Page 27 of A Seed Of Peril

I believed him, but I still treaded this line regarding our son with caution. Deep in my heart, I knew Dominic wasn’t saying any of this to be pitiless. These rules and oaths were hammered into his psyche by Hector from the second he got his hands on him. With time and work, my gut told me that we could shatter those glass houses and pave our own way and build our own molds, instead of piggybacking off of outdated customs. Nothing was concrete. If I had to be the one to throw the first stone, so be it.

“I love you, Dominic. Always and forever.”

Dominic squeezed my hand, filling me with reassurance and the sense of absolute safety only he provided.

“I love you, too,Bellissima, always and forever.”

Our breaths, like our chests, rose and fell in synchrony, our hands still intertwined.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Venturing outof the house was a brilliant idea. Convincing Dominic to join me was the icing on the cake. I wasn’t the only one who could’ve used fresh air. The one flaw was the snow—or lack thereof. I wished a storm would dump itself on us. It would’ve made the Saddle River Park pop, maybe bring out more people. The other annoying flaw was the personal security tailing us. Sonny and another of Dominic’s most trusted soldiers, Lucas Scioli, maintained their distance from us, but sometimes, I wanted to go somewhere alone. Spend quality time with Dominic alone outside of our home’s walls. But lack of security was a no-no. And now that I carried Dominic’s child, personal security was non-negotiable.

Hand in hand, Dominic and I walked a path in what was the Otto Pehle area of the park. Branches of Pitch Pine trees swayed in the mild breeze, each waft of wind heavenly on this afternoon.

He made me bundle up before leaving the house, worried I’d catch a cold. Caving, I agreed to wear my winter coat but refused to keep it zipped. If I did that, I’d roast. Of course, if I had it my way, I would’ve left home in a tank top and pair of shorts and broke out the flip-flops to complete the look. I settled on a nice red blouse, a pair of jeggings, and wore my belly band to help ease the strain on my lower back and hips.

Breaking out his black fedora, it complemented his black wool overcoat that he paired with his iridium gray suit. As usual, he was nothing short of stunning.

The coolness of his black, leather gloves felt good against my hand as I squeezed his, smiling at the squirrels chasing each other and the growing sound of happy children at the pond. The children and their families had taken advantage of the frozen pond to ice skate. A small group of older kids played ice hockey off to the side of the pond. One of them cheered after scoring a goal.

I smiled as I saw a small child practicing skating with her father. It was clear the little girl was nervous, but she didn’t let it stop her and trusted her father as he let go of her and cheered her on.

Her eyes lit up, clearly proud of herself as she skated along the ice by herself. “Daddy, look! I’m doing it!”

Watching the man cheer on his daughter as he caught up with her made me remember the time my father drove us to our local park to go ice skating when I was five. Mom was under the weather that day. I was sad but wanted her to get her rest. I helped Dad make her breakfast that morning. I accidentally spilled milk when trying to pour some into her bowl of cereal. Dad burned the toast, forgetting to change the dial from when it was last used. He set off the smoke detector, and that made Mom come downstairs in a worry, only to burst out laughing at the scene unfolding before her eyes. Dad cleared the smoke with a dish towel, turning around to find Mom in the kitchen entryway, nearly choking from laughing so hard. Dad then started laughing. It was a scene straight out of a movie.

I looked at the ground for a moment, swallowing away the threat of tears, and then looked back up at the pond. Dominic gently tugged on my arm.

“Do you need to take a break?” he asked.

I noticed a bench a few feet ahead and nodded. My feet were aching, another joy of pregnancy, so a break was welcomed. I appreciated it when Dominic often checked to make sure I was comfortable.

We sat down on the wooden bench. Dominic kissed my hand, leaning over to talk in my ear.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” He kissed the side of my face, and I smiled.

“Ice skating,” I said as I continued watching the pond. “Usually, Mom and Dad both took me, but there was one time it was just me and him. Mom caught the flu, so she stayed home.”

“I never learned,” Dominic casually confessed, catching me off guard. I looked at him, only to find him also watching the families on the ice.

“Wait… Never?” I was surprised to hear that.

He shook his head. “Nope,” he said with a breath. “Hector never made the time.”

My heart cracked for Dominic and our brothers being robbed of one of life’s simple pleasures.

“Did Nadia talk to him? Try to change his mind?”

“It was a miracle she convinced him to let me play the piano, much less own one.”

“Oh?” I was intrigued and wanted to know more.

“Story for another day.”

My curiosity was strong, but judging by Dominic’s tone, it was one of his more painful memories. I didn’t want to spoil the moment we were having, this semblance of peace we’d obtained, so I let the topic drop.

“Did he ever take you to Rockefeller Center?” Dominic asked, cutting through my thoughts.

---