A FRYING PAN SIZZLED in the kitchen of Juan Alves’s house as Miles Capadonno dropped another handful of raw chicken into the pan of simmering oil. With the stereo playing Bruce Springsteen’s Essential album, Miles swayed along with the beat as he prepared dinner. The sound of Letty and Juan’s spat had been drowned out by the music and Miles was happy for that, because no kid should have to listen to his mother’s distressed cries. Miles hoped that Letty and Juan would come to a happy conclusion. The way he saw it, no matter what Juan’s opinion was, Miles was in Letty’s life now. There would be no getting rid of him, unless he hired the Capadonnos himself, and let’s face it, Juan and Michael Capadonno were not exactly BFFs.
G sat happily in his booster seat at the kitchen table, nibbling on a manila wafer Miles found in Juan’s pantry. Beating his hands along with the tempo of the song, “Blinded by the Light,” G seemed to share Miles’s passion for the Boss’s music.
“Tell you what kid, you’ve got style. I like that...” Miles said with a laugh as G squealed along to the music.
Grabbing a spoon off of a hook on the wall, Miles stirred the chicken, and proceeded to pour a bag of brown rice into a pan.
“It won’t be as good as your momma’s cookin’ but it’ll be all right,” Miles said to G.
G seemed to agree with Miles’s statement as he covered his face with one of his tiny hands.
“I know, man. I know,” Miles said with a smile.
“What’s goin’ on out here?” Letty asked with a smile as she emerged in the kitchen with a tear-streaked face. Juan followed behind her with an embarrassed look upon his face.
“G and I are attempting to cook dinner...” Miles said with a laugh as he scooped some of the chicken from the pan. Though he was no Emeril Lagasse, Miles’s chicken was perfectly fried to a golden crisp.
Letty crossed the kitchen floor and placed her hands on Miles’s back, giving him a gentle kiss between his shoulder blades. Grabbing a tissue from the box on the counter top, Letty wiped her face and gave Miles a sheepish smile. Juan, catching Miles’s attention, cleared his throat. Peering over his shoulder at Juan, Miles nodded his head respectfully at Juan. Miles noticed Letty’s father was holding a large army-green metal box that was secured with a combination lock. Lifting an eyebrow, Miles gave Juan a knowing smile. Moving aside to allow Letty take over the cooking of the meal, Miles leaned against the kitchen counter, keeping Juan in his sight. As Juan placed the metal box on the kitchen table, he finally spoke.
“I did what I thought I needed to in order to keep my daughter safe,” Juan explained, giving Miles an apologetic look.
Nodding at Juan, Miles understood why he did what he did. He tried to put himself in the man’s shoes. His only daughter at age seventeen was involved with a member of the Capadonno family. Miles shrugged.
“If it were my daughter, I probably would have done the same.”
“I’m still not cool with this,” Juan said as he pointed to Miles and Letty. “But Letty has made it clear that, in her words, ‘She is a grown-ass woman and she isn’t about to let me dictate who she can and cannot see.’ Don’t hurt my baby and we won’t have a problem, son…”
Juan had a serious look upon his face as he stared up at Miles. There was a foot of difference between the men. As Miles stared down at Juan, he didn’t feel as if he was a bigger man than Juan. The two were on equal footing.
“I’d never dream of it, Mr. Alves.”
“Just call him One,” Letty laughed. “G does.”
“Funny…” Juan said as he gave his daughter a wink. “Hey son…” Juan said to Miles, bringing him back into the conversation.
“Yeah, boss…”
“That boy right there,” Juan said as he nodded towards G. “He’s our whole world. Don’t you let nothing happen to him.”
Miles glanced over at G as a heavy feeling weighed in his heart. Giving Letty an emotional glance, Miles replied, “I would go to the ends of the earth for your daughter, and that extends to G, and everyone else she loves. You have my word, Mr. Alves.”
“It’s Juan.”
“One!” G corrected.
Letty smiled as she focused on the meal she was preparing. As her eyes welled with tears, she stroked it away with her free hand as she dished out the meal onto round plates.
“All right everyone, it’s dinner time…”
Passing a plate to each of the men that held a piece of her heart, Letty prepared to sit down to the first meal of the rest of her life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THE FRONT DOOR of the Capadonno residence swung open as Fish hobbled through with a limp. Holding a white pastry box in his left hand, Fish closed the heavy door with his free hand. Casting a look of frustration towards the men that filled up the chairs around Michael Capadonno’s bed, Fish looked fit to be tied.
“’Bout time you showed up!” Tony Bergoglio called out with a disgruntled look upon his face. He wiped his hand on the pants of his track suit, the white powder of cocaine leaving a white smudge on the black material. “I called you last winter! Fuckin’ donuts are probably melted!”
“Like you need any more fuckin’ donuts!” Big Bang said followed by a round of boisterous laughter.
“Last winter…” Fish replied as a flash of rage crossed his face. “I got a fuckin’ bullet in my shoulder! Insensitive pricks!” Fish complained as he dropped the box of pastries on the coffee table with a thud.
“Aye!” Michael Capadonno called out, his face turning a vibrant shade of red. “The fuck’s your problem, huh?”