The Distance (30 page)

“This conversation’s kind of surreal,” Kai said.

“I know how this must sound to someone on the outside,” Dante said, “but my family’s ties to organized crime go back centuries. From the time I was seven and my parents and sister were murdered, this has been my life. You saw first-hand Friday night why I need to protect my family.”

Kai said quietly, “If anyone tried to hurt my family the way someone tried to hurt yours…let’s just say I get it.”

A look of understanding passed between the two men. Dante turned to me and said, “Besides wanting to check on you and make sure you’re okay, I also wanted to give you a heads up that Doyle, the arson investigator, is planning to speak to you sometime this week, Jessie. I hadn’t planned on telling him about our feud with the Messinas, because right now we don’t know they had anything to do with this. But Doyle’s family goes way back in organized crime in Dublin, so he immediately recognized the signs of a mob hit. He was also a detective before switching over to arson, so he knows the Dombruso name, not that we’ve ever been convicted of anything. Anyway, don’t worry about letting anything slip when you speak to him, because he’s already put most of the pieces together.”

“Did you tell him about Jerry?”

“There’s nothing to tell, I have no idea if he was involved. My cousin made some terrible mistakes in the past, but I want to believe he isn’t capable of trying to annihilate his entire family and that the Messinas, or whoever, acted on their own. Without solid, undeniable evidence, I’m not going to assume the worst about Jerry.” Dante’s voice dropped as he said, “But if I find evidence he was involved, God help him.”

We visited for another half-hour or so before Dante pushed himself to his feet. “I have to go, Charlie’s expecting me.” He surprised me by leaning down and kissing my bandaged forehead. He then straightened up and said, “I’m indebted to you forever, Jessie. My husband, my grandmother, my brothers, so many people I love could have died Friday night. I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am for what you did.”

I said embarrassedly, “It was just the one time it paid to be the scrawniest guy in the room. If you could have fit through that transom, you’d have been the one to save your family.”

Dante grinned at me. “Nana said you’re modest about it, but damn. Jessie, you’re a hero, plain and simple. I love you, my brother, and I’ll always have your back, just like you have mine. Now try to get some rest, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

After Dante left, Kai said, “My boyfriend is under the protection of the mafia. That’s the basic message I took away from that. It’s kind of like finding yourself in the middle of The Godfather.”

“I’ve always known the mafia thing is a part of who the Dombrusos are, but Friday was the first time the full reality of what that means really hit home. The thing is, now that I know, it doesn’t make me want to run from them. Just the opposite. It makes me want to pick up a shield and stand beside Dante to try to protect them, because they’re my family, and that’s what families do, the good ones, anyway. They stick up for each other.”

I looked up at Kai as I added, “This is probably freaking you out, isn’t it? If it helps, the Dombrusos aren’t criminals. At least, not anymore. They’ve gone legit and they’re such good people, but old feuds surface sometimes. I hope you don’t judge them by their enemies, and I hope you aren’t having second thoughts about me, now that you know who I’m involved with.”

“You don’t seriously think I could have second thoughts, do you? In case you haven’t figured this out yet, I adore you, and I’m not going anywhere. If you vouch for the Dombrusos, that’s good enough for me. And if you decide to pick up a shield and stand beside Dante to defend your adopted family, guess what? I’m going to pick up a shield too, and I’m going to stand with you. Because that’s what you do for the people you love, Jessie, you protect them, no matter how terrifying the dragon is that they’re going up against.”

I stretched up to kiss him and winced a little when I settled back in his arms. Kai asked, “Do you want me to call the nurse for some more pain meds?”

“No thanks. I’d rather ache a little and remain lucid than float back over to Cloud Cuckoo Land.”

Kai grinned at me. “Did you just reference the Lego Movie?”

“Maybe. Don’t judge me.” I grinned and nuzzled his neck.

We were quiet for a while, and Kai gingerly traced the outline of a huge bruise on my left arm. Then he whispered, “I wish I could bear all this hurt for you. It just kills me that you’re in pain, and I can’t do anything to make it better.”

“I’ll heal. It’s not a big deal.”

“I know it embarrasses you to talk about it, so I’m just going to say this once and then I’ll shut up about it. I already knew you were an amazing human being. You have a huge heart, and you love unconditionally. You put your family and friends’ well-being ahead of your own. I’ve never met anyone so selfless, so genuinely kind, so loving, and I’m absolutely in awe of you. I see you blushing right now, and I know how hard it is for you to take a compliment, but I need you to hear this, just once. I consider myself the luckiest man on this whole damn planet, Jessie, because I get to love you and be loved by you, and my daughter and I get to share our lives with you. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve such an extraordinary gift, but I’m going to spend every day of my life trying to be worthy of it.”

“I—”

He gently touched my lips. “I know that was a lot. It was long, and flowery, and all about you, and you never want to be in the spotlight. That’s why you try to brush it off when people call you a hero. I won’t keep talking about this and embarrassing you. I just want you to know I
see you
, deep down. I see the huge, pure heart behind the pretty face, and my God Jessie, you’re glorious.”

I fought back tears, and for once I simply said, “Thank you.”

It was the last Sunday in June, which meant it was Pride weekend in San Francisco. A huge crowd had gathered that early morning on a side street in the Castro, which was blocked off by police cars at both intersections. I glanced at the officer leaning against the car to my left, who happened to be Finn Nolan, and he smiled and gave me a little salute.

“Hey there, Rocket and Trigger,” a familiar voice said, and Kai and I both turned to look at Six. The tall blond was holding a paper coffee cup and peering at us over an expensive pair of sunglasses. He asked me, “You alright, mate? You look a bit banged up.”

I was on crutches, my ankle was still in a cast, and both my hands were bandaged because I had stitches in my palms (which made using the crutches a bit awkward). “I’m fine, and it’s just Jessie and Kai now, since we’ve both retired from racing,” I told him.

“Alastair,” he said with a grin. “A bit uptight, I know. I’ve missed you at the races. Why’d you retire?”

I shrugged and said, “We both just get our kicks elsewhere these days.” The answer was a lot more complex than that, of course, but I didn’t really want to go into all the soul-searching that had gone into my decision, and how I’d ultimately decided the thrill of racing wasn’t worth risking my life, not when I had so incredibly much to live for.

Six gestured at the crowd with his cup. “What’s going on? Is there a celebrity in that building?”

Funnily enough, there actually were two major celebrities in the audience, both disguised with baseball caps and sunglasses and doing their best to blend in. Normally Zan Tillane, a pop star who was dating Nana’s grandson Gianni, would be the biggest celebrity in any crowd. But in San Francisco’s gay neighborhood, ex-porn star (and friend of the family) Hunter Storm might possibly give him a run for his money in terms of overall fan frenzy. “No,” I said, “we’re all here for a wedding. My grandmother’s about to get married. But Nana is a rock star as far as I’m concerned.”

“She’s getting married at a sex shop?”

We were clustered around an establishment owned by one of Mr. Mario’s friends, which did in fact sell all manner of adult entertainment. Its tidy, matte black storefront was completely festooned for Pride. Rows of briefs arranged by color formed rainbows in the huge display windows on either side of the entryway, and at least forty rainbow flags spanned the front of the building and jutted from the black awning over the door. Hot pink neon in the window on the left spelled out ‘The Whack Shack’.

“Yes and no,” Kai said. “Her procession will be coming out of the shop, and then she’s getting married right here, in the middle of the street.”

“You should stick around,” I said. “It’s going to be fun.”

“I wish I could, but my bestie Rebecca is expecting me for breakfast three blocks over and she gets cross with me when I’m late. Don’t be a stranger, both of you. Maybe we can go for coffee sometime and you can bring your friend Zachary.”

After he took off, Jed and Ruthie found us in the crowd, and my sister said as she tucked her long, blonde hair behind her ear, “Do you want me to find you a chair? I don’t think you should be doing this much standing.” She’d come up to visit and check on me every weekend that month.

“I’m fine, Rue. Don’t worry. It’s going to be a quick ceremony, since Nana and Ollie don’t want to jam up the neighborhood for too long, especially during Pride.”

“The neighborhood’s barely awake yet,” Jed pointed out. “I happen to know it was partying hard last night, and I doubt tying up half a block is going to ruin anyone’s day.”

“Does that mean you were out at the clubs?” I asked him.

“He was, but don’t get too excited,” Ruthie said. “I was with him. He had two cokes, hid in the corner, and wouldn’t ask anyone to dance. He’s going to die a virgin.”

“Oh my God, Ruthie, shut up!” My brother turned deep red.

Zachary came up to us and asked, “Who’s going to die a virgin?” I did a double-take when I turned to look at him. His hair was shorter and dark brown, and he was wearing a pastel polo shirt and khakis. When I’d first met him, he would change his look about once a month, but I’d started to think the black-and-red hair and black clothes were here to stay.

“Nobody,” Jed said quickly.

“Hey,” I said, moving my crutches to one hand so I could give my friend a hug. “I’m glad you made it. You just missed Six, by the way, he was headed to breakfast. He asked about you and said we should all go out for coffee.” I couldn’t help but notice the way my brother paid close attention to Zachary’s noncommittal response.

Just then, Kai’s grandmother came bustling out of the sex shop in a red taffeta bridesmaid’s dress. “We’re ready to get started,” she yelled. “Make a rainbow circle, people, just like we practiced!”

The crowd shifted around a bit, forming a big circle in the middle of the street. Nana and Ollie’s groomsmen formed the inner ring, and we all took off our jackets, revealing rainbow tie-dyed t-shirts. We’d originally been fitted for tuxes, but Wedding 2.0 had gone far more casual. Jed took Kai’s jacket and mine, and a lump formed in my throat as I looked around the circle at our family.

Directly across from Kai and me were Gianni and his boyfriend Zan, holding hands. Gianni’s best friend Yoshi was right behind him, and to Zan’s right, Gianni’s brothers Mike and Vincent and their brother-in-law Charlie were joking and laughing. Vincent’s husband Trevor and their son Josh also made up the circle, along with Nico, their cousin, and his boyfriend Luca, and a few more cousins.

Nana’s adopted boys completed the circle. Skye and Dare stood with Haley and River, who looked happy. I didn’t see Cole, but he could have been somewhere in the crowd. Christopher and Kieran lined up with Hunter and Brian, and Christian and Shea squeezed in with Chance and Finn (who had a rainbow flag sticking out of the pocket of his police uniform). Chance’s brother Colt and Elijah were right behind them, along with Jamie and Dmitri, who were all smiles. Their toddler sat on Dmitri’s shoulders, delightedly waving a little rainbow flag.

Ollie stepped through the crowd and took his place beside the wedding official, immediately to my right. He’d opted to stick with his white tux and tails, which he wore with a white top hat, pink shirt and rainbow bow tie. He was smiling ear to ear and his eyes were bright with tears of happiness.

Josh’s best friend Emma was also in a tie-dyed shirt because she’d chosen to be a groomsman with her bestie instead of a bridesmaid. She was on the sidewalk in front of the shop with Izzy and with Mike’s three little boys, and when she received a signal from inside the storefront, she leaned down and whispered to the little girl. Izzy held her head up proudly, clutched the white basket in her gloved hand, and took her place at the front of the procession. She looked adorable in her pink dress with her French braid and butterfly clips, and when she spotted Kai and me, she smiled and waved. She’d lost her front teeth in the last week, but that just made her cuter.

Kai’s arm was around me, helping to support me as I balanced on one foot, and I leaned close and whispered, “You ready?”

“I think I’m going to pass out,” he whispered back. “Why didn’t Nana ask Zan to do this?”

“Both because he’s incognito, and because Nana wanted to make you a part of the ceremony. You’ve totally got this.”

He cleared his throat nervously, and when Kiki poked her head out of the shop and nodded, he began to sing Your Song by Elton John, one of Nana’s favorites. He sang the first verse by himself, his voice strong and clear, as Izzy walked across the street dropping flower petals. The ring bearer followed, and behind him, his two older brothers walked Tommy and Diego, Nana and Ollie’s dogs, on rhinestone-studded leashes. The dogs wore matching rainbow-striped sweaters, meticulously knit by Ollie. When the kids reached the groom, Izzy peeled off to the right and joined Kai and me, and the boys led the dogs to the left and joined their dad Mike.

The crowd joined in on the second verse and sang with Kai as a rainbow of nearly two dozen women followed the children. The bridesmaids carried bright, mixed flowers and wore solid-colored tea-length dresses. Kiki led the procession, dressed in red, with Mike’s girlfriend Marie right behind her in reddish-orange. More family members and Nana’s senior girlfriends followed, orange dresses giving way to yellow and so on down the rainbow. Mr. Mario was last, in full drag and wearing a deep violet dress. He looked beautiful.

The bridesmaids walked swiftly, looping around and arranging themselves in an arc on the sidewalk behind Ollie and the wedding official. Then, as a few hundred voices sang the final chorus of her favorite song, Nana appeared in the doorway with Dante on her arm. She’d shortened her gown to knee-length for Wedding 2.0, and wore it with its matching long-sleeved coat of the same length. She’d paired the outfit with white go-go boots, which were pure Nana. The dress and coat both had a fitted bodice and flared out at the waist, and were completely covered in sequins, which looked pink overall. But when she stepped out from under the awning and her dress caught the morning light, a million tiny prisms in the sequins lit her up like a rainbow.

She walked across the street, carrying a colorful, casual bouquet of mixed flowers as tears of joy streamed down her face. When she reached Ollie, Dante kissed her cheek and put her hand in her fiancé’s. Dante tried to remain composed as he took his place to the couple’s left and grasped his husband’s hand.

The last verse ended, and the wedding official stepped forward. She was a beautiful, full-figured African-American woman of about seventy with salt-and-pepper dreadlocks to her waist. She welcomed the audience and said, “Stana and Olivio want to begin by saying a few words.”

Ollie went first. “Stana, you’re a dream come true. At my age, I didn’t think I had too many dreams left. But then you came along, and I remembered how to dream again. You make me happier than I’ve ever been, and I love you with all my heart. Thank God for your grandson Nico and my dear friend Luca, who brought us together. If I’d missed out on you, I would have missed out on the very best part of my life. Every single day, I’m going to cherish you and laugh with you and make sure you know that you’re adored. Thank you for saying yes when I asked you to marry me. You’re my best friend, my love, and one hot mama, and I’m the luckiest man in the world to get to be your husband.”

Nana dabbed at her tears with the back of her hand and smiled at Ollie. She said, “I always believed in true love and happily ever after. I wanted that for all my boys, and it’s made me so happy to watch so many of them find love. Somehow though, I never thought it’d happen for me. I figured I had my shot at marriage and it didn’t work out. It did get me my beautiful sons and a bunch of gorgeous grandkids and great-grandkids, which is pretty damn good, and I was gonna be content with that. But then I met you, and all of a sudden I realized what I’d been missing. I’m so lucky that we get to spend every single day that we’ve got left together. I love the hell out of you, Olivio Caravetti, and I’m glad you had the good sense to ask me to marry you. Otherwise, I was going to have to ask you myself.” She looked at the wedding official and said, “Now hurry up and marry us, Greta! We gotta party with our family and friends and then we got a honeymoon to get to.” Nana turned to Ollie and wiggled her eyebrows. “I did some shopping in that store before I marched down the aisle. I don’t know what half the stuff I bought is for, but you and I are gonna have a damn good time figuring it out!”

Kai grinned and pulled me close and I hugged him as the official took them through their vows. After they were pronounced husband and wife and kissed passionately, the crowd went wild. The couple then turned to us and raised their joined hands in a victory gesture. I’d never seen either of them look so happy.

Nana and Ollie led the procession, and as everyone headed to the rows of waiting tour buses on the next block, Kai picked up Izzy and put her on his shoulders. I carefully positioned my crutches so I could put my weight on the pads of my fingers and avoid my stitches, but before I could take a step, Skye scooped me up and yelled, “Piggy back ride!” Dare took my crutches while I burst out laughing. I held on tight while my friend jogged through the crowd with me, and then deposited me at Nana’s rainbow limo.

Kai, Izzy and I rode in the back with Nana and Ollie. I’d really wanted to drive them, but I couldn’t with my broken ankle, so they’d hired a replacement chauffeur for the day, then insisted I ride with them to make sure I was properly cared for. I’d been pampered a lot since the fire, and I’d stopped fighting it.

As we rolled out of the Castro, Izzy looked out the window and bounced in her car seat, and across from us, Nana and Ollie kissed each other tenderly. “Great wedding,” I said as I rested my head on Kai’s shoulder.

“Perfect.” He tipped my chin up so he could kiss me gently, and then Kai smiled and whispered, “I can’t wait until it’s our turn.”