“so what do you think about it, Bianca?” her mom asked.
it was eight o clock in the morning. she, her uncle Luigi and her mom sat down together, with some soldiers and capos surrounding them. they looked at a map which was on the table.
it contained directions to a route in Sicily, where the Sforzas usually passed through after smuggling loads of stolen goods.
she, her uncle Luigi and her mom had began to plan an attack on the Sforzas. they wanted to let their enemies know that they were getting ready for war.
“it’s perfect”, said a darkly satisfied Bianca.
“so this is the route where the Sforza soldiers are gonna take when returning?” she asked
“yes. it is” her uncle Luigi replied.
“that’s where our soldiers are going to attack?”
“yes”
she loved the act of revenge, especially when it was for her father. her soldiers were going to attack the Sforzas and plunder them
she turned to the capos that stood around.
“show no mercy” she said. “lead the soldiers. hide yourselves and wait for them, then attack when they’re least expecting” she instructed “plunder their asses!”
“yes BB” they all chorused
“when will they strike?” her uncle Luigi asked her
she thought about it. according to what her uncle told her, the Sforzas usually smuggled goods twice in a week. the last time they did it was on Saturday.
“we’ll strike on Wednesday”
*******************
“we are here” she said to her driver. then he stopped the car.
they were at a kids amusement park. about an hour ago, Lorenzo had called her, requesting that they meet. he texted her the address and said he was waiting. she didn’t know why he wanted them to hangout in an amusement park.
as she got down from the car, he spotted her.
he waved at her and she began to go to him.
as she approached him, she noticed that he held the hand of a child. a little boy. was Lorenzo a father? her breath hitched up in her throat
“hi” he greeted her jauntily.
“hi” she responded
“this is Marc” he looked at the child “he came here with an orphanage, so I took him away from them, for a moment ”
“why?” she smiled
“I just took a liking to him. I thought you’d want to have fun with the both of us”
“of course. I would love to” she couldn’t resist this offer. she loved children. at least this was going to take her mind off the stuff she planned this morning with her mom and uncle Luigi.
“let’s go”
few minutes later, she, Lorenzo and the child were on a Ferris wheel. she laughed heartily as it went round and round. she hadn’t been on this since she was like five. she really liked the fact that Lorenzo knew how to take her mind off perturbing shit.
once they were done with the ferris wheel, they walked around with Marc. they both a cotton candy for themselves and chattered as they ate. Marc was a brilliant kid so he supplied most of their conversations.
the head members of the orphanage Marc came with sent for him, so she and Lorenzo bid Marc goodbye and took him back to them.
“hey!” a man called them when they were about to leave the park. it was the man they bought cotton candy from.
“you haven’t paid for that!” he said to them
Bianca searched her pocket for her purse
“shoot!” she said when she remembered she left it in the car. she looked at Lorenzo, he seemed to be cashless too
suddenly, he grabbed her hand.
“run!” he said and before she knew it, he was running and she was too, trying to keep up with his pace. she heard the shouts of the cotton candy man which gradually became distinct.
she didn’t know where they stopped, but she knew it was far away from the cotton candy shop.
she and Lorenzo looked at eachother for a while and burst into laughter.
“did– did you see his face, when we– we started running” she said, amidst laughter.
“yes…” he replied, laughing too
their laughs began to wane, it ended in sighs
“where do you live?” Bianca suddenly asked. strangely, she saw him stiffen when he heard the question.
“I live in a bungalow in Catania” he said “although that is not my family’s house ”
“so you live alone? ” she asked
“yes”
“that’s great. lucky you” she said “I live with my mom and uncle”
“I’ll come and check out your house someday” she smiled as she looked up at him. he wasn’t smiling
“if that’s okay with you…” she added when she saw his countenance
“you’re more than welcome” he said
******************
Bianca walked into the villa with quiet steps. her driver came to pick her up in the evening when she was ready to go. Lorenzo reluctantly let her go and they both agreed to meet up the next day. she really enjoyed herself today and she wished better days with Lorenzo.
“where are you returning from” her mom’s voice interrupted her thoughts. Dang it! her mom had finally caught her.
“June told me you’ve been going out alot lately and according to your driver here, you’ve been seeing a guy”
Bianca sighed. there was no hiding anymore. she had to come clean.
“yes, Madre”
“so you’ve let a guy sidetrack you from your responsibilities?”
“no” she defended. “I’m just hanging out with a friend”
“sorry miss, but that friendship has to stop” her mom said “focus on what matters”
“and what is that, mom?” she retorted “I shouldn’t have a social life because I’m a don?”
“you have a lot of responsibilities, mia figlia” her mom said “you can’t throw that away because of a boy”
“who says I’m throwing it away? I’ve done all you asked, Madre. allow me to hang out with whomever I choose”
“do you know how much stuff you haven’t learnt? you have to stay home and observe stuff. learn more stuff–” her mom yelled
“I’ve been doing that and I’m still doing it. what more do you want?”
“you have to end whatever it is you have with that boy, or else….”
“no mom!” she yelled “I’m not ending anything with anyone. and there’s nothing you can do about it ”
having said that, she grabbed the key from the driver’s hand and stormed out of the house.
Luckily for her, she could drive. she drove to the Pretoria fountain. she opened her phone. she knew just who to call.
“Lorenzo” she said when he picked the call “I’m at the fountain. please come get me ”
“uhhh…. I’m coming right up” he said.
she smiled. she was grateful that she was capable of adjusting his schedule.
she waited for him.