Page 32 of Beguiled and Broken

My spine tingled when she said thelastname. She was talking about the Romano’s from Naples. I was supposed to marry their daughter. I felt all the blood drain from my face.

“Vinny, you look pale. Sit down.” Ma led me to the table.

I whispered, “What happened, Ma?” and glanced over to the living room. Cat was still slouched on the couch with the kids leaning on her.

“Raffe called to give his condolences for your Nonno. But also…” she let out a deep sigh, “...to tell us they don’t know where Sophia is.” My spine tingled again as she leaned on the table and sat down. She sighed and said, “She’s missing.”

“Sophia? I assume that’s the woman I was supposed to marry. What do you mean she’s missing?”

“I mean just what I said. She’s missing. The reason the family never pushed for your marriage to her is because she has mental health problems and disappeared. No one has seen or talked to her in about ten years.”

The weight of years fell off my shoulders. I knew the Romanos wouldn’t expect me to agree to an arranged marriage to their missing and mentally unstable daughter and I felt like I dodged a bullet. I could barely keep up the whispering, but said, “So, no arranged marriage. What a fuckin’ relief!”

“Vincenzo Leonardo…watch the way you speak to your mama. I won’t have that here and you know it.”

“I’m sorry, ma, I’m sorry. I’m just glad to be done with that.”

She shook her head. “I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry for Sophia too. I hope she finds help, wherever she is.”

“Yeah, me too.”

I had never told Bianca about any of this and I knew I should’ve. I was relieved, but I missed Bianca so much. “Ma, I never told Bianca about Sophia, and this arranged marriage situation.” I leaned on the table with my head in my hands. My palms pressed against my eyes. I was tired and I didn’t know what to do.

“Oh, Vinny! You have a good life at home, and you don’t need to worry about this anymore. The arrangement is over.”

I let out a long, deep sigh of relief and stood up. If my mother said it was over, then it was over. Ma stood up and suddenly seemed so small. I wondered how many years had passed since the arrangement had been made. She had lived with the weight of it for years too, and it looked like it had taken its toll.

Ma looked at Catarina and whispered, “Vinny…watch that girl. I don’t know who she is, but something about her doesn’t sit right with me. I know people. I know when something is off, and something is off about her.”

“Ok, ma. I’ll be careful. I gotta get the kids to bed, so we oughta go.” I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll see you tomorrow at the funeral. Ti amo, ma.”

“Ti amo, figlio.”

A part of me knew she was right, and the other part of me knew Catarina. She was a good worker and great with the kids, but she was also inappropriate at times, and whether it was intentional or not, it happened. I still didn’t know what to do about it.

Chapter 21

Vinny

I’d woken up feeling incredibly sad. The day had arrived that I would say goodbye to my grandfather forever. I laid in bed thinking about how much he had impacted my life, especially when my papa died. Visions of my wedding day flashed through my mind.

“Always watch your back. Always watch Bianca’s. No matter how far you go, it will never be far enough. Do you understand what I’m tellin’ you?”

Another memory flashed from the day my father died.

“He’s gone, Nonno. I don’t have anyone to play with me now. What do I do without him. Who will do teach me things?”

Nonno had his arm around my shoulder. He turned and bent down in front of me. “Vincenzo, I’m your nonno and I’ll be your papa, too. You had a wonderful papa. You’ll always have me and never be alone. You understand me?” I started to cry, and he hugged me. “You’ll always have me.” He wrapped his hand around the back of my head as I cried into him.

My eyes teared up as I laid in bed, remembering little moments with him. I wished he could’ve seen the kids just one more time. I wished he could be around forever. I knew it was impossible, but still. I’m lucky that I had him in my life for as long as I did. Running my hands down my face, I took a deep breath, let it out, and reached for the glass of water on the nightstand to take a drink.

The kids were asleep in the bed. Gianna started to wiggle awake. Her little eyes opened as she crawled out of bed and climbed up to me. She couldn’t get up on the bed on her own, so she said, “Papa, up.”

I smiled and reached for her. “Mio fiore.” I kissed the top of her head. “Why are you awake so early, baby girl?”

She nuzzled into me. “You wake up early, papa. You sad?”

I laughed a little. “Oh baby, I’m a little sad. But I have you.” I kissed the top of her head again.

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