“Si,” Mario agreed.“And I tried to tell him this today.Just as Charli tried.You have to realize arguing with this man is hard even in person, but over the phone it was impossible to make a point.I can understand that she has history here, her family history.Her mother’s history but then no one in her father’s family ever took the time to tell her about our side.Now she won’t even tolerate knowing that side of her history.”
Joker shook his head.“I think she will listen to the history and even be curious as to who is who.But I can promise you that she will not listen to the orders he will bring here.They showed her they didn’t want her when she was a child, well now she’s an adult.A wife and a mother even.So she doesn’t need them.It is years too late.”
Mario looked saddened by the whole thing.“And now it's her father’s family looking to kill her.Either that or take her away from her real home and marry her off to someone she doesn’t even know, let alone care about.”
“Let them come,”Ace grumbled.“If they come here looking for trouble, they’ll find it at the end of my fist.Charli has ties here and it's not just us.Ben’s spirit still lives here in her thoughts.He’s watching out for her from the other side, her mom and dad are too.She believes this and to her, they are still here really.”
Mario made the sign of the cross at Ace’s words and he paled a bit.“I never thought about that until you said something.”
“Why is that so important?”Deuce asked.
“Because the family never gave Michael a proper send off,” Mario whispered.“We allowed him to be buried with his wife and my father didn’t make preparations for his soul.”
Charli stood in the doorway and asked, “What preparations for his soul?What does that mean, Mario?”
Mario turned to look at his cousin.“The family has to make sure to do certain things when a family member dies.We are Catholic and some of it has to do with that.But my father didn’t take care of that when his brother died.Nobody did as far as I know.”
“What kind of things?”Charli whispered as she stared at her cousin.
“The family is supposed to have a priest give last rites, then have his body cremated.He is then to carry the ashes with him until they can bury him alongside his ancestors.Inconsecrated groundas it is called.The ashes are also not to be scattered.That is known as sacrilege.My father didn’t make sure to do any of the sacred rites.Instead, he allowed Ben to bury his brother alongside your mother.”
“Well, her father did get a proper American Christian burial as far as we know.So what’s wrong with that?”Jack asked as he returned to the room.
“My father broke the basic rule of respect for the souls of our family.And this kind of venerated respect means something in our laws.It is something beyond the material, so that makes this slight even worse, you see?”Mario looked around at them.“He could lose his chance to remain as Quello in Carica...our Capo.”
Chapter Six
Charli moved aroundthe kitchen with experience as this was the house she lived in most of her life.Her grandpa had built it for his family.Years later, he made improvements.Her husband and brothers did even more updates and renovations.To the whole house and the property.She loved her life here.It had her family both living and beyond.
She made Britney a sandwich and a cup of tea.She felt sure the woman needed it.
Britney ran the rim of the cup with a shaky finger then she looked up at Charli and tried to explain why she was here, “Four years ago, I woke up in a hospital and didn’t know where I was or even who I was.The doctors told me I was lucky to be alive.I asked them how long I’d been there and they told me three weeks.They also told me that my belly had been sliced open and then they asked me where the baby was.”
“Baby?”Charli asked as she felt surprised.
Nodding her head, Britney replied, “I didn’t know I had been pregnant, let alone by who.They told me I almost bled to death, but I never remembered what happened.Like I said it was like everything that happened before I woke up is locked behind a door in my mind.If I tried too hard to remember, I got such a headache.I’ve never been able to remember that time in my life.”
