16 — In Touch
October 15, 1938
"Look, boss, I just dunno how I feel about this. I mean, your brother..."
Dom flicked his gaze up from his cards, his eyes seeming to glow with an irritated redness.
"My brother is afraid to run the business as it should be run. Papa can't see what a mistake it is to put Nato in charge because he's too soft. Oh, poor, poor Nato, the first born. What suffering it must be to live as our parents' favorite."
Eyes back on his cards, Dom tossed a few more bills into the pot.
"Raise," he hissed.
Rico, seeing that he would make no progress with his boss, threw down his own cards in disgust.
"I fold."
"Raise!" Rey shouted, head jittering up and down slightly as he shoved money at the pot.
With one last look at his boss, Rico slid his chair back and stood, then headed for the door, shoving past Carl and Gio. He could feel all eyes on him as he exited the back room.
The front was quiet, just old Molly sitting near the door, polishing her .38 and chattering to Enzo.
"You out of the game, Rico?" the madame chuckled.
"Yeah. Just no good cards for me. Lottie still waitin' for me upstairs?"
Molly nodded.
"Should be. Having her here tonight, or takin' her out?"
"Out," Rico called over his shoulder as he trotted up the steps.
Lottie's room was at the end of the hall, the door ever so slightly ajar. Rico smiled, hurrying his steps a little.
"Hey," he whispered as he entered, and he saw his girl — she was his, 'cause she never took other clients anymore — sit up on her bed.
"We goin' out?" she asked, and when Rico nodded she leapt out of bed and hugged him.
"We'll go anywhere ya want," he grinned, "but we gotta make a stop first."
"Business?" Lottie sulked, and Rico shrugged.
"Maybe."
They left the place quick after that, and caught a cab. Lottie looked a little surprised when she heard the address Rico directed the driver to.
"Just how big is this business?" she whispered.
"Not too big, baby. Just gotta pass a message along. Promise."
All the way to their destination, Rico clutched Lottie's hand. He even kept the grip as they exited the cab, and he managed somehow to pay the driver without even letting go. Their fingers were still locked together all up the stairs to the fourth floor, and down the hall to the correct apartment.
Rico paused at the door, swallowed hard, and knocked. He was entirely prepared to knock again just as the door opened.
"Yeah?"
For an instant, Rico forgot everything, surprised at who had responded.
"Annunziatta?" he managed.
"Hey, Rico. Carmine's not here if you're lookin' for 'im."
"Oh. Oh, well, d'you know where he is?"
Nunzia shrugged, yawning, and Rico noticed she had the beginnings of a black eye.
"Nope."
"Ah. Will... Will he be back tonight?"
"Nope. Look, you wanna pass him a message, or..."
"Yeah. Yeah, maybe. Look, can you... Jeez, I... Well, see, I kinda can't risk goin' anywhere 'til I tell 'im."
Suddenly, Nunzia looked rather more awake.
"Dom fumble somethin'?" she asked.
"No. It's just... Ah, jeez..."
"Hey, Rico, calm down. You're shakin'. Here, come on in."
Nervously, Rico led Lottie into the apartment. As Nunzia closed the door, another somewhere in the place opened, and Rico winced, sure this was some kind of set up. Instead, he saw an unfamiliar woman peering out from what he knew was one of the bedrooms.
"Darling?" she asked.
"Go back to bed, doll," Nunzia said.
"Just someone with a message for Carmine."
Rico watched the woman go, and felt a funny stirring in his gut. He'd heard rumors about Nunzia's love life, but he'd never seen proof until now. His attention was drawn back to the moment by Lottie squeezing his hand.
"You two wanna sit?" Nunzia asked, gesturing to the sofa.
"I... Look, honestly, if you can just find Carmine..."
"Rico, far as I know, he's out at some party on Long Island. Might not even be back 'til tomorrow night or so. If you wanna tell me what you..."
"Please, look, I gotta talk to him. If I can't... If I go back out there without him knowin', I'm never gonna get to tell."
"Okay. Okay. Look, you wanna stay here? I mean, Carmine's out, but I'll make sure he heads straight back here soon as I can, okay? If you're so worried, you can have the other bedroom. You and..."
Nunzia nodded to Lottie.
"Really?" Rico asked.
"Sure. You're a friend, so Carmine won't mind."
Nunzia ushered them to the empty bedroom, promised again that she'd see Carmine got home as soon as possible, then wished them a good night and left them alone.
"Rico, what's going on here?" Lottie whispered.
"Look, I can't talk about it now. I gotta talk to Carmine first. But I promise, after this, we'll be free and easy a while, okay?"
They got into bed, and Rico felt a hint of relief as Lottie settled into his arms.
Tomorrow, this would all start to blow over.
Posted Oct 16, 2019, 6:34 AM UTC · edited