ASCENSION (13 page)

“What about my wife, she’s expecting me
home
?”
He lied.

Frank’s
angina
worsened. The doctor advised him to avoid
strenuous activity
.
The
combination of
nitrate and anti-coagulant
drugs
were no longer yielding
relief
. A TMR
was
scheduled for
Monda
y morning.
Frank
did not divulge th
is to Dominick, instead he
waved
his
hand
dismissively
, “
Go call her she’
ll understand and hurry up our
plane is wa
iting
.”

The old man’s obsession with the Palazzo family was getting in the way of business. His deceased son Maximo was equally preoccupied with the younger Palazzo. Dominick shed not one tear upon his death, in fact he was grateful to be rid of the slovenly drunkard. His ill-temper, penchant for prostitutes and gambling had cost the family more than money. They were indebted to the
Cavato’s
, the
Spignielli’s
and the
Roscutto’s
as a result of
Maximo’s
vices.

He cashed in his favor with Alberti Luca and these debts were wiped clean but of course he could not speak of his dealings to the old man. Yet, Alberti Luca understood the necessity of working cooperatively. The American mafia was being ground to dust by law enforcement. The modern mafia had become the crooked politicians put in power by the men they now sought to eradicate.
Without the help from the internationally connected Palazzo’s the mafia in America would become extinct. Therefore, he had no use for the
antiquated
IBD. They were
nothing but a
selfish
group of
old men who hoarded their power and influence distributing it in petty increm
ents to
whom
they deemed fit!

He would accompany the old man out of duty but his greater purpose was to look in t
he eyes of his elders and let them see the face of a new or
ganization.
One who’s ascension could not be stopped.

Se
lange
lingered in the doorway
of her son’s bedroom
enamored by
his
angelic
f
ace
.
Watching him sleep soothed her. In him she saw her husband, the
newly barbered
shiny black hair, long masculine lashes and Diaz stubbornness.
She was angry at
Alfonzo, furious in fact. He was lashing out, deliberately closing her out and she didn’t know why. The only explanation she could think of was he didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be out there, free and unattached. Yes, he claimed otherwise but ever-since canceling his travel plans he seemed on edge.
She read in one of those psychology books
about transference of guilt. She believed perhaps this is what her husband was doing
w
ith the absurd implication her and Franky were behaving
in
appropriately by having harmless fun. The more she mulled it over the more plausible it became. Alfonzo was
having an affair
and perhaps what she considered stress was an eagerness to get away to be with someone…else.

She twisted
a strand
of
hair
as she
considered
her
options.
Was it too late to save their marriage, did he love her enough to try or was he bored with
her and
sought excitement elsewhere? What could she do to hold him or should she? Perhaps it was best to let him leave
, give him space to find out with whom and where he wanted to be.
The thought
caused a
physical pain
to her heart. S
he loved
Alfonzo
wholeheartedly
, y
et his
behavior
was
inexcusable.
If she gave in to it then she was sending a message of acceptance and docility.

Sh
e
straightened her spine
, tip-toed over to the bed to kiss her son then
went to find Shanda. Maybe, what she needed was another
woman’s
perspective
.

S
handa
appeared from the guest
bed
room wearing a
short tight
dress
and they nearly collided at the door
.
“Where are you going?” Selange asked.

“Out with Franky.”

“
Okay, wow
that was fast
.”

Shanda peered at her friend’s sad face. “What’s wrong I thought you and your husband were getting busy by now, so what happened?”

Selange leaned on the wall, “We had an argument.”

“Okay, come on
, t
ell me about it Franky can wait.” She said tugging her friend into the
bed
room and shutting the door.

Selange sat on the bed, “I think Alfonzo might be having an affair.”

Shanda laughed then quickly checked herself, “It’s not funny but the way he looks at you who’d suspect anything like that.”

“Well, I guess looks are deceiving.”

“True. Anyway, why do you think he’s cheating?”

“It’s the subtle things. The private calls, the unexpected trips and tonight he accused me of flirting with Franky because we were dancing and goofing around.”

“Oh yeah, he’s guilty of something.
Men are dogs.
For real!”

“So what do you think I should do?”

Shanda smirked devilishly, “I know what I wouldn’t do and that’s sit my ass in the house moping. Give the cheating motherfucker a taste of his own medicine. Come on get dressed.”

“What are you talking about, how is that going to solve anything?”

“I
guess it’ll have a placebo effect and
you’ll feel better. Come on,” she opened the closet and removed
a lavender
sleeve
les
s dress she purchased at the mall, “here I think this will look better on you. Hurry up I’ll fix your make-up.”

“Shanda, I don’t know.”

“I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“And give me your hand.” She lifted Selange’s ring finger and slipped off the huge diamond wedding ring and sat it atop the dresser, “
nobody needs to know you’re married. Bet all the guys are going to be on your ass tonight.”

“Shanda I’m not going, are you crazy?”

“
Yes you are.
So hop
-
hop little bunny time’s ticking.”

Maybe
m
i
ndless entertainment
was the remedy for what ailed her, afterall what harm would it do? “Okay…okay.”

“
Yes, my girl’s back!
”
Shanda clapped excitedly as Selange went to change.

Alfonzo extended an arm to his
wife’s
side of the bed and it flopped down on the firm
mattress
instead of
a soft
body.
His eyes opened and he grumbled,
“This is ridiculous!”

This was the first time she failed to return to bed after a disagreement. He sat forward
and rubbed his chin thinking perhaps he should find her and apologize. He hadn’t broken the news about
the l
ast minute trip, yet. She was certain to get upset over it but once he explained she’d understand. This is what he hoped would happen but as he searched his son’s room, then
knocked on the door to the guest room,
peered inside
and found it empty
,
it became
evident his plan went awry.
He
checked downstairs and she wasn’t anywhere in sight.
Finally he contacted security and was
told she’d exited
the property two hours ago
.
This
brought him alert
. The information
he received after caused him to see the bold brilliant color red. His wife accompanied
Franky and Shanda
to El Brava
without
extra
security
.
Was she so mad she became reckless? He told the
guard to have Emilio bring
his Audi around to the front and he rushed upstairs to dress.

Selange’s c
allous
disregard for his feelings
or her safety
was
like a
dagger in the
back
.
Alfonzo
didn’t know whether he was
angry at
Selange for leaving
without
more bodyguards or
because
she
was with Franky
.
He determined it was a
combination of the two.
T
he
risk of traveling at night with one bodyguard was
madness.
H
igh profile
club
s
like El
Brava
attracted
tourists
,
celebrities
and
was
a
proverbial
hot-spot for
mid-level criminals in the drug trade.

Frustrated he sighed, “
Que
estas
haciendo
a mi
bebe
…w
hat are you doing to me babe?

Emilio stood by
his boss’
expensive
custom detailed
Audi
Hybrid.
Th
e
shiny red color and sleek design he considered a work of automotive art.
The car was
extremely fast
and he envisioned himself speeding down the interstate with a hot chick in the passenger seat.
He spotted his boss emerge
from the house
dressed in a dapper suit as usual
and
he moved
aside
. There was trouble written all over the chiseled face and Emilio wondered what the hell happened?

Alfonzo reached for the driver’s side door handle and Emilio wondered if he were riding solo. When
Alfonzo
settled behind the wheel and sped off
without a word
, Emilio got his answer.
He stared after the
Audi as it screeched
into the night toward the Isle de Verde
. Emilio ran
to
the security desk to enquire where Alfonzo was going. The guard on post didn’t seem to know but guessed he might be heading to El Brava. Emilio jogged up the drive, he needed to
wake Vincent
A-S-A-P
.

***

S
handa
danced with her third partner of the night as Selange and Franky watched from
a booth in the main lounge.
A
n eclectic mix of clubbers
moved about the sophisticated
night spot located inside the
Wyndham
Hotel. T
he VIP
lounge
was packed
.
The manager
knew her by name although she’d visited the club only twice, each time with her husband. He extended an invitation to
the
VIP rooms but she declined and
settled
for
a
booth facing the dance floor
.
The manager sent a complimentary bottle of champagne to their table and she wondered about his show of deference then remembered
, of course it was due to
Alfonzo.

Franky opened the champagne and poured, “You don’t want to offend the host,” he advised as he passed her a fluted glass. He poured one for himself and drank it then smiled, “It’s the good stuff.”

Selange tasted it, “It’s bitter.”

Franky laughed. Obviously she wasn’t a drinker. He forgot. “Come on why
don’t we
go dance. You know you want to. I see your feet tapping.”

“Maybe later.”
She said looking around at the smiling carefree revelers. The party
atmosp
here
was a distraction but inside she missed her husband.
Missed laughing and being with him
.
She wondered where their marriage turned and why she hadn’t seen it.