Thirty-Three

One year later…

 

 

Giovanni

 “Giovanni! Earth to Giovanni!” Natalie waves her hands in front of my face, snapping me out of my daydream.

“Yeah. Sorry. Just a lot on my mind. What’s up?” Natalie gives me the same look she always gives me when she catches me spacing out.

“Your mom is here. She’s at the bar having a drink.”

“Ok, thanks.” I stand up from behind my desk and close the file I was supposed to be looking at but wasn’t really paying attention to. That seems to be the story of my life this past year. My numbers are down, memberships have decreased, and I don’t really give a fuck about any of it. I head out to the front to meet my mom, looking forward to having a drink more than conversing with her.

“Scotch neat,” I tell Edgardo as I sit down next to my mom, who is sipping on her usual fruity drink. I don’t bother starting a conversation. She will do it for me.

“It’s time for you to go.” She places her drink down and turns toward me.

“Go where? I don’t have any meetings today.” Edwardo places my scotch down and I pick it up downing it in one large gulp before knocking on the bar top for him to get me another.

“To her, Giovanni. I need my son back.” I let out a humorless laugh and take a slightly smaller sip of the new drink in front of me.

“What the hell are you talking about, Mom?” I take another sip and finish off the drink.

“I was wrong last year. I was thinking like the wife of a mob boss and not like your mother. I never should have told you to let her go.”

“It doesn’t even matter. She’s halfway across the world and safe. What would I do? Bring her back here and bring her into this life again? So, what? She can get kidnapped and raped again?” I wince at my own words and reach over the bar, grabbing the bottle of scotch to pour myself another drink.

“Natalie tells me you are drunk every day, Giovanni. We have all watched you self-destruct this past year. I thought you would come around until you didn’t.”

“What the fuck do you all want from me?” I roar. Members and staff turn their gaze to me. I force my voice lower. “You wanted me to let her go, so I did. Dad threatened her. He wouldn’t even help find her unless I agreed! I did what you wanted. What. More. Do you want from me?”

I take a swig straight from the bottle, not even bothering to pour it into the glass tumbler.

“Aria…” My mom says and I cut her off.

“Don’t you say her fucking name! Her name is not allowed to leave your fucking mouth.” I swipe the bottle and tumbler across the bar, both flying off the end and crashing to the ground. Edgardo jumps into action, without even giving me a second glance, to clean it up. This isn’t the first, third, or probably thirteenth damn time glass has been broken at this bar. My elbows hit the bar top, my face going into my hands as I scrub my face trying to calm down. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ve spoken to your father and you’re out.” My head shoots up.

“What do you mean out?”

The rims of my mom’s eyelids fill with unshed tears. “You are out of the organization.”

“You’re disowning me?” I ask incredulously.

“No.” She shakes her head. “You will always be our son, and while your dad is not happy about you leaving, he will come around. You are out of the organization. Mario is moving here to take over the restaurant and Casino. Nico is going to take over the bordello and any other business you have. Amber has agreed. They won’t be living here but he will run the place with Natalie. We were wrong to put you in such a position. We had it set in our minds about you and Cecilia.”

I hear what she’s saying but it all feels so surreal. I’m free. So many times I have dreamt about what I would do if I was free but I never believed it would happen. Could I have walked away a year ago? Yeah, I could have, but Aria wouldn’t let me. She told me she couldn’t come between my family and me. She asked, no she begged me to let her go. So, I did. I let her go, and it feels like the day she walked out the door with her bags in her hands, is the day my heart stopped beating.

“Do you think she will want to see me? She was kidnapped and raped because of me.” My mom’s built up tears fall and she gives me a sad smile.

“If she loves you the way you love her, the way I believe she loves you, I can’t imagine she would ever hold you responsible for what happened. But there’s only one way to find out.”

“Why are you doing this for me, Mom?”

“Because once upon a time I believed in the fairytale. I believed in the power of love. But somewhere along the way, I got caught up in your father’s world of power and materialistic possessions and began to live a lie, telling myself those two things equaled love. I’ve told your father I’m done accepting him the way he is. I’m done turning my cheek while he cheats on me. If things don’t change, I am filing for divorce.”

My eyes widen at her admission. “You threatened to divorce Dad?”

“That’s right. He says things will be different so we will see. I’m not sure if it’s too late for us but I don’t believe it’s too late for you and Aria.”