Page 164 of La Dolce Vita

Eve started protesting the touch of the stranger in Italian. She told the woman to go away repeatedly. The woman didn't understand her, and she continued to reach for his daughter.

"Vaffanculo," Giovanni said in Italian. In a reflex reaction, he told her to fuck off. The woman’s eyes stretched. She looked horrified by Giovanni's sharp biting tone and manner. Though she didn't know what he said, it was clear what he meant. She stepped back and then away. He wanted to apologize. He didn't want to leave a wrong impression. But seeing Cutter, the man who caused his wife so much pain, left him reeling. He wasn't used to having to suppress so many emotions at once. If a person made him uncomfortable or angry in any way, he dealt with it.

Mirabella walked over. His wife carried Gianni. She had an older woman and the woman named Minnie with her. Giovanni couldn't see where Gino was carried off to, or who took him. He decided at that moment it was best to leave. He didn't know what he might say or do next.

"Eve, sweetheart. See Gino, look over there..." Mirabella said.

Eve lifted her head from Giovanni's shoulder. She looked to where her mother pointed. There was an inflatable blue castle. Kids were being helped inside. The children jumped and did flips. Gino was going in with the support of Lorenzo and two other women. He didn't see where Marietta had gone off to. Apparently, Lorenzo had got over any apprehension he had. He smiled and laughed with several people.

"Come with me, sweetheart. Don't you want to play?" Mirabella asked.

"Yes," Eve agreed. She looked to her father. "Can I play?"

Giovanni wanted to refuse. Everything in him said he should refuse. But Mirabella had removed her sunglasses and pleaded with her eyes that he loosen up. He reluctantly put his daughter down. Gianni, when lowered, began to holler. Mirabella gave him over to Giovanni. She knelt and made the introductions. "You remember Minnie, don't you?"

Eve nodded.

"She has a granddaughter that wants to see you. She wants to play with you."

"Va bene,I want to meet her," Eve said.

"She speaks Italian. She's so cute!" the other woman with Minnie exclaimed.

Minnie extended her hand. Eve looked to her mother and then to the woman. She took her hand and let her lead the way.

"We'll join you both in a few minutes," Mirabella said.

The women left with his daughter. The moment they were out of hearing distance he opened his mouth to speak, but Mirabella silenced him with her own voice. "I know it's a bit overwhelming, sweetheart. They don't mean any harm. It was shocking to see me after all this time. Most weren't sure how I would be, so they are... just trying to make us feel welcome."

"But--"

"Giovanni." She gave him a stern look. "Since the day I married you I have been thrust into your world. Accepting of your culture and our differences. You will do the same for me. And you will do it with respect. Do you understand?"

He could say nothing but nod his head in agreement.

"Remember this church, the land that this church sits on, all of it, we own. Those people, most of them, work in my factories. We own it. It was the first thing I bought when I made my first million. And today, for the first time since I buried my grandfather, I am going to see his grave. I need you to be your charming self. So I don't fall apart."

"Si,Bella. I will be," he said. “Come closer.”

Mirabella stepped to him. He touched the side of her face with the back of his hand. And then leaned in and seized a kiss. She was so beautiful to him, even more, when she was disciplining him. He leaned in and kissed her before her world. Mirabella's arms lifted and went around his neck. The kiss ended far too soon, but it delivered the message he wanted to send. Everyone in the Campania knew how close to his heart his family was. Now the people of Apple Grove would learn the same.

Mirabella let him go first and wiped her lipstick from his mouth. "Some people here think I bought the town to flaunt my wealth. Others think I'm cold and selfish to my family because they are still farmers and factory workers. I just want you to understand why there may be a little tension."

"And Cutter?" Giovanni asked. "Is he here to send some kind of message to you?"

"I don't care about Cutter. What happened between us was over a decade ago. He doesn't matter to me. And I don't want you to let him get under your skin. Please? No matter what, we ignore him."

Giovanni chuckled. That wasn't the answer she hoped for, but it was the only one he'd offer. He looked up and saw his children laughing and screaming with delight. Lorenzo and Marietta were now walking off to the cemetery hand and hand.

“Your grandparents are buried here? Is that what the woman said earlier?”

Mirabella glanced back. She too saw Marietta venture inside the private cemetery.

"That's a historical site here in Virginia. Slave graves and our family roots can be traced back there. My grandfather too. I used to think I wanted to be buried there as well."

"What? Away from the kids and me!" Giovanni said with a fake gasp.

"Excuse you; my kids are buried with me," Mirabella said.

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