I shoot a video and attach it to an email I’ve written to the city. Shaken, fully caffeinated, I open my umbrella and rush to work. If this keeps up, we’ll need to move in with my cousins. It’s either that, or buy a crate of Xanax.
“Hey Rose, hey Mia.” Arriving at my part-time job, I make myself a cup of coffee and sit at my station.
Glancing up, my oldest cousin pauses from restocking hairspray and mousse.
“Rough night?”
“Oh my God. You would not believe the fucking construction next door. It started at five in the friggin’ morning.” Shuddering, I close my eyes, and pray.Dear God in heaven, make it stop.
“Before seven is illegal. Why don’t you call the police?” When Mia plops down in the swivel chair across from me, I meet her dark-eyed and oh-so naïve gaze.
She actually expects a civil response.
Rose, rolls her eyes and is about to help me out when the front door bangs and a furious woman steps inside.
About sixty, she wears a stylish maxi-coat, high-heeled boots and matching black purse which she clutches to her side.
She stomps forward, fixates her beady eyes on me, and shoots me a scowl that could kill.
“Samantha Russo?”
I nod.
“You need to leave my mother alone.”
Oh my God.This must be the infamous daughter. I suppose, if you take away the snarl and the deep frown lines, she bears some resemblance to her mother, Martha.
“Listen. I tried to give her check back. She wouldn’t take it.” My tone, unlike hers, oozes with serenity, yoga mats, and prayer beads.
“I don’t believe you. Don’t think I won’t sue you.” She leans in, voice so menacing that Rose and Mia circle the wagons.
Can this day get any worse?Standing, I drop the soft soap and channel my inner Eastwood. “Go ahead. Make my day. Your mother seemed pretty sane to me and ifshetells me to stop, I will. As for the retainer? She signed a contract. You’re completely out of line and need to go.”
“Not until you write me a check.” She crosses her arms and tilts her head as if daring me to remove her by force.
I’m not sure what time my Aunt Marion arrived on the scene but when I turn toward the cash register, she’s there, calm as a cucumber. A gang member in the eighties, she guarded the subways, so I’m not surprised when she pulls out a baseball bat, puts it behind her back, and approaches our party of four.
“Would you like to book an appointment, Ms. Rossini?” My aunt’s smile doesn’t hit her eyes.
The dragon-lady pushes at my chest, oblivious to the danger. “No. I’m here to get my money back. From her.”
The tension in the room is about to snap and we all jump when the front door chimes, announcing the first customers of the day.
Saved by the bells.
Two new sets of eyes grow wide and I moan. For sure, Aunt Marion is going to fire me unless I get the crazy lady to move on.
Nose to nose with Martha’s furious daughter, I hand her my business card. “My partner, Sebastian, is at our office. You can speak with him there. You need to go. Now.”
“Fine. First, I am calling my lawyer.” Huffing, the woman turns on a spiked heel, clicks across the linoleum, and slams the door as she exits.
Rose and Mia applaud but judging from Aunt Marion’s face, I am in deep shit. Finished with me, she checks her appointment book and smiles professionally as she directs her customers to my station.
Mrs. Murphy, the bakery owner, sits at my chair and removes her gloves. “Wasn’t that Martha’s daughter, Elena?”
“None other.”I wonder if I should call and give Suds a heads up.
“Puttana.”
