Page 70 of Shield and Savior

Ouch. “Oh, you heard.”

“Penny left a stockholders’ meeting to take Alana’s call. She screamed about you. A lot. Everyone heard.”

The woman behind me chuckles a little.

We both shift on our feet and adjust our jackets as we survey the crowd that’s at least twenty people deep. Hadeon motions with his thumb, “You want me to get you in?”

“Nah, I’m not in the most powerful family in the world. I’ll wait.”

Hadeon says nothing, but as soon as he moves, all the dogs perk up and keep pace with him.The crowd naturally parts. Moses would be proud.

Once I make my way inside, it’s even worse. Not even organized chaos. There’s a big program in the auditorium, but all the classrooms are open with little games, projects, and activities inside. The kids are running around free-for-all style. The principal’s typically perfect hair has a slight frizz to it. I will assume it’s from the humidity of all the bodies.

My leg gives out as I’m assaulted by a hug. “LANCE!” Maria beams up at me. “I lost a tooth!”

“Another one? That’s great.”

She wiggles her upper canine with her tongue. “And this one is wobbly.”

“Wow!” Bullet wounds, I’m fine with, but wiggly teeth make my queasy.

She’s wearing some sort of tree costume that makes her arms into branches and has a hat with leaves dangling from it. I push a leaf off her face as we hear a woman at the end of the hallway yell, “All forest creatures head to the stage.”

“You better get going. I’ll get my seat. I can’t wait to watch you.” Maria nods and runs off, leaving a trail of fake foliage behind her.

Heading into the auditorium, I reassess exactly how much I hate this. If I thought the hallways were bad, somehow this is worse. Four exits, plus the three behind the stage. Hundreds of people. I scan the perfectly polished parents, phones in hand, and make basic small talk as I search for Izzy. Toward the middle-left side, I see her, and somehow I’m instantly calm.

Thiago, Duncan, and Dimitri are behind her, along with a clan of other members of the Four Families. I give everyone a quick nod, and they peek up from their phones and flash me smiles. Izzy moves her purse off of a chair she saved for me. Her mom and Nonna are sitting next to her. Nonna has bright pink lipstick and perfectly curled hair, but age spots pepper her skin. Even in her eighties, she still sits straight with her feet crossed at the ankles. The other women from the families sit like that, I guess they had training.

“Nonna, you look wonderful.”

She tilts her head and puts her frail fingers to her lips with a sad frown. “Oh Lancelot, our love is never to be. Had you been in the back room of the Papaya Club in the 1970s, I would have done things to you that would make even the devil blush.”

OH MY GOD. This sets off a chain reaction. Behind me, Thiago gasps and says something I can’t understand under his breath. Duncan drops his phone, slamming his head against the back of my chair trying to get it. Dimitri chuckles, although I’m not sure if he’s laughing at their reactions, the statement, or both. But the two women next to the last matriarch of the Four Families both blush and lose color in their faces at the same time. A physical trait I thought was impossible.

“MOM!”

“NONNA!”

Nonna waves them off. “I’ve long forgotten to give a fuck about other people’s opinions. You should do the same before you become boring.”

I swallow. “Well, thank you, Nonna. I shall take this as the highest of compliments and heal my wounded heart with friendly company.”

“As you should.” Nonna shifts in her seat, the only one of us with a cushion on her chair.

Izzy drops her head forward and buries her face in her hands. I pat her on the thigh, giving her a little comforting motion that everything is going to be fine.

The principal comes out on the stage, and the crowd quiets. Imagine having the power to get the most powerful parents in the world to be quiet, with just your presence. Hadeon is in the front row. I can’t see Alana, but I’m not sure where she would sit in a situation like this. And I don’t have time to ponder it because, after quick introductions, the kindergarteners come up on stage.

They launch into a high-pitched song about trees and life. Both Olivia and Maria dance around from side to side. There’s a professional video team recording every move Olivia makes. I wondered if Hadeon is going to film the whole thing or only his daughter’s performance.

Next, two sixth graders come out and do “Who’s on First?” Not sure how that got picked, but it is a crowd pleaser. Nonna loves every second of it. The minutes turn into an hour, and it’s equal parts painful and adorable. Some moments drag while others are so cute and sweet, I need to make a dentist appointment.

The wax museum is the last to go up. Drew and Ian stomp onto the stage, pouting, because that’s what the character is supposed to do. They’re wearing tan fur costumes and Mongolian fuzzy hats. Drew starts out, “I AM A WARRIOR,” points to Ian, “SO IS HE!”

“Yes,” Ian says in a normal volume voice.

Drew continues, “I am here to seek the hand of Khutulun, the most beautiful princess in all the land. If I can best her in battle, she will be my bride. If I lose, she will get one thousand horses from me.”

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