Affirmation (10 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Shanda put the groceries away and took Gee outdoors for a game of fetch. The
humid air had cooled.
The wind
caused the
leaves on the
tropical
trees to flap
and she gazed out over the lawn wondering whether the storm might come sooner than expected. She had the basement outfitted with supplies, even an inflatable mattress, but shit, who wanted to be holed up alone in a tropical storm with a puppy and baby fat?

The dog barked her back into the game after she stopped
when she thought she saw a flash of light emit from a car parked far down the street.

She dismissed it as the sun
reflecting off of the metal and tossed the stick again.
Gee raced after it
. His
stubby legs mov
ed
with
quickness
that only animals possessed, unless you’re a trained athlete like those she
watched
in the Olympics.
Those
sprinters
ran
damn fast.

The dog brought the stick back
and dropped the wood
at her sandaled feet. “Good boy…good boy
, Gee
!” She smiled and bent to retrieve the stick from the ground. Her face contorted into a grimace when the baby
suddenly
kicked and the
re was an uncomfortable pressure to her belly.

Shanda frowned. Maybe, she’d better go inside and sit, she thought. Lugging stuff to the cellar in preparation for the storm was undoubtedly the cause.

“Okay boy, that’s enough,” she called out as she walked slowly toward the house.

Minutes later, feet up and
left
lateral recumbent as the doctor instructed the heaviness subsided and she breathed a sigh of relief. It was far too early to have labor pains
. The dog barked and she shushed him in order to nap.
Carrying a baby was harder than she initially thought; the shit was downright tiring.
She had no control of when the need to sleep would
arise because Giuseppe’s seed zapped her strength.

Fatigued, Shanda lapsed into a deep sleep.

The puppy lay on the throw rug, settling down along with its master.
A movement outside brought the dog on all fours. The puppy scrambled to the door barking. 
Shanda remained asleep throughout the racket and when the
door opened, the small pup stepped back, snarling like a large
hound
at the intruder.

The man ignored the small canine. He stood over the woman and snapped a picture and then went to snoop through her belongings. Inside her
sparkly
purse he found a p
hoto
. He
recognized the woman
kneeling beside her children.
Bingo, this was Shanda Johnson. Who else would have a photo
graph
of Selange Diaz
and
her
kids
other than a family member or friend?

                           
****

The guests
had
arrived. In ten minutes the wedding was scheduled to begin. Giuseppe scoured the house, looking in rooms and cursing when he couldn’t find Alfonzo anywhere.
With fifteen minutes to spare, he informed Selange of his dilemma and the women in the living room stared at Giuseppe like he’d gone mad.
Selange flopped on the sofa and didn’t say a word. He didn’t expect to feel such remorse until he saw the devastation on her face
, which she quickly covered with a mask of steel.

Amelda took charge, “What do you mean Geo, you were to secure him?”

Giuseppe snarled at his little sister. She’d always thought she was the boss
of h
im
since they were children.
She was not helping with such an idiotic
question;
instead it made the situation worse.
“
How do you secure an adult Amelda, tell me, eh
, stupido
?”

“Stronzo!” Amelda yelled in her brother’s face. In her high heels and flowing dress, with long silk hair, she looked like a model at odds with an imposing beast.
She did not fear her brother. He was entrusted with an important task. His failure was unacceptable and she would slap his ass. “Papa spoiled you, I swear.”

“And you sorellina are a hag. How Matteo stands the screeching is a mystery!”

Selange interrupted their shouting match,
“
Geo, did you call his phone?
”

Giuseppe’s tone softened,
“He left it in the room
.
”

“P
lease find him Giuseppe
and w
hen you do
,
tell him it’s okay
. We
don’t have to get married
. I
won’t love him
any
less.”

Giuseppe frowned. The woman’s simple plea made him feel worse. Any reservations he had about
Selange
were
eradicated by the utter devastation written
on
her face. She loved his
brother;
it couldn’t be more evident than at this moment. “Do not worry
bella.
I will find
my brother and bring him to you, capisce?”

“You better Geo
!
” Amelda scolded.

“Go look after Matteo
before a
pretty guest
steal
s
him away,” Giuseppe growled
. He’d say anything to remove her from his presence and the mention of her precious Matteo worked. Amelda
flew out the patio doors in search of her husband
. However,
Crystalia and Lucia
took up her mantle
and
began to
badger
Giuseppe to death.

Maria fingered her beads and closed her eyes to gain clarity. She prayed for her son’s return. Selange sat
quietly
with her hands folded, and listened to everyone
arguing and assigning blame. She said nothing because it wasn’t Giuseppe’s fault
. I
f
Alfonzo
left,
he had
a
good
reason
. He wouldn’t desert her
without one, especially
after the
ir
wonderful start to the day. No, something was wrong, she felt it, something bad happene
d. Fuck a stupid wedding; her concern was for Alfonzo. She wanted someone to find him and make certain he was unharmed and emotionally okay. They didn’t know him the
way she did. H
e had a tendency to shut everyone out when he became troubled and
often
lost track of time.

Maria whispered scriptures
and
gathered the
children
and led them from the chaos to seek assistance
from
the wedding planner
to
stall until Alfonzo was located.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

S
elange
looked up to find Nico and
a small entourage
in the doorway
looking at her with sympathy
.
They had traveled here for a wedding, but instead
they would
learn the groom may have fled.
Nico and his family
were an intimidating bunch with those Mohawks and rugged features. Ari was the softness among the rough and Selange smiled wryly when their eyes met.
Bianca and her daughters along with Bruno and Sophie quickly took their leave to allow the family to address the crisis at hand.

Lucia
spoke, “
Giuseppe
has lost the groom!”

Ari recognized Selange’s silent distress and sauntered over. She wore her hair blonde and it looked fabulous. Pregnancy suited
her.

Ari sat beside Selange and gently touched her hand, “Hey.”

Selange
maintained the brave front,
“
Hi Ari, you look gorgeous.”

“So do you.”

There w
as a
loud
quarrel
between the women and Giuseppe that continued until Nico directed their anger, “Everybody split up and check around, he’s here somewhere.”

They
agreed an
d
scattered
to search for the missing groom
. Nico lingered in the doorway
, too angry to move, too fucking mad to do anything except stand still until the fury subsided.
Alfonzo
hadn’t learned shit, had he? He frowned as he watched the two women, one his future and the other
, his past. Different women, yet fantastic nonetheless. If Alfonzo
took off without notice and humiliated
Selange
, he was a callous
sonovabitch!

“
T
here’s
never a dull moment around here, is there
?”
Ari
joked.

Selange
forced a grin
.
“It seems
that way
.”

“How you holding up?”

“Fine
,
” Selange said mechanically, although she was
truly
heartbroken
.

“You want some ice-cream?”

It was hard not to laugh, considering not long ago they were once at each other’s throats and now
here they
sat in kinship
. “
I only have
chocolate
.”

Ari smirked
.
“
That’s fine, besides
I came
to eat
and I’
ll be very disappointed if I’m not fed.
You don’t want to see me unfed, I’m
a downright
bitch.
”

Selange
shook her head
.
“Oh God Ari
, it’s great
to see you. Thank goodness you’re normal because that’s what I need
right now
.
”

Ari looked
past
Selange’s head at Nico as he mouthed, “I’ll be back.”

She
gave him a discr
e
et nod and
then
resumed
distracting
Selange until they found
Alfonzo
and if he developed cold feet, she hoped Nico kicked his ass!

CHAPTER
EIGHT

T
ime passed without a whisper
as Alfonzo perused the photo album, accompanied by another bottle of expensive wine.
He’d nearly
finished
the entire bottle while staring at the pictures of his father and uncles
during
happier times.
In one camera shot, the brothers were
smiling
, cigars hanging from their mouths as they sat at a table. In another his father was in a tub full of bubbles with a cigarette in his mouth, looking hung-over and Alfonzo chuckled in sympathy. There wer
e many private moments like these, but it’s the picture of his father and Sophie that brought a scowl. “Fucking player!”

He
sucked on the neck of the wine bottle and drained the
liquor
. His
lips puckered at the sour taste of wine and the sad ending to what could have been a wonderful love story
, except whose love story, Maria or Sophie’s?

The wine did not dull his senses or suppress the pain
. He and Giuseppe were the sons of a
guy who lacked
moral
s
and he scoffed because they both possessed
the
cursed
gene.

He noticed the edge of a velvet box beneath the items and pulled it free
. When he opened it, his mouth went slack and he exclaimed,
“Holy shit!”