Page 163 of La Dolce Vita

"Hi, sweetheart."

"Ciao,"Eve said.

"Ciao?Aren't you a doll baby!Ciao! Ilove it!"

"This is my sister Marietta and her husband Lorenzo," Mirabella said.

Sheila's smile faded. She looked at Marietta with wide-stretched eyes. She looked to Mirabella. "I saw on the TV. I didn't believe it. How... how do you have a sister? And now some mafia brother in Sicily? It's all on the news! Your mama too... they had found some pictures from when she used to sing in Philly. Had her face on the news," Sheila babbled.

Mirabella acted as if Sheila never spoke.

"And this is my husband, Giovanni, with my two sons."

Giovanni brought the boys over, carrying Gianni and pulling Gino along.

"Hi, there, nice to meet all of you. Oh! These here are my boys Terrance and Curtis."

The boys rolled their eyes as if bored. Sheila gave a nervous squeak before laughter. "Well, come on then. So many folks here today. It's right over there. You know, where your grandfather used to have his revivals. Bless his soul. We still miss him, Mia. And we miss you, too. So glad you came home. It's a shame you haven't seen their graves in so many years. They buried here, honey. Remember?" Sheila said to Marietta. "Right over there. You get to meet your grand folk."

Mirabella glared at Sheila. Giovanni knew that look from his wife. But Sheila acted as if she didn't see it. She hurried the kids along. The family didn't move. They all waited for Mirabella to say or do something. And in an instant, she did just that. She took Eve's hand and led the family through the maze of cars toward the open tented area. Giovanni put Gianni down, and the boys walked at his side. Each kept up. They seemed a bit confused and overwhelmed by the celebration. Other than family, the children weren't exposed to many strangers or new sights and sounds.

Many people stopped mid conversation to stare at them. Some gave wan smiles when Giovanni's gaze shifted toward them, but none of them approached or welcomed them the way Sheila did. He felt as if his wife and her family were on display. And odd sensation came over her. One he hadn’t felt since he was a kid. It was akin to trepidation.

Mirabella walked ahead of him. She chose to wear a bright orange halter-top and blue jean shorts. Her new hair cut was smoothed back into a slender ponytail. She looked ten years younger. Eve kept close to her mother, looking around and then back to her father with confusion. The music was gospel. Giovanni recognized it because Mirabella would often play it at home.

"You see what I see?" Lorenzo whispered through his clenched teeth.

Giovanni nodded. "Not a friendly face in the crowd."

"Are we sure we were invited?" Lorenzo chuckled.

"Ignore it," Giovanni warned. His wife wanted them to do this, so she had to have had her reasons.

"Mia! Welcome! Oh, it's so wonderful to see you!" A man with a priest’s collar approached his wife. Giovanni watched as the two embraced. Several men were behind him. Each made sure to shake the hands of Giovanni and Lorenzo.

"Giovanni, everyone, this is Clyde Jr. He's the minister here at Shepherd’s Cross. And my cousin."

Mirabella introduced the family. But most were fascinated with the children. Giovanni noticed the way they commented on their eyes. The reaction was a mix of shock, a few double blinked in disbelief, and others looked on with adoration. He couldn't settle on whether they were in friendly territory or not. And he still hadn't met the family that Mirabella said would be present. Before him now were strangers and more strangers and the minster.

The Reverend smiled broadly. He made a big production of greeting each one of them with a familiar hug. Which Giovanni accepted his welcome stiffly Marietta seems to be open to all the attention, and Lorenzo indifferent. It was then that the other parishioners and townspeople felt the approval was granted for them to swarm in. Taking the lead was Mirabella's long lost family. Giovanni was overwhelmed with well-wishers. Everyone that reached him wanted to share how they were related to Mirabella. Marietta was pulled away and surrounded by women. And the kids. Gianni howled and cried reaching for him; Gino shook his head hard to say no to a woman trying to coax him into her arms, and Eve also began to cry and turn away from the attention. The people touched their hair, kissed their faces, and every single one of them made comments about their physical appearance.

It was enough to make Giovanni want to go for the gun he kept discreet strapped to his ankle and fire a warning shot in the air. Thankfully Mirabella interceded. She took Gianni from one stranger and had another put Eve down. She brought the kids in close and moved closer to him as she presented her family with pride. Giovanni was grateful for his sunglasses. At least he was partially able to mask his discomfort. For one, he and Lorenzo including the kids had never been around so many black people at once before. For another, the people of Apple Grove, though American, spoke with such heavy southern American drawls, that it was hard to understand them. They couldn't tell if they were greeting them or asking what time it was.

"Come, we have food. And games for the kids. Oh hi, I'm her second cousin Deloris. My mama is Tanya, she was first cousins with Lisa, her mother, and our grandmother were sisters. Over there was Pete, and Dylan, they were both the sons of Auntie Melanie, who is her first cousin. And right there is Uncle Timmy; he's Clyde Sr.’s brother. Kevin and Eric are my sons, they right there. And you have to meet Uncle Derek. He on the grill over there..."

Giovanni stopped listening. He stepped back instead of forward, to look for a break in the crowd. Eve clutched his pant leg in her little hand. He swept her up in his arms and walked away to cool his anxiety. It was too uncommon for him to have people in his face, and touching him, and speaking to him at once. He didn't do crowds. Not even his own family moved him in such a forward way.

"Family can be a bit much," A man approached from the left. He turned his head and met the cold stare of a dark skinned man the same height and build as him.

"Papa, voglio andare a casa--I wanna go home," Eve said.

He patted her back to reassure her. The man moved his toothpick in his mouth and glanced to Mirabella when he spoke. "Welcome to Apple Grove, you must be the husband I see on television. Mia's husband?"

Giovanni didn't bother to answer because it felt more like a statement than a question.

"I'm Cutter," the man said.

And then he knew his instincts were correct. He glanced to Mirabella who was staring at the man, and then to the man himself. Eve hugged his neck tighter when a family member came over to try to coax her from his arms. He wanted to continue the conversation with the man named Cutter, but after Giovanni refused to shake his hand walked away. Two other men, taller than Cutter and Giovanni both, with muscled shoulders and arms, big enough to rival Nico, flanked him. They headed to the tent where the food was offered.

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