What the hell is that sound? Fuck. Who the hell calls this early? Whoever is calling, it better be important. I pick up the phone. "Speak."
"Luca, do I have to do this?" Aria sobs into the phone.
"Aria, it is seven am. You better have not called me to discuss your marriage to Alphonse again," I say, irritated.
"Luca, I am your sister. .Please don't make me go through this." She is heaving on the phone. I breathe and pull myself off the bed.
"Aria, the deal has been done and signed. You know our life. There is no way out. "I give her few minutes to absorb this then add, "He will be a good man to you. He needs a wife, and he is the only remaining underboss who is not married. Or do you want to marry a solider instead?" She stops crying. ,This fact gets her thinking. I know Aria will not like marrying a solider. She would deem it beneath her, so I continue.
"I talked with him, and he assured me, he will be good to you and will make sure your needs are met. Aria, I am asking you as the boss and your old brother, stop the drama, learn your place. You are luckier than most in our world. " With that, I hang up. It is early, and I am fully awake; I should take advantage of this extra time to myself.
After the gym, I get out of the shower, and head to the coffee machine when I see Matteo and Marco drinking coffee in the living room.
"What are you guys doing here this early?"
"We got the same call from Aria," Matteo complains. I say nothing. We all know there is nothing to be done about it. Our father made that deal, and it was signed in blood. The sooner Aria can accept it and move on, the better for everyone.
"So, for tonight. Do you want to go over the plan?" Marco asks.
"I think it is simple. I go in and say, 'I will take your daughter Elena to be my wife,'" What else is there to plan? They say nothing—just stare at me—so I ask, "What else is there to say? "
"You are not going to ask her hand in marriage in the proper traditional way?" Matteo raises his eyebrow while drinking his coffee.
"No. I am the boss. He is lucky I am marrying into his family, so I will state it, and we go from there. "
"I like it. Do you have worries that Luciano will take offense?" Marco asks one of his pointed questions.
"No Luciano will take this as an opportunity to show that he is giving us something we want, and therefore will ask for something in return."
Marco tilts his head, seeming to think of this. I can see when understanding dawns on him.
"So, any plans after dinner? "Matteo asks.
"Yes. DeMarco's son, Antonio, wants to take us out to his new club, and I said yes. I hope you are okay with that, Luca," Marco says.
"I think a night out after this dinner would be a great idea." I oblige and then turn to see Matteo all fidgety. He seems nervous, so I ask, "Do you need to say something? "
"I was wondering if you think I could ask for Maria's hand in marriage to ease the blow on Lorenzo?" Matteo discloses, doing his best to seem collected. I almost spit my coffee. This was blunt and to the point.
"You want her?" Marco is shocked and confused. Marco never understood Matteo's desire to get married and have a family. Marco never showed any long term interest in any woman. He fucked them and let them go.
"Well, I would like to settle down and start a family," Matteo says. I am proud of him. It is not easy to say something like that to Marco, who is staring him down. If it is up to Marco, he will never get married. He knows, however, at some point, he will have to, and knowing Marco, it will be definitely a marriage of convenience. I am sure his wife will understand the terms clearly.
I go back and refill my coffee, take few sips and think about it.
"Not yet," I finally say. "If you want to marry her, I will make it happen, but not yet. I want to see what Luciano will ask for first." I take another sip of my coffee. "I don't want the bastard to be too happy marrying his city into two Vitelli's at once."
Matteo nods and says, "Understood. Anything else you need, Luca? "
"No. See you tonight at seven."
"I will head out. I have some business to take care of." He gets up and leaves. Marco and I look at each other, both of us wondering how Matteo turned out like this. "He wants to get married. What is wrong with him?" Marco stares after Matteo.
I smile and say nothing. Marco and Matteo are nothing alike.
*******************************************
Luciano insists we meet him before dinner at his place for a drink before heading out to the Profaci's house.
"So you have made a choice?" He asks as he passes the drinks around.
I nod. "Yes, I have," I say and sip my drink.
I will not tell him more than needed. He will find out soon enough, or he will have to ask directly.
"Maria is dear to our hearts, and I have to say that her father and I would wish you to take care of her," he says while grinning triumphantly at me. He likes this feeling of having the upper hand.
"I am glad she is dear to your hearts, " I reply back, "so she will stay close to your hearts."
He looks taken aback; he is not sure what this means. I find it enlightening, these moments, when someone is taken by surprise. You can tell a lot about the person through their reaction; you get a glimpse of the real person behind the mask. He does not like losing control and what I just said makes him feel not in control. Interesting, I need to keep that in mind.
"What are we meeting Lorenzo for then?" he asks with a slight hint of annoyance, another interesting fact to file. He does not like me at all.
"Well, the arrangement for my wife... I am taking Elena," I say and wait for his response.
He is more unsettled than before. "She is promised to ... " He seems to blank for a bit, then adds, "Gabriel Cappola."
Marco tenses beside me, and Matteo looks pensive and suddenly worried. I am not falling for Luciano's bait.
"That is unfortunate... for Gabriel. Un-promise it then. "I look him straight in the eyes while putting my drink down.
"For the right incentive, I am sure we can find a way," he says.
And here it is. Luciano wants something. I take a moment to think about how to respond to this. "Give me a second. I've got to make a phone call," I say and step out of the room. I motion to the guards to make sure no one disturbs me or, more like, eavesdrops on my call.
I dial Giovanni. "Gabriel Gambino, I need him to call me pronto," I say and hang up. I wait for few minutes then the phone rings.
"Luca, to what do I owe this honor?" Gabriel starts. He is like an uncle to me. He is married to Bria, my aunt. He has always been an honorable man, and I admire him. If I have a favorite underboss after my brothers, Gabriel would be it.
"Gabriel Cappola."
"Yes?"
"Is Elena Profaci promised to him?" I ask
"No, she is not, as far as I know. And I can make it be so," he adds on.
I am pleased with his thinking and say, "Make it so."
I head back to the discussion with Luciano. So he thought he could pull one on me. I return to the table and ask Luciano a few questions about the latest issues with the Cartel. We have had a few stolen cargos lately, and Luciano keeps blaming the Cartel. We discuss this further and the alliance we are working through with them, Luciano explaining to us all the challenges and issues he sees with this alliance. I still need to think through this; I know my Pa started this negotiation a while ago. After some time, I return to the topic of tonight.
"The Gabriel problem is resolved. It is no longer an issue, so let us head to the Profaci's. I want to get this wrapped up. I have an early flight tomorrow. "
Luciano stills for a moment , nods his head and gets up , well at lease he knows when to back down.
we all stand, and head out.
**********************************************
We get to the Profaci's house. Luciano and Gia enter first and are greeted fondly by Lorenzo and Analia. I walk in, followed by my two brothers.
Lorenzo seems too excited. He shoves Maria in front of us.
"Maria, my daughter." She looks like she has been crying, is that because she thought she will be my wife, interesting thought.
"Luca, nice to meet you." I take her hand and kiss it as is our custom.
"This is Matteo and Marco, my brothers." They greet her.
I turn to Elena as she walks towards us.
"Oh, this is Elena—just Elena," Lorenzo interjects.
"Hello Elena," I smile and take her hand; I can feel electricity the minute our hands touch. She smiles back and turns towards my brothers. I don't like that she turned so quickly; I cannot seem to stop looking at her. She is gorgeous, but she seems unaware of it, making her even more beautiful. I look around and see Luciano checking her out. I don't appreciate that, and a bang of possessiveness hits me.
"Lorenzo, let's go to your office to discuss what we need to discuss," I say, shifting the conversation back to business.
"Yes, for sure, boss. Is there anything I can get for us to drink?" he adds cheerfully.
"No. Let's get to the point. " He leads us to the office. I wait for the men to sit down, then I sit down.
"As you know, I need a wife, and I have decided that Elena will be my wife." I look at Lorenzo, waiting for his reaction. He is silent and seems utterly surprised. I give him few minutes to absorb what will happen next.
"She is born out of wedlock, " he says, trying to make me understand, as if I would make a decision without having all the information
"Maria is my real daughter," he adds; I am sure he does not think I am picking a wife based on who he thinks his daughter is. But none the less, his stand on Elena is intriguing.
"Be it she is or is not, I don't care. I've decided," I say firmly. "Now for the logistics. Once this announcement is made, her security will need to be handled."
"We will take care of that." Luciano steps in as Lorenzo is still sitting there stunned.
"What are the timelines you are thinking of, Luca?"
"I will come back next week for the engagement, and we will get married within a month."
"This is a too short time to prepare a wedding," Lorenzo finally adds in something to the conversation.
"Yes. It is a short time to get everything done. After all, this will be the biggest wedding we will have in a while. The wedding of our boss is not a small occasion," Luciano adds snidely.
"That is true. It will be a big event. Still, I want it sorted out fast," I say . "Get it done. Don't disappoint me. Money is not an issue." This will happen in a month, and I am not getting the run around about it. I give the room a few minutes to settle down and realize there is only one way this conversation is going, and I will get what I want.
"Well, we seem all aligned here, so let's go to dinner then," Marco says to diffuse the situation. I appreciate his interference; it lightens the mood a bit, and to support his initiative, I stand up and head to the door. Lorenzo asks, defeated, "When do you want me to tell her and my family?"
"I will make it known tonight." I am looking forward to seeing how Elena reacts; I don't want to miss her reaction. I don't usually care, but for some reason, with her, I am interested.
We head towards the dining room, and as we enter, we see the women putting the dishes around the table.
Lorenzo clears his throat, and Analia smiles brightly at him.
"Oh, dinner is ready. Please go ahead. We are just placing all the dishes."
"Great. Thanks, dear, but I guess before we start, let's have a toast," he says to the room and to no one in particular.
"Sure. let me get the champagne .. just give me few minutes. Elena, come on." Analia rushes Elena out.
The champagne flutes are given to all of us, starting with me.
"To the joining of our families..." I lift my glass up, and so does everyone else. I pivot my vision on Elena; I am enjoying this too much. "I have chosen Elena to be my wife... salute." And I sip, and everyone follows with shocked looks. No one dares to voice their opinions.
Elena stares at me with fire in her eyes; she is angry. I stare back. I will not back down. She shakes her head, and then, as if she turns on a switch, she schools her emotions back to a neutral position and smiles as Gia, Analia, and Maria congratulate her. Good, she knows how to hide her feelings, that will come in handy in this life of ours; it is crucial you don't show your hand.
Lorenzo goes and gives her a quick hug and leads her to come close to me. She stands beside me, sipping her drink, and my fingers are itching to wrap around her waist, pull her close and kiss her soft, plump lips. I want her soon; this is not the place nor the time. Once the congratulations are done, she turns to me and whispers, so only I can hear, "Would it be possible to have a word in private with you? P—please?"
I would love nothing but to get her in a room alone, but we have rules, and as the boss, I need to respect them—well, most of them—and I am not sure I can control myself right now.
"it is not appropriate to be alone with a man who is not your husband. I am sure you know that, Elena" I lift my eyebrow at her while dishing this out.
"Yes," she says, gritting her teeth, then she smiles at me and turns to Lorenzo, "Papa, can you be present? I would like to speak with Luca."
Nice move; she does think quick on her feet. Before I answer, though, Lorenzo replies like a good soldier, "If Luca approves."
"No. Let's have dinner." And just like that, I dismiss her request. She looks at me with a spark of that fire I saw earlier, then as before, it is turned off. She lets go of the subject and heads to the dinner table, where she sits beside me with no further protests. She will need to learn her place fast, and never question me or manipulate me into doing anything. I will not have a wife who will challenge me in front of others. I don't mind a challenge behind closed doors, but never in front of others.
The dinner goes smoothly with little chit chat. Gia does most of the talking about the preparations needed for the engagement next week and the wedding. Elena seems far away, and when asked about any particular themes she would like, she answers with little interest, so I guess Gia is the official wedding planner and enthusiast.
We leave shortly after; as I head out, I pull Luciano aside and order him, "Make sure you send me your security choices tonight; I need to approve them."
"Yes, boss. I will sort this out the minute I get home."