It was late night. Lothario Alessandrini was sitting in his study working, He was reading through the reports on his desk.
A knock came on the door. He said "Come in."
Luigi entered the room "Hello." and closed the door. He walked to the sofa that was situated in front of his father's desk and sat down. Every day at some point mostly at the end of the day before going to bed he always went to his father's study and checked if he wanted to talk to him about anything related to his business. It had been his routine for a while now. Gianluca had a similar routine. Their fathers mentored their sons about their business. They had the opportunity to be listening, learning , discussing and giving their opinions. That was how Luigi knew so much about the Bianchi case. His father had filled him in on everything relating to his business. He was expected to be ready to take over any time his father demanded him to do so.
Lothario was looking at the papers "Do you want to hear the good news or bad news?"
Luigi was alarmed. He said "Whichever you prefer to tell me first."
Lothario looked up, leaned back in his chair and put his arms on the chairs arm rest. "I give you the good news first. I have just come back from a long meeting. The good news is that the Irish-Italian relations are not as critical as before right this minute because of some improvements. The Irish criminal sides who had caused trouble at the borders of some Italian criminal territories have backed off for now.... So we do not need to hold that urgent meeting with heads of all Italian families this weekend who reside on this side New York. We will still hold that meeting but it does not have to be this weekend. It will be better if it is on a later date because there were a few heads of families who could not make it this weekend due to their other commitments. I think it is best to have this meeting later but with full attendance. The whole point of the meeting is to make sure we come to a unanimous decision on what we can do to enhance peace and avoid war. And of course the meeting will be about how we can prepare just in case the Irish declare multiple mob wars at the same time which is the direction they were heading towards recently. If all do not attend we have to hold another meeting again later. Not ideal."
Luigi asked "How did they back off? I mean how did those Irish crime families who caused the tensions get convinced?"
Lothario said "Christopher Kavannagh... He told them to back off and not cause a war unprovoked. They did not dare say no to him. Those Irish families who were problematic have no powers that matches the Kavannaghs single handedly. Even if they unite they can not beat the Kavannaghs because the Kavannaghs have many powerful allies who will not hesitate to defend Christopher Kavannagh if any threats come his way. They will defend him without hesitation."
Luigi asked "That is unexpected. Wouldn't he want the Italian American crime families to suffer?"
Lothario said "I can tell you what reasons he has given. He has said that if these tensions keep going the relations would be getting worse and worse to a point of war. He does not want it to happen unless it is necessary. He has said that if there is a war, the Irish should initiate it only if a reason is given to them... He is a reasonable man. Yes. He does not tolerate any Italian-American crime families trespassing in his territory and he will shoot them dead if any are mad enough to trespass there. But he has said that does not think giving rise to tensions for no reason or provocation would benefit the Irish. He thinks if a war happens it should be a for a valid reason that justifies the sacrifices and the losses."
Luigi said "It makes no sense... Why would Christopher Kavannagh do this?
Lothario said "It makes perfect sense. I think he did it for his grandson, Christian. Is there anything that he wouldn't do for keeping his grandson content? I suspect it is something to do with him... I have a theory based on the little evidence I saw... I went to your school this morning to have a meeting with the headmaster to ask how you and Lena have been settling in this new school. They informed me that the Italian and Irish partner schools have planned to have a joint home coming dance on a neutral territory. They will send invitations soon to parents to give consent but some students had already signed up. I checked that list that the headmaster had available. Christian has signed up and there was already a tick next to his name in the parental consent box. I have no doubt that in his mind, Christopher Kavannagh no matter how much he may despise the Italian crime families for murdering his loved ones and how much he would like to see the down fall of these families he will not sacrifice the happiness of his grandson. He does have a big place in his heart for keeping Christian happy and giving him a normal life... I have a theory that his actions to encourage peace are to do with Christian and even this joint homecoming dance... One theory is that maybe he knows that if there is a war it can spread to the territories of some families who attend the two schools. Maybe he wants that Homecoming Dance to happen because most likely his grandson wants it to happen. If there is war, some families may boycott it. They may not want their kids to party even under a safe roof with the children of the enemies who are using their machine guns to harm them in their territories."
Luigi said "You think that is why he did this?"
Lothario nodded "I do not know for certain what Christopher Kavannagh's real motive has been to do what he did about telling those particular trouble making families to back off. I can only devise theories. My theory is that his motive is to do with Christian and also maybe linked to this homecoming dance. The dates match. I do not believe in coincidences Luigi. Just on the day that Christopher Kavannagh sends his approval for Christian to attend the joint homecoming dance, he calls those Irish families and tells them that they better not cause tension unprovoked or they will deal with him. Well, since he is the sponsor of that Irish school he had to approve this joint homecoming dance event to happen. He does approve it. And since he is also Christian's guardian he also gave consent for his attendance . There were also two more ticks there on that attendance list in the parental consent column. There was a tick in front of Gianluca's name and Gabriela's name. The Bellagios are sponsors of the Italian school. They also had to approve this joint dance and they did. While they were at it, they also gave their consent for their kids to attend. The invitations have not even been sent to other parents yet... They will be this week. Christopher Kavannagh could have made calls at a much earlier date to tell those Irish families to tell them to back off. He wants Christian to have his party maybe... or another motive to do with Christian. But this homecoming dance is important here I believe because as I said the dates match. I do not ignore evidence. Maybe at a later Christopher Kavannagh would even initiate war. No one can predict. No one knows what goes on in the mind of Christopher Kavannagh... However, there is a possibility that in addition to making sure that the joint homecoming dance happens or making Christian happy being a motive there maybe other motives but I have no way of guessing what the other motives might be Luigi. I can only go by evidence and what I can judge based on it. There are many possibilities that I can think of but the only motive that may ever make Christopher Kavannagh to take an action like this towards peace and asking the Irish to back down must be to do with his grandson. There are no other theories that are as likely."
Luigi asked "Father... Do you think the Irish will ever try anything at that joint dance event? What if Christopher Kavannagh want this joint dance to be a tool to hurt the families?"
Lothario sighed "No. He has thought of the possibility of that happening actually. He has thought of preventing that and I can assure you he has made sure there is zero chance of disturbance at that event. Believe me. When I went to your head master's office he asked me if I wanted to use this opportunity to tell him if I give consent for you or Lena to attend. I said I can not make that decision before seeing the plans and arrangements of the event... The head master quickly retrieved a large folder and handed it to me. He said all the information is in this folder. I looked through it. The plan was just so perfect. I saw no possibility of any danger being posed based on what he showed me. It was impossible. I examined everything and I asked him how did the school come up with these ideas? He said Christopher Kavannagh did..."
Luigi said "He planned the dance?"
Lothario shook his head "Not exactly. The school committee that Gianluca is a part of had an initial plan. It was just the student input. It would have taken weeks to plan and approve it and add the arrangements that the headmaster had to make. They needed to consult the head master of the other school and of course contact the two main sponsors, Christopher Kavannagh and Gerrardo Bellagio for input too for one. They did not even get the chance to send a letter to the Irish school or even to Gianluca's father regarding this. Christopher Kavannagh on that same day sends his plan to the Italian school. So the folder comes to the headmaster and he sends it to Gerrardo Bellagio. He approves it. Whats there not to approve?..."
Luigi said "Gianluca's father approved it..."
Lothario said "Trust me. If you read the arrangements you would not question it. I had a look. I know I prefer my children not to attend events where I deem unsafe. But if the place is safe I have no reason to lock them up in my territory or the territory of my allies. I do not believe in forcing my children to be on guard and live in fear in situations where there are no risks and neither does Gerrardo Bellagio. Nobody will intimidate my children. I am pretty certain Christopher Kavannagh agrees."
Luigi was thoughtful.
Lothario said "So I was asked by the headmaster to decide if I wanted to give consent for you and Lena to attend. I had a look at the plan. I had a look at that sheet of paper where I had looked at to check who had given consent to attend so far... Then I came across some interesting information when I looked at the list. Right in front of your name in the box that said the name of date, there was a blank box but there was a girl's name in the box under the Dance Partner column. Your name was in the box under the dance partner column in front of that girl's name too. So a girl by the name of Eden Carter has been signed up to go to the homecoming dance with you but won't be your date. Very interesting son. Do you want to elaborate on that?"
Luigi was frozen in place as he was staring at his father in shock. He could not believe it. His father knew about Eden Carter. What was his reaction. His facial expression gave nothing away.
Lothario smiled "So... You are interested in an American girl?" He stood up and walked slowly towards him as he was looking up at his father approaching him. His father walked around his desk slowly and leaned to the desk resting his hand by his sides leaning to the desk. He said "I did a background check on her today... Do you want to know what I know about her now?"
Luigi breathed out "Yes..."
Lothario said "Her father, Ephraim is a chemist. Her mother, Emma is a nurse. Eden is a straight A student and so is her twin brother Ethan... Very impressive academic record. Eden's mother, Emma has no siblings so there are no uncles or aunts from her side for Eden. From her father's side, Eden does have an uncle. Her uncle is a lawyer and does alot of consultancy in terms of law. He is known to accept any case and any client as long as they pay a high price. He has never lost a legal case in his life. Very impressive... Eden has an aunt too from her father's side who is a personal assistant at a law firm. Now... Let's get to her grandparents.... Her mother's parents are dead. They got married and had Emma when they were quite old so they died early. But Eden does have grandparents on her father's side. Ephraim's father is a priest and his mother is a house wife. I do not know how much you know about where Eden comes from. Eden is not from the east coast. No one in her family is from the east coast. She is from the west coast and so are all her surviving relatives and family members...." He stopped. He turned around and poured himself a drink into a glass from a bottle that was on his desk.
Luigi had never asked about where Eden was from. There were no indications that she was from anywhere but New York. He would have asked her where the origins of her family were from eventually. But he never thought it was an important matter to ask.
Lothario turned around, drinking with one hand and leaning to the desk with another. Lothario took a sip from his drink "So Ephraim decides to move to New York about a year and a half ago with his family from the west coast. He wants his children to attend Harvard University one day so it makes sense to move closer since his kids were getting closer to college age. I know Harvard is not that close to New York. They could have gotten closer if they moved to somewhere in Massachusetts perhaps. He had another reason to move here. He wants to be closer to his siblings who studied at Harvard and after finding jobs in New York never went back to the west coast. Ephraim thought it was a good idea. If he was moving to the west coast he might as well choose to live near his siblings. Hardvard University is not that far from New York. Her children can come home easily during the holidays once they start college." His father paused and took a few sips from his drink.
Luigi was anticipating a conclusion. A conclusion was coming... But his father sounded like he still had not finished with the information and he was just pausing to drink. What else he had found on Eden and what was his verdict going to be about the relationship? He had no idea. His father's expression gave nothing away at all.
Lothario said "Now. I did a background check on Eden's family members. Her parents are who they seem to be. Regular Americans. Nothing concerning about them. Let's get to Eden's uncle. Elijah is the name of Ephraim's brother. He is a lawyer and is unmarried living in a nice apartment in New York. Elijah is who he seems to be. He is motivated by money in life and his work. He gets a thrill out of taking on tough and controversial cases and winning them. He does not want a family and has put all his spare money into a college fund account for Eden and Ethan but he has not told Ephraim and his family about that. He will give it to them at a date closer to when Eden and Ethan are starting college. Even though Elijah is distant from Ephraim and he spends most his time working and not interacting with his relatives, he does care for his niece and nephew alot. So he seemed like a regular American... Now... Let's discuss Eden's aunt, Eleanor. She is the one family member who is not quite a regular American like the other relatives of Eden. Eleanor's life is quite interesting. You might want to hear about her... It might affect your thinking about this relationship you have started with this American girl..." He paused and took a few sips from his drink.
Luigi was silent. He prepared himself for hearing the next piece of information that was about Eden's aunt. He stared into his father's eyes searching for any clues of what was to come. He found none. It was impossible to read his father's mind. Was this the bad news his father had promised at the beginning of the conversation? The Irish-Italian relations getting better was the good news. So was this it? The bad news?
Lothario said "All Eleanor's relatives think she is unmarried and is living in New York alone in an apartment and works as a personal assistant at a law firm. That is what they have been told and that is what they have seen. They have no reasons to doubt that and think this is not the case. Eleanor's relatives visit her from time to time and she goes to visit them. But Eleanor has not told anyone about her real life. The only true fact is that she does live in New York. But she is married. She has children...." He then took a few sips from his drink.
Luigi was surprised. So Eden's aunt was keeping secrets? What were those secrets?
Lothario said "Do you know who Fabrizio Fontana is?...."
Luigi had heard that name before. Fontanas were quite a well known crime family but they lived and did business on a different side of New York and had no relations with the Alessandrini family. He wondered what the Fontanas could have to do with this matter? He said "I do not know him. But I have heard of the Fontana crime family. I do not know anything about them..."
Lothario said "Fabrizio Fontana is the younger son of Ferdinando Fontana, the head of the Fontana crime family. Ferdinando has an older son who is his first born heir, Federico. Years ago, Fabrizio meets Eleanor in college. He attends Harvard too like her. They fall in love. But Fabrizo does not tell Eleanor who his family are and what they do. After they graduate, she gets a job in New York. Fabrizio returns from college to his home too which is not that far from where Eleanor lives and works. Maybe he convinces her to move to New York after graduating from college. That is likely. Fabrizio works for his father and does visit Eleanor from time to time in secret. After a few weeks he does ask her to marry him and she says yes. Fabrizio goes to his father and says I want to marry this American girl. His father says no and forbids him from seeing her again..." Lothario stopped and took a few sips from his drink.
Luigi was taken back. So Eden's aunt had across the Fontanas? A crime family? He had not expected to hear such information at all. He was curious about what had happened next. Luigi asked "Father... Does he marry her in secret?" He knew his father was going somewhere with this. Fabrizio's case seemed to be similar to his situation.
Lothario said "No. Fabrizio knows he can not disobey his father without putting Eleanor's life in danger. He knows full well, if he goes ahead and marry her without his blessing, his father may kill Eleanor to punish him. That is how most head's of crime families operate and treat their children when they disobey. They may not give death sentences to their children for their betrayal or disobedience but whoever is the cause of their disobedience or has influenced their decision has to die. Fabrizio gets very upset and becomes very quiet and withdrawn but he goes on about his life and does not contact Eleanor for the next few days. His older brother, Federico notices how much his brother is affected and goes to his father. He tries hard to reason with their father to allow his brother to get married to this girl. He speaks to him for days about this..." He then stopped and drank the rest of the drink and finished it.
Luigi asked "What does the father decide in the end?" His father's verdict was coming soon. And he was pretty certain it was going to be at the end of this story.
Lothario placed the empty glass on the table and leaned to the table with his hands on his side gripping the edges. Lothario said "Fabrizio's father said yes but there were conditions."
Luigi asked carefully "What were those conditions?" He was in the same situation as Fabrizio. What was his father's verdict going to be. He had no idea. Would his father say yes and give him conditions like how the story was going or he was going to get a different verdict.
Lothario said "Ealeanor was not allowed to tell anyone anything about Fabrizio, who he is, what he does, who his family. She never tells her family she is even married. When they come visit her, she hosts them in a small apartment that is owned by the Fontanas and its sole purpose is for her relatives to think this is where she lives as a single woman. Also she changes her job to being Fabrizio's personal assistant. Fabrizio and Ealeanor both did law degrees. Fabrizio does deal with his family's business. But he only allows his wife to do the jobs relating to legal business and nothing to do with any crime families. So his wife knows nothing about the side of the business that she is not allowed to tell anyone about... Now, what if she breaks the rules? What do you think will be the punishment?"
Luigi said in a whisper"She dies..."
Lothario nodded "Yes. She dies and all her relatives die too including Eden..."
Luigi was concerned now. He had to ask a dreaded question. "Father... Has Eleanor broken the rules?"
Lothario said "No... She has not... She would not dare tell anyone anything unless she wants innocent people to die..."
Luigi took a sigh of relief. He still not had heard the key verdict. He knew the moment was close. But at least it did not sound like Eden was in danger because of a possible disobedience on her aunt's part.
Lothario said "Luigi... Now that you have heard what I found in the background checking procedure of Eden Carter, let's get straight to the point. You are moving towards the direction that Fabrizio went... You are starting a relationship with an American girl... Tell me... How serious is this relationship? She is not your date... She is your dance partner at the homecoming event at your school... So explain to me what does it mean?"
Luigi said "I have asked her out... She is thinking it over..."
Lothario said "So you are serious about this girl? Are you intending to marry her one day?"
Luigi swallowed hard. His father's eyes gave nothing away. He had no idea where this conversation was going to go. To his benefit? Or his doom? "I am serious father. I want to marry her."
Lothario nodded "Have you told her about our family?"
Luigi said "She knows nothing. She only knows Lena is my sister. She is not interested in asking questions that are too personal."
Lothario said "Now. Marrying an outsider is not unheard of in crime families. It can happen. But there is a cost attached. There is always a price to pay for this kind of union to take place. Now. Let's compare your current situation to Fabrizio. He loved an American girl. You love an American girl. Now are there any differences?"
Luigi responded "He is the second son. He is not going to be the leader after his father steps down. His older brother is the next leader... But I am the first and only son..."
Lothario said "Not exactly.... If the father dies and the first son dies, the second son takes the leadership role. Both Fontana heirs have been trained to lead. Their father is still in charge by the way so that situation has not happened where he has to take over by the way.... The two brothers were trained to lead just like how you have been trained to lead. Even right now where Fabrizio is not next in line to take over, he is still as important to his family. He is a Fontana. Think. What else was different about Fabrizio when he had asked his father to accept his American girl into the family?"
Luigi thought. He said "I am not sure father..."
Lothario said "Your current situation is not different to when Fabrizo was in college. He was dating a girl. He never told her anything about his family. They were just getting to know each other. But your situation is different to when he went to his father to ask if he would accept an American girl as his woman and would welcome her into the family... You are years away from that. Even a decade. When had gone to ask his father for his blessing, it was after he had asked his girl to marry him and after she had said yes. In his mind, Fabrizio loved this girl enough to want to marry her and spend the rest of life with her. Eleanor thought the same. They were in love and still are. She has been deceiving her American family by not telling them anything about her true life... She loves Fabrizio enough to do that. You are still in high school. You are certain you love this American girl and you want to marry her. How do you know when the time comes she will say yes? You want to marry her. Does she ever want to marry you? You can't be sure. How can you? ... Tell me. Can you tell me with certainty that when the time comes and you ask her to marry you she says yes?"
Luigi shook his head "No."
Lothario said "Now let's say she says yes to your marriage proposal in a decade's time. You come to me and ask for my blessing. Then I may give your woman the same conditions that the Fontana's gave Eleanor. She has to pretend her life is a single unmarried life... She has to put up a pretence in front of them. That sounds like a small price for love... However, what if you happily tell her these conditions and reveal to her who you are and what your family does. What if she is happy to marry you but is not happy to deceive her family. It depends on how strong her love is for you, What will she choose to do? Deceive her family for lifetime and live happily with you...or leaving you and choosing her family. Obviously Eleanor did not choose that option... Do you think Eden will choose the option that Eleanor chose? Can you tell me with certainty?"
Luigi closed his eyes shut and then opened them. He said "I can not be certain what her answer will be. I do not know what she will choose to do..."
Lothario said "What will happen if she walks away after you tell her who you are and what your family do? What do you think should happen to Eden?"
Luigi could not answer this question. He just could not. He did not want to think about it. He said "The decision will not be upto me... You as the head of the family will decide what should happen..." He felt like his heart was sinking.
Lothario said "What do you think my decision will be?"
Luigi swallowed hard. He did not want to say it but he had to respond to his father's question "Death for Eden... And maybe even her family members..."
Lothario sighed and then he took a step towards his son's seated form. He reached his hand to Luigi's head and stroked his hair as he looked down at him "You say I will decide to kill the woman you love and her family members in this situation... But.... I am not the head of the Fontana family Luigi. I am the head of the Alessandrini family... Do you think that my rules are the same as Ferdinando Fontana?"
Luigi stared into his father's eyes as he was stroking his hair and looking at him. His eyes still gave nothing away. No emotions or intentions that he could read. He breathed "I do not know father... I do not know your rules about such matter? I am guessing it must be similar..."
Lothario pulled his hand away and then started at his son as he put his hands on his hips. He stared right into his son's eyes.
Luigi was still seated and was looking up into his father's eyes. This was it. The moment of judgement. He could feel it coming.
Lothario said "Luigi. You are my son. I know you. Because I have raised you.... I have full faith and confidence in you as my son that your woman will always be loyal to you. Otherwise she will not be your woman. You do not have to follow the path that Fabrizio followed. You may choose to tell your woman about who you are and what your family does earlier than he did... I have enough faith in you to know that the woman that you choose will never betray you... However, In the unlikely event that I may be wrong about this... Then I have no doubt in my mind that you will be the one to make the decision on what will happen to your woman if she knows of the secrets she is not meant to know of and she walks away with the possibility of revealing the information to the outsiders either intentionally or unintentionally... You are still young.... But I know the kind of man you will become Luigi. You will protect this family... I know this... because you are my son. And if I did not know all of this about you... I would not be your father... Fathers know everything. They always do." He then smiled at his son and turned around and walked slowly to his chair. He sat down behind his desk and poured himself another drink into his glass. His expression was serious and business like once again after he had given Luigi that smile seconds ago.
Luigi did not expect to hear what he had heard from his father. He was taking in the meaning behind his father's words.
Lothario said "Now that we have this matter out of the way.... Let's get to the bad news." He then took a sip from his drink.
Luigi came out of his thoughts. There was no time to think about his relationship with Eden. He could think over his father's words later that night as he was laying in his bed and think of the message behind his words and what he was trying to teach him. He was in that study to learn from his father regarding business. What was this bad news?
Lothario said "Earlier I informed you that this Weekend we do not have to arrange that rushed meeting with the families regarding Irish-Italian relations and the tensions that have been reported recently.... So that frees up the weekend for attending to another matter that has been put off for so long...."
Luigi asked "What is it father?"
Lothario said "Our family has been invited to so many events hosted by the Bianchis in recent months and I have been putting off attending such events. They have always been social events in the weekends. I have been prioritising other engagements to handle during the weekends and have rejected their invitations quite often recently. So the last social event that our family attended at the Bianchi territory was months ago. I feel that I have no excuse to reject this particular invitation. I had cleared my schedule and your mother's schedule for the weekend in case we have to have arrangements to meet with heads of various Italian-American families to discuss the Irish-Italian tensions. I have no excuse now. So we are going to the Bianchi mansion. Your grandfather is coming too. As you are aware the head of the Bianchi family, Beingo is your grandfather's old friend from the time they were teenagers and every time I have been refusing invitations, your grandfather also chose not to go. He did not think it was right. Besides if he went alone it would have meant he would have had to explain why I had rejected the invitation. So be prepared on Saturday to travel to the Bianchi hosted event at the house of Bianchi. It is going to be a long party..."
Luigi asked "Father... What is the bad news regarding attending this party? Is all well?"
Lothario said "The bad news is that you have to change some of your plans. You can not go to see Eden this Saturday. I know you told our men to be prepared to drive you to the area where her father's shop is on Saturday. That trip can not happen Luigi. Do you understand the situation?"
Luigi said "Father, I totally understand... I can see her in school. I was not even going to object ... I just thought because I had time I could go over and say hi to her this Saturday..."
Lothario said "Excellent. Why don't you go to bed now? Good night son..."
Luigi said good night and walked to his bedroom. He prepared himself for sleeping and laid in his bed thinking over his father's conversation today. Every day he had meetings with his father, he learnt something new that he did not know about either his father to his business. His father was a fountain of knowledge and experience. He had given his blessing to Luigi to date Eden and given him so much insight into what he was letting himself into for life if she chose and a regular American girl to be his woman. He had gone through so many possibilities while they had that conversation about what his father's reaction going to be. He had gone through scenarios before that day about his fathers reaction to him loving an American girl. But he had not expected the outcome his father's judgement at all. His verdict had been so unexpected and he still could not get his head around it. It could take a long time for him to take it all in. He had just realised how much he did not know about his father and the kind of man he was. Fathers knew everything he said.
////
Author's note: Please share your comments and feedback please. What do you think will happen next?