Page 20 of Hello Goodbye Amore

THE ROOM was quiet, almost silent, with just the soft sounds of the sleeping city, when Antonello woke.

He quietly slipped out of the bed and searched the floor for his clothes.

He needed to get dressed and out of here before a number of things happened.

First, he didn’t want Ricky to find him sleeping with his daddy.

That would be bad and lead to questions that he figured neither of them wanted to answer.

Secondly, he had to sneak into the family home and get up to his room before his parents woke and realized he wasn’t there.

The last thing he wanted was for his mother to convene the Spanish Inquisition.

In the living room, he finished dressing and quietly left the room, heading down to the lobby and out into the night.

The city was asleep and yet not. The lights on the Duomo shone, and downtown glittered, even if there were few people out to see it.

He walked the quiet streets, passing around the cathedral to the side street.

He turned a few corners and slipped into the side entrance to the family palazzo, going through the kitchen and up the back stairs to his floor, where he slipped into his room, undressed, and fell into his own bed. Thank God that had worked.

“SO WHERE were you last night?” his mother asked as she came into the breakfast room. “I know you were out late and got in early this morning.” She sat down and was brought a plate.

Antonello could never put one over on her. “Are you and Papa going to the Duomo for Mass?” He decided to ignore her questions altogether and only speak about things he wanted to talk about.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Antonello shrugged, and thankfully his father came in to breakfast. “I got a call from America on Friday. It seems they want things faster.”

“What did you tell them?” Antonello ate some bread with Parma ham and sipped his juice.

“That if you made the schedule, then that was the end of it. But I think it isn’t over for him.” He sat down at the table, and a plate was brought for him.

“There is nothing we can do. Our schedules are set, and they agreed to them. I have their signatures.” He waited while his father read the paper the way he always had for as long as Antonello could remember. “I’m not worried about it.”

“What if they back out?” his father asked.

“Then they have to pay all costs associated with the setup as well as forfeit all deposits already paid. I made sure that we would come out ahead regardless of what they did.” He wasn’t stupid, and he wasn’t going to do business at the whims of a dick.

“We will meet all our commitments as promised, so there is nothing to worry about.” Antonello returned to his breakfast.

His father nodded.

“Father, I know what I’m doing. My friend—”

“The American?” his father said in English.

Antonello continued in Italian. “He and I went to college together. I know him. He is a good person. His boss is not. Chase and I are working well together, so no one is going to back away. We delivered the first stage early, so Dewey was trying to push things up. He did not get what he wanted because there is no room in the schedule.” He ate his breakfast, trying to act as though this was just business.

Just talking about Chase made his heart beat a little faster, and if he wasn’t careful, his mother would pick up on it.

“This is the same man you have been seen with all over Florence?” his mother asked as though she were planning something. “He is an old friend of yours?”

“Si,” Antonello answered. He finished up his meal before excusing himself. Sunday morning breakfasts were something to be endured under his mother’s ever-watchful, ever-planning gaze. Now his parents would go to church, and he could get a few hours of rest and quiet.

“The priest remarked last week that he hasn’t seen you in quite some time,” his mother said, changing forms of attack to one even older than her attempts to find him a wife.

Ever since he’d returned from college, he hadn’t attended Sunday Mass except on a few holidays because it made his parents happy.

His mother hinted and tried to press him to go at least every month.

It was a battle of wills that he had no intention of losing.

Antonello knew that as soon as he gave in to the force of nature that was Contessina Glorioso, all his defenses would crumble and that would be the end of his independence.

“Give him my best,” Antonello said as he left the room. He went to his rooms and closed the door, making sure he was alone. He sat in his chair, wondering about Chase and wishing he had been able to stay.

I’m sorry I had to go , he texted Chase, holding his phone as he waited for a reply. But he didn’t get one.

A knock on the door startled him out of his intense screen watching. He opened it, and his mother breezed into the room, ready for church.

“What is it?” Antonello asked.

“We must talk.” She seemed earnest and agitated. “You hate me telling you this, but you must get married.”

“In my own time,” he told her.

She shook her head. “Your father is getting older, and he is slowing down. I see this. So do you. You must be ready to take over everything, and you must get married and have a son so there is an heir.” She looked almost frantic, which was so not his mother.

She was always composed and calm. “You know this is the future the family must have.”

“What has changed?” Antonello asked. “Why this push right now?”

His mother’s eyes grew laser focused. “Your cousin Lorenzo,” she began.

“The womanizing idiot who picks up tourists and takes them to the family store? He is a menace.” Chase needed to find a way to remove him from the family line of succession altogether, for the sake of everyone.

“He is going to be a father,” his mother said, dropping a bombshell that stole Antonello’s next comment right off his tongue.

“Cosa?”

“Aria is pregnant. And if she has a boy….” She stared at him.

“It doesn’t change anything,” Antonello said, but he knew that wasn’t true.

It didn’t matter that his cousin had the morals of a rabbit and the business acumen of a badger.

If he had a son, Antonello’s father would feel obligated to let Lorenzo return to the firm, which would be a disaster.

Getting rid of him the first time had been costly enough, but a second time would be impossible.

As long as he had a son, however, Lorenzo would be able to hold the future of the family and the business over all their heads.

Antonello’s mother quirked her lips, seeing through him instantly. “You must do something. Come to church with your father and me. You can pray to the blessed mother to help you find a wife.” She reached for his hand, and he took a single step back.

“I think Mary has many other more important things to do than to find me a wife. You go and say a prayer for me. I have work to do, because whether Lorenzo has a child or not, someone has to see to it that the business continues. And Lord knows if Lorenzo gets involved again, we are going to need all the preparation we can get.” He turned away and pulled out fresh clothes from his closet.

“Antonello,” she snapped, using the same tone she had when he was a child.

He paused. “Mother. I’m fine. You go to Mass with Father. I need to think.”

“You could think in church,” she added, but he shook his head. Finally his mother left the room, and not long after, his parents went out for Sunday Mass. Antonello sat in his chair wondering what the hell he was going to do.

A MESSAGE CAME through from Chase almost an hour later. It seemed he and Ricky were out and he hadn’t realized his phone wasn’t charged. My mind was elsewhere last night, and I think my brains got a little scrambled.

I’ve already dealt with my mother… twice. Talk about getting brain muddle.

I get it. Ricky and I are going out for a walk, but maybe I’ll see you later.

He’s fascinated by the Ponte Vecchio and wants to see it again.

Chase sent a smiley face, and Antonello hurried to his closet to change into clothes suitable for being seen around town on a Sunday, then headed out to the bridge.

It wasn’t hard to spot Chase. He and Ricky were in the very center, watching the water as it passed underneath. “Mr. Nello.” Ricky spotted him first and ran over. “Papa says that there’s a secret passage.”

“There is. It’s right up there.” Antonello pointed above them.

“It’s closed right now because they are working on it.

The passage is really long, and it goes from the Palazzo Vecchio over there…

.” He lifted Ricky so he could see better over the balustrade and pointed to the tower.

“It passes the Uffizi, and then over the bridge here and to the palace over there.”

“That’s the Pity Palace. Daddy and I went there.”

“It’s actually the Pitti Palace. It sounds just a little different.” Ricky nodded. “I understand you’re learning Italian.”

“Bianca teached me. See. ‘Ciao, bello. Dov’è il bagno?’” he added with a grin. It was always good to be able to ask for a bathroom.

“Those are good. Do you know more?”

Ricky nodded and began speaking full sentences. The syntax was a little off, but Ricky told him about seeing the Duomo and walking over the Ponte Vecchio. Then he seemed to go off script and put together his own thoughts, which were jumbled, but it was a valiant effort.

Chase came up next to them as Antonello gently corrected Ricky and had him repeat the phrases correctly. Geez, he was smart and soaking things up fast.

“Apparently he and Bianca speak in Italian now, at least most of the time.” Chase lightly bumped Antonello’s shoulder, and he set Ricky on his feet.

Ricky hurried to the other side of the bridge, and they followed.

“Coming here was the best thing for him. He’s learning a second language and is being exposed to so many different things. ”