A Restored Man (16 page)

Julian shifted Maggie in his arms and extended his hand in greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Julian. I'm one of the owners of the halfway house."

"But you can call him J," Maggie added with a giggle, burying her face at the crook of Julian's neck.

Julian scowled at Cole but protectively wrapped his arms around Maggie. "I would appreciate it if you
don't
call me that," he said to Carmen.

Carmen raised an eyebrow and turned to Cole. "Oh, you are evil. You should know better than to tell her a secret."

Cole chuckled. "I couldn't resist. Look at him."

Carmen turned to face Julian and crossed her arms. "All I see is another poor sucker succumbing to
Pulga's
charm." She turned back to Cole. "You know,
Mami's
going to flip when she sees him."

Cole winced. "Do you think it was a bad idea? I thought it might make her smile. He looks like Marco and acts like him. I don't want her to—"

Carmen slapped Cole on the chest to shut him up. "Are you kidding me? She's going to barricade him in the basement and never let him escape. She's going to love him," she said, turning back to Julian, smiling at the obvious shock in Julian's expression. She moved her hand in a shooing motion. "You need a sense of humor, J," she said, emphasizing the nickname and receiving a scowl in response. "
Mami
doesn't have a basement."

Cole chuckled again.

"C'mon," Carmen said, herding them over to the mob of people in the makeshift courtyard area. "Everyone's been waiting to see you again."

They were immediately surrounded by crowds of people, kissing Cole on the cheek and pulling him into embraces. The surge of relief at seeing his family multiplied with each hug and kiss he received. They neared the courtyard and his pulse quickened. There, at the head of the table with his brothers sitting on each side, sat his mother in her role as matriarch of the Renzo clan.

Carmen pulled him aside. "You go see her, I'll stay here with Julian and
Pulga
for now."

Cole gave her a sideways glare. "He's
my
present to her."

"You know, I
am
standing right here," Julian said.

Carmen pushed Julian, shoving him toward one neighbor's house. "And now you're going to be standing over there with me."

Cole thought he heard Julian mumble something about all the Renzos being pushy, but he wasn't sure, he was too focused on seeing his mother. He squared his shoulders and tugged at his beanie. He took a deep breath and focused on placing one foot in front of the other. As if sensing his presence, his mother turned her head and immediately locked her gaze with his. She stood from her seat and a smile slowly spread across her face. Her small stature of barely five feet was no representation of her role in the Renzo family. His brothers turned to follow her line of sight and they quickly stood alongside her. Giovanni—Vanni—the oldest, stood proud next to their mother and wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulders, whispering something in her ear. Rio stood next to Augustus—Gus—on her other side. They were complete opposites. Gus wore his infinitely happy grin, which contrasted sharply with Rio's overly dramatic frown. Gus immediately broke away from them and darted over to Cole for an embrace.

"Hey, Charcoal," Gus said with his always present smile. "We've been waiting for you."

Cole hugged his brother and patted his back. "Restaurant doing well?"

Gus chuckled. "Yup. Still have my Michelin stars so I'm in heaven. We're opening up a new restaurant next year, so you better be there." He wrapped his arm around Cole and tugged him close. "It was cruel of you to not let her go by that halfway house you're staying at. She's been going nuts not being able to see you since you got out."

Cole managed to worm his way out of the embrace. "I talk to her every day."

Gus looked at him and shook his head. "You know talking on the phone's not the same."

Cole shrugged. "I'm here now, so cut me some slack."

They made their way to where his mother stood, waiting for him. Rio's scowl deepened and he turned and walked away. His mother's gaze immediately followed him and again, Cole could see Vanni whisper something in their mother's ear.

"Vanni still watches over her," Cole said to Gus as they walked.

"Like a hawk," Gus responded. "He's still like
Papi
number two. That hasn't changed. C'mon, if Vanni keeps holding
Mami
down, she'll kick him in the balls so he let's go."

Cole walked alongside his brother through the crowd of people, smiling as he saw his mother's grin grow with each step he took.

"It's good to see you," Vanni said when he neared. The always stoic Renzo brother of the group extended his hand in greeting.

Cole half smiled as he shook his brother's hand, realizing a hug would be unlikely. He released his older brother's hand and looked back at his mom. He didn't need to wait much longer before his mother stepped forward and reached up to cup his face.

"
Mi amor
," she said, her eyes bright with emotion. She pulled him closer and tried to wrap her arms around his broad shoulders. "You're bigger."

He bent and wrapped his thick arms around his mother. His stomach tightened as his arms encased her frail body. She was thinner than the last time he held her this close. He silently cursed the prison system and their strict rules on close contact during visits. He hadn't been able to hold his mother like this during her visits.

She separated from the embrace and cupped his face. "The light in your eyes is still there." She stroked his cheeks as a tear escaped her. She quickly wiped away the wetness on her cheek, still smiling as she stared into his eyes. "You still have it after all these years," she said, reaching up to touch the edge of the fabric of the hat she had knit for him as a teen.

Cole nodded and forced a smile, trying his best to hold back the emotions that gripped his throat. "Happy birthday,
Mami
. I've missed you," he said, finally pushing past the knot in his throat.

She raised a dark eyebrow and slapped him on the chest. "Then you should have let me come by and visit you at the house."

Cole playfully scowled and held back a grin. "I'm going to call child services. You shouldn't hit your children."

That earned him another swat to the chest.

He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

His mother gasped and her hands immediately covered her mouth. Cole turned and saw his sister walking over to them with Julian towering at her side, still holding
Pulga
close.

"That's not Marco,
Mami
," Cole said, now worried his plan wasn't so brilliant after all.

His mother immediately turned to him with a lowered brow. "Do you want me to hit you again? I'm getting old but I'm still sharp. I know he's not Marco. But…
aye Dios mío
…he looks so much like him."

Cole chuckled. "I know. It's freaky, isn't it?"

She nodded, staring at Julian as he approached.

"He acts like him too. If it's too weird, we'll leave. I just thought…I don't know," he said, kicking the foot of the chair at his side. "I thought it might be nice to remember. But if it's too hard—"

His mother reached out and grabbed Cole's hand, turning him to face her again. "I know he's not Marco and no one will ever replace him," she said fiercely.

"I know," he said, his vision blurring.

"But remembering is always nice," she said, her expression softer and understanding. She knew Cole was the closest to Marco, but he didn't know if she was aware of the guilt he felt about his brother's death.

"
Mami
, did you see?" Carmen said when she stood next to their mom. "He's real," she said, poking Julian at the side.

"Why does everyone keep doing that?" Julian said, shaking his head. "Happy birthday, Mrs. Renzo."

"
Mami
…Vanni…Gus, this is Julian. He and Matt own the halfway house where I'm staying," Cole said.

Vanni immediately shook Julian's hand while Gus opted for a half hug. His mother's smile widened and she pulled Julian into an embrace. "It's nice to finally meet you. It's always a pleasure speaking with you when you answer the phone. Thank you for taking care of my son."

Julian smiled. "He's a good kid."

His brothers and sister held back a chuckle. The small woman raised an eyebrow and looked over at Cole. "Is that so?"

"
Mami
, believe me, Julian is being nice. But I
am
trying," Cole said shyly.

His mother shook her head and looked back over to Julian. "Will your partner be joining us today?"

"He'll try," Julian finished, readjusting
Pulga
in his arms. "We did invite a few people over. I hope that's okay."

"Absolutely! You will introduce them when you see them." His mother immediately took one of the chairs and positioned it next to her seat. "You will sit with me for a while. I don't want the old ladies having a heart attack thinking they've seen a ghost."

Cole and his siblings laughed.

"You," she said, pointing at Cole. "Find Rio and work out your differences."

"
Si
,
Mami
," Cole said, suddenly feeling like a scolded child. Even though they all towered over her, she could easily make the biggest of them cower. He turned and headed toward the house where Rio had escaped to when he arrived. He ran into family along the way, some offered hugs while others, a ready smile. After forty-five minutes of hunting and running into family members he didn't always remember, he finally found Rio, sitting in a corner by himself with the eternal scowl on his face. He pulled a chair over and sat next to him.

"What do you want?" Rio said.

"It's nice to see you, too. You'd think I could at least get a hug from my older brother after not having seen you in years," Cole said, attempting to mirror his brother's scowl.

His brother exhaled heavily, rose from his seat and walked out of the room.

Cole closed his eyes and hung his head. Things had gone surprisingly smooth with everyone else. Why the hell was Rio always so dramatic? He rose from his seat to follow his brother and found him pacing by the empty playground. It seemed the children were more taken by the clown and party-themed entertainment than the traditional swing and slide.

"Rio, talk to me," Cole said. He stood just outside of his brother's pacing path with his hands planted on his waist.

"What do you want me to say?" his brother said, stopping.

"Anything."

"Be more specific," Rio said, resuming his pacing.

Cole exhaled dramatically and looked to the heavens. Why did this always have to be so difficult?
He
was the baby Renzo.
He
was the one who should be able to pitch a temper tantrum. Not Rio. He was closest to his brothers Marco and Gus, and to his sister Carmen, but that didn't mean he lacked love and respect for his other brothers. It wasn't Vanni's fault he was an old soul who acted as if he was at least twenty years older than his age. The protective brother of the group was always more of a father figure than a brother. It was his nature to guard, to oversee, and to guide. Their father always worked multiple jobs just to make ends meet so Vanni naturally stepped in and filled the shoes to help their mother keep things running smoothly.

Rio was the stubborn one. The one who resisted almost everything that came his way. He never made things easy. Ever.

"Why do you hate me?" Cole said.

Rio stopped pacing. "Hate you?"

"You heard me. You've always had a problem with me, ever since we were kids. I've never, ever done anything to make you—"

"I'm jealous," Rio finally said, almost in a whisper.

Cole stilled. "What?"

Rio chewed his lip and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Jealous?"

His brother looked up and immediately looked away again.

"Of what?" Cole asked. "I'm the fuck-up in the family. You're the award-winning engineer who gets called in by the popular flavor of the month to build something for them. My claim to fame in the family is my record.
I'm
the fucked up Renzo."

"Everyone loves you. You walk into a room and it lights up just because you're there. People are drawn to you. You have this…thing…I don't even know what it is."

Cole crossed his arms and frowned. "I don't know what room you're walking into, but most people want to beat the crap out of me when they first meet me."

Rio walked up to him. "Because you're so different they don't know what to do with you. People don't usually like different. They're scared of it. And your record, it didn't change you one bit. If anything, it changed you for the better from what I've heard from
Mami
. You're less reckless, you're thinking things through a bit more, and I don't know how you managed it, but you're happier than you were before." Rio turned away and resumed his pacing, chewing on his thumbnail as he walked back and forth.

Ty's words suddenly came to mind.
You're different and that makes you special.

Rio stopped again when he neared Cole. "You had this light about you before. Now, it's a screaming spotlight. No amount of schooling, awards, or requests from
flavors of the month
can ever give me that," he said, glowering. "You've had that spark since the day you were born. All the nurses in the ward went crazy over you. They all fought to hold you. People are drawn to you like a magnet without even trying. Me? I have to try ten times as hard and draw a billion times less people than you. You think it's easy living in your shadow?"

Cole raised his eyebrows.

Rio shook his head. "You had a connection with Marco no one else had. You and Gus can cook with
Mami
like none of us can. You and Carmen share a brain sometimes on things. Vanni, um—"

Cole chuckled. "Vanni is Vanni."

Rio sighed. "The point is, you each have a connection to one another. No one ever comes to me for anything. It's as if I'm on the sidelines."

"I thought you hated me because you still blamed me for Marco's death—"