“Your mother likes to play the victim, but I’m not the only one with blood on my hands when it comes to the failure of our marriage.”
After his little sister was born, rumors surfaced of a relationship between Chiara and her bodyguard. Nothing was ever proven, and Jonathan demanded his little girl have his last name.
“But that is the past, what we need now is to unite the Families.”
“You mean succeed where you failed?” Gino argued, his tolerance for hearing this same song and dance long since gone. With the disastrous results of his parent’s relationship, the Vitale’s picked themselves up and began searching for the next generation. The pool to choose from was sadly shallow as the Family most sought after was the Vittorio’s. And since their leader, Emilio, had no children of his own, an agreement was on the table for Gino to marry his niece, Felicia, a woman so vile he’d rather cut off his dick then allow her to touch it.
“Apologize to your Nona, send flowers to Felicia and offer to take her to dinner.”
Removing his feet from the desk, “I’m sure Nona would love to join us.”
“This isn’t a request, Giovanni. Cross me on this and see what happens. You aren’t wearing my ring yet.”
Gino held his tongue as his gaze dropped to the ostentatious chunk of gold wrapped around his father’s index finger. Of all the things he couldn’t wait to change, when his time to take the reins comes, the minute his father hands him that fucking ring he’s tossing it into the Hudson River.
Standing, Gino gave his father a two-finger salute, his phone vibrating in his jacket pocket. Sliding his sunglasses on his face, he bids farewell to the men standing sentry as he climbs back into his car. Pressing a button on his steering wheel to answer the call, “What do you have for me?”
“Sorry to disturb you, Gino. I thought you should know someone tried to tamper with the security cameras at the warehouse.”
Whipping his car into traffic, “Tamper how?”
“They tried to erase it.”
“Do you know who?”
“Of course I do. Before you lose your shit, it isn’t who you’re thinking.”
Gino switched lanes to take him to the George Washington Bridge, shifting his car into third and punching the accelerator, cutting into traffic.
“I’ll be there in ten, old man.”
“Not with the traffic you’re about to encounter.”
“Wanna make a bet?”
5
The perfume of the brightly colored flowers surrounding the mahogany casket intensified the headache brought on by the endless amount of tears Kristine had shed in the last few days. Her decision to take her last remaining relative off life support came after Rose reminded her the shell of a human lying in the bed wasn’t her grandmother, not since the stroke took away her ability to breath on her own. With the flick of a pen, Dr. Griffin twisted several buttons on the machine, the monitors on the wall growing silent as Beatrice Eugenia Smith’s heart stopped beating.
“You did the right thing, Krissy,” Rose spoke gently into her ear as she wrapped a loving arm around her. “Birdie would have hated every second of lying in that bed unable to see the robins in the yard.”
Reaching up, Kristine squeezed Rose’s hand, sharing with her a watery smile as the Priest began the service. She knew Rose was right, her granny had adored birds, could name every single one who took advantage of the dozens of feeders in the yard. She was at peace now, at least that’s what Kristine told herself as the line of mourners began to form beside her granny’s coffin. Mr. Parker from across the street begged to be one of the pallbearers, despite his advanced age. Several boys from the high school football team volunteered as well, giving a helping hand to the sweet old man who shed more than a few tears at the loss of his dearest friend. Kristine suspected they were more than friends due to the intensity of the arguments they had. It was all speculation, of course, that is until she watched Mr. Parker kiss the tips of his fingers and place them lovingly to her grandmother’s lips before they closed the coffin.
It didn’t escape Kristine’s attention how Jonah and Grace were absent. Mr. Cullison closed the Coop so everyone could attend the funeral. He’d given Kristine strict instructions not to come back until she was ready, he assured her the job was going nowhere, adding it was high time Grace learned what it was to earn a living.
Emotion built up in Kristine’s chest as the attendants began lowering the coffin into the ground. The realization of how alone she was in the world bloomed into a fog so thick it threatened to choke her. A clearing throat pulled her attention, temporarily batting away the blackness threatening to swallow her whole.
“My apologies, Ms. Smith.” A tall man with salt and pepper hair stood beside her, his black coat, heavy and expertly tailored. “I know this is a difficult time, but I need to have a quick word with you.” His thick accent stood out, reminding her of the main character in a popular boxing movie from the eighties.
Turning in the gentleman’s direction, “I’m sorry, were you a friend of my grandmother?”
Kristine knew the answer before the question left her lips. There were no secrets between her grandmother and herself, they were a highly functioning team who had one another’s backs.
“A friend…?” The man paused the end of his lip curling up in a half-smile revealing teeth too perfect to be natural. “No, and not for a lack of trying. Your grandmother and I had several conversations, she wanted you protected in the event,” he nodded to the partially lowered coffin. “Something like this happened.”
Where his physical appearance shouted middle-age, his voice and mannerisms spoke of youth, causing the hair on the back of Kristine’s neck to stand up. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t catch your name.”
The man took a step back, reaching into the pocket of his slacks. “Forgive me,” he shook his head, lowering his face in what Kristine assumed was embarrassment. “Your grandmother spoke of how beautiful you are, but I assumed her perception to be through the eyes of a biased loved one.”
Extending his hand toward her, his tanned skin a striking contrast to the stark white of his pressed cuffs. “Benjamin Evans,” he began, holding a professional-looking business card between his manicured fingers. Kristine took the offered card, the gold embossed lettering reflected in the bright rays of the sun.
Evans and Associates, we’re there when you can’t be.
“I don’t understand…” Kristine trailed off. She’d never heard of the company or had any dealings with insurance outside of the basic policy she kept on the Chevy she drove.
“Several years ago, Beatrice contacted our office, explaining to my father she wanted to purchase a life insurance policy but didn’t trust companies around the area. With his failing health at the time, he sent the majority of new clients to me. As I said earlier, she and I spoke several times and I was able to get her a policy that worked for her.”
Pulling his jacket open, Benjamin reached inside retrieving the envelope he’d placed there before leaving his hotel room. “She asked I deliver it in person upon her death and be here to explain it is real. She mentioned a time or two your skepticism.”
Kristine took the elongated white envelope, treading cautiously as if handing a poisonous reptile. “She’s right, I am skeptical. Which begs the question, how did you know of her death so quickly?”
Benjamin crossed his hands in front of him, something his father taught him to do when things became tense. “Beatrice signed a consent giving my office the ability to inquire as to any visits with the hospital or ambulance transports. One of the benefits of modern technology is a program which connects to many hospitals across the country. Lucky for us, Grady Memorial is one of those who participates.”
Unable to look inside the envelope, Kristine folded it in half, tucking it into the palm of her hand. She would deal with this, much like everything else to this point, alone and behind closed doors. “Thank you, Mr. Evans. I’m sure you’ve gone above and beyond f
or my granny.”
“She was a sweet lady. I only wished I’d listened to her when she invited me to come for a visit to meet you.”
Kristine wondered if she would ever become accustomed to the deafening silence roaring in the house. If she would be able to look out the windows at the spring flowers and not think of all the time her granny spent planting in the fall, keeping the variety to herself as the ultimate element of surprise.
Tossing herself onto the sofa, she reached under the edge, retrieving her laptop. It’d been days since she’d checked in with her online friends, ignoring the alerts on her cellphone when they sounded from her purse. She’d been hiding from the world, allowing herself to fall apart behind closed doors and away from the judgmental eyes of her neighbors.
Rose told her of the wagging tongues she’d heard at the supermarket, speculating on who the man in the suit was and what he wanted with Kristine. The envelope he’d given her rested in the center of the table beside the handful of condolence cards and the get-well flower arrangement Nina sent the day prior. Kristine needed to thank her, let her know of her granny’s death and how much she appreciated the gesture.
Opening the lid of her computer, Kristine moved her curser to the messenger button, typing out a thank you with the sad news of her granny’s death. With the late hour, Kristine felt assured Nina would see it in the morning. However, as she moved to close the computer and try and get some sleep, the ringing of her video chat program startled her, nearly sending the computer to the floor.
Kristine’s internet was nothing compared to the hospital, and as she waited for the program to connect, she mentally calculated what time it was where Nina lived. Before her tired mind could come up with an answer, Nina’s beautiful face appeared on the screen.
“Hey, sweetie. How is your Nona?”
Kristine smiled at her friend’s accent, the deepness of it so much different than her mid-west one. She’d learned several words in Italian from Nina when she dropped a few words out of habit Kristine suspected, including the word for granny.
“I should have called you earlier, but with everything you have with work…” Kristine faded off, the emptiness once again crashing in on her.
Nina waved her perfectly manicured hand toward the computer. “Nothing I can’t handle, but that bitch betta hope I don’t see her out in the streets. Imma fuck her up so bad her ma won’t recognize her.”
“You know Nina, if I could help you out with work, I would do it in a second. I meant to call you yesterday when your flowers arrived, but…well, I’ve sorta been hiding from everyone.” Kristine dropped her eyes to the keyboard, her bottom lip trembling. “Granny had another stroke during one of the tests. The doctor showed me a picture of her brain and said nothing was going on there, the second stroke killed her. I signed papers to remove her from the machine helping her breathe.”
“Dio mio. Are you okay? Of course, you’re not okay. What can I do, Kristine? I know what it’s like to lose your Nona.”
Being a devout Catholic, Kristine didn’t need Nina to translate Dio, meaning God, but speculated on the mio part, surmising she meant, oh my God.
“It’s still fresh, you know. I keep expecting her to come out of her bedroom asking me to put the fight on for her.” Kristine admitted through a watery smile.
“What about Jonah, is he giving you something to distract you?” Nina questioned, wagging her eyebrows suggestively as the door behind her opened allowing the beat of the music to float out, making it impossible for either of them to hear the other.
“I haven’t seen Jonah since…”
“Oh, honey. Did the two of yas get into a fight?”
“If by fight you mean I told him to go ask Grace for gas money, then yes, we definitely had a fight.”
“You didn’t.” Nina’s voice dropped as her eyes opened wide in shock.
“I did.” Kristine boasted proudly, having felt so much lighter where Jonah was concerned. “He didn’t bother to show up at the hospital or her funeral. So as far as I’m concerned, Jonah Kelley and I are finished.”
Nina stared at Kristine for several seconds, tipping her head to the side. “Didn’t you mention your Nona was the only family you had?”
Kristine nodded her head, the stinging of unshed tears pricking the back of her eyes. “Yes, Granny took me in when my mother died.”
“So, nothing is keeping you in Kansas? Unless you think there’s a chance you and Jonah will reconcile?”
“He blew his chance the second he failed to show his face at her funeral. Besides my job at the Coop, nothing is keeping me here.” Kristine’s eyes shot to the envelope on the table. It had taken her a full day before she could bring herself to break the seal, afraid seeing what was inside would make her granny’s death more real. In reality, the contents were no more defining than reading a water bill. There was a letter explaining the policy Beatrice purchased more than ten years ago, a copy of the current tax law and a check made out to her for twenty-five thousand dollars.
“You said earlier you would help me if you could. I can’t promise you anything, but if you dust off your resumé and email it to me, I’ll show it to my boss and see if he’s interested.”
Kristine was torn, on one hand, she could cash the check and make it stretch while continuing as she’d done for years. The house they lived in was rented and while the payment was cheap, her salary barely covered it. Not to mention the tuition bill that came in the mail this morning would take a little over half of the check on the table. Then what? There was no guarantee she would find a job after graduation and she doubted Mr. Cullison would give her a raise. On the other hand, she could jump out of her comfort zone by doing as Nina requested in sending her resumé, starting over in a new city with no bad memories constantly haunting her. Take the money and instead of paying tuition…her thoughts stopped abruptly, dread filling her chest.
“Thanks for the offer, Nina. But I don’t have my degree, not for another year—"
“Neither do I,” Nina interrupted. “These guys don’t give a shit about some fancy paper you hang on the wall so other people think you’re something. They want someone who can show up and handle their shit.”
Kristine studied Nina’s words carefully. Practically every day she went to work and did just as her friend described. She could ignore the pull of something better for her out there, waiting for her to take the giant leap of faith and charge blindly into the unknown.
“You know what, Nina, its time I lived life for me. Give your boss my resumé and if he needs letters of recommendation, I have two from my professors last semester.”
“I doubt you’ll need them but send them anyway. I’ll forward them to Sully and see what he says.”
Kristine nodded her head in agreement as she clicked on the file containing the documents. With her fingers crossed and a final goodbye to Nina, she clicked on the tiny arrow, sending a small prayer to Saint Therese for guidance.
Dust hung heavy in the air as Kristine pulled yet another box from the attic. She’d managed four hours of sleep after talking with Nina, but as the sun cast its rays through her window, her body came alive with the need to get the house ready for her possible departure. She’d checked her email at least three times this morning, chastising herself when it remained empty. Surely Nina’s boss was a busy man and perusing her lackluster resumé wasn’t his number one priority.
Sitting the heavy box on the couch, Kristine pulled the knife from her back pocket, slicing fluidly through the ancient tape sealing the top. She’d found mostly junk hidden in the boxes cluttering the enormous space, a fact which shocked Kristine as her granny prided herself on how well she kept the house. Expecting to find yet another set of old cookbooks or broken Christmas decorations, her brow dipped sharply as her eyes landed on the dark-stained wooden box. Reaching inside, she sat heavily on the coffee table behind her as she flicked the metal closure open to find stacks of baby pictures. A smile found her lips as she recognized the eyes o
f the cherub baby in the photo, a flip to the back confirmed the identity as she recognized her granny’s elegant penmanship. When she reached the last photo, Kristine peered into the wooden confinement, surprised to see a tiny ring nestled in the corner. Retrieving the delicate piece of jewelry, Kristine twisted it back and forth, taking in the details of the dainty ring. She couldn’t understand why her granny would keep something so precious stuffed in a box in the attic and not in her jewelry box in her bedroom.
Before she could ponder any further, the alert of a new email filled the quiet room, causing her heart to race and drop the wooden box to the carpeted floor. She tried not to get her hopes up, it could be a spam email trying to scam her into buying something she didn’t need. With shaky hands, Kristine tapped the space bar on her computer, the screen blinking to life, revealing a waiting email from one Salvatore Vitale.
Ms. Smith,
First, I would like to extend my condolences on the recent loss of your Nona. Nina felt it important to share your sorrow with me as the moment I reviewed your resumé, I wanted to have you in the office immediately. Between the glowing praise of your character from Nina and the length of your current employment with the County Coop, I would like to formally offer you an accounting position within our company. While the salary is negotiable, based on your experience we are prepared to present you with a starting salary of $112,000.00 annually. We also offer medical and dental insurance, as well as a company car to use at your discretion.
Leave Me Breathless: The Black Rose Collection Page 5