“They do not know that.”
“They can sense it. It’s a game, just like the one we play every day with our enemies.”
“Ah,” was all I could say.
I was suddenly not so sure about this. I did not love fish, but I was not sure how I was going to feel if it looked me in the eye before we…silenced its existence.
Ate it.
This was the plan.
I was about to turn back to Mariano, hand him the pole, hand in my resignation as a fish catcher. We had enough. He secured my hand over the pole, whispering in my ear that he had to piss. He kissed me, then turned to Marciano and gave him a look. I knew what it meant before he said the words aloud.
“Watch her.” He nodded to his brother.
“Who is going to watchyou?” I whispered to his back.
He turned and grinned at me. “Haven’t you heard, my Annie? Faustis have eyes in the back of their heads.”
Marciano laughed, shaking his head. He watched as Mariano faded into the woods, then hurriedly asked, “Did he do it?”
“I do not know,” I rushed out in Italian.
I did not want to get between those two. Marciano hated when Mariano called him Marci. So, of course, Mariano changed his name on all phones whenever he could.
Marciano dropped my phone as if it was a hot potato when Mariano emerged from the woods. His eyes went straight to my phone, and after he picked it up, he wiped it on his shirt. I rolled my eyes. He did not want his brother’s fingerprints on my phone.
Ah!I felt a tug on the line, and I did just as Mariano had instructed me to as I reeled one in. However, this was no struggling fish but a lanky black thing whipping around.
“Serpente!” I came close to screeching as I started to panic. I dropped the pole, but somehow the line got tangled around my boots, and the snake seemed like it was chasing me as I ran.
“Annie,” Mariano’s voice was calm and in control, suddenly so close to me. He had caught up to me in a few long strides and cut me loose with the knife he kept strapped to his ankle.
Marciano took care of the snake.
“Was that—” I had a hard time catching my breath “—a poisonous snake?”
In answer, Marciano came back and handed Mariano my snake. The three of us looked down at it, and their focused faces tickled me. My cheeks puffed out while I held back an expanding bubble of laughter.
“Wait.” I held up a hand, narrowing my eyes at the limp, dripping thing. “Is that… is that a rubber?”
“A rubber.” Marciano’s laugh came hot and fast, and his brother slapped him in the back of his head. His face scrunched up and he fixed his hair.
Mariano nodded. “Deflated bike tire.”
The explosive laugh barreled out of my mouth. I put a hand over my mouth to cover another one, but I could not contain it. I laughed so hard, I fell to the ground, rocking some. When I could control it, I looked up. Mariano and Marciano had their arms crossed, watching me.
I hiccupped as if I had been drinking. A broad smile lingered on my face. “What?” I asked in Italian.
“You do that often, Annie?” Mariano was the only one who ever called me Annie, probably because it was the equivalent ofbabyto him. To us.
“Laugh?” I laughed again. “I try.” I sighed. “I hear it is good for the soul. Or is that chicken noooo-dalsoup? Why are you both looking at me that way?” I narrowed my eyes back.
Mariano knelt, brought me to a sitting position, and picked grass from my hair. “Mamma does that when she’s nervous.”
My face instantly fell, and I thought about it. “I do as well,” I whispered, feeling drained suddenly. “Not often. Occasionally I have had to leave funerals, pretend I am sobbing, which I do after, depending on who is inside the box. But it hits me. The laughter. I cannot seem to control it at times.”
Mariano nodded at me, running his knuckle down my face. It was rough from a cut he had gotten when he was hauling hay.However, the softness of the caress made me shiver. “I’m bigger than anything out there, Annie.”
