“She took it,” said Nikki. “But according to her sister Carly, she told Big Daddy that she stood by her husband. Dory started it, Mick escalated it, what did they expect Frankie to do? Her words.”
“And that’s why I knew we couldn’t give an inch to Monk,” said Teddy. “Not right now.”
“He must be planning something awfully big,” said Roz, “for it to take this long. It’s been weeks since he gave his warning.”
A silence fell over the room, because they all knew it too.
Ted looked at his father. Would he neglect Dory, now that he knew he was the father, the way he neglected all of his other children except for his twins with Roz? “How’s Dory?” he asked Mick.
Mick nodded his head. “Better. The doctors feel he’s turned the corner. I’m going to go see him once I get a read on Monk’s next move.”
“Damn, Pop. If I knew I had a son in Rome, and he was fighting for his life, that’s where I’d be.”
“He’s under tight security.”
“So is your family here. Especially when the Gabrinis were in town. You could have gone then. We would have held it down Stateside.”
Mick stared at Teddy. Was he attempting to expose Mick’s weakness for Roz? Was he attempting to get Mick to admit the only reason he didn’t go, even though he knew he needed to be at his newfound son’s bedside, was because of Roz?
“He’s under tight security,” said Mick.
Nikki, knowing how much Mick never wanted his weakness for Roz revealed, decided to change the subject. “You know Frankie well,” she said to Mick. “You know how strategic he thinks. What’s your read on what he might do next?”
“He’ll try to hit Rome again,” said Mick, “but he won’t get to Dory if that’s his goal. I have an impenetrable wall around Dory. But that’s my best guess.”
“And yet you still remain here,” said Teddy. “That don’t make no sense, Pop.”
Mick and Teddy exchanged a hard look. Teddy knew how to push Mick’s buttons, and Mick knew how to push Teddy’s.
“How was rehearsal, Ma?” Nikki asked Roz.
“Grueling,” said Roz, happy to move on too. “We open in four days and Kelly’s insisting on so many changes that it’s ridiculous.”
“Kelly?Who’s Kelly?”
Mick looked at Roz.
“He’s our director. He’s the one that advocated for me to get the lead role. It’s my first lead in a minute.”
“But you’ve had hits before,” said Nikki.
“It’s always what have you done for me lately. Broadway is brutal.”
But Teddy wasn’t done with Mick just yet. “How do you feel about Gloria’s mom being Dory’s mom too? I was pissed when I heard the news. It’s like when will the two of them ever disentangle themselves from one another?”
“My thoughts exactly,” Roz said. “But what can you do? It’s not that boy’s fault who his parents are.” She said it and looked at Mick. “Big Daddy wanted to strangle you when I told him about Bella being Dory’s mother. That was a shocker to him.”
“It’s my business,” Mick said.
“You and Bella’s. Which is the problem. You and that witch always have too muchbusinesstogether. And I get that she saved your life once. I’m not minimizing that. But damn, Mick. When will it ever end?”
“With children?” asked Mick. “Never.”
It was a sobering truth they all knew. And Mick, to his credit Nikki thought, never tried to sugar coat it. Bella Caine was going to be in his life forever whether they liked it or not. They didn’t like it. Nobody did. But Mick wasn’t going to deny it.
“I like Bella,” said Teddy. “She’s a great mom to Gloria. But it’s just that she depends on Pop too much. That’s the part I don’t,” Teddy began saying when all of them heard a sudden and deafening explosion.
It was so loud that the office shook and everybody jumped to their feet. Mick was first out that door and then Teddy and Nikki and then Roz.
