“How about that ride sweetheart?” Jimmy offered dangling a set of car keys in the air.
“Eat shit and die.” She replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she glared at Jimmy before making her way out of the room. Jimmy and Anthony’s eyes followed her taut ass as it left the room no doubt appreciating the view. The front door slammed a few moments later, signaling that my chance at getting that happy ending I was shooting for was shot to hell. Jimmy turned around. “Boy sure knows how to pick them.” He grinned wickedly. “How much she set you back?”
“I don’t pay for sex.” I ground out, clenching my fists at my sides. Anthony slapped Jimmy on the back, tearing his attention from me and back towards him.
“Jim why don’t you and I step outside and give Vic and Mike a few minutes to catch up.” He said in an even keeled tone. Somethings never change that was Anthony always controlled never flustered. Even when we were teenagers, he was the quiet one choosing only to voice his opinion when he felt strongly about something, usually being the one who made the most sense of things for me.
“Is that good with you boss?” Jimmy asked Victor. I didn’t wait for his answer. I could picture him nodding his head curtly dismissing them as only he could. Instead, I turned and walked into the bathroom. I gripped the edge of the sink, lifting my head to peer at my reflection in the mirror. I struggled to focus my eyes, willing myself silently to get my shit together. Maybe drinking myself into a stupor wasn’t the brightest idea I’ve had but I needed to be numb. In just a few hours, the sun would rise and I’d sign the papers that would take my mother off life support. At least I’d be able to say goodbye. A privilege I never had when my father left this earth.
I turned the knobs on the faucet and dipped my head splashing the cold water on my face. On top of dealing with pulling the plug on my mother, I now had to deal with the past. I had to deal with Victor when all I wanted to do was spit in his face and send him back to wherever the fuck he came from. There was a time when he was Uncle Vic a time when my parents and I would spend every Sunday at his house. My father and he would talk business over brandy and cigars while my mother, and his wife Grace cooked up a storm. There would be enough food on their table to feed the entire Pastore organization yet none of them was privy to Sunday dinner. That was just for the Valente’s and the Pastore’s. I’d sit at the dining room table sandwiched between Victor’s two daughters.
Adrianna was my age we had been raised as cousins since we were in diapers. Our mother’s joked that on the day of our First Holy Communion, we looked like a bride and groom. Adrianna dressed in a white dress that was a replica of a wedding gown and myself in a white suit. For years, they would kid around secretly hoping that we would one day wind up together. Neither she nor I ever had the heart to break it to our moms that it would never be. At sixteen years, old Adrianna had fallen helplessly in love for the first time only I wasn’t on the receiving end of that love. No her young heart belonged to Anthony.
Victor and Grace’s youngest daughter Nicole was six years younger than Adrianna and I. She was a little spitfire always trying her hardest to be older than she was to fit in with us. She was a pain in the ass. A pain in the ass that insisted on calling me Mikey. I hated it. I could still hear her singing her nickname for me. I’d cringe much like I did just now thinking about it. Only back then, she’d smiled at me flashing me a smile full of metal. I was weak when it came to that kid, so I let her carry on calling me that ridiculous name. It was that smile of hers that got to me, braces and all. I was sixteen and Mikey was the name of a boy, a child even not a man. Still, I let Nikki call me Mikey. Hell, if I saw her tomorrow and she decided to call me Mikey my twenty-six year old self would answer. I’d groan, but I’d let her do whatever she wanted. What can I say? I had a soft spot for that kid.
I shut off the water took a deep breath, deciding it was time to face the music. When I emerged from the bathroom, I found Victor was sitting at the foot of my bed. He was hunched over his elbows resting on his knees, his head in his hands. He slowly lifted his head to look me in the eye.
I crossed my arms against my chest and tried my hardest to find my voice. “What are you doing here Victor?”
He slowly stood, rising to his full height. “I came as soon as I heard of the accident. I was hoping that it wasn’t as bad as it is. I was praying…”
“You pray?” I asked incredulously. The thought sounded ridiculous.
His lips curved slightly, but he shook his head as if he was shaking away the smile that threatened. “I pray.” He confirmed before he paused a moment. “I wanted to be here for you.”