Page 15 of Claimed By the Don

“I didn’t know,” I say. “Benny said he’s his dad’s right-hand man, but he made it sound fine.”

“You know how he used to hang out smoking on corners and talking shit, running that card game?” Mom says. “Now he’s like the volunteer fire department or something, running around cleaning up after his dad. He’s sponsoring t-ball teams and agymnastics club. Thursdays are now free at the public pool—he’s got a hand in everything. A one-man community relations team, like he’s spending his time trying to keep people in the neighborhood from hating the family. His dad did a lot of damage even when he was in his right mind. The last few years, Benny’s turned that around. Total image makeover.”

I sit with that for a minute and think it over. He’s always been charming. I’d be the last person to deny it. He paid attention to little details when we were going out, he’d always stop and get me a Diet Coke on his way to pick me up or a hot chocolate if it was cold out. He kept a hoodie in his truck for when I got cold. One time when we were going swimming and I didn’t have my hair pulled back, and he said to look in the glove box. There, right beside the extra bullets and a box of condoms, I found a hairbrush, a new pack of hair ties, the cherry lip balm I liked. He took care of me, always wanting me to be comfortable.

But the proof of his violent lifestyle was there too, I remind myself.Don’t romanticize a bag of hair ties when they were right next to his ammo.

“It was weird seeing him again,” I admit. “A first, I wanted to run away, like just the sight of him spooked me. He looks good, and that pissed me off. He should have gone bald and got fat!”

My mom chuckles. “He’s not gonna lose that hair. His dad still has hair. His uncle Carmine had beautiful hair, thick and dark—” she stops.

“Mom!”

“What? I had a life before I met your father,” she reminds me.

“I know, but still. Ew.”

“Listen, all I’m saying is that with those genes, Benny’s gonna look good ‘til the day he dies.”

“Yeah, well in his line of work, that could be tomorrow,” I say.”

“Benny’s trying to change things. Move forward. He’s not the same boy he was when you left is all I’m saying.”

“I’m not saying nothing changed, but I didn’t hide out for six years just to take one look at Benny Falconari and decide to hand over my son. Despite the moves he’s trying to make, that lifestyle is dangerous, and him being higher up on the food chain doesn’t put him in less peril,” I say.

She nods her head. “I get it. And you’re right. Just don’t close yourself off to every man because you had a bad experience with one.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I tell her.

“I’ve got some work to do,” she says, and I bring her the laptop and her headset.

I decide to go for a walk to clear my head.

10

BENNY

My assistant buzzes Daisy in. There she is, after all this time, standing in my doorway. She’s holding flowers and candy, and I want to laugh because it’s such a damn delight to see her here.

I nod to Malcolm and Joshua because that meeting is over. I get up to greet her and she dumps the caramels and the vase of flowers on a table.

“Why did you send my mom all this crap?” she asks. I remind myself to look serious.

“Did you read the card? It says ‘get well.’”

“I read the card. Did you do it to get my attention?’

“I always liked your mom. She didn’t always like me, but I can’t blame her. I was a bad influence,” I say,

“Don’t send anything else,” she says, but she doesn’t sound mad. My gaze sweeps her from flipflops to her hands on her hips, her messy bun.

“I got a minute. You want to tell me what’s going on?”

“I returned the flowers and candy. That’s what’s going on.”

“If you didn’t want it, you could’ve thrown it out. No need to come see me,” I point out. My heart kicks up when she takes the bait.

“If I don’t tell you in person, you’ll keep sending stuff,” she says. “This way you know what I want.”

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