Omerta- Book I (Winner of the 2015 People's Choice Award)

Chapter 36: One for the Money

             I turned around at the new voice and watched as an elderly woman with a duster shuffling towards us. She was even shorter than Alanzo, but less round. She squinted at Ferro and I and then put her glasses up to her eyes. "FERRO!! Ferro!" Never had I seen Ferro flush so red, as he did when Gina kissed him all over his face and pinched both his cheeks. "Sono felice! I am so happy! You get more and more handsome every time I see you!" 

 

            "Grazie. Thank you, Gina." He kissed her on both cheeks. "And you get more and more beautiful."

 

            "You make me blush," Gina beamed, then used the towel on her shoulder as a whip towards Alanzo."Alanzo, you old man!" She threw her arms up.  "Why you not tell me Ferro was here, huh?"

            "I did! Your hearing is worse than mine, mi amore! You scream louder than I do, too!" Alanzo rolled his eyes at me, and I burst out laughed.

            Gina turned to me and gasped. "Who are you?"

            Ferro tried to introduce me again. "Gina, this is Scarlett—"

            "Oh. Scarlett..." She wiggled her eyebrows at Alanzo, and then rushed towards me. "Bella! It's so nice to meet you. Ah, let me look at you!" Gina kissed me on both cheeks and held my face in her hands. "You are so beautiful. Perfetto. Yes, perfect. Very skinny, but nice hips. I make dress for you, yes? You will sparkle on wedding day." She looked at my breasts and sighed. "Ok, small breasts. No problem. We get push up bra for wedding, yes?" Gina grabbed my face again. "Oh, I knew he'd bring a girl the next time we saw each other." She looked over her shoulder, at Alanzo. "Didn't I predict that, amore mio?"

            "Sì! And he brought us a beautiful wife!"

            "Oh," I said and refused to meet Ferro's gaze. At the corner of my eye, I saw Ferro run a hand through his hair. Clearly he didn't know how to break it to them.

            Awkward.

            Gina looked up at me with hopeful eyes. "You make lots of babies with Ferro, yes? I want babies."

            "Oh, here we go..." Alonzo sat down on a couch and leaned his head in his hand. "All she talks about are babies." He opened and closed his hand like a mouth. "Talk, talk, talk. When you left for the city, Ferro, it got worse. Just give her one baby. Please, I beg of you."

            "Gina..." Ferro ran a hand down his face. "Gina, no... Scarlett and I..."

            "We need babies in this home," Gina snapped and threw her hands up theatrically.  "I wake up, no baby crying. I want babies, Ferro. I want babies crying, pooping, and cooing. I tell Sammy years before, I want baby. She leaves! Jumps fence! Ha! I cry, yes? She made me sad, but I forgive. Maybe Fico and Sammy gave me baby now, maybe not. Who knows!" She shrugged her slender shoulders. "I will probably croak before there is a baby in this house!"