At Peace (47 page)

He was looking at Cal and, as Cal slid out of
the booth, his hand came up and his smile got wider, brilliant,
breathtaking.

“
Cal,
cugino,
” he muttered as his hand took Cal’s in a fierce grip even
I could see.

Cal’s hand gripped his fiercely too and
muttered back, “Benny.”

They leaned into each other and each gave the
other a powerful blow to their backs before pulling away but not
dropping their grip of hands.

I tore my eyes away from the two of them,
both amazingly attractive in a way you didn’t often see, or
ever
see. Maybe one, if you were
lucky, but definitely not a double bill like these two. That was a
miracle the like it proved there was a God.

Then I saw both Kate and Keira gazing up at
them, Manny a memory, Benny, they’d never forget in their entire
lives.

Then my eyes moved and I saw most of the
women in the restaurant also looking, some openly, some glances,
some even had mouths open, all of them in some way awed.

My eyes went back to the men as they
detached, Cal came back to me, Benny, like Manny, scooted
unceremoniously in beside Kate and Keira.

Kate emitted a sound that was
half-strangled scream, half-moan. Keira just stared.

I looked back at the restaurant and saw that
most of the women hadn’t quit looking and it was a wonder, with the
raw, sexual magnetism being discharged at our table, how the lot of
them didn’t fly straight at us, sticking to Benny and Cal like
flecks of steel to a powerful magnet.

“Hear you’re Vi,” I heard Benny say and my
eyes went to him.

“
Yeah.” I reached my arm across the table
when he stretched his to me.

“Benny,” he said after he took my hand in a
warm grip, not too firm, it was friendly firm. Then he let my hand
go and looked at Kate and Keira.

Kate visibly stilled. Keira swallowed.

“Vi’s girls, Ben, Kate and Keira,” Cal told
him.

“Heard about them too,” Benny said, aiming
his smile and hand at both in turn. Kate gulped as she took his
hand. When Keira did, her eyes rolled back into her head.

I looked at Cal and he was grinning at
them.

“Shoulda warned you, Benny’s a lady-killer,”
Cal told the girls and both their eyes fluttered to him.

“I didn’t think anyone could be hotter than
you, Joe,” Keira whispered, forgetting she hated Cal for a second,
forgetting everything in the presence of Benny.

“
Ben, you’re killin’ me,” Cal murmured but
there was a timbre of suppressed laughter in his voice, “lost my
position.”

“Sucks, but you’re used to it,” Benny
returned on a grin.

Cal shook his head and Benny looked at
me.

“Dad’s got your pie in the oven,” he informed
me then his eyes went to Cal. “Freakin’ kitchen’s crazed. He’s got
my kids in a tizzy. He’s been retired from the kitchen a year and I
just got them settled, it took that long. Now he’s taken over,
fifteen minutes back to drill sergeant and the place is
pandemonium, boys are droppin’ shit, burnin’ shit, nuts.”

“Kick his ass out,” Cal advised.

“
You
try to kick Vinnie’s ass out when he’s got an
apron around his waist,” Benny replied then looked at Keira and
Kate and, for some reason, asked, “Your Mom do somethin’ good,
somethin’ better than anyone else you know?”

“Her garden,” Keira chimed in instantly.

“Her seafood risotto,” Kate told him the
second Keira’s last word was uttered.

“Her pork chops and spiced rice,” Keira put
in.

“Her chocolate chunk cupcakes with vanilla
bean frosting,” Kate added.

“When we were kids, she told the best bedtime
stories,” Keira went on. “All my friends wanted to stay over at my
house because of Mom’s bedtime stories. She was famous for
them.”

Benny’s eyes slid to me and I felt Cal’s on
me too. I also felt my face get hot.

There was silence then Benny murmured, “All
that sounds good.”

“The best,” Keira agreed and I watched as
Benny forced, with visible effort, his eyes back to the girls.

“Makes my point asinine. Was gonna tell you,
she tries to teach you that stuff, you should run the other way.”
He looked back to me. “But, thinkin’, that shit, you should let
her,” Benny told them, his eyes still on me and I felt my face get
hotter.

“I’m guessin’ Uncle Vinnie shared the secret
of his pies,” Cal saved me by remarking and Benny’s dark brown eyes
released me from their magnetic hold and he looked to his
cousin.

“
Yeah. He taught me, said he wanted to
retire from the kitchen. Now he’s ordered a new sign, gets
installed next week. Vinnie and Benny’s Pizzeria. Screwed
now,
cugino
, my
name’s gonna be on the building, I’m fuckin’ stuck.”

I couldn’t tell if this was a complaint or
considered an honor and Benny didn’t let on which one it was.

“Mom doesn’t like it when we hear the
f-word,” Keira butted in before I could figure it out or Cal could
comment then I watched her face get pink and she looked at the
table.

“
Good Mom’s usually don’t,” Benny told her
then leaned in and noted, “but bet you hear it all the time at
school.”

Keira looked at him and nodded.

“Bet you say it too,” Benny teased, Keira bit
her lip, avoided my eyes, in fact, she avoided everyone’s eyes and
she looked so hilariously guilty, Benny burst out laughing.

So did Cal

And so did I.

On the day of my brother’s funeral.

Then again, if Sam got a look at Keira’s
face, he would have laughed too.

“How’d you two meet?” Benny asked, sitting
back, settling in, ready to stay awhile even though his kitchen was
pandemonium. He stretched an arm along the back of the booth which
stretched his tight tee across his chest and his ripped bicep, his
arm spanning both girls and both girls’ eyes shot to me, their
faces set to identical looks of joy.

“Violet’s my neighbor,” Cal answered and
Benny threw his head back and burst out laughing again.

When he finished, he shook his head, eyes on
Cal. “Jesus. Only you could have the beautiful mother of two
beautiful girls fuckin’ move right next door. Shit.” Benny looked
to me again and said, “You got a sister, Vi, she’s lookin’ for a
place, the one next door to me’s for sale.”

I smiled at him, feeling his compliment
settle deep but informed him, “I don’t have a sister. Just a
brother.”

The humor faded from his face as the smile
faded from mine and, like his Dad, his eyes got soft, his
expression turned gentle and he murmured, “
Cara
.”

I bit my lip. He’d heard about that too.

Then I watched in fascination as his head
turned and he looked at my girls. Then his hand curled and he slid
the backs of his fingers along the now-reminded-of-her-grief
Keira’s jaw. Then his arm curled around Kate and he pulled her into
his side for an affectionate squeeze before his arm went back to
settle on the booth.

Yes, Cal’s family was cool.

In fact, they could be the coolest.

My mind was taken from this when I started to
uncross my legs and, when I did, Cal’s hand came back. It curled
around my inner thigh and pulled my leg up and over his, where he
dropped it on his thigh.

Vulnerable, tired and one breadstick not
cutting through my hunger, I forgot myself, my head turned to him
and I snapped, “Why do you keep doin’ that?”

His head turned to me and his eyes leveled
on mine. “You aren’t puttin’ your foot on the floor.”

“Why not?”

“Buddy, can’t believe I gotta remind you, but
your foot is injured.”

“You don’t have to remind me.”

“Then you don’t need to ask why it shouldn’t
be on the floor.”

“Yes, I do,” I was still snapping.

His head dipped so his face was close to
mine. “Aunt Theresa keeps a clean place, still, not takin’ any
chances and I don’t want your injured foot on what could be a dirty
floor.”

This was thoughtful and nice which pissed me
off, pissed me off enough to lose it and forget my vow to remember,
forever and always, that Joe was gone. In fact, Joe never really
existed, he was a figment of my imagination and it was Cal who
remained.

I should have never forgotten.

But I did and therefore hissed, “It has a
bandage on it, Joe.”

The minute I uttered his name, his face
changed. I watched stunned, spellbound, as his eyes got soft and
his face turned tender. He’d never looked at me like that, not
ever, and my stomach got soft again, and warm, my heart started
beating harder and I couldn’t help but lean closer, drawn by the
power and beauty of that look aimed at me.

His hand came up, cupped my jaw and I was so
thrown, I didn’t jerk my head away.

And I still didn’t when his mouth touched
mine. He’d done that before, definitely, but never that way, never
with that tenderness.

I felt my chest rising and falling because I
found it difficult to breathe as his head bent, his mouth coming to
my ear on the opposite side so Kate, Keira and Benny couldn’t see
or hear him.

“
Your foot stays off the floor until Manny
comes back with your flip-flops. Yeah?” he whispered in my
ear.

“Okay,” I replied instantly, whispering
too.

His hand still at my jaw stayed at my jaw and
he continued whispering. “Awhile ago, after I installed the system,
when you were bein’ a bitch, we were in your livin’ room, you
remember what I said?”

I remembered, I remembered like it happened
yesterday. He’d said he was going to spank me and play with me
until I begged and squirmed.

The memory made me squirm in the booth but I
nodded.

His hand at my jaw tensed then he threatened,
“You call me anything but Joe again, honey, that’s what you’ll
get.”

I swallowed.

“Yeah?” he prompted.

“Okay,” I whispered.

“Good.”

He bent his head further, kissed my neck and
then his hand dropped from my jaw and he sat back.

Benny, Kate and Keira were all staring at
us. Benny was smiling,
huge
.
Kate was too. Keira looked slightly angry but more confused and I
didn’t blame her as I was feeling the exact same way.

“
Well,
Joe
,” Benny started, still smiling. “See you got your hands
full.”

“Yeah,” Joe replied, giving my thigh a
squeeze and sounding like he didn’t mind at all. In fact, sounding
like the idea of having his hands full was something he liked.

A lot.

“
Glad to see it,
cugino,
” Benny said, his smile smaller but his eyes had
gone intense and he repeated, his voice low, heavy, even gruff and
just as intense as the look he was aiming at his cousin. “Glad to
see it.”

I avoided his eyes, Kate’s, Keira’s, Joe’s
and I decided to let my leg over Joe’s go, Manny would be back soon
(I hoped).

Then I grabbed another breadstick.

Mike Wins

I woke up, belly to the bed, one knee cocked
but I kept my eyes closed, letting my senses test the bed, the
room, listening for breathing, feeling for heat, hardness.

Nothing.

I opened my eyes and saw the bed beside me
was empty.

Then I rolled to my back and saw the bed
behind me was also empty (not Joe’s side so this wasn’t a
surprise).

I stared at the ceiling and listened for
noises in the bathroom.

Nothing.

Maybe I dreamed it.

I looked to the clock and it was after ten in
the morning.

Late. Very late.

Then I sighed and looked at the ceiling
again, all of it, the rest of last night and after we got home,
tumbling into my head.

The breadsticks at Vinnie’s Pizzeria were
good. The antipasto platter yummy. The pie was the best pizza I’d
ever had and I’d done copious pizza tasting research so it might be
the best pizza ever made. The mascarpone cheesecake was sublime
(the girls had big bowls of spumoni ice cream, homemade, I’d tasted
it and even with a gun to my head, I couldn’t have told you if the
ice cream or cheesecake was better). And the Chianti couldn’t be
beat. I’d never had better wine in my life.

This might have been why I drank the whole
bottle.

Or, perhaps, it was because we were at the
restaurant for hours.

The entire time we ate, and after, Vinnie,
Theresa, Manny and Benny all came and went, sitting and chatting,
standing and chatting. Between pizza and dessert, Vinnie came and
got the girls in order to give them a tour of the kitchen while
Theresa sat on their side and chatted to Joe and me. Then Vinnie
came back with the girls and Theresa took them on a tour of the
front of the house while Vinnie sat with us and chatted. Then we
had dessert.

Then later, when most of the customers were
gone (and all of my wine was gone), Theresa took me on a tour of
the photos, most of which she told me she took herself. As she
moved me around the restaurant, she shared stories of her kids, her
brothers, sisters, Vinnie’s sister (Cal’s Mom), her aunts and
uncles, Vinnie’s aunts and uncles and all her kids’ grandparents.
There was love in her voice and laughter as she guided me around
the room, smiling at her remaining customers, pointing at photos,
sharing her life and her family through her words and her
remarkable pictures.

I couldn’t help but smile and laugh with her,
even when she talked about Cal who sounded like a lovable hooligan
(as told by her). He also definitely sounded like a member of the
family, the unit, one of her kids, not a nephew and I learned this
was because, once his Mom died and his Dad lost it, Vinnie and
Theresa had weekend and vacation adopted him. If he didn’t have to
go to school the next day or he wasn’t in juvie, he was in Chicago
at their house in the bunk bed over Vinnie Junior.