Chapter Nine

Molly

Hurrying past a confused Armando and an uneasy Nick, Molly followed after Devil.  She pasted what she hoped like hell was a welcoming smile on her face and walked into the foyer to greet their guests.  “Hello,” she greeted the older couple that stood on their threshold.  “You must be Mr. and Mrs. Santino.  I’m so grateful that you accepted our invitation.  I’m Molly Delancy and you’ve already met my husband, Devil,” she said pleasantly, extending her hand.

“Yes,” Sofia Santino replied, somehow managing to look down her nose at Devil even though she was several inches shorter than him while shaking Molly’s hand.  “I met your aptly named spouse several years ago.  He doesn’t appear to have changed very much,” she continued haughtily, looking Devil over with an exacting eye.

“Oh, now, Sofia.  I’ve changed.  I’m a whole lot less patient with rude folks that ought to have learned better manners given their social standing,” Devil returned icily.

“Oh, good!  We’re already on a first name basis with each other, too,” Molly tittered.  Dropping Sofia’s hand, she reached for Gino Santino next.  “And you must be Nick’s father.  Gino, isn’t it?” she questioned quickly before her husband could continue insulting Sofia.  The old witch deserved it, she thought angrily, but they were here to try and repair Nick and Armando’s relationship.  These two uptight assholes were part of that pivotal plan whether they wanted to be or not.  Therefore, she couldn’t allow her husband to decimate them thirty seconds after arrival before the meal and peace talks even got underway.  Maybe by dessert, though, if their attitudes didn’t improve.

Gino took Molly’s hand in his, shaking it gently and smiling.  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Delancy.  My son told us that Devil had married, but he neglected to tell us how beautiful you were.”

Probably because I don’t have a penis, Molly thought silently even as she blushed and smiled at the older man.  He didn’t seem quite so bad.  Perhaps, there was a bit of hope on the horizon.  “Thank you, sir.  And please, call me Molly.  And come in.  Welcome to our home,” she continued, gesturing for them to proceed into the formal living room.  “Nick and the others are waiting inside for us.”

“By others, you mean….” Sofia broke off meaningfully.

“I mean that he is waiting with his fiancé, Armando,” Molly acknowledged softly, carefully keeping her face expressionless as she stared down the older woman.

“I will thank you not to refer to that man as my son’s anything,” Sofia ordered sharply, stiffening as she glared at Molly.

Sighing heavily, Gino looked at his wife.  “Sofia, we spoke of this already.  You will be civil and not offend our hosts with rudeness.  Let’s just go inside and hear what our son has to say,” he suggested reasonably, placing a guiding hand on his wife’s lower back.  “How can I convince you to remain quiet for long enough to get the facts, wife?”

“Might I suggest a muzzle,” Devil offered with a graciousness that pulled a faint smile to Molly’s lips even as she painfully pinched his side in warning.

“Will you please behave?” Molly beseeched her husband as she turned to hiss against his ear.  “We’ve got one chance to get this right or Mannie lives in our guestroom indefinitely!” she reminded him in a violent whisper as the other couple walked ahead of them into the other room.

“Fine!  I’ll rein it in, but you should know that holding back is definitely not good for my digestion,” Devil complained in a low voice.

“Think about what having Armando as a permanent houseguest will do to it,” Molly volleyed back menacingly, lifting both her eyebrows as she shot her husband an eloquent look.

Molly ignored whatever her husband continued to unhappily mumble and sped into the living room, relieved to find that there hadn’t been any bloodshed.  Of course, the afternoon was young, but she was making a choice to remain positive.  

“Mother.  Father.  I’m pleased you made it here safely,” Molly heard Nick address his parents as he turned to face them, blocking Mannie from Sofia’s fuming gaze. 

“Estos son tus padres?” Mannie questioned Nick in horror.  “You brought them here, su madre y padre?  Por que?” he asked frantically.

“If it wouldn’t be too much of an imposition,” Sofia Santino began snidely, “Would you please ask your….friend to use English?  He does know English, doesn’t he?” she asked, making no attempt to hide the mockery in her tone.  Clearly, she believed Armando to be beneath her.

Witnessing Nick’s now flushed face and his clenched jaw, Molly jumped in.  “Of course, he speaks English!  Our Armando graduated from Penn with a degree in business administration.  He just vacillates between Spanish and English when he’s nervous or stressed,” she defended her friend sharply.

Not bothering to even look at Mannie, Sofia lifted her chin.  “Oh, really.  I was under the impression that he was a model,” she returned, spitting out the word ‘model’ like it was poison.

“Modeling is how I worked my way through university,” Mannie responded with quiet dignity.

“Mother, I warned you on the phone, you will be civil or leave.  It’s your choice.  One more rude remark to the man I intend to marry and I will personally see you out,” Nick warned, his shoulders stiffening as his dark eyes bored into his mother.

“Yes, Sofia,” Gino added, glaring at his wife, “And I, for one, want to understand what the hell is going on here.  For the sake of our boy, Sofia, just open your mind and ….”

“I think it is obvious what’s happening here,” Sofia countered, looking from her son to the man she held responsible for her family’s current woes.  “This…. This person has obviously brainwashed our son.”

“Alright, Mother, let me try to explain this to you in terms that you’ll understand,” Nick began tightly, balling his fists at his side even as Molly witnessed Armando placing a calming, supportive hand at his shoulder.  “To be brainwashed, this would mean that I had no control over my choices or actions.  I assure you, it was my choice and my honor to love and be loved by this man,” he stated in a voice brimming with pride and dignity as he took Mannie’s hand and tugged him to stand beside him.  “The way I choose to live my life and my sexual orientation is NOT a choice!  However, I do choose to see it as a gift from God that I received before I even left your womb.”

“A gift!?” Sofia echoed, scandalized and angry as she looked at her son as though he were a stranger to her.

“Absolutely, Mother.  Because without being born this way, I’d never have had the privilege of loving and being loved by this wonderfully funny, caring man,” Nick concluded, his shoulders straight and chin high.  “I suppose for that I should thank you

“To be brainwashed would mean that I had no control over my choices,” Nick replied firmly but with dignity.  “My choice is to be with the man that I love.  My nature is not a choice, however, but is what God gifted me with from the beginning of my life.”  He paused for a moment, then added with a grim smile, “I guess I should thank you for that.  So, thank you, Mother, for giving birth and bringing me into this world to find the love of my life.”

“Ohhhhh, Nicky,” Armando whispered, sounding as choked up with emotion as he looked, “That is the single best thing anybody has ever said about me in my life.  You do love me!”

Ignoring Armando’s statement of the entirely obvious, Molly winced as she noted Sofia’s dropped jaw and stiffened posture, obviously heralding that she was preparing to wage a bloody battle.  She could only pray that her nearby hutch holding her wedding china was as sturdy as it looked.  There was carnage coming… she could smell the fury burning in the air.  Damn, she had really loved that china pattern, too, she thought, giving the heavy, oak hutch a long mournful look.

“May I point out that we haven’t even sat down at the dining room table yet?” Devil asked, jerking his head toward the adjoining room where the chef Molly’d hired for the day had set the gorgeous mahogany table with elegant table settings and was placing food on it as quickly as she could.  Molly didn’t blame her, she’d flee this house of horrors, too, if she could.

“The last thing I have a desire to do is to break bread with you, Mr. Delancy,” Sofia bit out.  “You’re responsible for this, aren’t you?  Before you showed up, determined to seduce our son away from us, he had a perfectly normal lifestyle.  He dated girls.”

“Look, lady, I didn’t exactly have to beg to get your son to sign on with Delancy Industries.  I simply offered him a job.  He’s the one that left skid marks getting the hell out of Boston and the hell away from you and your hypercritical running commentary on his life… or lack of one as the case was at the time.  Because trust me, woman, that boy was barely breathing before I helped him escape Boston.”

“And for the record, I didn’t date those girls you refer to, Mother.  I used them as human shields.  I had to do it,” he said with a quick look at Mannie.  “I did,” he whispered to the other man now standing at his side and holding his hand tightly.  “She would have made my life a misery if she’d even suspected I was gay then.  I’m not proud of it, but I used those girls.”

“As somebody who’s done sort of the same thing,” Devil began, remembering how he’d dated his fair share of women in an effort to keep him from acting on his feelings for Molly, “I get it, Nick.  You did what you had to do then to get through the day.”  Looking at Sofia again, Devil shook his head in disgust.  “Look, Sofia.  Gino.  Nick coming here and working for me was almost entirely your own doing.  You want somebody to blame, look in the fuckin’ mirror.  Neither one of you would let the guy be who he was.  He had to move somewhere where he could just be free to live his life without judgment.  And for the record, when he found Mannie, it looked like he found his other half.  Why don’t you try being happy for him?” Devil growled, determined to defend his friends.  He only went silent when Molly grabbed his hand and threaded her fingers through his.

“That will never happen,” Sofia denied, casting Nick and Armando a disparaging look of contempt.  “And I will thank all of you not to blame my son’s horrible, deviant lifestyle on me!  I had nothing to do with him becoming an affront against nature and all the things his father and I hold dear,” she snapped out bitterly, each word fraught with anger and disgust.  “I can only be thankful that the people that know us in Boston do not have to be subject to this ridiculous life choice. “  Pausing to take a deep breath, she focused her attention entirely on her son.  “You, my son, have a choice to make.”

“A choice,” Nick scoffed.  “Have you listened to a word I said?  This isn’t a choice, Mother!” he shouted, taking an angry step toward the woman that gave birth to him.  “It has never, not once, been a choice.  It’s WHO I AM!” he roared, his body jerking when Armando caught his arm when he would have charged across the room toward his parents.   “I’m sorry if I’m not the son you wanted, but this is what you have!”

“Calm down, mi amor,” Armando soothed against Nick’s ear as he rubbed Nick’s heaving shoulders.  “Calm down, Nicky.  You don’t owe anyone an apology.  Least of all, somebody that could make you feel like this,” he added with an irate look at Nick’s mother.

Barely noticing Armando, Sofia’s eyes narrowed.  “You have a choice to make, Nicholas.  You can stay here and live a life that our God considers an abomination….”

“Wait a second!” Molly finally interrupted, holding up her hands.  “Our God?  Is that what you said?  Our?”

“That’s exactly what I said,” Sofia retorted, her eyes flashing.  “Surely you can see that this is a sinful union that our Lord would never sanction.”

“Well, my God doesn’t judge.   My God would NEVER condemn two men for loving each other.  He would never cast them aside for a choice that was never theirs to begin with.  This is your SON that you’re trying to condemn to Hell!  How can you do that?” Molly asked, horrified by the callousness that Nick’s mother was showing him and Armando.

“Don’t bother wasting your breath, Molly,” Armando interjected softly.  “People like her will sit in judgment of people like us until the end of time.  You’ve got a better shot at stopping time than changing her mind.”

“Well, that’s one thing we can agree on,” Sofia barked at Armando.

“Due respect, Mrs. Santino,” Mannie’s heavily accented voice replied, “But I pray that it’s not the only thing we ever agree on.  You and I… there is little common ground to be found, but I love your son.  He has my heart.  My soul. Does that mean anything to you?”

“Very little.  Your relationship goes against everything I believe to be right.  I’m sorry, but you are not for my Nicholas,” Sofia replied.  “As I was saying, Nicholas.  You can have this immoral relationship with him, or you can have a relationship with your family.  Come home.  Let your father and I get you some help for this….this….sickness.”

Molly felt Devil leaning toward her.   “For once, I really wish we had Samantha here to turn loose on her,” she heard him whisper against her ear.  She nodded.  “Me, too,” she murmured back to him.

“My God!  Enough, Sofia!” Gino bellowed, speaking for the first time since the conversation began.  “I. Have. Heard.  Enough!!!!!!!!” he shouted again, making his wife jump as she turned sharply to look at her husband.  Grabbing her arm and giving her a quick shake, he exhaled a long stream of air through his nose as he scowled at her.  “Do you honestly believe that you have the power to browbeat the gay right out of our son?” he shouted, throwing his arm out in a wide arc to gesture at Nick.  “Is that what you believe?”

“Mmmmm,” Armando hummed appreciatively, blinking at the exchange.  “Go, papi!”

“Shhhhh,” Nick hissed, holding Mannie’s hand tightly.  “I don’t know what’s happening,” he whispered frantically.  “He’s never yelled at Mother in my life!”

“That’s because she never let me get a word in edgewise,” Gino informed his son irritably before turning back to his wife.  “But those days are over.  OVER, Sofia, do you hear?”

“Gino,” Sofia hissed, her cheeks red with embarrassment. 

“No!  I’ve listened to quite enough.  In fact, I’ve heard so much that my stomach turns,” he bit out, beyond angry now. 

“I know!” Sofia returned, reaching for his hand.  “The way our boy is throwing his life away on this sick, depraved man….” She began, throwing her arm out toward Armando.

“Damn it, Mother!  I love him and if you don’t show him some respect….. You know what?  No.  I’m done,” Nick thundered.  “You wanna know my choice?  It’s him.  Armando.  I choose Armando Savage, and I pray with everything that I am that he chooses me in return,” he concluded, turning to stare at the man he loved.  “You wanna disown me for following my heart and loving a man?  Go ahead.  Do your worst.  You’re the ones losing out.  Because being loved by this amazing man,” he continued, squeezing Armando’s hand in his, “It’s made me better and stronger than I ever thought I could be, and you’re both fools for passing up the chance to know that kind of wonderful.”

“Awwwww,” Molly whispered, blinking back tears and sniffling while she leaned her head against Devil’s shoulder and watched Nick make his stand.

“Now, you make a choice mother,” Nick continued.  “Refrain from your uptight judgments regarding me and my future husband… or leave.  If you stay, I’d love you to have dinner with us and get to know your future son-in-law, but if not, please just go.”

“Pick leave, pick leave, pick LEAVE,” Devil entreated in a whisper from his position at Molly’s side.

Stunned, Sofia looked from her son to her husband.  “Did you hear how your son just talked to his mother?  Aren’t you going to say something?!”” she asked Gino in outrage.

Gino merely stood and blinked at his wife for several long seconds.  “Yes, Sofia, I do want to say something.  Something important.”

Impatiently, Sofia huffed out an agitated breath.  “Well!  Say it!” she ordered.

Turning to look at his son, Gino smiled, his bluish-grey eyes sparking with humor and goodwill.  “What’s for dinner, boys?”