Third Person
Vito stood behind the desk and looked at his brother angrily. Domenico stared back unwaveringly with his arms crossed. Sometimes, he found, his brother was surprisingly short-sighted. Just like the last twenty minutes that have been here.
"How could you decide that without talking to me about it first?" Vito snapped again. "Otherwise we'll discuss everything that concerns our family or work beforehand!" Domenico continued to say nothing. They had gotten to this point a few times and he didn't see the point in talking to Vito while he was so angry. Grown people should know better and they were both adults, Domenico thought. "Do you realize the danger this puts Josephine in?" Vito didn't understand his brother. They wanted custody of Josephine and were therefore responsible for her well-being and the first thing his brother did was take her home early and against the wishes of the doctors. Still, he stood in front of him as if it didn't matter to him. "Don't you care about her at all?"
Something flashed in Domenico's eyes and he took a deep breath as he walked closer to the desk. His voice was still calm when he spoke. "Can you really not see it?" he asked, shaking his head. He leaned over the table closer to Vito and rested his hands on the table. "Are you that blind?"
Vito straightened and furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to understand what his brother was referring to. "Obviously yes. I beg you to enlighten me with your wisdom." Sarcasm dripped from his voice.
"Do you think I would risk anything that could affect her health? You've known me all my life. When have I ever done something so rash?" The answer was clear to both of them: never. Even as children, it was always Domenico who acted rationally. Whenever Vito was upset about this, his mother would take him aside and explain it to him again and again. Due to the premature birth, Domenico's brain functioned differently than his own. It took years for Domenico to understand why people sometimes acted irrationally and what influence emotions had. That didn't mean he didn't feel anything, just in a different way and Vito was always there for him to help him understand.
"I'm sorry, I'm just worried about her health. Can you please explain it to me?" Vito asked, much calmer this time.
Domenico also stood normally again and looked at his brother with his head cocked to the side. "I promised not to say anything. But if it wasn't my wish, not yours and not the doctors', then whose could it have been?"
Josephine. Of course, but why would she do something so stupid? Did she want to run away again and thought she had better chances if she was here? No, she wasn't that stupid. But what reason could she- "Is she concerned about the hospital bill?" Domenico said nothing and that was enough. "But why? That's nonsense! We will of course pay for any treatment. How could she come up with such a stupid idea? Have you said anything to her about it?" Vito shook his head and continued without even giving Domenico time to open his mouth. "Of course not. That's crazy!"
"Not from her perspective. Try to see it from her point of view. She, who is afraid of being a burden to us in any way. Who is not used to having money or a safe environment."
"She thinks we won't take her in because of that?" Vito was stunned. How could she think so little of them? On the other hand, who knows how many times she had been disappointed by people. 'We won't become one of them,' decided Vito grimly.
"She didn't say it, but it would make sense considering her circumstances.", his brother replied.
"Then why didn't she talk to me about it?" Vito ran his hands through his hair. Such a thing would not be tolerated if he was going to be her guardian. Domenico didn't answer, just looked at him as if he was slow to understand. Well why? "She doesn't trust me," Vito stated and collapsed into the chair.
Domenico did the same and reached for his cigarettes out of habit before he remembered that they were no longer there. Fuck. "If it's any consolation, she doesn't trust me any further than she can run away. But she probably knew you wouldn't agree under any circumstances. Do you have your cigarettes here?"
"There is a minor in the house Nico. Of course not. Where are yours?"
Groaning, Domenico rubbed his face. "I know, that's why I threw mine away when we left the hospital. Ah fuck," he cursed.
"What do we do now?" Vito returned to the topic.
"Because of the cigarettes or because of Josephine?" Domenico squinted against the light of the lamp. "I know what you think, so save yourself the lecture. We agreed that she would get one of our watches and that she would have to report as soon as she felt unwell. She probably won't do the latter. We can monitor them via video tonight or set an alarm up when she starts shaking."
"We can't do that. Last time was an exception due to the special circumstances, but we can't do it again without her consent. She should be able to trust us."
His brother laughed quietly. "Sure, that's why she gets a watch so we can know where she is at all times and how she's doing. By the way, I didn't tell her that we could use it to locate her, but I don't think she'll try to run away while it's so cold outside." He looked at the clock behind Vito's head. "Dinner is almost ready and I'm hungry. Do you have anything else to accuse me of or am I allowed to leave?"
"I'm sorry Nico." Vito apologized and was dissatisfied with himself. It was normal for his other brothers to be angry with him at some point but it was a completely different story with Nico.
"You already said that," Domenico commented dryly as he stood up and Vito knew he was disappointed at his lack of trust in him. "And don't ever say I don't care about her again."
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Valentino actually wanted to continue the tour of the house, but Josephine seemed so comfortable in the kitchen that he decided not to. She hadn't said much while they were there, but she had her arms relaxed on the table. She listened intently to Maria and him as they talked about the art of cooking. She had also smiled three times and he was convinced he would set a record today. "Would you like another piece?" he asked her and she shook her head. "Your loss." Valentino shrugged as he popped the last piece into his mouth.
"There's also dinner, beware of you not being able to eat any more!" Maria had her hands on her hips, but both knew that he could easily do both. All Marinis were blessed with a very healthy appetite and Maria had been worried more than once that they wouldn't all be full; Riccardo in particular was insatiable during his growth spurt. She was worried about Josephine; the child was so small and emaciated as if she would fly away with the next gust of wind. It became her declared goal to nurture the girl. "Belleza, what do you mean? Pizza or pasta?" she tried to involve Josephine in the conversation.
Josephine swallowed. "Both?" she answered cautiously. "Our Italian restaurant used to have a pizza with pasta as a topping." Two pairs of wide eyes looked at her in shock.
"You can't be serious, Josi. Don't play with us, my heart won't survive that!" Valentino dramatically placed his hand on his chest. Maria couldn't say anything about it, she was so horrified.
"But it was practical: two meals in one," Josephine tried to defend her favorite restaurant at the time.
"Piccola, food should never be practical!" Maria blurted out.
"That's easy to say when you always have something to eat," she murmured quietly and looked out the window. Her thoughts flew to the other homeless people, while her mood changed into bitterness. Had they already found something to eat today? How did they cope with the cold? Her hand unconsciously closed around her necklace.
Valentino watched her and didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought about it, but of course food didn't come naturally to her. How could he be so insensitive towards her? He silently reached for her hand and clasped it in his.
"Oh Miele, I'm sorry. That was tactless of me." Maria went to Josephine and hugged her tightly. "It must be terrible not knowing what or if you're going to get something to eat every day."
Josephine said nothing, but Valentino saw her trying to blink away the tears in her eyes. He gently squeezed her hand and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.
"What's going on here?" Domenico stood in the doorway and analyzed the situation in front of him. "Tiny?"
Josephine pulled away from the two of them and briefly wiped her eyes. "Nothing. It's all good," she replied. "Is everything okay between you and Vito?"
"Of course Josephine," Vito said as he came up behind his brother. When he too could see everything, he pushed past Domenico and took long steps to Josephine. "What happened?" he demanded. When Josephine didn't answer, he looked at Valentino. His brother slightly shook his head and mouthed 'later'. Vito nodded, but he was anything but satisfied.
"If no one wants to talk here, then we might as well eat. Maria?" Domenico sat down at the table next to Valentino and looked at the empty plate in front of him. "What is that? Have you eaten yet?" He sounded pissed and Valentino hurried to explain to him that they had already eaten something in advance because dinner would still take a while and Josephine was hungry beforehand.
"The dinner will be ready in half an hour," Maria informed those present and returned to the stove to stir the contents of the pot.
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After dinner, Valentino had suggested they watch a movie together, but Josephine had asked to go to sleep instead. She blamed it on the long and eventful day, although it was clear to everyone in the room this certainly wasn't the main reason. Nevertheless, Valentino immediately agreed to show her the room which would be hers from now on. Once they reached her room, he tried to say something but she thanked him and said she wanted to take a shower. Valentino was well aware that she had already showered in the hospital, but he got the hind. He gently closed the door behind him.
Josephine stood in the room and condemned herself for her sensitivity. She felt sick, almost like she had to vomit. It took her just one day to disappoint the people around her. Why did she have to be so stupid? Couldn't she just pretend it was okay? Through her time with her foster family, she successfully deceive the school and the authorities. Why couldn't she do the same here? The Marinis had already done so much for her and what had she done? Nothing. It would only be a matter of time before they had enough of her ingratitude and kicked her out; Josephine was sure. And as she stood in that beautiful room; which, like everything here, was too big; she felt more worthless than ever before.
'God punishes the ungrateful.'
His voice sounded in her head and Josephine knew she couldn't suppress it, she never could.
'That's why you have to atonement'
Vehemently she shook her head, but it was useless. She fell silently on the floor, curled up, and let the tears fall as these memories ate their way through her body.
'And I can help you to get it, if you are obeying.'
She felt so dirty; the kind of dirty no shower in the world could ever be able to wash away. But she was ungrateful and that's what she deserved.
Hello there,
How are you?
Since the chapter doesn't end with a nice thought, at least my commentary should :-)
What's something about yourself you are proud of?
I thought about it a while and for me personally it's that I can forgive.
See you soon!