Lies, I fed myself lies.
He went for a run.
He went to the store.
None of those things, though, were true.
Guido and Nino refused to look at me, refused to meet my eye, though I made a point of speaking to each man.
Brando had gone to see Lucious “Luca” Fausti. His father.
Before he could return, I knew what had to be done. The swell of my stomach was becoming too noticeable to hide our secret, and there were appointments that needed to be kept.
Besides, I refused to live a life of lies, even if silent ones. After he went to see his father, the outcome of our battle would not be decided by the two of us, but by an outside invader. An Italian barbarian. I refused to allow it.
With some careful planning and a confidante, I slipped out of the restaurant’s bathroom window right before lunch was served to our group of women. The words I left behind for my husband rang true in my ears.
I need time topensi alla questione. I’m safe. And I will be.
I love youper sempre.
Your wife,
Scarlett
Eva drove on, and I somehow mustered the courage to keep it together, to face what I never thought I’d do.
I left the only true home I’d ever known to face a monster, only a table to separate his body from mine.
* * *
The guard gave me a curious look when I gave the name Fausti. Then a shocked look appeared on his face when I handed over my driver’s license with the same name on the card. It was the equivalent of a permanent tattoo over my skin claiming me as one of “theirs”—his, irrevocably, through a blood vow and a vow spoken in front of God and a congregation.
“Lucious Leone Fausti is my father-in-law,” I said, keeping my chin held high.
The guard stalled, flipping my driver’s license over with his fingers. “Are you sure you want to see him, sweetheart?”
“I do.”
“Let her in, Clark. She has a right to see him.”
I turned to find the sheriff coming up behind me.
Hat in his hands, he approached me with something close to a thrill. “You just missed your husband,” he said, “and that long-haired cousin of his.”
He took in my appearance. I had worn all black in honor of the occasion. He muttered something under his breath, “fitting,” I think, but I wasn’t too sure.
I nodded once. “I’m aware.”
“I see.” He twirled his hat in his hands. “If you don’t mind me saying, you look more beautiful than ever. Glowing even.”
“I think it’s calledflushed, Sheriff,” I said politely. “It’s hot out.”
“So it is.” He pointed behind me, using his hat. “You better get going. Visiting hours will be over soon.”
It didn’t escape me why the sheriff was there, but thoughts about the sheriff soon turned into a foreboding so strong that it made me feel unsteady. Only one thought consumed me. I was really about to meet him, the man I had only heard stories about.
After I was searched and all of my belongings were stashed away, I was released into a room full of tables and chairs, family and friends visiting their loved ones locked up behind bars, I came face to face with the man my husband called father.
