“My dad had a heart attack. I have to go to Jersey.”
I heard an exclamation from Sal, and Greg gently took my phone from my hand. I heard him speaking to Marco. My cousin took hold of my arm and guided me to a bench along one of thewalls. “I’ll have my driver, Paolo, take you and Michael to the hospital.”
“Okay. Thank you. What about Greg?”
Sal sat next to me. “I think you should take him with you. You need him, and he’ll want to be there for you.”
“You think so?”
He huffed a laugh. “I know so. He’s already making plans with Marco, and I heard him say he’ll arrange everything with Michael.”
That didn’t sound right. I should be making plans with my brothers. How long would it take us to get to the hospital? Was my father going to need surgery? A thousand questions swirled around in my brain. So many decisions to make, and I didn’t know where to start.
I didn’t know how much time had passed when Greg came and kneeled in front of me. “Michael’s going to meet us at your apartment. He said he has a key. I’ll grab my overnight bag, and we’ll pack one for you.”
I took his hands in mine. “You’re coming, right?”
“Of course I’m coming. You need me.”
That was it. I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. “Thank you.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me while I tried to pull myself together. Sal got up from the bench, and I saw him pull out his phone. I assumed he was calling for his driver.
Once I’d settled down, Sal handed me a couple of tissues from his jacket pocket. “The car’s out front.”
“What about you?” I asked as I stood.
He waved away my concern. “Alessandro is here, and Francesco came with the driver. They’ll stay with me until I’m ready to go. I’m only a few blocks from home.”
I pulled Sal into a tight hug. “Thank you. I owe you one.”
“You owe me nothing. We’re family.”
Warmth filled me. I was so glad I had reestablished my relationship with my cousin. “Sorry about dinner.”
He shook his head. “No worries. We’ll get together once things settle with Uncle Santino.”
“You should come and visit,” I said.
Sal laughed and shook his head. “Maybe later this year. I don’t want to give him another heart attack.”
I gave him another hug, and then Greg and I headed for the front of the building. The Saturday evening traffic was heavy and slow-moving, which only served to increase my agitation. “We should have taken the subway,” I grumbled.
Greg took hold of my hand. “I know it sucks, but we’d have to deal with this traffic no matter what. It’ll be fine once we get out of the city. Why don’t you call Michael and see how he’s doing?”
I felt my lips twitch into an almost-smile. I was being managed. I was usually the one doing the managing. It was weird, but it also felt…nice. I took out my phone and hit Michael’s number. He picked up on the first ring.
“Tony, what’s taking so long?”
I looked out the window. “It’s Saturday night. The traffic is bad. We’re passing the Port Authority bus terminal. We shouldn’t be long now.”
“I got an overnight bag out for you. Do you want me to start packing it?”
Michael needed to keep busy. I knew this was how he handled emotional situations. “Sure. You can get it started. I’ll check it when I get there.”
“Have you talked to Mom yet?” he asked.
“Not yet. I was going to wait until we were on our way so I could give her a solid ETA.”
