Destino (38 page)

“When did this start? When did you two begin this affair?”

Catalina looked away. Mira rubbed her brow. She didn’t know Giovanni long, but she knew one thing. Loyalty was a big thing with him. If she kept a secret like this there could be consequences. She had to know more.

“When he took me to Palermo for Aurora’s wedding. He was my chaperone when I went to meet Franco and his family. I was so upset after the first meeting. Franco is, well he isn’t pleasant on the eyes. Not like my Domi. He’s short, crude, he smells of dirt and cigarettes. He has a gap between his front teeth!” Catalina tapped her front tooth to emphasize the point. “Domi saw I was disappointed. He tried to cheer me up. I was only seventeen. That night he took me to dinner and though we have family in Palermo we aren’t…” She cast her shy gaze to Mira. “We aren’t welcome to stay. Only when Giovanni is there do they show respect. So Domi and I stayed in a hotel. And we talked, drank wine, played cards… it happened.”

“You have to stop the affair with him! If one of Giovanni’s men had seen you. Do you know how risky that is?”

Catalina didn’t look her way this time. She stared straight ahead.

“You have to end it. For good.”

“Will you keep my secret?”

Mira struggled with her answer. It wasn’t her business. She didn’t want to be involved. But she had seen it, and she had to decide what she’d do with that knowledge. “Yes.”

Catalina threw her arms around her neck. “Bless you! Thank you!” She released her. “You want to see my brother, don’t you? I’ll help you go to him.”

“No. He’s working, I won’t bother him.”

“No he isn’t. I spoke to Domi. He’s alone. And if he’s alone, he’s miserable. Something is wrong. Something is going on with the other families. Go to him.”

Mira felt it too. Catalina rose. She went over and found her satin robe. “Wear this. You have to be covered when you go out there. When you see his men tell them that Giovanni sent for you. Stand your ground with his men. Demand respect and look them in the eye when you speak.
Prego.
” She helped her into her robe. “They’ll let you in.”

“Maybe I should give him space tonight. If he wanted to see me, he’d have sent for me.”

Catalina shook her head fiercely. “He’s never brought any woman home. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You are changing him. He seems… happy. And trust me a happy Giovanni is what we all need. So go to him.
Prego
. And we will forget this whole matter with Domi, right? It’s over. That was us saying goodbye. We’re done.” Catalina grinned nodding through her lie. Mira knew she was being manipulated. But she relented. “Where is this villa again? How do I get there?”

“Let me show you a different way. To avoid Renaldo and Carmine. They are the worst. The other’s you can manage,” Catalina said. Mira quickly tied down her robe. It was about the length of her dress she wore today, barely touching her knees. She and Catalina crept out into the hall and down to the lower floor unseen. “There, take that path and it will bring you to his door.” Catalina kissed her on both cheeks. “
Grazie
, for listening and keeping my secret. We’re friends now. Best of friends.
Si
?”

“Catalina, I….”

“
Grazie
!” she waved and hurried off. Mira did as instructed and walked a path through a manmade garden that circled the pool. Soon she saw the cottage and realized the name given to it was due to the rust colored paint that covered its stone walls. Wild vines and ivy grew along the windowsills, wild red flowers blooming about. It looked unkempt compared to the rest of the estate. Still it had such an overwhelming masculine quality to it. There were three men smoking outside of it that didn’t seem happy to see her.

One of the guys glanced to the other confused by her arrival but the other just checked her out. Finally another English speaking man spoke. “
Signora?
Please return to your room.”

“Can you tell him I’m here? Please?” she asked.

Another man leaning against the wall exhaled a stream of smoke. He was taller than the ones glaring at her, but had an intense gaze that made her feel vulnerable in the night. Mira crossed her arms against the hard stare. “And who are you?”

“
Mi chiamo Carlo
. Back off boys. I’ll tell the boss you’re here,” he winked. She nodded her thanks and waited. Carlo did as promised. He was in the cottage for under five minutes before he opened the door for her to enter. The darkness closed in on her. She wished she could find a light switch. The front door to the cottage closed behind her. After a few minutes her vision adjusted to the shadowy atmosphere. She bumped furniture, walked towards a door to the back of the place and wondered if she should instead climb the stairs. The knob felt cool to the touch. She turned it slowly. Again more darkness. Was he in there?

“Che vuoi da me?”
A deep man’s voice said to her left. Mira wasn’t sure but she believed that he asked what she wanted from him. A bright orange glow of a half smoked cigar was all she could see, until the orange red flames dimmed.

“I’ve been waiting, looking for you. Why are you sitting in the dark?” she asked. The moonlight defined his frame, but his face was covered in shadows.

“Why would you walk out here in the middle of the night dressed like that?” He sat upright. Part of his face became clear in the shadows. His hard tone and stare stopped her heart.

“There’s nothing wrong with what I have on.” She looked down at herself. “This robe stops no lower than the dress I wore today.”

“You shouldn’t be parading in front of these men in underwear! Show some got damn respect,” he yelled.

Mira stunned, turned and headed for the door. Reaching for the knob her anger stopped her. She glared back over at him, seeing him. He drank from a bottle instead of a glass. He made no attempt to stop her or explain himself further.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you acting like a mean jackass? How do you say asshole in Italian?”

He chuckled.
“Briccone!”

“Yes! That’s what you are. A mean
briccone
! There’s no reason to attack me the way you did. I came out here out of concern for you, and you all but called me a whore!”

Giovanni rose in the dark, the bottle clutched by the neck in his left hand. The other balled into a fist. He stalked toward her. She stood her ground, with folded arms, though her hands trembled with nervous energy. He stopped with a barely a foot of space between them. He reeked of tobacco and the strongest stench of whiskey she’d ever smelled. “Leave,” he said. “I won’t stop you. Go back to your pampered life. I won’t beg you to stay.” His voice held a shaky uncertainty that she couldn’t help but recognize as weakness. He turned up the bottle drinking more, his gaze never shifting from her.

Mira ran her hand back over the wall to her right, never breaking his stare. Her fingers brushed the switch and flipped it up. The state of him was just the beginning. His eyes were glassy and bloodshot red. Still he managed to glare down at her. She got a good look of the destruction he had to have done to the room. His chair was all that remained upright. Glass and broken furniture was everywhere. A desk that looked to weigh over 200 pounds was flipped over on its side and the walls had stains from bottles of liquor from the bar being smashed against it.

He walked away. She stepped over what she assumed used to be an office chair and almost lost her balance. Shaking her head she walked over to the side of him studying his face. Reaching she touched his hair and he snatched away. “I won’t ask what this is about. It’s none of my business.”

Giovanni took another long swallow from the bottle. Mira reached for it and gently removed it from his hand. “Please stop drinking.”

He glanced down at her.

“Have you decided? Who I am? What I am? Have you decided on whether we can be friends or are we just fucking?”

“You know we’re more than that.” Mira said.

“So you’ve decided to stay?” His eyes stretched.

She opened her mouth to object, but something in his tone and the look he gave her made her waver. He was on the edge in the moment and rejection was something he wouldn’t tolerate. Men were such fragile babies when it came to pride and ego. “Is there a… room here? Some place other than this where we can be alone? Talk?”

“Upstairs,” he sighed, rubbing the fatigue from his eyes.

She stepped to his side and eased her arm around his waist. “Show me.”

Giovanni dropped his arm around her shoulders and together they walked over the destruction to what was once his office.

Giovanni allowed her to hold him steady so they could climb the stairs together. Making it to the landing, he took the lead and her hand to go towards the only two bedrooms in the cottage. One was a disaster, and men would often visit and crash there. But he kept the other tidy and neat. He didn’t realize how tired and drunk he was until he lowered to the bed. He could barely reach for her before his brain became a dull fog and sleep fell on him like an anvil.

Mira frowned. Was he snoring?
He’d passed out on her!
She looked around the room and realized that this was it. This was his life and she could run now or be caught up in this tangled affair. Releasing a burdened sigh she picked up his long heavy legs and brought them over to the mattress making him lay horizontal. Giovanni moaned saying something in Italian. Mira swore that she’d take damn lessons. She was going to learn this language and soon. Part of her could have sworn he called her out of her name. But she couldn’t be sure. Maybe Catalina could teach her the curse words so she could be a step ahead of him.

She removed his shoes, pants, and struggled with unbuttoning and pulling his long arms out of his shirt. Exhausted she decided to leave him in his t-shirt, underwear and socks.

Hot from the stuffiness of the room she reached up to the cord hanging from the ceiling fan, yanking it. A soft breeze cut through the air as the long blades whipped around in lazy circular moves. Taking off her robe she put it over the chair in the corner of the room before stepping out of her slippers. Mira then went to the window in the room and threw it open to let fresh air inside. She looked down and saw the same three men milling around and shook her head. It was this life that had him drinking himself into a stupor, and made his sister terrified of him enough to keep an affair behind his back. Her head turned to look back at her lover. He had rolled over to his side. Hair that was normally combed back was now covering his brow. He looked like a sleeping giant.

Her heart ached for whatever stole the joy from him that they’d experienced earlier in the day at the vineyard. Stepping away from the open window, she went back to the bed and worked the sheets from under him, moving in close and lifting his arm to allow her further access as she kissed his nose sweetly.

Immediately feeling her next to him his heavy bloodshot eyes opened slightly and he looked at her, half smiling. Grabbing her butt cheek and squeezing he pulled her closer, kissing her. She tasted the whiskey and cigar on his breath and turned her face away. “Sleep it off and we can talk in the morning.”

He began to kiss along the side of her neck pushing her nightie up and slipping his rough hand in her panties. His voice was muffled but she was sure he spoke. Feeling him try to roll her over as his hand moved to the front of her panties massaging her between her legs, she shook her head and struggled underneath him. “Sleep it off.” She refused him.

He let her go and rolled back over to his back with an angry grunt. His hand shot up to his forehead. Mira slid her arm across his chest, snuggling him.

Giovanni fully woke. He lifted his hand from his face and peered down at the top of her head. He raised his other hand and smoothed over her thick hair smiling to himself that she was at his side even now. She was his
donna
, and didn’t even know it. He desired her, needed to be inside of her, but after the way he treated her he decided not to push it further. Instead he let go of his anger and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

Later that night ~

Giovanni felt his stomach clench. He opened his eyes in time to suppress the urge to gag. Mira had rolled over to her side of the bed and was resting peacefully. He sat up, feverish with his own sweat. A wave of nausea overtook him, and he knew he had to get to the bathroom. He rushed in time to spill his guts in the toilet. He’d drunk so much with little other than cheese and sliced fruit on his stomach. He was surprised he hadn’t suffered from alcohol poisoning.

Flushing, he went to the sink grabbing the spare toothbrush and reaching for the toothpaste. As he began to brush his teeth, he felt his stomach settle, and control over his body was restored. He’d done damage like this before, and his body knew how to self-medicate.

“You okay?” a sleepy voice whispered behind him.

Looking up to the mirror, he saw her standing behind him, her hair tussled around her head, rubbing her eyes. She was a vision of beauty as always. Giovanni turned and stared down at her with a sly smile. “What are you doing up? Go back to bed, Bella.”

Mira blinked at him and said nothing. Giovanni saw the questions in her eyes, causing him deep pangs of guilt for yelling at her earlier. Avoiding the tension between them he turned back to the sink to finish brushing and rinsing out his mouth. Grabbing a hand towel from above the toilet he wiped at his face, “I’m sorry for earlier,” he said softly.