Page 21 of Vita Mia

Chapter Five

April 15, 2018

Palermo, Sicily

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THE FLIGHT WAS NICE. Ryder had never traveled on a private jet. MiaBella, however, behaved as if they were on a city bus. She ignored the extravagance and complained about everything from the food to the drinks. The staff made every attempt to please her. She didn’t come off as spoiled or entitled. The agitation in her came from somewhere else, and it grew the closer they got to Sicily. He focused on remembering everything he could about her. Their intimacy could not leave his mind; he couldn’t help it. But what he forgot was her inquisitive nature. His silent treatment wasn’t allowed for too long. She chatted him up about everything in his life. The smallest details sounded like an adventure to her. All the while she gave him little about herself. She’d either turn quiet or change the subject when he asked.

The pilot announced the pending landing and Ryder felt his own anxiety surface. He’d stop taking Xanax when he felt he had developed a habit. He’d lost friends to opioids and he was careful not to repeat their mistakes. Now he wished he had the tiny pill.

“So, this is home for you?” Ryder asked.

“I grew up between Cuba and Sicily, yes.”

“Cuba? Really? Before Castro died?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“And Palermo? I’ve read a lot about it and the Mafia.”

“Don’t believe everything you read,” she muttered.

“I like conspiracies remember? Stories about the Mafia are big in the U.S.”

She smiled and nodded.

“I didn’t live in Palermo, mostly in Bagheria, and Mondello. But I’ve spent time in other places. When I was five years old my family relocated to Cuba. Then we... we came back to Bagheria when I was six. I was put in school here on the island for three years, before we left again to live in Cuba.”

“Oh? Why the back and forth?”

“You’ll learn soon enough,” she said softly.

“Okay?”

“Anyway, that time went fast. When I was seventeen we returned to Mondello and that’s mostly where we’ve been ever since. I’m done with school.”

“You were at NYU?”

“Yep. I finished. A few months ago my sister opened her office in Los Angeles. I moved with her. Now me, Jewel and Lola live in Los Angeles.”

“I know. I’ve seen Lola’s Instagram page. You’re always somewhere in the picture.”

“Really? You’ve been curious?”

He kept himself in check. She looked disappointed at his failure to respond with a flirty response. “Ryder?” she reached over and touched his hand. “I promise you, you’re safe with my family. No one is going to hurt you.”

“That’s not what my aunt says. She told me not to believe the media that you are a legitimate family now. She said you are stillCamorra. And I remember you saying it too.”

“We’re a family. We aren’t perfect. But I love them. I love my parents. They’ve paid for their mistakes Ryder. All my mother wants to do is be left alone. The world is different now. You could go unnoticed when she was younger. We have paparazzi and YouTube vlogger’s peeking in at us wherever we go. I want to help my mother keep her privacy.”

“But telling her story makes her a target. That makes no sense.”

“By controlling the narrative, you can remove the target. I think my family should give them the truth and let them spin it however they want. But give them the story to end the conspiracy theories.”

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