Page 193 of La Dolce Vita

“Everything cool Gio?”

“Yes. We’ll have a little chat with Cutter and be home before sunrise.” Giovanni said.

“You and Henry stay in touch?”

“He’s family. And family mean everything.” Giovanni pushed up. He walked off the porch and collected the glass his wife dropped. When he returned Lorenzo’s heated gaze followed.

“Gio.”

“Yes?” Giovanni said.

“Forget it.” Lorenzo turned and went inside. Giovanni followed.

Mirabella looked up when the men came inside. Henry was in the kitchen on the phone. She could barely hear anything of his muffled conversation. She and Marietta waited on the sofa chairs. Gianni slept in her arms. On the floor, Eve and Gino played with lego’s and puzzle pieces she retrieved from an old toy chest in her room.

“Everything okay?” Mirabella asked.

Giovanni glanced to Henry. He hung up the phone. “Gio. I know we said we could head out for that business around four, but my contact says we need to leave now. An opportunity just presented itself.”

“Leave?” Mirabella sat forward but held on to her son.

“Bella, I need to speak with you.” Giovanni went to the laundry room. Mirabella followed. She carried Gianni in her arms. He slept against her shoulder.

“He just got here? Where are you going?” she asked.

“It’s business. I’ll need to take the van. I’ll try to come back as soon as I can. Promise.”

“Gio. I was hoping we could spend the evening with kids. Maybe a late picnic. Plus I wanted to finish talking to you about my mother.”

At breakfast with her and her children, she shared the story of her mother and grandfather. Mirabella didn't know how she felt about it all. Giovanni listened and tried to be supportive. He was. It was difficult to learn the frailties of a parent. His wife seem to take hit after hit when it came to her family and her past.

He touched the side of her face. “I promise to come back soon. And then its just and the kids for the rest of the trip. Okay?”

She smiled. "Philadelphia is over six hours away. You won't be back until late, or sometime tomorrow. I don’t know about this. I was hoping you’d... well leave business back home.”

“Bella? Stop worrying. It’s my cousin. I haven’t seen him in a long time. I can handle it.”

Mirabella bit down on her lip. She blinked and looked away.

“Thanks for understanding.”

“Wait, who is this man to you?” Marietta said.

“I told you. He’s Giovanni’s cousin. Irish cousin.” Lorenzo said and checked the clip before he forced it up into the gun.

“Why are you taking that?” Marietta frowned.

“Business. We won’t be long.”

"I didn't hear him invite you. He said, Giovanni. You could stay. I was thinking that we could spend the night together talking. Like we did this morning. I might play my mother's album and we can listen to it."

Lorenzo walked over to her. “What is this about? You never give problems at home.” He lifted her chin. “What is it?”

“We’re in America. This isn’t Italy. You get caught with a gun and they can throw you in jail for a long time. We are supposed to stay low-key. Right?”

“I’m not going out to do a robbery. It’s just a friendly road trip.”

Marietta sighed. “Be careful. No drama. Promise me.”

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