Page 6 of Gratification in Gluttony (Passing Through Cafe #2)

Chapter six

The Marynos

Several tram stops, and an extra foamy, extra syrupy latte later, Toni and Gem sat on the train to Envy. Gem sipped at his coffee, eyes trained out the window as he hummed under his breath. Toni drummed his fingers on his knees, checking his phone to make sure Flo hadn’t texted him, raging that he’d missed his mother’s final words.

Thankfully, his phone was silent the whole trip. They jumped on another tram to the main medical center in Envy—the one usually reserved for cosmetic surgeries and elective procedures. Why his mother was here after suffering a medical emergency, Toni couldn’t fathom. She must have been shopping when it happened, and they’d simply rushed her to the nearest emergency center.

Toni gave his name at the reception as Gem drained the last dregs of his latte and handed the empty cup to the Sypent behind the computer. “You have a trash can back there, right?”

Gem studiously ignored the glare Toni sent his way, pretending to admire the sleek stone walls and the trickling fountain in the center of the lobby. The place looked more like a spa than a hospital, but Toni was too worried to dwell on it.

“Top floor,” the receptionist said with a sour look at Gem. “Suite Three.”

“Suite?” Gem said as Toni power-walked to the lift. “Your mother would demand nothing less than a suite for her deathbed.”

“I’m not appreciating your cavalier attitude,” Toni snapped as they stepped into the elevator.

“I’m not appreciating the hostility,” Gem retorted.

Toni ground his teeth, and Gem’s demeanor softened. He turned and cupped Toni’s face, turning it up so he could gaze down into Toni’s eyes with all eight of his. “Deep breath, babe. Everything’s gonna be okay. Your mom is gonna be fine, I know it.”

“What if she’s not?” Toni asked, his throat tightening.

Gem pressed their foreheads together, his soft from thin, downy fuzz, Toni’s smooth and cool. “Then I’ll be right beside you the whole time.”

The elevator chimed, and the doors opened. Hand in hand, Toni and Gem stepped out into the hall. Idyllic music played over the speakers, and Toni could hear the buzz of voices coming from the different suites. He tried to locate familiar ones, but Gem shattered his focus.

“Oh, vending machine! Dinner and a show? If you insist,” he tittered as he skipped to the vending machine several yards away.

“What are you doing?”

Gem gestured at the machine. “Getting a snack. Ooh, they have doka seeds. Score!”

Leaving Gem dancing at the snack machine, Toni strode down the hall to Suite Three. He closed his hand around the knob and steeled himself. Not only was his mother in mortal danger —most likely—but he was about to face his entire family for the first time in a while.

It made his already roiling stomach cramp, but he shook off the nerves. It wouldn’t be pleasant, his family never was, but he was stronger now. And he wasn’t alone. For all Gem’s glibness, Toni knew he’d come to ensure he didn’t have to face this alone, and Toni loved him for it.

As Gem stepped up beside him, a packet of crunchy doka seeds in his grasp, Toni took a deep breath, turned the knob, and opened the door. The mood inside the sitting room was as grave as a crypt. Gods and goddesses, his mother was already dead, wasn’t she? And he’d missed it.

Damn that sponge bath!

Most of his family was already there, and he barely had a chance to exhale before Flo was throwing herself into his arms, sobbing hysterically.

“Am I too late?” Toni asked, stroking the broad side of Flo’s spinal fin in comfort. “Is Ma—”

“It’s just so terrible, Toni. I’ve been a mess all day.” Flo stepped back, dabbing at her nose with a tissue. “Did you bring my crisps?”

Well, shit. In the madness, Toni may have forgotten that request.

“Oh, well, you see, funny story—” Toni’s chuckle was strained, and Flo’s miserable expression soured.

“Did you forget my crisps?” she said, and Toni splayed his empty hands.

“He forgot the crisps,” his other sister, Kat, echoed, shaking her head in disapproval.

“Of course he forgot the crisps,” Mins, Toni’s other other sister, agreed.

“You said to hurry—” Toni tried.

“I said to hurry and get my crisps. I told you they had a gift shop,” Flo said.

“The gift shop’s right downstairs,” Mins said.

“It’s impossible to miss, honestly,” Kat said.

“Okay, just wait a second—” Toni tried again.

“Bro, she’s pregnant,” Flo’s husband, Mak, joined in. “What? You want her to starve?”

Flo pressed a manicured hand to her chest. “You want me to starve?”

“Of course I don’t want you to starve!” Toni cried.

“Oh, so he wants the babies to starve.” Mins cocked a hip and glared at him.

“You want her babies to starve?” Kat’s jaw dropped dramatically. “What kind of monster are you?”

“I don’t want your babies to starve, Flo. I don’t want anyone to starve!” Toni barked, pointing his finger at each of them in turn. “My mother is in mortal peril, and y’all are gonna stand around and yell at me over some crisps?”

“Do not take that tone with me, Toni!” Flo, Mins, and Kat all said simultaneously.

A loud crunch interrupted the yelling, and everyone turned their attention to Gem, who leaned against the wall, looking positively giddy as he snacked on his doka seeds.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” he said. “I’m already having a great time. Carry on.”

Before Toni’s sisters could turn their wrath on Gem, the door to the hall opened, and a tiny Elas rushed into the room. “Uncle Toni!” Angel screeched in excitement as she crashed into Toni’s legs.

“Hey, baby girl, is that you?” Toni hoisted her into his arms and spun her around as she squealed in delight. “I didn’t recognize you; you’ve gotten so big! Oh my gods, look at that fin.”

Angel squeezed his neck so tight she was nearly squashing his gills, but he didn’t care. She could disfigure him all day, and he’d let her. Judging from his oldest sister, Bett’s expression as she slipped into the room, Angel would not have the chance, so Toni tucked his face into his niece’s hair and soaked in what little time he’d have to hold her.

“You missed our last play date at Aunt Flo’s!” Angel pouted as she leaned back, arms clasped behind his neck.

“I know, baby, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you next time, I promise.”

She frowned sternly at him. “You better.”

“Angel,” Bett said stiffly, and Angel’s black eyes shifted over Toni’s shoulder to her mother. She wriggled in his hold, indicating her desire to be put down, so Toni crouched and set her on her feet.

He stole one last hug, kissing the top of her head before he straightened and gently pushed her toward her mother. “Go on back to your momma while I talk with the grown-ups, okay?”

The sweet smile she sent him made his throat cinch, and he blinked several times to fight off the burn. Bett handed Angel a clear bag of coloring supplies, then directed her to the small table in the corner. She spared Toni a brief glance, and Toni nodded at her.

“Bett,” he greeted.

“Toni,” she replied.

“You look good.”

“I wish I could say the same, but you look about as good as you smell.”

Chuckling, he tucked his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Well, I was in a bit of a hurry. Didn’t exactly have time to freshen up.”

“And now we all have to suffer,” a deep, grating voice sounded from behind him, and Toni did his best not to roll his eyes as his least favorite brother-in-law brushed past him, making sure to shoulder-check him just enough to knock him off balance.

“Sal, how lovely to see you,” Toni deadpanned as Sal, Bett’s husband, took his place at his wife’s side.

Unlike Toni’s family, who were all shades of grayish-blue, Sal was nearly pure white. His eyes were the lightest gray Toni had ever seen, and it gave him the willies. He was shorter than Toni, shorter even than Bett, but he carried himself with the ego of a much taller man.

He had never liked Toni, and the feelings had always been mutual. He was a brown-nosing little prick, wanting to take Toni’s place as heir to the business. Which was just fine by Toni, since he had no interest in filling his father’s shoes.

Honestly, he just wanted to get through this without wanting to wring Sal’s neck. Well, until Sal decided to insult Gem right to Toni’s face.

“Why’d you bring the vlier ?” he sneered, giving Gem a disgusted once-over.

Toni growled, but before he could rip Sal a new asshole, Gem barked a mocking laugh. “If I’m such a vlier, then how come I did your mom last night?” Several hisses buzzed around them, but Gem just smirked and cracked down on another seed. “Don’t worry, babe, I was generous. She said I was the best she’d ever had.”

Unable to hold back a snicker, Toni cleared his throat and said, “It’s true. I was there for the whole horrifying thing.”

Baring his teeth, Sal stepped forward menacingly. “What did you say about my mother?”

“Mmm, please,” Gem simpered. “Take notes from your receding hairline and step back.”

Bett glowered at Gem so deeply she looked like a caricature of herself, and Sal’s pale complexion colored with a humiliated flush. Mins had her hand pressed to her mouth in horror as her husband, Walli, squeezed her upper arms above her fins. Kat was still as a statue as Flo’s gaze jumped between Sal and Toni, nails digging into Mak’s forearm.

And Toni? He laughed and offered Gem a well-deserved high-five. Gem took it, kicking out his leg in a quasi-curtsy.

“Always coming in clutch,” Toni said, and Gem batted his lashes.

“I aim to please.”

“How dare you come in here and insult this family,” Bett snarled, jumping to her husband’s defense.

“I didn’t insult this family,” Gem said, pointing at Sal. “I insulted his family. There’s a difference. Unless there’s some incest-vibes I haven’t picked up on.”

Dismissing Gem like he was shit on her shoe, Bett turned her fury to Toni. “You’re just gonna stand there and let him run his mouth? Ma is bed-ridden, and you waltz in here making jokes?”

“If Ma is in such dire straits, why are all of you out here talking to me?” Toni demanded. “I don’t even know what happened because no one is telling me a godsdamned thing!”

The door behind Sal, which Toni assumed led to some sort of recovery room, opened, and Toni’s father, Mr. Marlyn Maryno himself, stepped into view. He was shorter than Toni but not by much. His skin was heather gray with charcoal stripes, his fins prominent and regal. His hair was thick and streaked with white, but his black eyes were as sharp as ever.

His gaze pinned Toni to the floor, and for a brief moment, Toni felt like a kid again, small and powerless. But the moment passed, and he stood tall. Because he wasn’t that little boy no more. He was a man now, a man of his own fucking making, and he wasn’t afraid of Marlyn Maryno.

“Hey, Pop,” Toni said.

His father blinked at him, practically looking right through him. Then he grunted wordlessly. A tiny, one-syllable sound. “Hm.” Then he turned and walked toward the window, hands slipping into the pockets of his slacks.

It was a brazen dismissal, the ultimate slap in the face, and nearly every one of Toni’s siblings ducked their heads or darted their gazes away. Like they were ashamed for him. Or ashamed of him. One and the same, really.

It hurt; of course it hurt. But it didn’t hurt as badly as it might have years ago. Before therapy, before Toni had rebuilt himself from the ground up to finally be a man he could be proud of, that blase snub would have flayed him open.

But now? It was just a small ache, like an old wound, long-healed but scarred over. It hurt like that, and Toni took it. He took it because he was strong enough now to bear it.

“She in there?” Toni asked Flo, and his sister nodded.

Just once.

“Okay.” To Gem he said, “I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time.” Gem winked at him. “I’m perfectly comfortable right here.”

Ignoring his siblings—who he believed genuinely loved him, just didn’t love him enough —Toni strode purposefully for the door to his mother’s hospital room. Sal, of course, just couldn’t help himself. He shuffled over to block Toni’s path.

“The doctors said she needs to rest,” Sal said primly. “She don’t need any more stress right now.”

Toni sucked his teeth, then leveled Sal with a dangerous smile. The other Elas jutted his chin stubbornly, but Toni heard the slight stumble in his heartbeat. It sharpened his grin even more.

He may not work for his father anymore, and he may not have ever been good at the more… cutthroat aspects of the family business. But he was still a fucking Maryno, and he would remind Sal of that.

“It’s laughable that you think you have even a sliver of a chance at stopping me from seeing my own fucking mother.” Toni tilted his head, smile still stretched obscenely over his face. “The only reason I haven’t flattened you to the floor already is because I would never do that in front of my niece. So, think very carefully about how far you’d like to push me right now.”

“You can’t speak to me that way,” Sal spat.

“Watch me.” Toni placed three fingertips on Sal’s chest and added just enough pressure to move him one single step, clearing his path to his mother. Then he dropped the chilling smile and grimaced, wiping at the spittle Sal had sprinkled all over his face. “And say it, don’t spray. My gods, what’s wrong with you? I only let people spit in my mouth if they ask nicely.”

Gem snorted loudly, breaking the tense atmosphere, and Toni chuckled, sending his best friend a more genuine smile over his shoulder as he pushed into the hospital room and let the door swing shut behind him.