The people blocking the door step aside and the new guests begin to fill in – about twenty of them. Some of the people are familiar to me but some are totally new. While everyone else fills in, I’m surprised to see my father standing still, narrowing his eyes at Kent, apparently confused. And then
“It is always good to be amongst our countrymen,” Natalia replies smoothly, not friendly but not cold. The four of them begin to chat lightly, then, and I quietly slip away from my spot beneath my father’s arm, moving to Daniel’s side. I nod back to the little alcove that we left, asking him as su
I open my mouth to say something – anything – but the girl on Ivan’s arm is quicker than me. “Daniel,” the young woman ways with a sweet smile, pretending she doesn’t notice the tension and breaking it as she takes a happy step forward towards Daniel. “Do you remember me?” Her voice has a slight R
Ivan stops and turns to me, still smiling but shaking his head. “Would you just trust me for a second, Fay?” he asks, a little exasperated. “I organized all of this – I’m the one who got your dad to come here tonight, and the Russians. Do you seriously think I don’t know how fucked we’d be if Lipper
“Stop, Fay,” Ivan orders, his voice suddenly serious. He puts his other hand on my waist and pulls me closer to him. Angry, I shove him again but Ivan doesn’t relent, his grip iron. “Fay,” he insists, his tone matching my anger now. I stop shoving and look up into his face, furious. “Let me go,” I
Slowly, I turn back to Natalia, having no idea what to do. “I knew it,” Natalia says the moment I turn to look at her, shaking her head at me but unable to suppress her smile. “I knew you were up to something, little Fay,” she continues, taking a few slow steps towards me. “I knew you didn’t love
We’re all absolutely silent in the limousine on the way home. Kent sits in the back corner of the car by the door, resting his forehead in his hand and staring down at his knees. While he’s still and silent, I can feel the tension radiating off of him – a mix of anger, and anxiety, and something els
I open my mouth to say something but Daniel just takes my arm and pulls me towards the stairs. I scowl but follow, holding my tongue and glaring over my shoulder at Kent’s tense form as he looks into the night. “Easy,” Daniel murmurs to me, like you would to a spooked horse, so I turn my glare on
My dad greets him with such genuine joy and excitement that it makes my heart swell with joy. They talk for a few minutes about Dominic’s day before dad gives him a little nudge back towards the gate where Kent and I are waiting. Dominic gives dad a kiss before running ahead again. My dad waves to
“Papa!” Dominic shouts, startling me out of my reverie as he drops my hand and darts down the road. I look up, a huge smile breaking out on my face again as I see Kent on the sidewalk just ahead. His back is to us as he speaks companionably with the butcher, a heavy bag of his purchases already hung
As I walk down the street towards the little Italian kindergarten, the whispers start around me, as they always do. I listen to all of them, a big German Shepherd padding quietly at my heels. “Is that her?” “Yes, that’s the one – I heard she was her husband’s mistress before he married her – tha
Both Kent and I laugh, but Don Bianci – across the baptismal font from us – snaps his eyes up, perhaps not liking the joke as much as we do. But I just ignore it, because dad’s right, frankly – and it’s too happy a day to care. After the final blessing everyone applauds Dominic – he likes that, bl
“Well, it didn’t seem to affect your first very badly,” Ivan says with a shrug, peering around Kent to where Daniel is laughing with an arm around Jerome’s shoulders. “So…maybe keep it up.” I smirk, squeezing Ivan’s hand once more before standing and moving to Kent’s side, tucking myself against h
“Hey, gorgeous,” Ivan says, his mouth turned up in a smirk as I cross the churchyard, beaming at him. “Look who’s talking,” I say, laughing and reaching for him when I come close enough. Ivan wraps me in a hug, dropping a kiss to my cheek as I hold Dominic a bit to the side so he doesn’t get squis
He laughs, smiling at me genuinely. “Do I make you nervous?” he asks, blunt. I laugh, unable to help it. “Has no one bothered to tell you, in all these years, that you’re a little terrifying, Don Bianci?” He grins and shakes his head at me. “Well, considering what you accomplished, young lady, I
Two months later, we’re all gathered together again. And it is only with frustration that I see Gio and Janeen standing so close together that their arms nearly brush, even though they’re still not together. I roll my eyes, dismissing the problem for a moment as I move my eyes down to Dominic and
It's an incredible night. Kent didn’t lie, not at all, about the food either. I’m shocked by the mountains of dishes that continue to follow each other, one after another, long into the night. After a few hours of it I just mournfully watch the waiters go by because I couldn’t eat another bite if I