“What!” I gasp, shocked, but then I get very angry very fast, ripping my arm out of Jerome’s hand for the third time in about an hour. “I don’t even know if there is a father, Jerome!” “Of course there’s a father –“ he shouts, his voice cracking because apparently he’s as freaked out as I am. “I
A little laugh sputters from me as I place the test on the counter and Jerome gives me a little squeeze. “It’ll be all right, kid,” he whispers to me. “We’ll get it all worked out.” _______________________________ Jerome wanted me to take the pregnancy test there in the pharmacy bathroom, but
“Go away,” Jerome hisses. “You can see her later!” “What the fuck, Jerome!” I hear Daniel snap and I gasp, going very still. Because Daniel – Daniel can’t know. “She needs a minute –“ Jerome protests as Daniel – taller and broader than him – starts to push at the door. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Fay,” Daniel says, and I hear him take a step closer to me, touching my shoulder. “Who – who is the dad?” And I spin, yanking my hands away from my face and glaring up at him. “Seriously?” I cry. “You too!?” “Well –“ “I am not sleeping with anyone except your dad, Daniel!” I shout, exasperate
There are two lines on the pregnancy test. A quick glance at the little key to the side of the screen confirms what I already know. Pregnant. I’m pregnant. I feel everything drain from me in this moment – like all color, all life, all breath and joy floods from me as I stare at the little st
“What are you hiding,” Kent snaps, grabbing Daniel’s arm and attempting to spin him. But Daniel struggles, working to keep his arm behind him. I moan a little, knowing that it’s done, and stressed almost to my breaking point as I watch Daniel and Kent struggle in my bathroom, Kent pulling hard at
Jerome makes a horrible noise, half cry and half groan, as he falls to the floor. Daniel shouts and I hear a scream – I realize passively that the scream comes from me - before Kent reaches down and grabs Jerome by the shirt, lifting him again so that he can punch him another time, his fist flashi
Because for perhaps the first time in my life…I’ve just got nothing. I mean, what am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to think? I’m sitting here, in a gorgeous marble bathroom, knocked up by a supposedly infertile Mafia King who thinks I’ve been unfaithful to him, watching my fiancé – my baby’
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