Page 34 of Memento Mori
“As far as these guests are concerned, fuck them.” Antonio averted his gaze from his mother and scanned the crowded main living room, where everyone had congregated with drinks and appetizers. “Excuse me!” he shouted over the chatter. “Can I have everyone’s attention?”
The guest quieted down, and everyone focused on Antonio.
“Me and my lovely wife, Aaliyah, would like to thank each of you for coming today and celebrating the life of my father. He would have appreciated all the thoughtful and kind words you have given his family in their time of grief.”
“Don Rizzo!” sounded throughout the house. “Don Rizzo!”
Antonio allowed the cheers for his father to last briefly, then raised his hand to quiet the crowd.
“Thank you again. Like I’ve stated we appreciate the outpouring of support, but now we would ask you all to exit the premises unless you are family, so we can all grieve our loss in private.”
Uncertain of what to do, everyone glanced around. According to Antonio, these things lasted well into the night, and only ended when guests decided they were ready to leave. The family usually had no say when guests decided they’d shown enough respect for the deceased.
“What are you doing?!” His mother harshly grabbed his arm whispering in his ear. “This is a day of mourning for everyone in this room. You don’t kick my guests out of my house.”
“I’m the head of this family, Marianna. Papa is dead and gone. God rest his soul. And I don’t need to explain shit to you.” He snatched his arm from her tight grasp. “Now, Aaliyah and I need to say our proper goodbyes, and then we all need to have a conversation, because it seems some of you have forgotten who the hell I am and what your fucking places are.”
We walked to the main entrance of the house leaving his mother fuming, her perfect olive skin was now beet red. We thanked everyone for coming and for their condolences that were only for show as they left. When the last guest exited, and only the soldiers, made men, and leaders of the family remained we locked the door.
“Abel, could you make sure no one comes in or out without my permission?” Antonio instructed, and Abel nodded. “Let’s go get this shit straight.”
I smirked at Abel before we walked into a room where most of the men hated my guts. He knew Antonio was about to assert his power, and I could feel the tension building in the air.
Abel informed me months ago, Tony’s men had loose lips, and he needed to get a handle on it before he ended up killing one of them. And today was the day there would be no mistake who held the power in this family.
I loved this dominant side of him and most of these men saw me as weak for one reason or another. Not good enough for Antonio and definitely not good enough to carry the title of Donna. The reason was never important to me. But today we would make it known I would not cower to any of them regardless of their feelings. In this culture where women don’t speak against the men, they would learn soon enough that was their culture, not mine. No, they did not have to like me, but they damn well better respect me. Or pay the consequences.
“Everyone, thank you for coming today. Although today is a day of mourning, today is also a day we are going to get some shit straight. So, when I ask a question, I expect an answer.”
As Antonio addressed the men in the room, everyone looked at us like we’d lost our damn minds while they shifted around uncomfortably. We always put on a united front. And there was some underhanded shit going on and today was a day of reckoning that had been a long time coming.
“If you lie to us, then you lose your life,” I chimed in, and everyone’s eyes got as big as saucers. “It’s as simple as that, gentlemen. If we can’t trust you to tell simple truths, what good are you to this family?”
“Now does everyone understand the seriousness of this situation?” Tony asked.
Yes boss, and yes Don echoed throughout the room. Antonio clapped, quieting everyone down.
“Good.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Now that we have an understanding let’s begin, shall we gentlemen? It has been brought to my attention that my mother, and I use that term loosely, has informed my men not to refer to my wife as Donna. Is that correct?”
The men looked at one another with fear shining clearly in their eyes but they remained quiet.
“Antonio this is uncalled for. You cannot threaten these men because of this woman,” Marianna shouted, pointing towards me, the usual disdain for me marring her face. “They are right. She will never be accepted. She is not one of us and will never be Donna of this family if I have anything to say about it.”
“But that’s what you fail to see Marianna,” Tony said. “You have no say in anything concerning the Rizzo family anymore. The little power you wielded when Papa was alive was buried with him today.”
She gasped, clutching the string of black pearls hanging around her neck. Marianna had no power because we didn’t want her to have any power. We took the warning from my father-in-law seriously. Marianna Rizzo was not to be trusted. And I heard just about enough from her. It was time she saw the real me.
With every step I took towards her, the sound of my heels reverberated off the sleek ebony hardwood floors, until I was standing in front of the self-righteous bitch.
“So, my dear mother-in-law what we are not going to do is disrespect me further, especially in my home.”
I spoke where everyone could hear. Today was the day I made it known that this was my home. I was Tony’s better half. And I was everyone’s Donna including my husband’s bitch of a mother.
“This is not your home!” she shouted. “It will never be your home!”
I ignored her. Unlike her, we were already aware of the specific contents of Papa Rizzo’s Last Will and Testament. We were there to witness the changes. She owned nothing. She’d been giving a home off the property in Antonio’s name and enough money in a bank account Alessandro would oversee for her to live comfortably until the day she died. But this house was now ours. The Famiglia and all its holdings were my husband’s. She was left with nothing.
“You have no say in what goes on in this family, just as Antonio has stated. It’s time to step aside, before I force you aside. And Marianna trust me, you do not want to make me angry.”
