Voice of the Mafia

Chapter 25

Until earlier I guessed.

I was starting to finish up when a line of thought crept into my head and I stealthily tried to tie it in to the conversation.

"So what was your wife like?" He obviously hadn't expected me to ask that as he choked a bit on the last few bites of rice from his own plate.

"That is quite personal Sophie." I set my fork aside and relaxed against the back of the seat, allowing my belly to adjust to the intake of food.

"I know. I was thinking since we were being open with one another that I'd ask. As a curiosity..." For the span of multiple heartbeats it appeared as if he wouldn't talk about it but with the slight lowering of his shoulders he searched for the words to begin.

"She had hair the color of fresh honey and eyes the color of grass in spring. Her laugh could calm a baby's cry and her hugs could make any problem disappear." A pang entered my heart as I realized that maybe this wasn't a good idea.

"She and I had met before I became Boss while in college for business. She wanted to open up a bakery and make cakes. It was during one of our joint English classes that we had taken notice of each other and after a brief time began a relationship." There was a far away look as he spoke as if he was transported back to that other time with the woman he loved.

"Two years later and we had both graduated, me inheriting what my father had started as Boss and her finally getting her bakery as I set up some new routes so that she would have the money to run it. No sooner had she finally gotten the bakery than I had asked her to marry me. She had agreed and a few months after our marriage she became pregnant. A little girl that she wanted to name after her grandmother who had passed away just after the wedding. Everything was as it should have been." The fairytale time that had been on him like a shawl was ripped away to reveal the storm worn pained man underneath, his eyes narrowing as his story was quickly drawing to a close.

"A rival group that was based a few counties away started to cause trouble in our area and had made open threats towards me and my family but they were not close enough to cause any real harm. Until I found out she had been hit by a car and died, the baby along with her." Darkness seeped into his eyes and the normal boss who was stern and guarded started to come forward, the progress at being closer friends falling away.

"I buried her the following week and two weeks later wiped out the rival gang." I tried to keep my head up to not show emotion but it was more challenging than I could have imagined.

"I'm sorry I brought up such painful memories." His demeanor shifted back to a more friendly one but the sadness stuck to him like sap.

"It is alright. It has been ten years now so I should be able to move forward. She would have liked for me to keep moving ahead." I nodded and gathered up the plates that we had finished, starting on some of the dishes. No sooner had I started cleaning them than Boss came to my side with a towel in hand ready to dry them.

"You don't have to do that," I chided. He took the dishes anyways and wiped them dry before putting them back on the shelves.

"I cooked. It seem only fitting I assist in the clean up." A smile made its way onto my face. He was trying. So could I.

"I never met my true mother or father. I was put up for adoption as a baby and had been in no less than fifteen foster homes. The last one was the worst as it had an abusive father who would beat me and the other foster kids. Since I was the oldest I tried to protect the younger ones so I used myself as a shield and made sure that he couldn't hit them as much as he would have liked." A particularly stubborn stain was sticking to a plate and I scrubbed at it with a little more force, the dark spot disappearing after a little elbow grease.