Page 47 of The Deadly Candies

Matteo drew on his cigar and let the window down to exhale. “I’m back now. Things are going to change for Debbie. For all of you.”

“Why did you come back?Why?” Junior demanded. “I’m not talking about back to your family. I’m talking about back to us!”

“You’re my family,” Matteo said simply, as if that explained everything.

The car pulled up to a warehouse on the East Side, owned by Matteo. The lights were cut off as they drove through the gates.

Junior’s fists are clenched on his knees. The car shut down, and Matteo’s men got out, leaving them alone in the dark car.

“Tonight, she wanted to explain herself to you, Junior, apologize for all the lies she and José were forced to tell because of me,” Matteo said, his voice softer now. “She takes the blame on herself. But none of it is her fault. Debbie is an angel. Perfect.”

“I know whose fault it is,” Junior snapped, his voice cracking with emotion. “I saw you. I saw what you did! He is my father! Not you!”

Matteo put the cigar out with his thumb. “You’re my son. My firstborn. I wanted you to have my name, and I couldn’t give it to you. Best I could do was name you Junior. You aremine. I lost control… Ifucked up.But you came from my nuts, not his. You made of me. That’s why you were able to put that man down in that alley. Yea, I saw that. We were parked up ahead, watching. That’s why you the only one left out of the Council and all these motherfuckers fear you. Me!Capisce?”

“Fuck you, man!” Junior cried, his voice breaking.

Matteo chuckled. He flicked the cigar out the window. “I hated my father, too. I still do. I go to the cemetery to piss on his grave,” said Matteo.

Junior frowned but said nothing.

“I know a talk from your mother is not enough to cure you of years of hate for me. She wants to baby you; keep you close to her breast. I know what you really need. You a man now? Huh? I’m going to treat you like one. Starting now.”

Junior looked over to him a bit wary.

“I love you,” Matteo said, his voice steady but heavy with emotion. “I’m not going to let you go into the jungle uncovered. You’re a Ricci. You’re heir to my father’s throne, not Nicolas. You. And before this fucking world takes me out, I’m going to make it all up to my Debbie, to my boys, to my baby girl. That’s why I crawled out of hell in prison to come home. It’s the only reason I left that cell. To do it right one last time. We are famiglia.”

“Then why’d you leave us in Harlem?” Junior shot back. “Got my mama sneaking around to see you like she’s some?—”

Matteo’s dark gaze cut over to him, sharp and dangerous, and Junior fell silent. He didn’t doubt his father loved his mother, and he didn’t doubt Matteo would carve him up if he disrespected her. But he doubted everything else.

“That’s gonna change,” Matteo said, his voice firm but tinged with desperation. “You hear me, son? Everybody’s gonna know. You ain’t staying in no hole, you ain’t a street hustler, or being pushed away. You’re my blood, and they’re gonna fucking respect it. Car, penthouse, money, whores—that ain’t shit. You want an operation of your own, look at it.”

Junior’s gaze went to the warehouse and property.

“It’s yours. It’s the beginning. You’re gonna have more than that. You’re going to have my name.”

Junior’s gaze returned to Matteo, confusion and anger warring inside of him. Matteo grabbed him by the face, and Junior tried to break free. He fought hard and his dad’s grip remain firm but not harsh.

“My boy.My blood,I wish my father were alive to see who I make sure you will become, what you will do with his legacy. The remake ofla famiglia,” Matteo said, his voice breaking for the first time. He pressed his forehead to Junior’s, his breath hot and unsteady. “I don’t know how long I’ve got this time. But before they take me out, you will be my pride, and I will teach you how to respect your mama and protect your sister and brother. Nothing’s gonna stop us. Not even your anger with me. So, deal with it. No one is going to keep us apart again.”

Junior began to cry. The years of trauma and hurt exploded from him at that moment. Matteo pulled him into his arms as he once did when Junior was a young boy, confused by what he saw. He held him tight, and the last of Junior’s defenses slipped. He hugged the father he always knew he had and cried out the years of pain of wanting him to be there for him. Glad that he was home.

16

Butts Mississippi, August 1949

[SOUND: A ROTARY PHONE RINGING, THEN A CLICK. STATIC CRACKLES OVER THE LINE.]

CARMELO(hoarse, breathless, like he’s been waiting by the phone for hours)

...Hello?

KATHY(soft, trembling—her voice is a shock to him after so long)

Melo? It’s me.

CARMELO(a choked sound—half-laugh, half-sob)

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