She's Going to Be the Death of Me

Chapter Sixteen

My assistant's voice coming through my office speaker, speaking those words, disrupted everything.

I hesitated as I answered her back. It would need to be a quick conversation.

"Buon pomeriggio, Giovanni." Giancarlo spoke

(Good afternoon, Giovanni.)

"Buon pomeriggio."

"È passato un po' di tempo, vero?"

(It has been a long time, hasn't it?)

"Esso ha."

(It has.)

"È vero? Sei un padre di famiglia adesso?"

(Is it true? You are a family man now?)

"Molto vero e amorevole ogni minuto di esso."

(Very true and I love every minute of it.)

"La tua nuova vita ti proibisce di cenare con un vecchio?"

(Does your new life prohibit you from having dinner with an old man?)

"Dipende da cosa discuteremo."

(Depends on what we will discuss.)

"Il mio futuro."

(My future.)

Perché devo discuterne con te?

(Why do I need to discuss that with you?)

"Giovanni, so che ti manca questa vita."

(Giovanni, I know you miss this life.)

"Sono fuori.. per sempre."

(I'm out.. for good.)

"Allora solo cena. Verrò da te."

(Then dinner only. I will come to you.)

Giancarlo didn't allow me to decline before he hung up. I was left shocked. I wasn't sure if I should even tell Drew. She would be pissed that I was going, but I couldn't stand him up.

"Could it at least wait until the kids are asleep?" Drew compromised

"A business dinner that late?" I reasoned

"You're right. It's just going to be a lot to feed them, bathe them and get them ready for bed all on my own." she explained

"I know. And I wouldn't leave you guys if I didn't have to. Why don't we hire Kristen for the night?"

"That's a good idea.

Kristen was a college student at Suffolk Community College who was referred to us through other parents. She was really great with kids, needed the money and unless there was an exam coming up, she was always available. We used her for date nights, emergencies and whenever we needed help. We paid her better than most babysitters because we had the money and she deserved a more than fair price. College was expensive and living in New York was terrible. We looked out for her whenever we could.

"I'll set it up." Drew stated

"No, I'll do it.

I felt bad about lying to Drew, especially because she was more than just my wife, she was my best friend. But if she knew that I was meeting with Giancarlo, then she would probably kill me.

I pushed back the guilt as I reached out to Kristen with details and payment. She was more than happy to help out Drew and to be paid without having to stay the entire night.

Once two o'clock inched closer, I left the office to go pick up the kids. Picking up the kids was never a trouble, given that the twins loved helping.

I decided to partake in the carpool line as I thought about how tonight might go. It would just be dinner and that was it. I don't know what Giancarlo wanted from me, but I wanted to stay out of that lifestyle. No more guns, no more violence, and no more danger. I was happy.