Mena
Julian walked over to his little bar and showed off his three special bottles. “What do you want to drink? Tell me.”
I examined each bottle, picking it up to inspect it closer before letting out a deep sigh. I knew I couldn’t touch it, but looking would be alright. “I think I should probably take the one without alcohol.”
He looked surprised. “You don’t drink?” Julian questioned.
“I do… just not now,” I replied, setting the bottle back down gently.
As Julian looked down at my stomach, I wondered if he knew what I meant. “Hmm,” he hummed, not going into it any further. He grabbed another bottle, waving it in the air.
“I think this one is for you,” he poured me a drink. Then he led me to a sofa.
“You remind me of my niece,” Julian started talking as soon as we sat down. He swirled the drink in his hand. “I haven’t seen her in a while, but she’s just like you.”
“What am I like then?”
Julian smiled, “You’re soft, determined, and have these curious eyes-like you want to know everything. You’re like a deer.”
“A deer?” I spoke to myself. I had never heard that one before. “How old is your niece?”
“Twenty-two,” Julian answered. “She’s in her final year of university.”
“That’s really good of her,” I admired. Hearing about his niece attending university made me think of the kind of life she led, and how it was different from mine.
I could never go because I didn’t want to leave Naty, but I wasn’t complaining.
Raising my daughter was worth it.
“Do you have any children?” I asked Julian, curious about his personal life.
“Yes, I have one son and one daughter.”
Those words surprised me a bit. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t expected him to have a family. “Married?” I asked further.
“Yes, to my beautiful wife.” Julian grew a genuine smile. “She isn’t here at the moment.”
“Oh really?” I said, a bit taken aback. I didn’t know why I found it surprising that someone like Julian could have such a normal aspect to his life. The way Alessio and Donni talked about him, they made him seem like some sort of unapproachable monster.
“You look surprised,” Julian noted, tilting his head.
I quickly shook my head, not wanting to seem rude. “No, no, it’s just nice to hear!”
“So when are you and Alessio getting married?” he asked, shifting the topic back to me.
I took a sip from my drink, needing some time to think about that question. “Soon… hopefully,” I murmured. In order for that to happen, Alessio would have to get down on one knee and propose for real.
He said he would one day, but seeing him do something like that, something so out of character-seemed unusual.
“So, your brother was in Chile?” I asked, steering the conversation away from my relationship status.
Julian nodded. “Visiting family. Have you ever been?”
“No, but my Dad…” I began, then stopped myself. That man was so pathetic, he wasn’t even worth mentioning.
I chuckled, brushing off my thoughts. “Never mind.”
Julian just nodded, letting the topic drop. I appreciated that he let me lead the conversation without digging for too much information.
“Are you and your brother close?” I asked Julian.
“Sometimes we are, then we’re not-it’s complicated,” he replied. “But it’s like that with twins.”
I thought about my own siblings who didn’t care much about me. I wished I could say the same about them, that sometimes we were close-but that wasn’t the case.
They hated me, and I hated them for hating me.
“The talk we’re having? You can’t do that with Amaro, my brother. He’s too stiff, too serious.” Julian added, shrugging slightly. “My brother… he hates my lifestyle, and I hate his,”
“What exactly is it that you do?” my curiosity got the best of me.
Julian lifted his eyebrow, amused by my question. “What have you heard of me?”
I was unsure how to phrase it without sounding rude, but still gave it a try. “Not much, but I heard you run a cult.”
Julian burst out laughing, clearly finding the idea more hilarious than offensive. “It’s not a cult. Everyone is allowed to do whatever they want, follow whoever they want.”
“Then what’s with the clothes?” I asked, thinking about the uniforms.
“Outside of work, everyone is allowed to do what they want,” Julian pointed out with a grin. “You got me there.”
Fair point. It wasn’t like it was any different at the Fanuccis.
I chuckled along with him, and then we talked for some more. Julian was just easy to talk to, and he had a way of making you forget about everything else going on.
It was nice to just sit and chat without the weight of everything that was happening.
Just as I laughed about something funny he said, I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I turned around and saw Alessio and Donni standing there.
“We should go before they start wondering where we’re at,” Alessio spoke.
I immediately stood up, agreeing with him. Alessio looked over at Julian and gave him a nod. “We’ll stay in touch.”
“Sure,” Julian replied, raising his glass in a casual toast.
Alessio sighed. We were supposed to leave, but something was stopping him.
“The favor? What do you want from me?” he asked, directly.
Julian gasped, “What?” he asked obliviously, but the smirk on his lips exposed him.
“Do you want me to kill or kidnap someone, get you some of our product, a weapon-what do you want from me in return?” Alessio asked, his tone serious.
Julian set down his glass before tapping his chin with his index finger. His gaze drifted toward me and I shot him a smile. “Let me think-what do I want from you?” he whispered. “I want you to take good care of your woman. She’s a real treasure.”
My cheeks warmed with a blush at the unexpected compliment. Alessio glanced at me, his eyes softening. “I know she is,” he said. “Is that all?”
Julian waved a dismissive hand. “That’s all. Goodbye, Alessio Fanucci-Donni, we’ll keep in touch,” he greeted. “And goodbye Mena. It was nice to meet you-and remember, the door is open, you are always welcome.”
I held his gaze for a moment, not noticing my mouth was open. I was used to fighting for attention, and now this man I had just met a little while ago told me that his door was open. “I won’t forget that,” I beamed. “Thanks, Julian.”
–
We were back in the van and slowly pulled away from Julian’s estate. I sat in the back, alone, while Alessio was driving and Donni sat beside him.
I looked out of the window, watching the trees blur past and a part of me dreaded leaving the forest. It meant we had to go home again, and I really did not want to face Gian.
“Mena,” Alessio spoke, grabbing my attention. “We got rid of the body, you had a minor panic attack so we decided to get you something to eat,” he instructed.
“Why do I get to have the panic attack?” I frowned, a bit annoyed that they had pinned that role on me.
“Because that’s what everyone expects,” Donni replied casually, as if it wasn’t him whose face had paled in that warehouse.
I pursed my lips, not wanting to start an argument.
“I don’t know what you did back there but it spared us a lot of trouble,” Alessio suddenly spoke. “Thank you for that.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“To you,” Donni turned in his seat to look at me, a warm smile on his lips. “Because you don’t know the guy and his ‘favors’.”
“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Alessio let out a chuckle.
Donni leaned back in his seat again. “This one time, he let this man travel to Australia because he needed someone’s eyeball poked out.”
“No way.”
A few more of these absurd stories came afterward, each more bizarre than the last and I couldn’t help but laugh at every single one of them. More so out of disbelief.
“How is Isaac?” I asked after a while. I had hoped Alessio would bring up the topic, but he hadn’t.
“Good.”
“Good?” I pressed. “Did you talk to him?” My voice was hopeful, eager for any sign that Isaac was truly okay.
“No, he’s not awake yet,” Alessio’s tone was flat, and that’s how I knew he was not feeling this conversation. I also knew why that was.
I shifted in my seat. “I made you a promise, I’m going to keep it, and I know I won’t see Isaac ever again. I will take a step back-but before I do, I want to know one thing,” I requested.
“Yes?”
“He’s been through so much, I want to know he’ll be safe.”
“He will be,” Alessio nodded. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Thank you for everything,” I murmured, grateful for his promise. Ultimately it was his choice to let Isaac live, but seeing the fact that he was prepared to torture him-I believed I did have some kind of influence in his change of heart.
Alessio smiled at me through the rearview mirror, and I smiled back-falling more for him each second.
Donni clicked his tongue. “Hey, do you guys want to pull over and get it on in the bushes, or-”
Without thinking, I leaned forward and smacked Donni on the back of his head. It was good to see him back to his normal self again, but this I didn’t miss.
“Ow! What was that for?” Donni rubbed his head, grinning.
“That’s my way of showing love.” I sat back down again.
“Then why won’t you hit Alessio?”
My eyes moved to Alessio, who despite everything, was still quiet. It was different for him than it had been for Donni and I.
First he spared a fed, then he visited the man his Dad apparently despised.
Alessio had betrayed his brother, his family-and that was not something he would be able to get over so quickly.