Third Person
"Why were you still awake?" Josephine asked in the comfortable silence between the two of them. Vito turned from the stove in front of him to her.
"I still had things to do that I didn't get to today and wanted to start preparing for tomorrow so I could have more time for you. Besides, we have chairs to sit on and no kitchen surface." He looked at Josephine disapprovingly. She immediately jumped down and again Vito was surprised at how different she was from his younger brothers. Riccardo would definitely have started arguing and Matteo would have pretended not to hear him. Before Josephine could apologize, Vito lifted her back onto the surface and continued stirring the milk. "We won't tell anyone about this, okay?" He held the spoon imploringly in Josephine's direction.
"No one," she replied immediately, cocking her head to the side. "Not even Domenico? I don't know if I can lie if he asks me!"
Vito chuckled at her concern. "First of all, I don't think he would even care and secondly, he's the exception. But under no circumstances should any of the other three find out. Can you get to the cupboard to the left of you? Would you mind taking two cups out of there?"
"Sure." Josephine did as she was told and handed him the two cups. "And you shouldn't work so late because of me. I'm perfectly capable of managing on my own."
"I don't have the slightest doubt about that. If anyone can manage on their own, it's you. But just because you can, doesn't mean you have to." Vito took the pot off the stove, poured the chocolate into the cups and handed one to Josephine before leaning on the edge of the surface.
She thanked him before carefully taking a sip. Then she remembered what she had actually wanted to ask Valentino. "Can you tell me something about Matteo and Riccardo?"
"Matteo is 16 years old, likes to read and plays soccer. Riccardo is 17 years old, likes to argue and also plays soccer." Vito answered and thought about what else he could say about them without making them look like idiots. "They're...intense. It's best to see for yourself once they get back."
"When are they coming back?" She hoped it would take a while and she would have time to get used to the other three Marinis. From what she heard they would most likely be unhappy with her staying.
"Over the course of next week. Exactly when seems to depend on when they finish the school project."
"Which school is doing a project abroad for students?" asked Josephine, somewhat incredulously.
"A very expensive one, I can tell you. But while we're on the subject anyway, you haven't attended school since you ran away, right?" She shook her head in agreement. "I would like to get you a tutor who will work with you on the content of the last few years until you are ready to go to that fancy school which sent its students abroad. Would that be okay with you?"
Josephine let her shoulders sink in relief. "That would be wonderful, but only if it doesn't cause any inconvenience." She hadn't thought about school yet, but she also didn't want to attract attention because she had such big gaps in her education. "When can I start?"
Vito smiled. "You're probably the first one after Valentino who's happy about school. I would suggest we wait until you've settled in here and I'll look for a suitable teacher in the meantime." Josephine blushed and continued to drink, embarrassed. Vito thought about asking her about therapy too, but decided against it. That certainly wasn't a conversation you should have in the middle of the night.
When they had finished drinking, Vito took the cup from Josephine before putting it in the sink. Without a word he reached out his hand to help her down and she refused to point out that although she was small, she wasn't that small either. Instead she took his hand and slid down."Now it's time to go to bed young lady."
"Are we going down a secret passage again?" Josephine looked at him hopefully, but Vito just shook his head with a grin. "It was worth a try," she murmured and took the route she already knew. If she was honest, she was starting to notice how tired she was. The day had clearly lasted too long. She tried to stifle a yawn and rubbed her eyes.
"Domenico said that you have trouble sleeping in a bed. Should I put the mattress on the floor for you?"
Of course he did. "No, it's okay. A blanket and a pillow are enough," Josephine replied and she realized that it wasn't the answer Vito would have liked to hear. "But if you want to, you're welcome to do that," she hastened to say.
"Would you sleep on it?" She thought it best to remain silent. "I'm going to ask Valentino to look for a hard mattress tomorrow. Maybe we can get you used to sleeping in a real bed again."
"But I don't mind sleeping on the floor. I did that on the street too."
Vito sighed. "That's true and again I have no doubt that you can do it, but you don't live on the streets anymore and you certainly don't sleep there anymore." He didn't know how to explain this to her gently, but she would have to learn that this was a different place where she was safe and where she could sleep without being afraid and there would be certain adjustments for her to make. Josephine on the other hand was too tired to think about it any further and struggled with the few last steps to her bathroom.
Vito waited until she had changed and then wished her goodnight. As he opened the door, her voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Can I tell Domenico what happened?" Josephine sounded unsettled. She was ashamed of her actions, especially because she had promised him not to do anything stupid, but she couldn't help it and he deserved honesty from her.
Vito looked at his brother, who was standing across from their room with his arms crossed, staring at him. "I don't think you have to anymore," he replied hesitantly. "But I do think it's good-" he stopped when he saw her eyes already closed. Smiling, he turned off the light and left the room quietly.
_______________
Josephine nervously paced back and forth in front of the door to Domenico's office. Ever since Vito had told her that Domenico would be working from home today too, she had been thinking about the best way to confess it to him. But no matter how hard she tried, every draft sounded like she had gone crazy. How was she supposed to explain her actions to him? She thought it was bad to tell Vito, but Domenico was a completely different topic. When she told him, she definitely had to emphasize the part where she turned around. And under no circumstances was she allowed to tell him that she hadn't even worn a jacket. Or a scarf. Or a backpack filled with necessities.
"Do you have something to tell me or do you just want to appease your pedometer?" Domenico stood in the doorway and looked at Josephine, who jumped in shock.
"I- well- what I want to say- the following-" she stuttered, overwhelmed. "Hello Domenico," she finally said, realising how stupid she must have sound.
"Hello Josephine," Domenico replied and crossed his arms.
"Do you have a moment? I'd like to talk to you about something." She held her breath.
He nodded. "Come with me, the dogs need to be fed." He walked past her, only to realize after a few steps that she wasn't following him. Instead, she stood frozen in front of him. When she noticeably swallowed, Domenico understood what her problem was and held back a laugh. "Don't worry, you won't be part of the meal." He was briefly tempted to add 'not yet', but decided against it and moved on. "So, what do you want to talk about?"
Josephine took two quick steps to catch up and still didn't know how to start. What could she possibly say? The more she repeated this in her head, the more irrational she felt. But Domenico had helped her in the hospital, the least he deserved was the truth. "I had a... crisis yesterday and I tried to run away," she admitted hesitantly. Domenico remained silent. He just stubbornly walked on as if she hadn't said anything. Confused, Josephine followed him; perhaps she had just thought her words instead of saying them? "Domenico?"
"The dogs have to be fed once a day. Ares has teeth problems and needs the food softened and Hades only eats certain food, but I will show you how to mix it. They also get salmon oil, but they shouldn't see when it is put on it, otherwise they don't eat it." Domenico began to say without even addressing Josephine's confession. Instead, he stopped briefly to get two jackets from a closet and gave her one of them. She hurried to put on the jacket and still had to walk a few steps to catch up with him. "They are fed in the morning and when it freezes, their drinking bowls have to be checked regularly to see if the water is frozen."
Domenico held the door to the carport open for Josephine, went through a door at the back and purposefully turned right. Meanwhile, Josephine was wondering why he actually told her that, but she didn't dare ask him directly because it wasn't yet clear whether she would be the meal after all.
"The easiest way is to prepare the food first and then call them, because otherwise they just make a fuss. When they're done, the bowls are put back in the shed. Oh and they love antlers to chew on. They get them once in a week and it's best if you hide them beforehand so they have something to search for."
Josephine stopped in shock, her heart skipping a beat. "Me?"
"Of course you, do you see anyone else?" The way he said it made it sound like an incontrovertible fact. In fact, he stopped and turned to her. "Feeding will be your job for at least a month from now on."
"You-you can't be serious!" They would eat them as a snack at the first opportunity, not to mention they wouldn't listen to Josephine at all.
"Very serious indeed. Everyone here has chores to do. Why should you be excluded from this?"
"I don't want to be excluded and of course I will take on chores, but the dogs-" she tried to explain to him, but Domenico didn't give her any time.
"Good. Then we've sorted that out. There's the hut at the front and the door is always open. On the other side there's a flap for the dogs so they can get in and out so don't be too surprised if they're suddenly next to you. ", he continued, undeterred, as if nothing had happened.
"May I ask-"
"Was it a good idea to run away without speaking to either of us?" Josephine guiltily lowered her gaze and shook her head.
"Was it a good idea to leave in the middle of the night without everything? Without even a jacket and in these excuses of shoes?" Josephine shook her head again.
"And what did you do first chance you got? The opposite of what you promised me less than twelve hours before." This time Domenico sounded really angry and he was. Vito could be as understanding as he wanted, but Domenico was angry about what she had done. "Explain that to me, Josephine, because it sounds like a pretty stupid idea to me!"
"I'm sorry," Josephine said quietly, and she had to admit that it was a weak apology. He was right. She had promised him not to do anything stupid and he had trusted her. How could he not be angry?
"I do believe you, but that doesn't change your doing. And that's why you're going to take care of the dogs. Maybe then you'll notice how it feels when you have responsibility for others, because at this moment I'm not even sure if you can take responsibility for yourself!" Domenico stared at the slumped girl in front of him. Vito had tried to convince him not to punish her, because in the end she turned around and came to him, but Domenico didn't care. She had to understand why some things couldn't be tolerated and also running away wasn't an appropriate coping strategy at all. His brother could be understanding as much as he wanted to; he wouldn't be.
Nobody said anything for a while. Domenico not because he was too angry, Josephine not because she didn't know what to say.
Then she pulled herself together and looked at Domenico. "And how much food do they get?"
"I'll show you," he replied grimly, keeping his word.
They went into the hut together and he showed her exactly who got what food and how. He also explained to her how to call the dogs and what commands they listened to. It took a few tries to get them to coming to her whistle and even more to get them to sit down, but in the end they did what she wanted them to do. Despite her strong trembling, she even managed to distribute the bowls without dropping anything. Domenico was satisfied, Josephine was bathed in sweat.
"Next time you have a crisis, come to us," he implored her while they cleaned up. Worried, he saw her eyes become as empty as they were when he found her a few weeks ago.
"And what can you do? The demons won't leave just because I speak to you." She sounded exhausted which she was.
"They probably won't, but you won't have to face them alone Tiny."
Hello there!
it's quite ambitious, but I finished writing the epilogue today (and only the epilogue, I'm not that ambitious after all) and now that it's finished, I'm sure it won't end like that :) But only time can tell.
The question of the day: What about you don't you want to change? I find this a difficult question for me personally. My first instinct would be to say my laugh, but that would just be the quick answer. In fact, I can't say because there are many, many things that I would like to change but which have led to what defines me.
Although, I don't want to change my love for my daughter. Yeah, that's it :)
See you soon!