“Do you need anything else sir?” she asked.
Knowing that anything I requested would likely be passed on to Philippa, bringing her back up to my bedroom, I said, “No, I’m okay thank you.” The last thing I needed was her in my room alone until I could guarantee that I could control myself.
Alegna gave me a reserved bow of her head and then took the basket in her arms and left without another word. I checked my phone and it was a little after eleven. The Bonifacios would be arriving within the hour. Why my father had Alegna wait until so late in the day, I wasn’t sure, but I had a hunch it was his old habit of torturing me creeping up again. Though he had set out to treat me like a human as of late, old habits die hard, and I anticipated my father was constantly trying to come up with ways to torture me mentally or emotionally since he was abstaining from doing so physically.
Ah, Angelo Cavetti. You aren’t even a wolf in sheep’s clothing, you’re a demon in wolf’s clothing.
I stopped what I was doing immediately and changed the button up and slacks I had on for a full, tailored suit. The promise of seeing Lucia had me putting extra care into my appearance, though as I reached for the grease to slick back my hair, I heard Philippa’s voice in my mind.
“Your hair is so unique. Like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be curly or straight. Don’t ruin it with hair grease.”
I snickered at myself and imagined one day rubbing my hair down with grease until it was flat against my head, just to see her reaction. Knowing her, she’d lie to my face and tell me it was fine just to keep me from feeling bad. I glanced towards the door, knowing that all it would take was a simple word and she’d be back before me. I always felt much better when she was around, and my stomach twisted a little at the thought of getting to see her.
But then I stopped myself. I was doing it again.
The woman I wanted to marry would be within my grasp soon, not to mention standing before me in less than an hour. I had to focus.
I applied a safe amount of grease to my hair to hold it back and made my way downstairs. Romeo, Marcello, and Savio were already sitting at the table, and despite my increased interactions with the family as of late, they seemed surprised to see me arrive. Romeo, above all, gave me a downright disgusted look as I walked in and sat at my regular seat at the opposite end of the table from where my father sat.
“Why are you here?” Romeo asked.
“Father requested me,” I responded simply.
I could see by the fact that his face got a little redder that it wasn’t the answer he was hoping for. For a few weeks after my father started to increase my involvement with the family, I tried to explain my presence in terms of my ability to handle more work or the fact that I was a Cavetti just like they were, but Romeo very rarely accepted those kinds of answers. Since then I’d learned that my best bet was to lay it out as it was. Angelo’s rule was the be all end all, so when I simply said that he was the one responsible for my presence at any given time, Romeo had no choice but to accept that.
The table was silent until Angelo entered the room about ten minutes later, remaining standing at the table, and the rest of us followed suit, standing from our chairs. The Bonifacios were led in by one of the house staff and situated in added seats around the large dining room table. The Bonifacio parents sat on either side of my father, while the eldest boys, Antonio and Giorgio, were placed next between Savio and the Bonifacio Patriarch, and Lucia was placed between her mother and Romeo. We sat and the staff began to pour wine and bring in sandwiches.
As we ate, I noticed that Lucia flinched any time Romeo moved. I didn’t know what the extent of their relationship had been up to that point, but she was certainly afraid of him. A huge sigh of relief settled on her face when my father finally looked across the table to me.
“Gianni, why don’t you take Lucia out to see the garden? We’re going to talk business here,” he said.
Romeo squirmed in his seat. No doubt torn between being glad I was excluded from this ‘business’ and angry that I was being asked to tend to Lucia, he glared at me but ultimately stayed quiet. I nodded, offered a kind “Yes, father,” and stood up from my seat. I walked around to where Lucia was sitting and braced her chair to pull out as she stood up from where she was. I hooked my arm and smiled at her. “I’ll show you.”
Lucia gave me a warm grin. “Thank you.”
She looped her arm through mine and I took a bit of pride in how much Romeo seemed like he was about to explode. I didn’t care though. I was going to be the one she’d be spending her days with soon enough, and I was going to make her happier than he ever would.
On the way out to the back, I stopped a staff member and requested some tea be brought out, then we continued out to our sprawling back gardens. A large, ornate marble fountain sat in the middle of a courtyard with benches all around and it spanned out hub-style into several walking paths with flowers corralled on all sides.
Lucia’s eyes widened as she scanned the area. “It’s so beautiful.”
“My mother loved flowers, so our garden is a dedication to her memory,” I explained.
Lucia looked over at me. “Your mother is no longer with us.”
“No,” I said. “She passed away almost eighteen years ago now.”
“I’m so sorry,” she replied. Her face was framed by her long brown hair, and I could tell that the makeup she had applied was light. She didn’t need much to look beautiful.
“It’s okay. Honestly,” I said, “she’s better off in the afterlife than this cruel world.”
Lucia accepted that with a nod. “Unfortunately, I think you may be right.”
I led Lucia over to the fountain and took a seat on one of the benches. Lucia inhaled deeply and I knew she was taking in the collection of the fragrances of the fresh flowers. My mother used to love to do the same. She would sit in the center of the courtyard and smell the fresh flowers all spring and summer.
“I haven’t seen you much with the Cavettis,” Lucia said. “I remember you though, Gianni. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
A chuckle came out of me before I could stop it. “Let’s just say my father recently decided that I was better suited to tasks on the surface as opposed to underground.”
