“You look beautiful, Mom.”
Calla reaches out her arms to her mother. I get up off the bed. The two of them stay in a long embrace. Cecily inspects Calla, fussing with her pillows and introducing her to the doctor. John and I stand leaning up against the wall, arms crossed. Neither one of us can take our eyes off of the two women before us. Calla needs her mom right now, and she needs to talk to the doctor.
I push myself away from the wall, giving John a glance. He follows me out the door. I say nothing. Neither does he. All of us have known she lost our baby and have had the time to grieve. Now it’s her turn.
***
“There she is!” Lola greets Calla in the kitchen.
“My God, you are the spitting image of your mother when she was your age!”
She leans in, pecking both of Calla’s cheeks.
“I take that as a compliment,” my wife grins. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
I sit back in my chair at the kitchen table, watching Cecily and Lola fuss over Calla as if she were a child. I know she’s itching to get the hell out of here. The doctor told her she had to take it easy for a few more weeks, and then set up a follow up appointment to see her in a few weeks.
She looks great. Perfect. I watch her in awe as she delicately picks at her food. Small portions is what the doctor recommended. She wasn’t too happy about that at all. My girl is craving a cheeseburger, of all things. Knowing her she’ll get what she wants one way or another.
“Excuse us, ladies. Gentlemen, shall we talk in my office?” Salvatore suggests after he greets Calla.
He whispers something in her ear and she nods her head, glancing my way with a wink. I wink back, knowing all too well he feels it’s time to address her. See where her head’s at. As her husband, I wish he would give her more time. I know better than to ask, so I bow out of the kitchen like a dog with my tail between my goddamned legs. My mind reels, not only with worry for her. It’s everything. I’m a thief. I haven’t had my hands on a new gun in a long time. I get off on the way the smooth, cold steel feels when I glide my hands down it. Fuck me. I miss it.
“Manny. What the hell dude? When did you get here?”
We do our usual bro hugging bullshit. He follows us into the office, closing the door securely behind him.
“Just got here. Calla doing all right?”
He nods in my direction when I take a seat. He doesn’t need to ask me if I told her. The true meaning behind his question is captured in his tone.
“Yeah. She is.”
Manny spreads his arms wide jokingly.
“So, what’s up, Dad? Why are we all here?”
“Sit your ass down, punk,” Salvatore says, waving to a chair. “We’re damn lucky, you all know this, right?”
“We do. Any news?” John asks.
“On the whereabouts of Royal? Nothing. He’s vanished. My guess is he’ll be gone for quite some time. I did have a phone conversation with Ivan this morning.”
He looks at John, gauging his reaction. John’s nostrils flare. His hand clenches tightly around his coffee cup.
“And?” John lifts his head, meeting Salvatore’s eyes.
“He knows we have a hit out on Royal. He stands by his word. He knows nothing. He’s insistent that Royal acted on his own. Our families work together on this. Am I clear?”