Maggie Beautiful swirled around her, touching Eunice’s shoulder and then going to sit next to Aberto.
Oh hell, I hoped no one let Maggie Beautiful take over the advice portion of getting ready.
“Never buy clearance,” Maggie Beautiful had told me when she attempted to have the sex talk with me. “You can’t trust it. So don’t skimp. If you can’t buy straight from the rack, don’tdo it. That’s Fate talking to you. Butalwaysuse it.”
Then she had proceeded to put onFatal Attraction, screeching at me afterward, “Remember the bunny!” It was her way of scaring me into not leading girls on.
Jet moved around Scarlett’s legs and I picked her up, keeping her close to my chest.
“Remembering the bunny?” Scarlett asked.
“Yeah.”
She gave me a pity pat.
Jet jumped out of my arms—a killer had to keep her rep intact. I stepped in front of Eunice, blocking O’Sullivan.
“Tell me what your intentions are with this good woman,”I said in Italian.
Rocco’s food almost fell out of his mouth. Romeo hid his laughter with his napkin. Dario smacked him. Tito nodded his head, agreeing, his thin lips pinched.
Scarlett’s head popped out of the kitchen again. I signed to her to come stand next to me, as a unit, and as my translator.
“What are you doing?” she hissed at me and then smiled sweetly at O’Sullivan.
Maggie Beautiful would have never allowed me to grill the men she brought into our house, and I had enough respect for her to honor her wishes. Eunice was like a grandmother to me. She seemed soft, a nice soul in a mean world.
“Fallo,” I said.Do it.
“Ah, Mr. O—I mean, Burgess—” she nodded, smiling again “—Brando—”
I cleared my throat.
“My husband—” she squeezed my arm; pinched, more like it “—would like to know what your intentions are with this good woman? Eunice, he means.”
Eunice laughed but then composed herself. Eunice was, as far as blood went, all alone in the world. She’d had a sister, but she had died long ago. That left us.
“Yeah, yeah,” O’Sullivan nodded. “I understand. Thatyour husbandwas referring to Eunice, I mean.” He pushed his hat toward us. “Well, my intentions are to take her out for a bite to eat and then some dancing at the hall.”
I nodded at this and then stuck my hand out. “She is in your care,” I said in Italian.
Scarlett translated.
We shook.
“I’ll take good care of her, unless my back goes out. Then we both might need some assistance.”
Eunice laughed so hard that she started to wheeze.
O’Sullivan blushed, going for her coat. “You like that, huh? I have plenty more where that came from, darlin’. You keep that flattery up all night, you have a date for bingo indefinitely.”
She laughed even harder.
All of us rushed to the windows as they departed, watching as the old coot opened the car door for her. She scooted over, unlocking his side. Then most of the room erupted into cheers and laughter.
“Scarlett,” I said. She was watching me.
“Nothing.” She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
