Page 81 of Fortress of the Soul

“Mom, I’m good. Just checking up on you on the way to the casino.”

“I’m doing well, honey; Ken and I were just talking about you.”

My mouth turns up in a smile. “Really? My ears weren’t burning.”

She laughs. “No, the fact you’ve missed the last few Sunday dinners. I will cook for you, sweetheart, when can you come over?”

“I’ll have to give you a raincheck on that one. Things have been so busy at work.”

Of course, Mom knows the circle I run with, but she’s known the Medicis a long time too, so she has had a lot of time to get used to the idea.

“Pizza Friday, Enz?”

“Maybe, Mom.” I can’t help but laugh. We’ve been doing that since I was a kid. “How is Ken?”

“Ken’s going well. You know how he is, he never stops.”

Ken has a pet shop franchise and is involved in a lot of dog charity work. Mom retired a few years back. She helps Ken with some of the charity stuff, but she prefers to spend time at home, living the quiet life with their golden retriever, Ruby. I can hardly blame her either.

My phone buzzes then with another incoming call, it’s Valentina.

“Mom, I have to go; I’ll call you later. Will let you know about Friday.”

“All right, honey, I hope you can make it. You work too hard.”

It’s a curse sometimes at being good at what you do. Mom is much happier now I’m not investigating as much; she considers my job now with Fortress Industries less for her to worry about.

“You know how it is, Mom. Talk to you soon.”

“Love you, Enzo.”

“Love you too.”

We disconnect and I answer Valentina right away. I’m about to make some remark about her flawless beauty and how great her body felt pressed up against me last night, but the pause in the time it takes her to speak and me say to her name to make sure she’s there, tells me something’s wrong.

“E?” she cries down the phone.

My heart does a somersault, and my back straightens right away.

“Val, what’s wrong?”

She’s crying so uncontrollably that my heart feels like it’s going to pulse out of my chest in anticipation of what she’s going to say.

“Val, are you physically okay?”

“I’m okay,” she sniffs, and I almost relax a little bit. “It’s not me, it’s Ma.”

“What’s wrong with your ma?” I ask her. For fuck’s sake, this is a call you never want to get..

She sobs some more. “I… I went to find her after I woke up and made coffee…”

Oh God, I don’t know if I can listen to this. I’ve no fucking clue what she’s about to tell me, but this isn’t sounding very good.

“And she was lying there, on the floor!”

My heart leaps in my chest as I swiftly change directions toward her place.

“Is your mom okay?” I practically shout down the phone.

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