A week had passed by since the men from The Outfit came to New Orleans. Life in the city became tranquil again due to a momentary stop in the feud between the Italians and the Irish. With the Irish pulling back and biding their time, business was going strong for the New Orleans family.
The Sciacca household was relatively quiet. The only ones present in the house were Carlos, Nina, the maids, and the guards who were on their posts outside.
Nina was early up to water the roses in the garden. A little earlier, her mother asked her if she wanted to go to Canal Place with her but she declined the offer. Shopping and gossiping about other women in their community went hand in hand. If given the opportunity, Nina would rather avoid indulging in those activities.
After she was done watering the other beds of flowers, Nina took a moment to relish in the warmth of the sunlight hitting her face.
The crashing sound of glass snapped her back into reality. Dark eyebrows drew together in confusion. Nina stepped inside to find the source of the noise. First, she checked the living room, then the kitchen and asked the working maids what had happened.
"We don't know, Ms. Sciacca. It came from upstairs."
Nina left the maids to their work and climbed the stairwell up. Reaching the top, she heard muffled voices coming from her father's working space. The wooden door got opened and she came face to face with her father.
"Oh, you're already here. Come inside," Carlos said and walked right back into his study, leaving the door open for his daughter to enter.
Her eyes immediately settled on the other man in the room. Her uncle and also the boss of the New Orleans family. Nina could only describe him as an unpleasant man.
Similar to her father, her uncle had dark-brown hair. Both were about the same height. The most distinct feature on her uncle's face was the drooping of his right upper eyelid. He sustained it after getting a stroke a few years ago.
"Good morning, Uncle Galasso." She forced a smile.
"Yes, good morning."
Her eyes wandered around the room and found a sea of tiny crystal-like pieces on the floor. Three of the five glass shelves were completely shattered.
Why is he even here? Did they get into a fight?
She examined the hands of her father and uncle from afar. Both seemed unharmed and there was not a single drop of blood in sight. Just like the men, Nina opted for standing instead of sitting down as usually was done when summoned into the study.
"I'm afraid I'll be the bearer of bad news today," her uncle said.
You always are. Nina wanted to say it out loud but didn't. She knew better than to anger the boss of the family.
Bad news? I don't know if I want to hear any bad news today and since they're telling me, I'm going to be shocked if this isn't about Luciano.
"Your wedding will have to be postponed."
Nina wasn't able to hide the surprise in her face. In her eyes, the revelation was anything but bad news. She knew the wedding was inevitable but being able to stay with her family for a little longer was a small victory.
That explains the glass. I'm just glad I wasn't here when Uncle Galasso broke the news to Papà. I can't imagine him being in high spirits.
"When is it now?" she looked at her uncle.
"The original date has been set back by two years, Nina."
I'll be twenty then.
"Unbelievable," her father muttered angrily. "That was all, Nina. You can go."
Nina nodded in response. She needed someone to talk to and asked her father if she could go to her aunt Noemi.
"Yes, but don't forget to bring a guard with you and before you leave call one of the maids. Tell them to clean this up." He motioned his hand in the general direction of the broken glass.
"Yes, Papà," she said and left to get one of the maids in the kitchen.
Upon entering the kitchen, the maids went silent. A few murmurs here and there. Nina knew they were gossiping about her family, but she wasn't going to scold them for it. After all, the maids' whispers were one of the few resources of information Nina got.
Nina might not participate in gossip but she certainly didn't ignore it either.
"My father needs someone to clean the glass in his study."
"I'm on it, Ms. Sciacca," one of the younger maids said and scurried away.
In the foyer, Nina wore her coat, stepped outside and called the guard near the entrance of the house to her. She made her request to the man who was her shadow and drove to her aunt.
Most members of the Sciacca family lived relatively near each other. The only one who didn't was her aunt Noemi. While it was never said out loud, it was because of her husband. A man the Sciaccas weren't all too keen on.
While Nina did ask her father to go to her aunt, it was really her cousin she wanted to see. Nina viewed her more like a little sister than anything else. She was three years younger than Nina. In the past, the two girls would often sleep over at each other's place. More often at Nina's home than her cousin's.
"Do you need me to stay put, Ms. Sciacca?" her guard Orlando asked when they arrived.
She shook her head. "No, you can go back. I don't know how long I'm staying so I'll call you later."
As she crossed the street, Nina noticed a familiar black car with two men sitting in it. They were either NOPD detectives or FBI agents. Officials were still under the impression that the Espositos were a big fish in the New Orleans Family.
Not paying any heed to them, Nina greeted the guard in front of her aunt's house and pressed on the doorbell. The door swung open, revealing a woman shorter than herself. Her aunt aged like fine wine. Still the same beauty she was in her younger days.
"Morning!" Nina smiled and copied her aunt by giving a kiss on the cheeks.
"Nina! Sweetheart, hurry up, come in!"
"What do I smell?" She raised a brow. The moment Nina stepped inside the house, she got a whiff of cinnamon.
Noemi let out an embarrassed laugh. "I tried this new cake recipe but I put too much cinnamon in it. Blame it on my love for the spice. I can't get enough of it."
Nina laughed for the first time in a while. The bright personality of her aunt never managed to let her down. Nina looked up at Noemi, she always thought of her as a strong woman.
"By the way, Rosaria is in here room, Sweetheart. I'll go check up on my cake."
Nina made her way to her cousin. She knew the inside of the house like the back of her hand. Before entering Rosaria's room, she knocked softly against the white door and pushed it.
"Nina!" A big smile broke out on Rosaria's face as she rushed over to give Nina a hug. "I missed you so much. I haven't seen you in so long!"
"I missed you too, Rosy!"
Nina shut the door and joined her cousin. They sat on a fluffy carpet and leaned against the frame of the bed.
"Your mother seems to be in a good mood. Is your father away?" Nina said.
"Thank God, yes. I've been avoiding my father but I overheard him telling Mamma he had to go to Uncle Galasso his place."
Nina's eyebrows were knitted after hearing Rosaria. "Uncle Galasso? That can't be true. He is with my father now. They are at my house and I didn't see your father when I left."
Rosaria shrugged. "Well, I don't care either way. As long as he is away from here."
Nina had a pretty good guess where Rosaria's father was. Having a mistress was a common practice for men. At least it was for the men in The New Orleans Family. The women were expected to be faithful while the men could stroll around and do as they pleased.
There wasn't a shadow of doubt in Nina's mind, her aunt thought of her husband's infidelity as a blessing in disguise. After all, Noemi's husband was almost twenty years her senior.
"But why was Uncle Galasso at your place?"
Nina took a deep inhale, "About that...the wedding is going to be postponed for another two years."
Rosaria's jaw dropped to the floor. "Really? That's amazing, Nina! I don't want them taking you from me. But why? What happened?"
Nina momentarily froze. She hadn't even thought to ask her father why it wasn't going through.
"I don't know."
"You don't? Nevermind that, what was meeting your fiancé like? What does he look like? How old is he even? And does-"
Nina held her hand over her cousin's mouth to stop her from asking a million questions at once and laughed. "Take it easy, Rosy."
Her cousin showed a meek smile until her eyes fell on the engagement ring. "You're kidding me. Did he give this to you? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's worth a lot but it isn't you."
"Yes, and really it's fine. I'm not too big on it either."
"So, your fiancé?" Her cousin urged her to tell her more.
"I wasn't alone with Luciano for long so I can't really say. He's handsome but that doesn't really matter when he's as intimidating as a person could possibly be. As for his age, Luciano is twenty-five but I'm pretty sure his birthday is coming up, so it might as well be twenty-six."
"So a seven-year difference. I mean look at the bright side, it's not some old wrinkly man you're getting," Rosaria unintentionally made light out of Nina's situation. "Wait, I don't mean it like-"
"No, I get it. You don't have to start walking around eggshells with me, Rosy." Nina held her cousin's hand to reassure her.
"For once, I'm glad we're the black sheep in the family. I haven't gotten any proposals coming my way. Thank God, I haven't. My father has been asking and looking around for someone though. He said and I quote 'I need to get you engaged before it's too late. Nobody will want you after you're twenty, Rosaria.' The nerve he has to say that." Rosaria huffed.
"Don't listen to your father."
Nina and Rosaria continued chatting for the rest of the day. She stayed around for dinner and ate with her aunt and cousin. Glad, her uncle didn't come home to eat with his family. Much like Noemi and Rosaria, Nina didn't want him around either.
"This is the best," Rosaria said as she munched on her banana foster.
Nina hummed in agreement. "It's childhood."
Noemi's eyes lit up at Nina's words. "It really is."
After giving her guard a call to come and pick her up, Nina helped with cleaning up. Just as they finished washing all the dishes, her guard arrived.
"Wait! Take this with you." Noemi handed Nina a container filled with cinnamon cake.
Her heart melted at her sweet aunt. "Thank you, Aunt Noemi."
Nina said her goodbyes and left with her guard Orlando to her house. She put the plastic box on her lap and watched the blurry streets as they passed them. Nina pondered over the question her cousin asked.
Why was it postponed? I can't believe I didn't even ask. I could try and ask Papà tomorrow but I doubt he'll give me a real answer. Maybe Uncle Galasso? Were they even told the reason by the people from Chicago? I know there is a truce between our families but it's not as if we are that close to disclose sensitive information to each other.
By the time they got to her home, forty minutes had passed. The sky dark and the streetlamps illuminating the pavement. She took note of the cars outside the house. Everybody was already home, except for her. She got inside and went straight to the kitchen to put the cake there.
"What do you have there?" Giorgio asked over his shoulder.
"Cake. Aunt Noemi made it. Do you want some?"
"Sure. Why not?" he said casually.
Nina knew her brother was downplaying how much he wanted the treat. He had a sweet tooth like no other. She sliced a piece for herself and one for her brother.
"How was your day?"
"Fine but don't cross paths with Dad in the next few days. His fuse is too damn short," Giorgio grumbled.
Everything considered, Nina thought her father's mood would be worse. She half-expected to see broken furniture lying around when she came home.
"Why does that not faze me?"