La Famiglia (51 page)

“She inside?” he asked as soon as he was out of the car.

Carlo glared at him. The way his friend looked at him slowed his approach. He knew an angry Carlo and what greeted him was fury.

“Is she inside?”

“Look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t kill my brother,” Carlo said.

“What the fuck are you talking about? Where’s Marietta?” Lorenzo shouted.

Carlo flicked his cigarillo. He exhaled a long stream of smoke. “Carmine. How did it go down?”

“We’ve been through this, Carlo. You know how it went down. Fuck! You want to do this now?” Lorenzo seethed. Carlo looked him over and stepped back. He wasn’t sure if his best friend would take a swing or walk away. The look in Carlo’s eyes said he was on the edge.

“Do you have her?” Lorenzo asked again clearly.

Carlo smirked. “Yeah. I had her.”

“Had? What the fuck does that mean—had?” Lorenzo stepped in his face. Carlo didn’t back away. “Where is she?”

“She’s inside. She’s upset. That’s what happened. We’re brothers right?” Carlo asked.

Lorenzo stepped even closer. His face so close their noses nearly touched.  “Just so we’re clear. You ever lay a hand on her I’ll kill you, brother.”

Carlo smiled. “Right… because a brother should never betray another.” He strolled off to his car. Got behind the wheel and sped away.

Marietta observed the men from the window. When Carlo drove off Lorenzo’s gaze switched to the window and she let the drape go. She found her underwear and pulled them on. To her surprise the front of her dress did have a tear. Panicked she tried to fix it. Nothing she did compensated for the rip. So she smoothed her hands back over her curly hair and wiped away her tears, preparing for her husband.

Lorenzo threw open the door.

Her stomach cramped at the sight of him. It wasn’t the reaction she expected. She was still furious with him. But one look at him and her courage drained from her bones. The side of his face was bruised with dried blood from a scratch just above his brow. How many times has she seen him hurt by her hand or another? Too many to count and yet he always remained standing. Like an unchangeable force forged in a world set against him. That is not what she wanted for them. He was her partner. They were a team. Until now.

Marietta had to avert her gaze. Lorenzo closed the door behind him. She crossed her arms to the front of her breasts and kept her eyes trained to the floor. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Do you hear me? I don’t want you anywhere near me. In fact we’re done. I want a divorce.”

“It won’t happen,” Lorenzo said in a flat tone.

Neither of them spoke for what felt like an eternity. Lorenzo’s gaze swept her appearance and she could not mask her shame. He didn’t approach her. He gave her the space she needed to breathe. She was grateful for that much.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he began. “I lied to you. I never wanted to. The day I found out who you were I wanted to tell you. I swear that on my life. I brought you back to Sicily because I intended for you to know the truth. No matter what it cost me.”

“Then why lie? Why hide my necklace, make me think I’m crazy. Why all of it?” she shouted at him. Her mask crumbled. She couldn’t prevent the tears from slipping. No matter how fucked up she was, Lorenzo was the man she loved. Even now she hurt just looking at him knowing what he’d done.

“You know why,” Lorenzo answered.

“I don’t! You’re my husband! Or are we even married and that was a lie too!” she shouted back.

He chuckled. He shook his head. His gaze leveled on her once more. “There are rules in my life. Our life. Rules in the family I follow without question,” Lorenzo said.

“Not always,” she said with a snide smile. “Did you follow them when your uncle was murdered? When Carmine was murdered?”

“Fuck, woman! The shit that comes out of your mouth!” Lorenzo put his hands up to his head. He winced but chuckled. His gaze shifted to Marietta once more. “No. I didn’t follow them. And where has that gotten me?” He took a step toward her and he made sure it wasn’t threatening. “You have no idea what I’ve been through the past forty-eight hours. What I do for this family and what I’ve done for you. I risked my life, and everything else to bring you here. For you to know your sister.”

Marietta went to him. He opened his arms to accept her. “I’m sorry, baby,” Marietta said. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have hit you. I didn’t know what to do. I called you and…”

He lifted her chin. He stared down at her. “Are you okay?”

“No. I think I’m crazy,” she confessed. “I keep doing things, Lorenzo.”

He kissed her. “You’re special not crazy. And if you’re crazy I don’t give a fuck. You’re mine.”

“Don’t make jokes. Not now,” she said sadly.

His brow lifted as if to say he wasn’t joking.

She relaxed and held on tightly to him with her head pressed to his chest.

“Your sister is in trouble. Do you want to stand here and fight me, or do you want to see her?” he asked. “I’m the only one that can get you in the door.”

“The babies?” Marietta asked. “Did they survive?”

“I don’t know. She needs you now. Let me take you to her,” Lorenzo said. “Tonight I will tell you everything. You have my word.”

Marietta felt foolish. She reeked of alcohol. And her actions had her filled with shame. What was wrong with her? Why did she fuck up everything in her life that was important? Did Lorenzo know how lost she was and used it to his advantage? Even if he did, he was all she had at the moment to keep her grounded. Alone and free without the family she wanted she feared her next move. “Yes. I want to see her.”

“I married you because I wanted you, Marie, no one but you. Every lie I told, every secret I kept, I kept them to protect you. Look me in the eye. Am I lying now?”

“I can’t tell anymore,” she said softly. “All of it is more than I imagined when I came to Italy to find my father. I hate you for lying to me, and as crazy as it sounds I love you for lying to me, for protecting me from this truth.”

He cupped her face in his hands. “I’ll win your trust back. We are all we have, Marie. You must stop this. I’m never going to be your enemy. Never.”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen. Everything I love turns to shit,” she said.

He kissed her brow. “Not true. This isn’t your fault. None of it. And it’s not Mira’s. She needs you.”

“I can’t go to the hospital like this. I’ve been… I’ve, uh, been drinking. I can’t see her like this.”

“There’s no time to change. I’ll be with you.”

She nodded. She let him go. She started toward the door and pulled his hand but he didn’t move.

“Marietta?” Lorenzo said.

She stopped and glanced back. “Yes?”

“What happened with Carlo?” he asked.

The question though innocent in the delivery felt like an accusation. Marietta was careful to keep any reaction in her face absent and her tone casual. “Nothing, baby,” she said. “The asshole kidnapped me from the streets of Carini and then locked me up in here. I was pissed.”

Lorenzo stared at her.

“Let’s go. I want to see my sister,” she left the room. She held her breath praying he followed and didn’t ask any more questions.

He did.

* B
*

“Gio!” Catalina went straight to her brother. He stood and she was in his arms. “How is she? How are the babies?
Mio Dio,
please tell me they’re both okay.”

“The boys were taken to special doctors who can help. They have problems I think,” Giovanni held his sister’s face gingerly while he shared what he knew. He was ashamed to admit it but he couldn’t bear to face the news of his sons. The only crisis his heart could manage was with his wife. Before Catalina arrived he paced outside of the doors to the operating room for news and turned anyone away who wanted to discuss anything else with him.

“And Mira? What about Mira?” Catalina asked.

“She’s still in surgery,” Giovanni glanced back down the hall. He half expected her to walk out of the doors grinning that the whole thing was some huge joke and she was fine. “They’ve had her in there for over two hours,” he said.

“
Che cosa?
What is going on? What happened, Gio? How did this happen?”

The ‘how’ and ‘why’ was not something he dared ponder. If he did his rage would send him on a futile mission of revenge. For now the ‘how’ and ‘why’ would have to wait. He kissed Catalina’s brow. “We have faith.”

“I want to see the
bambini
. Who is with them?” Catalina asked.

“Leo, take her.” Giovanni released his sister from his embrace.

“Gio, you look so tired.” Catalina touched his face and he turned his head away. He didn’t want to be consoled. He didn’t deserve it. All of the blame for this disaster was his. Catalina must have sensed his conflict. Her voice softened, as did her touch. “You’re right, she’ll recover. But you need to see your sons. Come with me. We’ll go see your sons together.”

They were both given cloth masks to loop over their ears and cover their mouths. They eased on cloth robes over their clothes that tied to their backs before they went inside with the twins.

“
Signor,
I was just coming to see you,” the Neonatal Specialist said. He was a tall lean man with a mustache that curled on the ends. He didn’t wear a mask like the others in the room and that did give Giovanni pause. He vaguely remembered him from Mira’s last visit. But his mind was so filled with mournful thoughts he couldn’t recall his name.

“How are they?” Catalina blurted.

“Can we speak?” the doctor asked in a hushed voice which reminded them they should keep their voices low as well. Giovanni looked to his boys and then the doctor. He dreaded the news, but with Catalina at his side he forced himself to accept whatever came next. He nodded his response. His heart had permanently lodged in his throat. He kept his arm around Catalina. Together they walked into an adjoining room to where the twins were kept. She sat.  Giovanni insisted on standing.

“Baby A, I believe you named him Gianni. He’s three pounds and twelve ounces. Baby B, who I believe is named Gino is two pounds nine ounces,” The doctor said.

“Mio Dio,”
Catalina made the sign of the cross before her and put her hand to her mouth. Giovanni knew one was smaller than the other. He saw the boys come into the world and was humbled by the event.

The doctor smiled at Catalina and then returned his gaze to Giovanni. “Our concern right at this moment is desaturation.”

“What does desaturation mean?” Catalina asked.

“It means there was too little oxygen in the bloodstream at the time of birth. The babies were in distress, one already in the birth canal, the other had to be removed through a cesarean. Dr. Buhari did an excellent job. Your wife is strong, and so are the
bambini
.”

“What do we do, to help them through this saturation thing?” Giovanni asked. Whatever held him immobile had passed. He found his voice once again.

“Gino is the one to watch. We are treating him with higher dosages of oxygen through his breathing tube. He’s responding well. But I have to be honest, his lungs are not fully developed and his vitals register weak.”

Catalina stood. She put her arm around her brother’s waist. “Can you develop his lungs outside of the mother’s belly? Is that what the incubators are for? Are they ovens, like healing ovens?”

The doctor frowned at Catalina. Despite it all Giovanni smiled. His sister’s innocence reminded him of why he cherished her. Catalina continued with her questions. “Or will you have to operate? What does it mean when the babies’ lungs aren’t developed?”

“Operating is a last resort. We can give them both something to help them develop their lungs naturally, but it will take time. It means they will need assisted breathing for now. It could change in a matter of days. We are optimistic,” the doctor said.

“Is it okay if I touch them?” Giovanni asked. “Hold them?”

Catalina and the doctor both looked at him surprised. Giovanni cleared his throat of any weakness. “I want to hold them,” he said again.

“Not today,
signor
. Not yet. But you can see them and talk to them. It helps.”

They followed the doctor out. The nurses left the care for the little boys and Giovanni was allowed his visit. One of the nurses placed nametags on each cube. He couldn’t help but smile at Gino. The baby kicked his feet and moved his tiny hands. His son had a warrior’s heart. He looked over to Gianni who slept peacefully. At least he hoped so. Both babies had tubing taped to their noses and their stomachs. Their lids were taped shut. They wore tiny diapers and little cloth caps on their heads. He wondered if Eve came into the world fragile and cherished.

“Look at your boys, Gio. Your sons. They’re beautiful,” Catalina rubbed his back.

He put his arm around her shoulder. “Gino and Gianni is what we call them. Those are the names Bella wanted. She never told me until they took her from my arms. I had decided on different names, ones from the family. Gino and Gianni are perfect for our boys but I’m not sure why Bella chose the names.”