Honest

forty-nine

Giuseppe

She smiles brightly for the rest of our trip. We decided to stay an extra day. We went to the beach, we ate, had a blast. She was happier than I've ever seen her.

I smile silently. This is all I wanted.

A few days later, we head home. We walk hand in hand into Detroit, heading toward my house.

Today's the day she meets my mother.

I'm excited...

A little nervous. I know how possessive she can get, and I love my mother.

I don't know what she'll do if Mom doesn't like her. What will I do?

Shaking my head, I sigh. I have to have faith. Faith in her. I also have a mild taser in case things get out of hand.

Hey, my baby is a gangster! If I don't subdue her quickly when she rages who knows what she'll do!

"Are you excited?" I ask, as we drive toward my family Manor.

"Yep!" she smiles to me.

My whole family will be there. My whole family. That means Uncle Lucy and Aunt Savannah and Levi and Luna, and of course Salone, and whatever boytou Luna brings home.

Febe, and Dad and Mom.

I shake my head. This will go well.

"Don't worry," I smile. "They'll love you."

She smiles, playing with her fingers. "What if they don't?"

I shrug. "Then it's a good thing they don't decide who I marry, isn't it?"

She rests her head in my shoulder.

"We're here, sir. Madam."

I take her hand, helping her out the car. Ah, it's been years since I've back home. My dad had this place built after his stint in prison.

The West wing has been rebuilt five times since then.

"Come on," I urge her. Oh I can't wait to see everyone!

I take my shoes off, and help Desiree take her shoes off too.

I set them neatly in the corner with the rest of the shoes.

There's lots of noise, people talking, likely arguing.

I smile down at her reassuringly. "Don't worry. They seem brash at first, but they're nice people."

"Really? I don't think I fit with nice people."

I smirk. "Then they'll show you their ugly side, whichever you're more comfortable with."

"Mom! I'm home!"

She comes out, smiling. I love my mom. She's so sweet.

She snacks my head. Hard.

I wince. "Ow!"

"You haven't seen me in a year. Talking about ow, get over there. Go help your father cook."

"Mom, this is my fiancee, Desiree."

Desiree smiles, but it looks forced. I bite back a laugh. I wish I could take a picture. This is adorable.

"I know who she is, no thanks to you, get! Go!"

I can't leave her...

"Desiree," My mom smiles,"Do you kind talking to me for a while."

"Sure Mrs. Vitale..." She smiles shakily. "You can go, Giuseppe."

I edge away, but not too far.

I can heR them.

"Before we go in, is he keeping you hostage? Because I will stab that boy, you just watch."

"You would stab me?!" I yell.

"Absolutely, go help your father cook."

She's so mean to me;!

"No, ma'am. He's not keeping me hostage. I really like him."

"Did he make you say that? Do you want to stab him, a little bit?"

Why does she think so badly of me? I walk into the kitchen where my uncle, cousin dad are.

"And so I said, y'know, if you try to kill me in my sleep, I'll f*****g haunt you, pulcino. And she goes, don't think I won't kill you in your sleep, Niccoló Vitale."

My dad mimics her, doing his hand like Mom. Uncle Luciano snorts.

"And she keeps threatening me. Like to kill me. And I don't know why. All I said was, y'know, if we have another child, I'm selling it on the black market. I'm not building another West Wing. It's so drafty!"

Oh. That's why.

"You still can't handle a draft, Pops."

He whips around to look at me. "Your woman did you wrong didn't she. She ditched you didn't she? I told Manon, you're too yellow. You're not... you're not tan like me. You're not brown like her. You're yellow. Woman don't like yellow, it's a gay color."

Uncle Luciano chuckles.

"Why is the first thing you do is insult me?" I narrow my eyes.

"Because I'm your father."

"So?"

"I earned that right, pushing yo—"

He pauses. "I didn't do that, did I?"

"No, you didn't." I roll my eyes.

He smiles at me. "Well. Is she here? Did she fall for your gay complexion?"

"It's not a gay complexion, it's no such thing!"

He shrugs. "Of course you'd say that. You're yellow. That's why the Americans have that saying, yellow belly."

I narrow my eyes. "I don't need this from you. I'll just leave. And I won't come back for another three years."

He stops me. "Okay, okay. I won't mention your gay complexion."

That isn't a thing!!

"How have you been, really?"

I shrug. "Good."

He narrows his eyes. "She's batshit crazy isn't she?"

I nod solemnly. Uncle Lucy gets invested in the conversation.

"Like your Aunt Savannah, or like Aunt Amanda?"

Are they really all that different?

"I think...worse."

Uncle Luciano's eyes dart about in a paranoid manner. "Worse than who?"

"Both of them."

"Cazzo!" Uncle Lucy curses hushedly.

"No! Say it ain't so!" Dad Laments.

"So you like her?" Uncle asks.

I nod. "A lot. I love her. We're getting married soon."

Dad looks at Uncle Luciano. They look at me.

"This is my fault son. I should've warned you," Dad Laments.

Uncle Luciano shakes his head in silent sadness.

"It runs through the veins of the Vitale to be attracted to the craziest woman on the planet at the time. Barring relatives, of course. That's just gross."

Uncle Luciano chimes in. "It's a curse. The women we love... they're all psycho's. You think they're normal, and then, at your wedding, they go apeshit, tearing people apart because they got blood on their wedding dress."

I shrink back.

"Or they capture and torture their own father while pregnant. Also, that's why don't have a grandfather."

What? I didn't know that! I thought he lived far away!

"So, has she shown you her crazy yet?" Uncle Luciano asks.

I nod. "Yes. She has. It was bad. But it wasn't—"

They shake their heads. "No. No that's not her crazy. That's her surface crazy, it comes in layers," Dad explains.

"And it all gets worse after you get married." Uncle Luciano adds.

"Make sure her dress is clean," He says breathlessly. "Don't get anything on dress."

"Also, you should tell her, you're married, before you do it," Dad grins. We both look at him flatly.

"What?"

• • •

A Vitale Famiglia get together! What could go wrong! When I elude to things that happened in either Luciano or Niccoló's life, know that usually, you can find it in their stories: Luciano, and Wild One, respectively.

Are y'all ready for it? I got a little something something planned.