Lena was looking at Gianluca as he was touching her handkerchief tracing the patterns on it with his hands. He looked up at her and was about to say something when suddenly Luigi came inside and said "Oh. Here you are. I am sorry I took abit long with the phone call. Let's go."
Gianluca said "See you later Lena."
Lena said "See you later."
As Gianluca left, she let out the breath she was holding. She put her hand on her heart. Her heart was beating so fast. She could not believe how much being with Gianluca affected her. The look in his eyes was just making her experience feelings that she had tried to avoid for years. When he looked at her, he made her feel this way sometimes. She stood up, turned off the TV and picked up her embroidery equipment and carried them upstairs with her to her room. It was time to do something else. She put away her embroidery set in her crafts cabinet and then something grabbed her attention. There was a dusty box at the bottom of her crafts cabinet she had not opened in a while. She kept objects that held memories for her and were like small treasures. Maybe she could sort through them. She picked up the box, dusted it off and took it with her to bed.
Lena sat on the bed and put the box in front of her and opened it. There were so many objects in there. She smiled as she looked through them. When she emptied the box, she came across an envelope. Her heart started beating faster now. It was from Gianluca. This was from years ago. She opened the envelope and the contents fell out. There was a beautiful necklace. A beautiful pendent necklace of a diamond phoenix. She was always in awe of this necklace that Gianluca had gifted her at one of her birthdays. She loved it too much to even wear it. She was afraid of losing it. That had been her initial thought that the necklace looked way too stunning to be worn. The Phoenix was breathtakingly beautiful... just like how Gianluca was. She shook off her thoughts and looked away. He was handsome. He truly was.
She looked back at the necklace and smiled at the memory. A phoenix was Gianluca's favourite mythical creature. He liked it because a phoenix could rise from the ashes and make a come back. It matched his personality. That was who he was. He never gave up. He believed he could build anything from the ground. He believed that there was no obstacle that was too big for him to cross over to get what he aimed for. That was what she loved about him.
Lena closed her eyes. She loved him. But she wanted to deny it. She loved his courage, his determination and his devotion. He had never given up on his love for her. All she had done was avoid him and shy away from him but he still cared so much for her. He had waited so long for her. She had hoped he would ask another girl out but he had chosen her. He made her nervous and fearful sometimes... But he was sincere, honourable and sincere. Most importantly he never gave up... She admired that about him so much.
Lena had decided to wear this necklace from now on. She liked the necklace. Also she wanted to be reminded of what she loved about Gianluca the most.
****
Gianluca had arrived home from the Alessandrini mansion and was now sitting opposite Christian playing cards. He had placed a plate of chips on the table and was eating from it as he was playing cards and talking to Christian about school.
Gianluca said "Don't you like the chips? Do you want something else to eat?"
Christian said "I do like chips. I am not hungry."
Gianluca said "Really?"
Christian said "I do not eat that much you know..."
Gianluca said "I was just surprised. Normally you do not say no to snacks and treats. You know... with your rules at your home."
Christian chuckled "Rules at home? My grandpa does let me eat snacks and treats. He just won't let me have them unless I finish my dinner. He is reasonable I guess. Or that is what Connor keeps telling me... He also says I do not have that many rules and the ones I have is for my health or safety mostly.
Ginaluca said "Connor is a wise guy. Listen to him. Compared to other guys who are in the same position as you, I agree that you do not have that many rules to comply with. You pretty much have free reign..."
Christian said "You have free reign too pretty much."
Gianluca said "I guess I do have some free reign but not as much as you... Besides whatever free reign I have I had to earn. I have had to fight long and hard for it, to convince my parents to let me have more and more freedom."
Christian smiled "I know... I have had to fight too you know... but maybe not as hard as you... I admit that..." He then put down the cards in his hands face down on the table and picked up the glass filled with lemonade that was in front of him. He raised it to Gianluca "Here is to the pact of our brotherhood man... What was the pact about?"
Gianluca laughed and put down his deck of cards face down and picked up his own glass of lemonde and raised it. He hit Christian's glass with his and said "Persistence, resistance, loyalty and honour."
Christian said "Cheers to that man."
Then they both drank from their glasses and put them down.
Christian said "Will you come to my place this weekend?"
Gianluca said "I am not sure. I may have other plans. I will call you to let you know if I can come. It's highly unlikely."
Christian nodded "What kind of plans... Are you going to be booked up on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend?"
Gianluca said "You may not like to hear about it..."
Christian said "Try me..."
Gianluca looked around "Wait a minute..." He stood up and walked to the door. He closed it and came back to the table and sat down. He said "I was having dinner earlier with the Alessandrini senior, his son and Luigi as you know. My father and grandfather were there too...
Christian said "Go on..."
Gianluca said "They think we are at a brink of a war with some Irish American crime families. Apparently tensions are rising between some of our Italian allies and their Irish neighbours."
Christian said "And how is it news to you man... It is no news. We all know it is getting worse and worse..."
Gianluca said "A war may happen if the Irish provoke us..."
Christian's tone hardened "The Italians are not innocent either. They are to blame for the tensions too."
Gianluca put his hands up "Look. I never said Italians are blameless. That is not the point..."
Christian stated "They started it... They need to live with the consequences of what they did."
Gianluca said in a gentle tone as he put down his hands on the table and leaned closer "Christian. I do not deny that... But the fact is... A war could happen... Now my dad and Luigi's dad are working with their fathers to put forward a plan for a meeting between the Italian crime families in our region... That may or may not happen this weekend. That is why I can't make any plans for this Saturday or Sunday... They think it is important to discuss the tensions and try to discuss ways for keeping peace and warn them to make preparations for war if it comes to it. Smaller crime families are in more danger than bigger ones but a war can extend its wing and spread from territory to territory."
Christian said " Great idea..."
Gianluca said "Christian. You do not want a war. Do you?"
Christian shrugged "I am loyal to what my grandpa wants. I follow his principles and live by his rules... The Kavannaghs are not the ones evading territories right now. We are not initiating wars. That is not part of my grandpa's policy right now. He is ready for any war though. If anyone is mad enough to attack us there will be a big counter attack from our side. You can't blame us for defending ourselves if the Italians declare war."
Gianluca said "I think no one will be mad enough to mess with your grandpa's territory. But what if your allies ask the Kavannaghs to join in? Do you think your grandpa will join in? Your family is part of an alliance. A strong alliance I must add." He knew it was unlikely anyone would have picked up a fight with the Kavannaghs without provocation. When Christopher had taken his revenge, it had sent a message out. You mess with them, they will wipe you out. So no one was going to attack them. They had so much power and connections that if they joined up any fight they could win it most likely.
Christian sighed "I don't think he will. My grandpa's share of that alliance is for business. Some join forces and unite for joint wars. Kavannaghs don't. If the war causes harm to allies, my grandpa will help them out to rebuild their losses maybe if they ask him for help. He will not refuse help of this kind. But he won't join in a war that is not his war... I am almost one hundred percent certain of that... When my grandpa avenged my parents and uncle he did not ask for anyone's help. Other families offered help. My grandpa didn't need it. He got more peace that way for his revenge. He also did not want to cause harm to our allies by involving them in his revenge mission."
Gianluca nodded. He did not know how Christian managed to keep his emotions in check. He was taught by his grandpa to control his emotions. He talked of what happened to his family but there was no emotion in his voice. He did not share much about what he felt and what he thought that was too personal to him. Not even with him, his closest friend.
Gianluca decided to test the waters and ask a question that he thought he knew the answer to already but had to ask "You say you don't think your grandpa would take part in a war... But what about peace?"
Christian asked "What about peace?"
Gianluca said "You know. We have discussed this before. Do you think your grandpa would ever invite his Irish allies and non-allies to peace and ask them to avoid an unnecessary war unless provoked? He is one of the longest serving heads of families and one of the most respected in the Irish business world. If he asks for peace to be retained they will consider it..."
Christian said "No Gianluca. As it stands I can say with confidence my grandpa will not initiate such thing unless he is given a reason to. That reason does not exist. That reason might materialise itself one day but that day is surely not today. I am curious. Why do you go on about peace so much man? Don't you want to see people face the consequences of their actions? What is your problem with a war? Your family is one of the safest and most powerful ones around. No Irish has evaded your territory or the territory of that buddy of yours Luigi."
Gianluca said "I can't speak on your behalf but I think I am part of the new generation Christian. My father, my grandfather, some of their allies may have made mistakes in the past. Maybe they are not innocent in giving rise to Irish Italian relations that we have today as a result. But I think my generation should try to build rather than destroy. Times have changed. I believe that the benefits of a unity outweighs the satisfaction of a war and eradicating the enemies. But unity is abit looking not likely to be accomplished right now with this current climate. So I settle for the idea of peace. Peace is a better option right now. There is no reason to fight. Some causes are worth fighting for ..."
Christian said "We agree on one thing at least today Gianluca. I could not agree more... Some causes are worth fighting for..." He then reached to the glass of lemonade and took a few sips from it his eyes not leaving Gianluca's thoughtful and silent expression.
Gianluca decided to yet ask another question that he was certain Christian was reluctant to answer. He always had been and never had... But he thought he would try again. He said "I want to ask you one thing though... I understand... You say you are loyal to your grandpa's principles. But I want to know what you truly feel about this crisis... What do you think about the prospect of war and Irish Italian relations? Would you be ever open to putting forward the idea of peace..." Christian was hard to read. Gianluca was his closest friend but he still could not figure him out sometimes. He wanted to know if Christian wanted peace or not and was he ever willing ti take a step towards peace.
Christian smiled "What do you think?" Wouldn't you like to know?" He then picked up his cards from the table "Let's continue the game. I am wiling to make a bet with you. If you beat me in this game of cards, I will tell you..."
Gianluca sighed. It was typical Christian. He was a puzzle he could not solve sometimes. If Christian was obviously not willing to reveal what he thought so he made him work. Gianluca asked "And if I lose?"
Christian taunted "What's the matter Gianluca? You are not confident of winning tonight?"
Gianluca wordlessly picked up his cards and resumed the card game. Their game was fierce and tense.
Then it all came down to the last card that was in Christian's hand. He threw the card on the table and Gianluca whispered "Damn it. I was this close...."
Christian said "You can't win them all Gianluca. Some games you win, some you lose."
Gianluca leaned back in his chair and Christian leaned back in his chair mirroring his actions. They were staring at each other silently.
Gianluca said "You are not going to tell me what you think about the questions I asked. Right? Are you?"
Christian said "You lost the card game man..."
Gianluca said "What do you want me to do now that you have won the bet?"
Christian said "Let me see. I want you to join up the home coming dance of your school with mine."
Gianluca said "What? Are you crazy? Didn't you hear a word that I said? Irish-Italian tensions are rising in this city. Yet you want me to join the home coming dance of two Irish and Italian schools together?"
Christian said "What are you complaining about Mr peace keeper? We can have it on neutral territory. I can guarantee that the school kids from my side won't pull anything funny. It will be good for Irish Italian relations. It's what you want. Isn't it?
Gianluca said "This is madness...."
Christian said "You lost the card game man. Pay up..."
Gianluca said "I am capable of doing it. I can. I am the captain of the football team and I have a big say about venue because my parents sponsor the school. I can convince them of doing that... But I don't think any Italian families will be attending this and I doubt any Irish will be attending it either. Are you mad?"
Christian said "These people, they are ready for an imminent war. Right? So do you think they would pass up the chance to pretend in public that all is fine? The venue will be in neutral territory. Let's pick one right next to the police station. Everyone will be behaving themselves."
Gianluca was stunned "Let's say you are right and people attend... What would you gain from all of this? You said your grandpa won't go to war unless someone attacks his territory which is impossible given the power and the reputation the Kavannaghs have."
Christian said "You want me to answer honestly?"
Gianluca said "Yes. Please enlighten me with an explanation."
Christian said "Well. I actually don't know what I will be gaining yet... It all depends on how the night plays out."
Gianluca said "You call this an explanation?"
Christian shrugged "I told you the truth man. I did. I do not know yet. The outcome will depend on how the night goes."
Gianluca picked up his glass of lemonade and took a sip from it "You make no sense. I hope you find whatever you are looking for by making me join our schools' upcoming home coming dances. I agree... in theory I want this homecoming to be joined up. It is a peace offering. I am not worried about trouble being caused at the party. Any family who uses their kids in war will lose respect of their peers. No one pull any stunt like that. But there are tensions... I do not think the turn out would be great for this homecoming dance but... you might be right. For the sake of argument let's say some people do show up... I think... Bullets may not be flying around at this event but fists maybe flying if they clash."
Christian said "Some bad blood is healthy I guess.... I can imagine Sean and Dean might make some noise. Who knows?"
Gianluca said "Hold on... Are you talking about Sean McNab and Dean O'Brien? Why would they be attending?"
Christian nodded "Yes. Because they are joining my school."
Gianluca said "What? Why? They live pretty far... And not to mention they hate Italians..."
Christian said "Sean and Dean also believe in the concept of keeping your friends close and keeping your enemies closer..."
Gianluca shook his head "That is the concept that many of Italian crime families live by too... Almost all of them are attending my school because their parents think it's a good experience to observe and learn... They may not be able to come to your school because the Kavannaghs don't allow it. But the others they interact with come and go. Conversations in cafeteria is a lot about what do Irish heirs do, what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are. You have many attendees at your school from crime families, some bigger and some smaller ones or from families that do business with crime families just like the case in my school. But I don't buy it. Why would Dean and sean move to your school. They can easily talk to the kids who come to your school and collect information."
Christian said "You are right. They have other motivations for certain. But none of their other reasons are business related..."
Gianluca said "What are those other reasons?"
Christian shrugged "The main one... is Love..."
Gianluca said "What?" He was taken back. What on earth was he talking about?
Christian said "You heard me. Love."
Gianluca asked "Love of what?"
Christian said "Love of whom..."
Gianluca said "No way. Dean is a girl hopper as you call him. He changes girlfriends all the time. Is he in love?"
Christian said "I am not referring to Dean. I am talking about Sean. Dean is tagging along because he is tired of the girls in his school. I can imagine he has dated all the ones he deemed worthy by now... He won't say no to a new school. Why would he? They just convinced their parents it is a good option because of our academic records.
Gianluca said "Sean is incapable of love. We both know that."
Christian said "He is capable. Sean is smart though. He is smart enough to know honour is what defines our kind. He is not a girl hopper. He has his eyes on a girl who attends my school."
Gianluca asked "So who is Sean after?"
Christian said "Ciara... Ciara McKenna."
Gianluca said "Ciara? The girl who my sister hangs out with? No way. He can't be serious. Ciara is his opposite."
Christian said "He is serious about Ciara. I am surprised as you are. He always has been serious apparently about this... I just never knew. Dean and Sean were supposed to start at our school today but they did not show up today. Neither did Connor and Ciara. Long story short... Sean goes to Connor's house this morning before school and speaks to Mr and Mrs McKenna. Dean tags along with him and wait in the car. They share transporting cars apparently. Sean tells the McKennas that he is joining our school and asks them if he can ask their daughter out with their permission. Connor was in the room and at that point he loses the plot apparently and attacks Sean."
Gianluca said "Did he manage to land a few punches?"
Christian said "No he didn't. Connor's father holds him back and stops him before he can reach Sean. He calms him down. He applauds his son for showing backbone and honour acting protective of his sister but assures him that he needs to not worry and Sean is honourable. Connor wants to have another go at Sean and challenge him to a fight. His father stops him again. At that point, Connor is asked to step outside and have a quiet word with his father outside. Connor agrees. He talks to his father outside. He refuses to just calm down and accept Sean waltzing into their lives courting his sister. He spends ages arguing with his father. In the end he sees that he can't convince his father to kick Sean out of their house and make a demand to the Irish school to not let Sean enrol. So Connor makes a compromise with his father. He demands that his father leaves the choice upto his sister and in return Connor gives his word to his father that Connor will not endanger the alliance between the McKennas and McNabs by picking a fight with Sean. His father agreed and said he won't force his daughter to say yes."
Gianluca said "What did Ciara say?"
Christian said "She does not like Sean. She said she needs time to think. The news reaches the McNabs that Ciara is not saying yes yet. They show up at Connor's house. The McNabs and McKennas sit down, dine together and make peace. They conclude Ciara needs time to consider this proposal and she is just overwhelmed. So they leave it at that. They hope Ciara and Sean grow closer at school and by the end of the academic year at the latest they start going out. The day ends. They go home. None of them come to school today for this reason. They were too busy. Conor phoned me up after it was all over and told me all about it. Now listen to this. I asked what the hell was Dean upto while this was happening. He is an O'Brein and not related to either family. Apparently. He had a new girlfriend in the car with him. They just were taken to a separate living room and they waited all day and hung out. Classic Dean."
Gianluca was thoughtful "I feel bad for Ciara... I can understand it is hard to be a female in a crime family. If a guy from another crime family of similar power status asks a girl out it is disrespectful to say no. It shows lack of trust... It reminds me of my own situation with Lena. I know she is too shy around me and she is not very open to talking with me. I have always wanted to date her. I was willing to wait until she returned my eye contact and welcomed my conversations with a smile... But I had to ask her out after my sixteenth birthday. My parents told me I had to start dating now. If I didn't, then they were going to arrange a courtship for me from one of the families that we know who are loyal to us. I could never do that. I tried to convince my parents that they were rushing it. Well. My father started dating my mother when he was sixteen and apparently their early dating stage helped strengthen their bond in marriage. I have no way of knowing if she was ready to go out with me or not when she said yes. I really hope Lena does not despise me..."
Christian said "No. She doesn't despise you man. I saw how she interacted with you in my office when you came to get her that day. She was looking at you with gratitude. I think that helped her trust you. For a relationship to work you just need to build trust. Once you do that then, it becomes easier to open up your feelings and give the other person the chance to show you how much they love you."
Gianluca said "Your logic makes sense. But why aren't you going out with a girl right now?"
Christian said "Isn't it obvious Gianluca. You know me well. Why hasn't this logic worked for me till now?"
Gianluca thought for a second "I guess... You don't let anybody in really. You do not let others see your true feelings and emotions."
Christian smiled "That is why we get along man... You do the same but maybe you do not hold back as much as I do. But man, you do hold back..."
Gianluca defended "I do not hold back anything from you? Unless it's very personal..."
Christian said "I wasn't talking about sharing those kind of things with me. Reserve those for your girl man... Trust me I do not want to know your personal feelings. That would be too much information. I am good where we stand..."
Gianluca said "Then what are you talking about?"
Christian said "I am talking about what you share with Lena. I only met her for a few minutes and watched your interactions. Man. You need to rethink your relationship with her. This girl has no idea who you are and what you are about. I could enlighten her but I probably want you to be the one to show her the side that she needs to see."
Gianluca said "We only started going out..."
Christian said "But you have met her before... You have been a regular at her house from what you have told me. You have talked to me about her alot. I swear I know so much about her that it exceeds what her own brother may know of her..."
Gianluca defended "She was never interested in holding conversations with me. She always avoided me."
Christian said " Excuses. For heaven's sake. You have known me for years and you still had not told her about your friendship with me. Only when she was cornered by our men, she found out about us. Does she even know anything about you that is not common knowledge?"
Gianluca said "I guess...not much..."
Christian said "Thank you for admitting it."
Gianluca said "I don't get it. You are all great at analysing things and give advice but do you follow your own advice about relationships?"
Christian said " Do you want to make a bet and play another game of cards? I might tell you the answer."
Gianluca smiled "No. On second thought... I do not want to know. That would be too much information. Wouldn't it?"
Christian chuckled. "Throwing my words back at me..."
Gianluca said in a serious tone "I know you have secrets. Secrets you can't share. A lot rests on you. The future and the legacy of an entire family depends on you. I tell you what I think... I think you may have a girl. You probably do. But you have reasons not to ask her out yet...You have reasons not to even tell me, your best friend about her. The list of reasons may be very long... Maybe you can't be sure if your grandpa approves of her. Maybe You can't be sure if she is ready to say yes yet... Heck if it was upto me I would have waited abit longer before asking Lena out but my parents were putting pressure on me. I know you have reasons to hold back and hide things about so much..."
Christian said "Yet you trust me..."
Gianluca said " I do trust you with my life."
Christian smiled "I trust you with my life too. I value our friendship so much... But I hope nothing will ever change this... I hope you never end our friendship."
Gianluca smiled back. "Nothing will make me end our friendship... I will always have your back..."