At Peace (71 page)

Joe’s head tilted slightly to the side and he
answered, “More ‘burg lore. Drunk driving accident.”

“Oh,” I whispered, thinking that was
awful.

“The person drivin’ drunk was her Dad.”

I felt my eyes get huge and I repeated,
“Oh.”

“He walked away without a scratch. She broke
her neck.”

“My God,” I breathed.

“Spent the rest of his life makin’ it up to
Susie by spoilin’ her rotten,” Joe continued.

This explained a lot and it also made me feel
extremely guilty for busting her lip.

“Get that shit outta your head, buddy. It
sucks that happened. But it doesn’t excuse bein’ a bitch,” he
said.

He was right, it didn’t. Or at least
not
that
much of a
bitch.

“Life’s pretty fucked up for everyone, isn’t
it?” I asked.

“Pretty much,” Joe answered.

“
You think,” I pressed my lips together
then went on, “the girls… Sam, Tim, what happened
today?”

Joe’s brows went up. “You think they’ll turn
into bitches?”

I shook my head. “I just worry that all of
this –”

Joe cut me off. “Look at you.”

I blinked and asked, “What?”

He didn’t repeat himself. He gave me a
squeeze and said, “Look at me.”

“Joe, I’m not following.”

“You lost your husband and your brother and
you got some asshole fuckin’ with your head and you keep on keepin’
on. My wife killed my kid and my Dad died and the last thing he
knew in this life was that shit went down. It took me awhile but
now I’m here. You think Katy and Keirry won’t make it through?”

“But –”

“Susie’s weak because her Daddy was weak.
That’s what he demonstrated when he got behind the wheel of a car
smashed. That’s what he taught her then and kept teachin’ her. With
what I’ve seen of your Dad and Mom, got no idea where you learned
yours from but I got mine from Vinnie and Theresa. Bonnie didn’t
have a moral compass and didn’t pay attention when I tried to give
her one. When Nicky came into this world she should have
automatically found one and she still didn’t. Weak.” His arms gave
me a squeeze and his face dipped to mine. “Your girls have one,
buddy, one they’ll never lose. They aren’t weak, never will be. You
got nothin’ to worry about.”

“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger,” I
whispered the words Feb said to me days ago.

“
Yeah,” Joe whispered back, “at least for
some of us.”

Suddenly I smiled and I felt something light
and golden bubble up in me. Something I used to feel a lot, almost
every day. Something I hadn’t felt in nearly two years.

“
Shit, Joe,” I was still whispering, “I got
in a catfight today on the sidewalk at a strip mall.”

Joe smiled back. “Yeah, honey, you did.” I
felt my body start shaking and Joe’s smile got bigger. “In the
rain,” he reminded me.

“In the rain,” I repeated on a suppressed
giggle.

“In a skirt,” he went on and my giggle
erupted. “That might be my favorite part, outside you bein’ wet,”
he continued and my giggles took control and I collapsed into him,
my cheek to his chest, my arms tight around his waist and I laughed
out loud.

When I got control of my mirth and was back
to quiet giggles, I moved my head so my forehead was pressed
against Joe’s chest but I didn’t release my arms.

“Worth the wait,” Joe muttered and my head
tipped back.

“What?”

“
Every bit of it. Every day, every week,
every year, every fuckin’ second, buddy,” he kept muttering, his
eyes intense, his face serious and my breath caught, “this. All of
it. Worth the wait.”

“Joe,” I whispered.

His hand moved to my jaw and his thumb
stroked my cheekbone. “Love you, Violet. Even when you’re bustin’
some bitch’s lip open.”

I smiled, pressed even deeper into him and
whispered, “I love you too, Joe.”

His head dipped, his mouth captured mine and
he started to kiss me hard but our lips broke when Keira called,
“Yeesh! Get a room!”

Joe’s arms didn’t move from around me but he
looked over my shoulder and I did too to see Keira walk into the
kitchen and direct to the fridge.

“I’m havin’ more pie. You guys want pie?” she
asked.

“No,” I answered.

“Yeah,” Joe said.

“
Katy!” Keira shouted, “Joe and me are
havin’ pie! You want pie?”

“Yeah!” Kate shouted back.

Keira got out the pie. Joe’s arms gave me a
squeeze. I put my cheek to his chest and squeezed him back. Music
hit the house then Kate opened the door to her bedroom and it got
louder. Keira got the pie cutter. Kate came in and got plates.

I held onto Joe, Joe held onto me, the girls
dished out pie and I concentrated on really listening to Kate’s
music for the first time ever.

It was great.

At Peace

Vinnie preceded Cal out to the back deck and
as Cal slid the door closed behind him, he looked through the
window at Vi, Theresa and Bea in the kitchen vying for maternal
supremacy thus control over the pancakes.

Three months ago, even knowing Vi was a
strong woman and a great mother but not knowing Bea at all, Cal
would have put money down on Theresa.

But after yesterday and the shit he heard
coming out of Susie’s mouth when he’d walked up to them way too
late, and Vi’s reaction, he knew she was no pushover and she was on
her home turf.

And also Bea might be shy but the gentle,
loving way she was with all his girls and the soft looks Vi, Kate
and Keira aimed at her he figured she had her ways and she wasn’t
exactly a dark horse. Not to mention, the woman made one hell of a
chocolate cream pie.

Now he wouldn’t even place a bet, just sit
back and wait for the results.

His eyes moved to Vi’s Dad Pete, who was
bustling around the girls, desperate to make up for lost time. Cal
found this annoying and he’d have to have a word with the man. Best
way to make up for lost time was to let his granddaughters get to
know who he was by acting natural around them, not shoving his nose
up their asses.

Finally, his eyes moved to Gary who was
sitting at the table comfortably sipping coffee. Gary had sat at
that table a lot over the years. He was always welcome there and he
knew it. Gary learned yesterday from watching Pete that he could
let go the past bad blood. He saw that he’d been reaping the
rewards of being a good Dad for seventeen years and Pete had been
living the nightmare of being a coward for that same time, if not
longer.

“Cal, son, we gotta talk about Hart,” Vinnie
called from behind him and Cal turned from the door feeling his
mouth get tight.

His eyes hit his uncle and he moved away from
the door so even if someone looked out they couldn’t see him.

He rested a hip against the railing and
crossed his arms on his chest while he watched his uncle reach a
hand out to one of Vi’s pots of flowers that was sitting on the
railing. Vinnie dropped his hand before he touched the bright,
healthy flowers spilling up, out and down the sides of the pot and
his eyes went to Cal.

“Vi’s good with flowers,” Vinnie remarked as
his gaze took in the rest of the deck.

“Yeah,” Cal replied and watched Vinnie give
him a look before Vinnie turned his head to look into the
house.

“Keeps a nice house,” Vinnie went on.

“Uncle Vinnie –” Cal started to cut him off,
knowing where this was going but Vinnie’s eyes came to his.

“Great girls she’s raised. Sweet kids. Funny.
Smart,” Vinnie continued, not to be stopped.

Cal sighed and said nothing. He knew Vinnie
needed to get this out so he let him.

“Care about you,” Vinnie noted.

“Yeah,” Cal repeated.

“The three of ‘em do,” Vinnie said.

“Yeah,” Cal repeated again.

“Theresa called Carm the minute we hit the
hotel last night. She talked about Vi and those girls for two
hours. Thought I’d never get to sleep,” Vinnie told him and this
surprised Cal considering he hadn’t had a follow up call from Carm
in order for her to bitch him out about never calling; not telling
her about Vi and the girls; and to arrange her own trip where she
could nose into his life and give Vi her personal seal of
approval.

“Instead of sellin’ my place, should build a
bridge considerin’ the Bianchis are gonna be spendin’ some time
down here,” Cal quipped.

Vinnie’s eyes narrowed. “You think you can
walk those girls into my Pizzeria wearin’ the suit you wore to take
her to her brother’s funeral and lookin’ at her like she flies out
the window on fairy wings and hangs the stars every night
and
not
be right
back in the Bianchi fold, you got another think comin’.”

Jesus. Fairy wings?

“Uncle Vinnie –” Cal started.

Vinnie cut him off. “Don’t think I’m stupid,
boy. You walked them in for a reason, to give them some family back
after they lost theirs.”

“Vinnie –”

“Been waitin’ seventeen years for this,
Cal.”

“Uncle –”

“Longer,” Vinnie bit out. “You know, Theresa
lights a candle for you every week. Every fuckin’ week. Been doin’
it for over thirty years. You know how many candles she’s lit for
you?” Vinnie asked.

Cal didn’t respond.

“Too many,” Vinnie answered his own
question.

“She doesn’t have to light them anymore,” Cal
pointed out.

“You got Hart ridin’ your ass, she finds out,
she’ll be at the church every day,” Vinnie returned.

Finally they were where he wanted their
conversation to be.

“You talk to Sal?” Cal asked.

“First, I’ll say this once and that’s it. I’m
happy for you. I’m happy for her. I’m happy for those girls. Never
seen you like this. Not before, not with that other one. Not unless
you were with Nicky and even then you weren’t like you were
yesterday. You were always watchin’ her, guardin’, bracin’ for what
that bitch would do next.”

Cal’s mouth got tight again as did the rest
of his body. “That’s done and we’re done talkin’ about it.”

“Waited a long time to say this Cal, gonna
say it only once and you’re gonna give me that,” Vinnie told him,
Cal sighed again, forced his body to relax and leaned deeper into
the railing, his eyes on his uncle.

“She’s smilin’, son,” Vinnie said softly and
Cal closed his eyes and turned his head toward Vi’s yard. He opened
his eyes when Vinnie continued. “Lookin’ down on you and Vi and
those girls and Angie’s finally at peace.”

Cal clenched his teeth, pulled breath into
his nose and looked back at his uncle on the exhale.

“Now you done?” Cal asked.

Vinnie stared at him. Then he grinned.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Good,” Cal replied then repeated, “you talk
to Sal?”

“Yep,” Vinnie leaned against the railing too
and said no more.

“And?” Cal prompted.

“He’s not big on avenging a cop,” Vinnie
replied, Cal pulled in another breath in order to speak but Vinnie
continued. “I haven’t told him your involvement, just said I had a
friend in Vi and felt the waters ‘cause I been thinkin’ about this
and I’m not big on you owin’ Sal a favor.”

“Not your choice to make,” Cal noted,
“thought I made myself clear on that. And it isn’t a favor. It’s
callin’ a marker.”

“
Somethin’ this big, it’s a favor, Cal, and
favors to men like Sal have a way of lastin’ a long time. Lived
that with Vinnie Junior. Now got a lifetime of livin’ the
consequences.”

Cal looked back at the yard and crossed one
foot at the ankle in an effort to call up patience.

“You got skills, don’t think Sal don’t
remember that shit. You tried to leverage it to pull Vinnie Junior
out,” Vinnie reminded him and Cal’s eyes cut to his uncle.

“Took a bullet for Sal, Uncle Vinnie,” Cal
had his own memories to share.

“He hasn’t forgotten,” Vinnie muttered.

“He owes me, he owes you. You remind him of
that?” Cal asked.

“He don’t need reminding,” Vinnie
answered.

“Then what the fuck?” Cal asked.

Vinnie took two steps toward Cal, stopped and
whispered, “You’re talkin’ a hit, son.”

“Yeah, I am. I took a hit and Vinnie took the
ultimate hit. Your nephew, your son. He owes you, he owes me,” Cal
repeated.

“He’ll want a return,” Vinnie said.

“
He’s already fuckin’
had
it,” Cal replied, uncrossing his arms and thumping
his fist on his chest under his shoulder where his bullet scar was
and then thumping his uncle over the heart.

“You’re talkin’ a hit,” Vinnie repeated.

“You already said that,” Cal told him.

Vinnie’s brows went up. “You can live with
that?”

“
Yep,” Cal returned,
“absolutely.”

“The cops are closin’ in,” Vinnie
explained.

“They been closin’ in on Hart for the last
decade,” Cal clipped.

“You’ll carry that mark on your soul –”
Vinnie started but stopped when Cal leaned forward and threw an arm
out toward the house.

“
He put a bullet it Katy and Keirry’s
father’s
brain
,” Cal
ground out, “blew his fuckin’
head off.
I was here when Vi found out he did the same to her brother
and she fuckin’
unraveled.
I
watched it, Vinnie. I held her in my arms and fucking
watched it.
That’s all I could do. No
control. No power. He took that from her and he fuckin’ took it
from me. I stood next to her when she told her girls their uncle
was gone and Keira couldn’t even keep her fuckin’ feet, man. It
took about thirty seconds longer before Kate collapsed and she did
it in my arms too. I was fuckin’
there
, Vinnie
.
Hart wants her
enough to take them both out. You think that asshole isn’t gonna be
aimin’ at
me?
”