He grunts and nods his head. “Good. I’ll be happier when you're in my building full time.” He drums his fingers against the steering wheel. “Or… you could stay in my place and rent out yours. I mean, your 3D printer is already set up,” he rushes out. “Or whatever.”
We’ve already had the conversation that I’m moving into the condo. It’s important we each have our own spaces for now. He might get tired of having six open drinks in the living room. I keep waiting for the shoe to drop. For him to run away or get bored of me. But he seems committed, and I’m not my normal ball of self-doubt.
This is, however, the third time he’s suggested I rent out the apartment and stay with him. Yesterday when he brought it up, he said Kingston would miss me.
“Maybe. It might be better for security if we were in the same place.” I’m not fully caught up with who this Deviant guy is, but it seems like his efforts to destroy the Four Families failed.
The business has remained relatively unharmed. There was a literal dumpster fire by Joey’s club, but that was put out before any major damage occurred. Besides the obvious losses, the Four Families seem to have come out the other end of this war.
We pull into the parking lot and most of the family are already there. There had been a lengthy discussion about pall bearers. But it was decided against a casket. Joey joins his family, shaking hands with guests and saying thank you.
I’ve never been to a Catholic cathedral before. It's imposing and bright, but also with long, lingering shadows. There’s a long aisle with benches on either side, and I freeze. I don’t know where to sit.
I’m not family.
I’m not an old friend.
I’m not a business associate.
Where do I go?
Fingers lace with mine. “Come on,” Joey whispers and leads me to the front row. The altar looks like a flower shop exploded, and there’s a posterboard picture next to the pulpit. “She’s so young,” Joey says.
I sit between Lance on my left and Joey on my right. Lance and Izzy have been taking care of Mastodon over the last week. They’re both incredibly tired, and Izzy has this green tinge to her skin that wasn’t there before.
Behind me, in the second row, sits Waverly, her super-hot tattooed boyfriend constantly holding her, Thiago and—who I assume is—his wife, plus the rest of the fathers and parents. Behind them are the Russians and the kids.
The music cues up, and Joey glances over and squeezes my hand. This is all real and painful for him.
The church doors open, and two more people enter. It causes a ripple of shock and mumbled gasps through the congregation.
Markus is wearing a blue suit and fiddling with his tie as he walks in. Alana follows, in heels and a black dress that falls below her knees. She's wearing sunglasses indoors and a black sun hat—cute, but it doesn't match the somber tone. Still, it's black, so I guess it works.
Lance jumps to his feet, hissing, “What are you doing? You should be sitting. The doctor told you not to move.”
Alana pulls her sunglasses down her nose and sighs. “The doctor said I need to take it easy. I didn’t run a half-marathon this morning. I’m fine.”
Lance hisses again. He’s gotten more and more protective of Izzy and Alana in the last few days.
“I’ll stand if I want.” Alana flips him the finger.
He hisses back, “This is holy ground. What are you doing?”
She shrugs. “Odin doesn’t care.”
Wait, is Alana Norse? I’ve never had a deep conversation with her about religion, but it tracks. She probably wants to drink in the halls of Valhalla. Yeah, that fits.
Lance keeps grumbling under his breath.
Waverly looks at Alana and asks, “Will you sit with me?” as she pushes her incredibly hot boyfriend out of the way.
Hot Boyfriend responds with, “Yes, of course. Please sit with my girlfriend. It’s not like I wanted to be near her during what could be an emotional day. Yeah. Cool.”
He steps aside and joins the pew with the Russians and the kids. Alana sits in his now-vacant spot as Markus joins the Russians, sitting between Dimitri and Uri.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Uri asks him.
Markus beams. “Oh my God, I’m great. My knee hasn’t felt this good since... before Russia. Back when I jacked it up running away.”
