Page 36 of Still Forever
I nodded.
“Listen, G. You better talk and talk fast. If I get killed before the Car Show this year, I’ma be pissed.” He gritted as we all filed into the estate.
We walked through the long hallway, which looked more like a Mafia Museum than anything. There were long velvet curtains, sculptured heads on display of the founding members of the Mafia, and a chapel that was used to swear you in as a member of the Elites. We were led to the back area of the estate to a wide grassy area about an acre in size. The long table, centered, was surrounded by flowers and about fifteen other smaller tables.
The elites from New York, as well as those I had met in Italy, were here to ensure that this alliance was complete. It was pressure, but nothing that I couldn’t handle.
As soon as we arrived at the back door, everyone stood and clapped. I nodded my respect, and then we all sat at the center table. My parents arrived right after we sat down, and my mother came up to me and kissed my cheek before she took her seat next to Trouble.
My father came to me and looked me in the eye, “Are you okay, son?” He questioned.
“I won’t be okay until tomorrow, and maybe not then,” I answered him truthfully. He nodded and patted my shoulder twice for comfort.
Remy’s mother came up to me and introduced herself, along with her sister. I stood to hug them both. Her daddy sat at the end of the table, smoking a cigar and looking like he had just won the lottery, and he couldn’t have been more wrong. I chuckled at him.
“You aight, Shorty?” I asked as I leaned over to Remy.
“Perfect,” she said as she sipped from her drink.
One person after another came up to us and offered their congratulations, giving Remy gifts. I shook hands and said that I appreciated them, all the while knowing that shit was about to go south.
After the brunch was served, the Matron, Grace, got up and delivered the toast. She used a small spoon to tap on the side of the wine flute.
“Family… friends… soldiers and survivors. Today, we gather to honor something sacred. Not just a union of love—but a merging of legacies.” I held my glass in the air, but zoned out as soon as she said a union of love. I was waiting for the right moment to move, but I was getting impatient. Remy must have sensed it; she grabbed my hand underneath the table and squeezed it. I cut my eyes at her, and she mouthed the words“you got this.”
“Let’s all salute to Mr. and Mrs. Jaxon Jennings,”
“To Jennings,” Everyone said before they raised their glasses higher and took a sip. I set my shit on the table, making Judah laugh.
Once the brunch was over, and everyone had stood up from their chairs and was mingling in the garden, I nodded to Trouble and Judah. We slowly stood from our chairs and made our way to the table that held those same niggas from the Summit. Again, I knew the rules when in the presence of the Don of all Don’s. Yet, I bypassed the two men on guard and walked right up to his table, attempting to hand him a recorder. At the same time, Trouble and Judah had guns pointed at the heads of his underbosses.
The whole room erupted, guns cocked, women screamed, and faces dropped. The guns of almost every man in the room were trained on the three of us. The calm look never leftTrouble’s face as he said, “I suggest y’all calm down and hear what the fuck he has to say before you’re down a couple men.”
The pressure was on. Even if just one nigga wanted to move up in the rankings and felt trigger happy, it’d be over for us.
"C’è un topo dentro la tua famiglia." (You have a rat in the family). I said as I pressed the button on the tape recorder that I had been having translated for weeks. When the audio came on, it was Mateo’s son-in-law having a phone conversation with a detective. While Mateo flew to the States, he planned to raid his estate and collect information for their investigation into the death of one of their agents.
“Call back home and have your security go inside the home now to catch him there,” the recording continued, detailing all the plans that his son-in-law and the detective had made. His face fell as he sat back in his chair. He didn’t show any emotion for a second, then he waved his hand for every man in the room to lower their guns. But even when they did, Trouble and Judah stayed trained on the underbosses.
"Ti rispetto… ma perché mi dai una mano?" (My respect, why are you giving me a hand?) He asked.
“I just saved your entire family and organization from tragedy. Now I need you to do something for me.” I set the recorder on the table in front of him. Letting the weeks’ worth of Italian tapes continue to play. “Call off the alliance with the Cross family.”
"Allora non vi sposate?" (so, then you’re not getting married) He asked. That fucked me up. I had only been studying to have this conversation with him for three weeks. I don’t know what the fuck he said.
I looked at the guy that Trouble had the gun aimed at, “What did he just say?” I questioned. He gritted his teeth like he didn’t want to help me. Trouble cocked the gun.
“He asked if you don’t want to get married.” He spat, still being held by the back of his collar.
I turned back toward The Don. “No. We don’t agree to the alliance. Call off the weddings for my brother and me.”
All eyes were on us; the entire outside was hushed as they watched the interaction unfolding around them.
He was quiet, and his jaw ticked as he tapped the tips of his fingers together. I held his stare, breaking all the rules as I waited for him to come to a decision.
“Very well. No wedding.” He said in a thick accent. I reached out to shake his hand, but he didn’t take it. Then he said something else, giving me a long spill. He lost me from the first sentence. I looked back over at the man still held at gunpoint for him to do his newly assigned job as translator.
He scoffed before he said, “The Don says that you move with heart. And that’s dangerous. But maybe you are what this life needs. And he’ll call off the alliance. Not because he agrees, but because men like you don’t come around often. But he wants you to remember that hearts win wars, but also get men buried. For the things that you have done for him, your organization will receive a permanent seat at his table as National elite members.”
