Maja
She looked about herself surreptitiously. The cacophony of sounds was rising as she moved forward to the woman who stood smiling. She was young, thought Maja in surprise, younger than Maja herself; and lovely, in a sensuous way, with that curvaceous body. Her heavy brown hair, shining mahogany in the light, hung in a long, thick braid down her back and soft tendrils of brown hair curled enticingly around her face. Dressed in a simple Indian kurta and a pair of jeans, she looked stunning and Maja felt like a frump.
And then Maja did a double take. Wait, the woman was expecting a baby???
As though she became aware of Maja’s gaze on her slight baby bump, the woman laughed.
Stepping forward, she smiled and said,
“Hi! I’m Proserpina, Proserpina Delano. Welcome to our home.’
She spread her hands to indicate the young woman with golden hair in a ponytail who was playing with the dogs,
“These are all my children,’ she smiled as she stepped up to Schwartz and linked her hand through his arm. he gently leaned down to part her hand as she smiled up at him, dimples appearing on her slightly rounded cheeks. But Maja could see that she was distressed.
‘Thank you for having us here for the night,’ said Maja firmly, wiping her hands on her faded slacks before stepping forward and offering her hand. Surprisingly, the woman returned her handshake firmly.
So she was not all floss, thought Maja appreciatively, taking in the curvaceous body, the wide smile and the air of calm she seemed to radiate
‘I’m Maja.’ she added, indicating her children, ‘Magnus and Madeline.’
Proserpina smiled, speculatively, ‘Maja. What a beautiful name. It means Pearl, doesn’t it?’ Maja was taken aback. Not many people knew that. Her respect for the lovely woman grew in leaps and bounds.
Her daughter stepped forward, a small shy smile on her face, ‘And my name is Madeline. It means cake,’ she declared proudly.
Proserpina dimpled at her,’ Not just any cake but a very delicious type of French cake; that is called Madeline.’
Maddy looked at her, almost worshipfully and Maja gave her a shake. Magnus was staring around him, his eyes constantly going to the girl at the back who was speaking to a younger girl with the same golden hair and blue eyes.
A couple of boys came racing out, identical in colouring and she stared some more. The boys stopped in their tracks and the smaller one said,
“Hi! Who are you?’ But it was said without rancour.
April moved to them and sent them a warning look.
“Uh…sorry, Mumma.’ grinned the boy as he prepared to chase after his slightly overweight brother.
‘These are my sons.’ Smiled Proserpina
A fair-haired young man stepped out and stopped to stare at them in confusion. As he noticed Schwartz, his face cleared.
“Hey, Piers,’ exclaimed Schwartz and striding over to him, enclosed him in a warm embrace.
“My son,’ said Proserpina absently but her eyes were concerned as they studied the youth.
Maja looked about at the scene before her. Two girls and three boys with another baby on the way.
Talk of large families, she thought incredulously.
“Come in,’ said Proserpina graciously, ‘I am sure you must be tired.’
A tall man in the uniform of a security guard appeared at the bottom of the stairs of the enclosed garage as they started to climb up.
“Ma’am,’ he said, addressing Proserpina, ‘the Boss is on his way. He will be here in an hour.’
Proserpina Delano looked confused as she turned to Schwartz, laying a small hand on his sleeve.
“Paddy…?’ Maja heard her whisper and she wondered what it was about. A dark-skinned old woman had appeared a the door and she barked at them,
“Come on in. You can go to yer rooms .’ She nodded at them imperiously and Maja realised that she was addressing them.
The young woman with the clear blue eyes and the long golden hair worn in a ponytail stepped forward with a smile, warm and friendly.
“Hi, I’m Ria. My Mumma is a little preoccupied. Come on, let’s follow Beatrice to your rooms.’
When Maja turned to look at Schwartz, she saw the look in his eyes as he leaned into the lovely woman beside him. Proserpena’s lower lip was trembling as she held his coat lapels, almost hanging onto him for comfort. Maja felt jealous suddenly, but as quickly, as she took stock of her emotions.
Do not go there, woman, she told herself firmly. You married a man, thinking it was for love and look what happened.
Magnus was swearing under his breath while Maddy was all but hopping along. One of the pups that had appeared from nowhere, had latched onto her and was dancing about her, making her clap her hands in glee.
“Mom, can we keep him, please, please, oh pleaseeee!’ cried the girl.
Realizing that the man who had brought them there was too deep in conversation with the beautiful Proserpina Delano to even look her way, she turned away dispiritedly. Were they in love? she wondered as she hauled a duffel bag and tottered forward.
Maja gestured to her son to pick up the other bag and they followed the old woman along a richly carpeted corridor. A series of wide French doors ran the entire length of the wall, and it opened onto a patio with chairs and tables placed invitingly. Now they could see the swings and the slides clearly and the dully sparkling waters shimmering in the pool as the light rain drops fell on the surface of the water. Maja could make out a couple of gardeners working, and then, Wait, she told herself, heart thumping, a couple of men walking around determinedly. No guesses for who they were; they were armed, their weapons in their hands, on the ready. she sighed as she looked around the house as the old woman flung open a couple of doors towards the end of the corridor. There was a door at the end of the corridor and she noticed that it opened onto a little garden.
So this was how it was to live in the house of a Mafia Don, she thought, wistful for a minute.
*
Claude
The bar was filling up gradually, although a lot of regulars sat about, laughing, and drinking. The general atmosphere was one of the people relaxing after a hard day at work. He also noticed that there were singles and straight people around. He winked at the pretty woman, middle-aged and with hair straight out of a bottle, bleached and brittle, as she took his order.
She smiled back, the lines on her face prominent but a little harmless flirting, if it could get him some information about his missing brother, was something that Claude was up to. His gut clenched again.
Where the hell was Paddy? Now he knew that something awful must have happened to his brother. Paddy never went underground, and certainly not for so long.