He doesn’t even look dead. He’s got Mom’s red hair and it’s perfectly styled. Much more perfect than he’d ever had in life. It’s so neatly in place, almost like it’s made of plastic. His face is relaxed, albeit a little paler than usual. He looks like he had just decided to lie down for a nap… in a casket.
The suit he’s wearing is his funeral suit, ironically enough. He has lots of suits that he’d bought over the last year or so. Expensive, shiny ones that he liked to wear to the club. This one, though, is the one suit he wore to funerals or weddings. The dark blue one with pinstripes. It’s a nice suit, and honestly, it’s actually always been my favorite.
The priest’s sermon is finally done and the rest of the funeral ritual is beginning. One of the funeral directors closes Damon’s casket and the sound of one of my aunts’ weeping echoes through the room. Several of Dad’s men stand up to do their job as pallbearers.
I watch them carry the casket down the aisle in slow procession as I, my dad, and my sister all stand to follow. As soon as we get outside, I hear my dad say in a low voice, “So, you couldn’t be bothered to show up on time for your brother’s funeral? You’re going to pay for your wild lifestyle, Isabella Marie. Mark my words. One day, slutting around town is gonna catch up to you.”
I don’t respond to him. I rarely do these days when he goes on about my staying out all night. My face does get hot, though. That part about my ‘slutting around’ stung.
We get into the limo, and all I can think about is how unfair it is. Dad would never have dreamt of talking to Damon like that and he messed up way worse than I ever have. I mean, he got himself killed. All I did was show up hung over on a Sunday.
The repast isat Dad’s house. Every relative I’ve ever met (and a few I don’t know) has filled the living room with their presence. They’re sitting on couches with plates of some variation of noodle in red sauce on their laps as they chat in these lively conversations. It’s more like a party than a repast, really. I’ve passed on eating anything. I just don’t have the stomach for it. Not that it doesn’t look good. My dad clearly had this thing catered. There’s waiters walking around and everything.
I sit in the far corner, sipping on a glass of Chianti. I know that there’s a full bar in the other room and I guess I could have chosen hard liquor if I wanted it. I doubt anyone would blame me. Except for Dad, of course. The last thing I need is another sour look from him today.
Analisa sits down next to me. “Shitty day, right?”
I nod. “You hear Dad lay into me earlier?”
“Ignore him. He’s not really himself today.”
I scoff. “Seems pretty on par to me. Daddy’s only son has the nerve to fuck up and this time, it killed him. Time to take it out on his problem child.”
Analisa doesn’t say anything. She just sighs in that way that says she disapproves of what I just said. “You gotta cut him some slack,” she says after a few seconds. “Things are… well, they’re tough, you know? You haven’t been paying attention lately, but the family business isn’t exactly coming up roses right now.”
I frown and look at her. “What do you mean?”
“Just that you can’t be too hard on him, okay? That’s all I’m saying.”
I want to press her on that. Find out what she means. And at the same time, perhaps I don’t really want to know. Our father did his best to keep us girls on the outskirts of his dealings, but over the years it just became more and more impossible. Information spins like a top in this city. You can find out a lot just from the right bartender on the right night.
I hear the front door open and I look over just in time to see my father welcoming three men… who shouldn’t be here.
I’ve never been this close to them, but I recognize all three. The main one is Maxim Mechnikov. Anybody who knew anything about the Mechnikovs knows him. He’s a big man, tall and muscular with short, dark hair that’s graying at the edges and icy blue eyes. With him are his two sons, Alexei and Pavel. Pavel’s like a carbon copy of his dad, except a little shorter and leaner. He’s got the same dark look about him, though, and the same icy blue eyes.
Now, Alexei… he’s the kind of handsome that’s all trouble. He’s tall and muscular like his dad, but he’s got blond hair that’s slicked and styled into place, short on the sides and long on top. He has a rugged jawline peppered with a well-maintained beard.
I’m not supposed to find any of them attractive, of course. The Mechnikovs are supposed to be our sworn enemies… which makes it all the more odd for them to even be here right now. Just the same, there they are, Maxim all smiles with my dad as they talk. His two sons flank him like soldiers, hands clasped in front of them in their dark suits, their eyes surveying the area like watchtowers.
I turn away from them with disgust. First, my dad chastises me about showing up late to my brother’s funeral and starts in on me about disrespect, then he turns around and invites our enemies to his funeral! I mean, talk about disrespect. I don’t know if he even knows what the word means.
And I’m just sitting here, stewing and sipping my wine. I catch the eye of one of the waiters. He’s kind of cute, dark hair and kind brown eyes. They look like puppy dog eyes, actually. Wonder if he’s as bored of this whole thing as I am. Bet he’d love to get a drink.
“I’ll see you later, Annie,” I tell my sister, handing her my drink.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Out of here.”
“What do I tell Dad if he comes around looking for you?”
“Tell him I went slutting around town,” I tell her and walk away. The waiter just handed one of my uncles a plate of Ziti and he looks like he’s about to disappear into the kitchen. I catch him before he turns away. “Hey, there. You wouldn’t happen to have a lighter, would you?”
His face reddens a little and he says, “Yeah. I was about to take my break. Wanna join me?”
“I sure do,” I say.
The neighborhoodthat my father lives in is considered pretty safe, but I think that’s only because he’s there and everyone knows who he is. Growing up here has always been a pretty quiet life. Nobody ever really bothered us around here.
