Page 35 of Prideful Union
I shake my head as I push my eggs around on my plate. “I don’t date.”
“You don’t date?”
“I don’t date,” I reiterate. “What’s the point? We’re already married.”
She huffs. “The point is to have fun. And spend time together. I want to get to know you better, Santino. If we’re stuck in this marriage, we might as well make the most of it.”
“I don’t feel like I’m stuck.”
“Well, I do. And I want to go on a date. So, we’re going.”
I look over at her. “Just like that?”
She shrugs. “Just like that.” With another wink, she takes a bite of her scone. “Also, I know where we should go.”
“I’m hesitant to ask, but where?”
“There’s this place called Roma World. We should go.”
I frown. “Never heard of it.”
“Of course, you haven’t. It sounds fun, and you never have fun. Apparently, it’s like some form of reenactment type thing. In America, we have medieval times, which is where you dress up and pretend you’re in medieval … times.” She laughs. “I can see your face. You hate this idea.”
“Of course, I do. It sounds cheap and tacky.”
“It sort of is. But apparently, this Roma World is a place where you can dress up as a gladiator and do shit like that. You’d be good at it. Take your anger out on other people by partaking in a sword fight.”
“No,” I say.
“Come on. We can get dressed up. Have a fun day out. Let’s do it.”
“I’m not going to subject myself to this, Lucia.”
“Then I’m going. You can either join me or not. But if you’re with me, then you don’t need to worry about what your men will think of me. I’ll be safe if I’m with you. Give me something, Santino. Bend a little.” She leans back in her chair. “Besides, I think you want to have some fun. Just for one day. Please.”
I take a moment to look at her. Lucia’s eyes are wide and pleading. I know I’ve been hard on her. I’m a stubborn man. But what she’s suggesting sounds like literal torture.
She has a point, though—if we ever want this marriage to work, maybe I need to bend a little. Lucia hasn’t become submissive just because I want her to be. If I give her something, maybe she’ll give me something in return.
“Fine,” I finally say. “We can go to this …”
“Roma World.”
I sigh. This is going to kill me. I just know it.
A couple of days later,we arrive at Roma World. It’s a tacky, cheesy, and silly reenactment place where people dress up like they’re in ancient Rome and pretend to be gladiators and practice archery and other lame shit.
I’m wearing my typical suit. Lucia couldn’t convince me to wear anything else. I don’t give a damn that I look out of place.
Lucia, on the other hand, is wearing a light blue gown that looks reminiscent of ancient times. I’ll admit, she looks good.
But that’s all I’ll admit.
When we enter the park, a woman near the front checking tickets makes a show of looking me over. But it’s not in a sexual way. It’s critical.
“You’re not dressed up,” she says in Italian.
“I’m a suit guy,” I respond. “My wife is making me do this.”
