him to finish. He took a drag on his cigar as he gazed at me, exhaling the thick smoke slowly. “But you did go into witness protection did you not? Given a different name to that your mother gave you?”
I nodded, dread causing the knot in my stomach to tighten as he dragged on his cigar again, studying me as he did. His long fingers tapped on the desk as he considered his next words, and I refused to break eye contact with him.
“I did. Because I was innocent, I didn’t hurt that girl at all,” I stated, the facts tumbling out of my mouth.
“No, that is true. You avenged her. I respect that as I said earlier,” He repeated slowly. “However, the fact remains, people don’t just leave the family, you understand? If they do, it’s because they are fucking useless or they leave in a body bag. We have too many secrets to be fucking letting people work out notice periods,” he chucked softly as I felt my jaw clench.
“So, your gonna kill me?” I demanded, my anger evident in my voice. I should have felt ice cold fear at this exact moment, but I didn’t. However, when he narrowed his eyes at me I lost all sense of bravado.
“Don’t be fucking stupid kid. Don’t ever raise your voice to me again. Capiche?”
“I didn’t mean to offend you.”
He nodded, watching me carefully.
“I’ve considered this prior to you coming in here today. You’re a good kid, and we all like you. You can be with your family. But let me tell you if you ever leak anything about our business, Leonardo, you will not have a family, or a heart to love them with.”
I nodded slowly, keeping my anger in check. He was threatening my family, but this was business. “So, go. As you know you are no longer under my protection, certain people may wish to... seek you out. Always watch your back. Oh, and leave your gun on the way out. You can go now.”
I stood, offering my hand out to him as he shook it, not taking his eyes from me.
“I’d leave this city as soon as you can. People are like fucking vultures. God bless.”
He turned away from me, the conversation clearly over. I didn’t know if he meant it, but there was only one way to find out.
Make it out of New York alive.
Epilogue
Cal
“Daddy you promised.”
It was that voice again. The one that wrapped me around her little finger by putting on the damsel in distress tone. I sighed as I wiped my brow, fully aware from her giggle that I had just wiped oil over my face.
“You laughing at your old man kiddo?”
“Yup. Please can we get ice cream now?” she whined as I closed the lid of the truck, admitting defeat. I turned as I heard the car pulling onto the drive, a smile on my face as I waited to greet the love of my life. She didn’t disappoint.
“Mr Fallon. Get those greasy hands over here and help me get these bags inside. Hey baby girl, have you been good for Daddy?”
Gretchen leaned down to drop a kiss on her head as she passed, arms full of groceries. I went to help her, but she scolded me, telling me to get the other bags.
“Caleb wasn’t good, was he Daddy?”
“Summer. What have I told you about snitches?” I teased as I followed Gretchen to the house, Summer at my heels. She pouted at me and sighed.
“Snitches get stitches.”
“Yeah, so shut up Summer,” drawled Caleb, pushing open the screen door as he glared at his sister. They were twins but couldn’t have looked more different. Caleb had the blonde hair and deep green eyes that he clearly inherited from me, whilst Summer had chocolate brown curls and blue eyes.
“Enough. Inside,” I commanded as we walked into the open plan kitchen where Gretchen was unpacking the bags.
“Daddy...”
“Raven, I’ve got to take this little lady for some ice cream. She’s clearly experiencing severe withdrawal. It’s been what, a day since you last had ice cream squirt?”
I ruffled her silky hair as she held her arms up to me, her tiny frame as light as a feather in my arms as I hoisted her up.
“Why’d you call Mommy Raven?” she asked, her eyes wide as she studied me.
I gazed at my wife as she glanced at me over her shoulder, a smile playing on her lips. The swell of her belly was now becoming obvious, and my heart skipped a beat.
“I don’t know kid. I just do. Go get your shoes. Caleb, you want ice cream?”
She slid down my leg as she ran to get her shoes, pushing past her brother who glared at her.
“Nope.”
“Where’s your manners young man? “I leaned down, my hands on my knees as I gazed into a pint-sized version of myself. He thrust his chin up to me and smirked.
“Someone needs to stay and look after Mom.”
I kissed his forehead to his disgust as I smiled at him,
“Yeah? You got everything you need there?”
I nodded behind him to where he had the Avengers lined up ready for battle. He nodded seriously as he patted my back.
“I’ve got this dad. You go get ice cream.”
Laughter burst from Gretchen’s mouth as she gazed at us lovingly.
“He’s a mini you.”
“Daddddddddyyyyyyyy!” yelled an impatient Summer from the doorway.
“She’s -” I began as Gretchen held her hand up.
“Nothing like me. She’s a diva. Go get our diva some ice cream.”
I strode over to her, taking her into my arms as my hands slid around her stomach.
“How’s my littlest bean?”
I kissed her throat as Caleb made sick sounds from the lounge. I smirked at him, proud that he got to see his parents in love. I hoped one day he would appreciate it.
“Fine. Busy kicking a football around today.”
She placed my hand on her stomach and I waited patiently, before I felt a tiny foot against the palm of my hand.
“He has quite the kick.”
“She does.”
I rolled my eyes as I kissed her again, allowing her to win the eternal argument about who was right about the sex of the baby.
“DADDY!”
I chuckled softly as I reluctantly pulled away from my kryptonite, pointing a finger at Caleb.
“Look after your Mama.”
He grabbed Captain America and forced the toys arm into a salute.
“Coming baby girl,” I called as I grabbed my truck keys and of course, my wallet. A man didn’t get to have kids and a wife and not need his damn wallet twenty four hours a day. Summer stood at the doorway, hands on her hips as she glared at me.
“You’re late.”
“My bad, baby. Extra scoop of ice cream coming up.”
She ran impatiently out the door, her curls bouncing as she reached the truck, her eyes narrowing as she saw a bike on the drive, blocking our exit. I followed her gaze to see a boy of about seven years old, if that. He was inspecting his knee which was oozing with blood, having clearly fell off his bike.
“Can you please move?” Summer asked, a cold tone to her voice. Nothing stood between her and ice cream. She was five and she was fucking relentless. I can’t imagine her in ten years.
“Summer, where’s your manners.” I said sharply as she folded her arms in irritation. That’s right, my five-year-old does that. Folds her arms in irritation. Pity me, won’t you?
“Hey kid, you alright?” I asked, crouching down to his height, noting the cut was deep.
“Yeah. Just a scrape,” he was gazing past me at my daughter, his eyes wide as though he were seeing an angel for the first time.
Not on my watch.
“Off you go then. Get back up and get back on that bike,” I helped him up as he climbed on his bike, his face etched in pain but a strong determination not to show it prevented it from
staying on there for long.
“I’m Christian,” he threw over his shoulder to Summer who watched him leave with a strange expression on her face.
I had a feeling it was going to be a long fucking ten years.