Aftermath (18 page)

When Nico joined his family, he carried beneath his arm a small chest, which he immediately secured in the trunk along with his suitcase.

He slid in the front seat next to the driver and
discreetly examined Ariana in the rearview mirror. She looked pretty, emotionally distant, but pretty.
The goddamn woman was stubborn.
He turned forward and looked straight ahead.

                                               ****

During the flight
to New York
Nico gazed
out the cabin window into darkness
. The black was
touched by a
n invisible
tiny painter’s brush with drips of white sparkles. He was tired, emotionally drained to the core. He thought of the woman in the closet. He usually didn’t think of his victim’s, but tonight he did because when he killed the helpless woman he told himself he was wiping clean evidence. Yet, the fatal blow to the heart was the death blow
of a relationship’s end.

Ariana unbuckled her seatbelt and came to sit next to him
.
He didn’t turn, merely inhaled her faint perfume and wondered why she didn’t keep her ass over there next to Darren.

“What happened to your face, it wasn’t bruised the other night?”

“Bumped it.”

“And your lip. You bumped that, too?”

The nostril’s flared, “Is this an interrogation Ari…are you playing lawyer with me?”

“I’m not playing
.
I
care about you
and
I’m worried.”

“Really?” This amused him, “
Well, d
on’t.
You never worried when we were married, don’t
alter your behavior
now
counselor
.
”

“Nico…
I…
” she put her hand on
his shoulder and he
slid farther away.

“D
on’t Ari,” he scowled, “try to handle me like
one of your distressed
client
s. I don’t need your legal services or condescending bullshit. You
’re not getting a deposition from me.” He scoffed, “No, sweetheart. If it isn’t about our children then leave the other shit out of it and we won’t have a problem,
understand
?”

The words hurt and she blinked trying to shutter the tears. Yes, it was over. It was final. Even if she realized her mistake
and sought rescission,
it was too late. She’d lost Nico’s love and he assigned himself to the title, ‘
ex-husband and
father of the kids.’ He didn’t see
her
pain
or the
attempt to reconcile by reaching out after battling throughout the day the proper course to take. She often planned a strategy in court,
this is how she approached love, but trials of the heart are far more complicated. She glanced at her sleeping sons. She tried, she told herself, she tried to rescind her words, but Nico shut the door. He was not interested in revisiting a life with her again.

“Fine!” She stood abruptly and returned to her seat
, c
losed
her eyes and cried inside.

CHAPTER
NINE

Freshly shaven, ass washed and feeling like a human being again Alfonzo sat at the table with his family.
Dinner consisted of a variety of dishes.
P
ici,
g
rilled
zucchini
with
m
int,
m
ortadella
b
ites,
f
rico with
p
otatoes and
p
ancetta,
l
emon
h
erb
c
hickpea
s
alad for dessert,
and the
best
t
iramisu
s
emifreddo
Alfonzo
tasted
in his life
.

He
ate with gusto and winked at Sal who did the same. His mother
chewed
with refined restraint, but he could tell she liked the food or she would not have continued to eat. She prided herself on being a great cook,
and she would never admit
Sophie was
a master chef in the
kitchen. Alfonzo smirked thinking, too bad their skill
did
not transfer to Selange. She was an okay cook, nothing close
to the seasoned
women. Their culinary skills came from years of experience. He could wait, he joked to himself, until she got there, by then he’d be old and grey.

Meanwhile,
there was
Anita and his mom
and now
Sophie
was added
to his list of great cooks. If anyone
got
picky princess Allie to chew and swallow, they were
great!

“
E
'stato buono. Grazie
S
ignora Di
chenzo,” Alfonzo complimented in Italian after the meal.

“Prego,” she answered as she cleared the table.

Alfonzo’s eyes noticed the lack of cheer in the usually vibrant woman. He also did not miss the anxious glances from Selange in Sophie’s direction as if the woman might shatter into pieces of glass. There was something amiss.

He sipped the last of the wine and surveyed the lavish dining room filled with his family as guests. They were chatting and smiling, enjoying Sophie’s hospitality and it reminded him of the days they all packed into his mother’s small apartment during holidays. There was always lots of food and activity, especially with the children running around
. They were a loving family then and that’s what he saw
today.

His mother slipped from the table
whispering. At first he believed she was having one of those inner conversations with her Spiritual Father, but soon realized she was on her cell. Undoubtedly, Aunt Carmen, he thought until he heard the difference in her laugh. He’d heard similar laughs from women and instantly surmised the flirtatious giggles were due to a man. His body stiffened. Perhaps, he imagined this, he reasoned and may have let it go, however he got this movement in the pit of his stomach and slowly rose.

“Come Allie,” he said to his daughter, “do you want Nana
to read you a story?”

The cute face glowed, “I brought my books daddy.”

“Yeah?” Alfonzo smiled, keeping his eyes on his mother as she walked slowly in the living room. “Well, Nana loves to read you stories. I think it’s the perfect time to ask,
tú también ¿no?
”

“Um-um,” he heard as Anita cleared her throat. He’d forgotten the woman was seated right there.

“What are you doing, do you not see your mother on the phone?” She
meddled.

Damn
Anita
needs to mind her business
!

“Really? I didn’t notice.” Alfonzo answered flippantly as he took Allie’s hand and they marched
after
his mother.

“Nana…Nana…can you read me a story?”
The girl ask
ed
as she jumped up and down in front of
Maria.

Alfonzo’s face
reflected
neutrality
. He was
anxious to discover who the goddamn man
was
on the other end
. He hadn’t seen his mother blush or smile like that, ever!

“Uno minut
o
, Allie.” Maria said and then told the caller, “Yes, that
’ll be
nice. Okay,
my granddaughter is summoning me…oh…hahaha…
bye!”

“Hi mama, was that Tia, how is she?”

She waved
a dismissive
hand, “No…no…hijo. That was a friend.
I spoke to Carmen earlier, she’s fine and –you,” Maria said crouching down to her granddaughter, “must learn to say excuse me before interrupting someone.
Come…let’s go find a book.”

Alfonzo stood there in a state of confusion.

What the fuck just happened, did my mom blow me off or am I imagining
it
?

“Alfonzo, are we still going to visit Matteo and Amelda?” Selange asked.

He blinked. He
’d been so absorbed he hadn’t noticed her
enter,
“
¿
Q
ué?
”

“Are we going to visit Matteo?”

“Yeah,” he rubbed his chin. He couldn’t shake the shock of his mom flirting with a man
or potentially
having sex with
one.
Ah, no he
quietly
fumed;
he couldn’t envision
it
because she hadn’t dated anybody since his father
. T
hat was more than thirty years
ago
. He frowned. It’s Bruno, yep, that sonovabitch was making moves
on his madre
behind the scenes
.

“Alfonzo?”

“Yeah
…yeah…yeah…get ready babe,” he said at
the
distraction, “I just need to make a call and we’ll leave in ten.”

The minute Selange exited he contacted Lou, “Get somebody on Bruno DeMarco. I want everything on that sonovabitch, do you understand?”

   
                                          ****

Stomach full, a beautiful woman as company and stimulating conversation with an artist relaxed
Giuseppe
. Naked and eager to sample human dessert, he
entered the Jacuzzi
and t
he
pressurized twirling water
massaged his legs as
he walked toward
his attractive guest. He liked women in the arts.
He liked all women; however he found the artistic ones interesting. Their interpretation of life was often refreshing. The
woman
partially submerged in the warm water in her birthday suit was a sculptor. He’d met her
in Florence where he’d gone to find a perfect housewarming gift for his sister Amelda and her husband Matteo.
Alanda
was her name and she was as magnificent as the
voluptuous
nude figures she molded with those lovely hands.

He moved through the waist high water, bubbling from the
jets
and stood
within millimeters of the sultry woman
. He touched
her
face and smiled, running fingers through her untamed hair.
His
mouth
lowered
to the smiling lips
and w
hen the
y
fused h
e c
ame alive simply by the spark. His hands went down her neck and traced her shoulders. She thrust toward him in eagerness. The water provided an additional stimulation as he bent low and pushed through the liquid into malleable vaginal flesh.

The soft sculptress’ hands knead his broad shoulders like clay and he brought her
with his weighted movement against the Jacuzzi wall. The emission of deep breaths excited him and he went deeper into her body wanting more. The sheer force of his hard body slamming against her softness released an, ‘ah-ah-ah’ sound from her mouth and he shut it out because the tone was one he’d heard before. The woman Shanda, the daughter of a policeman who fucked him so good they landed on the floor.  The large breasts of this one were mushed to his chest and
were warm like the inside of her mouth. He throbbed, thinking of the policeman’s daughter and wondering had he been too harsh in sending her away, questioning whether he should contact her
or perhaps
visit the states.

Shanda became dismissed when Alanda’s nails raked his shoulders. A
soft
lioness
. H
e loved the contrasts.

The curvaceous hips were soft to his rough hands and he held them firm to give her every hard piece of him. Her pants came in steam filled breaths as she collided with the smooth tiles at every liquid-hard plunge.

She
cooed from the feel of his mouth as it circled only a portion of her large breast and the cooing sounds came faster as he rocked her hard against the wall. When he peaked he withdrew
from her and without hesitation she lowered in the water sucking him dry. His head bent in pleasure and in his mind he saw the woman Shanda again and frowned. Lately, she appeared in his thoughts at the most inopportune times and he growled as the suctioning sensation caused his torso to bow and another wave of ecstasy traveled up his spine.