“I’m sorry,” Dad says.
“Why are you sorry?” I wonder. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I brought her into the house.”
“Did you discover anything?” Gio wants to know.
“Not much,” I admit.
“Do you know what story she was working on?” Dad asks.
“No.”
“All right,” Dad decides, standing up.
“Wait,” I challenge him, rising to my feet.
We lock eyes, and for a moment, I feel like I’m back in high school. I want to assert myself, but in the presence of my father, that’s a difficult task. But this is my problem. I don’t need or want his help to deal with it. Of course I can’t kill Sofia, not even if my father ordered me to, but I have to do something.
We don’t say anything to each other. There’s not much to say. I manage to convey the fact that I’m serious about retribution, and my father can see it in my eyes. He nods eventually, handing over the authority to deal with Sofia to me. When all has been decided, we finally seal the deal verbally.
“I’ll take care of it,” I promise.
My father gives me a proud pat on the back. I haven’t yet decided what I’m going to do, but I’m not going to take this lying down. She insulted me in the worst way possible, and there have to be repercussions. It’s not just my honor on the line either. She interfered with my father’s business, and that can’t be forgiven.
“Do you want company?” Uncle Gio asks.
I glance over at him, wondering how much I can safely say. There are those within my father’s organization who would jump directly to murder. I could hire someone to take care of it, or better still, take care of it myself. But I’m not a killer, not by my hand or by proxy. There has to be a better way to satisfy my anger but hold onto my values as a person. I’m not sure what that is at the moment, so I can’t answer Uncle Gio’s question.
I’m not weak, but I’m not ready to go busting down her door either. I need time to sort things out. “No,” I say finally.
“What do you have planned?” Gio persists.
“I’m not sure,” I say honestly.
“You’re not going to kill her?” Gio asks.
I look at him thoughtfully. In any normal family, that kind of question would raise red flags. In fact, in our family, it’s a bit of a taboo as well. I don’t have any personal knowledge of my father killing anyone or ordering anyone to be killed. We don’t know what kinds of listening devices the government has planted. Even if there are none, it’s dangerous to say that kind of thing out loud.
I wonder if Gio would have been so blunt if I wasn’t already in training to become the next don. I feel like I’ve stepped up a level to where I can be trusted with that kind of secret. And I’m not sure how I feel about it.
There’s a war going on inside me, one that has roots deep in my childhood. I don’t want to disappoint my father, but I need to be my own man. Sofia is my problem, and I’ll take care of her in my own time. I don’t think she presents an ongoing threat, although I’m not going to wait forever. I just need to process what happened and come up with a solution that works for everyone.
“No,” I answer finally, putting a stop to that entire conversation.
My father shakes his head at Gio, warning his brother not to pursue the matter. “I know you’ll do what’s right,” he says.
“How about we go play some golf?” Gio suggests.
I look at him as if he’s speaking Latin. “Golf?”
“Yes,” Gio says. “We can formalize your club membership.”
I’m so confused. Here we are, in the midst of a crisis, and Uncle Gio wants to play golf. Not only that, but he seems to be worried about my social standing with a bunch of businessmen and politicians. That’s not even on my radar at the moment.
“I think I’ll pass,” I say.
“It’ll blow off some steam,” Gio insists.
“But I have studying to do,” I argue. “And don’t we have some meetings to get to today?”
