Mafiosa

‎Nani Boyden disapproved of her daughter's way of life but Xelda at twenty nine was not a woman to be corrected. ‎ ‎Nani stifled a tear, watching Xelda pick up lipgloss by lipgloss , her body shamelessly bedecked in a silk gown that revealed a lot rather than concealed. ‎ ‎Oh, the clothes they made these days. She folded her hands across a heavy bossom , barricading the doorway but even she knew this was quite unnecessary. Xelda had always had her way, and was she not a grown woman ?? ‎ ‎"Nan, why are you guarding the doorway? " Xelda asked, smacking her lips almost innocently in the mirror , her mass of bright blonde hair tightly glued to her head in a neat bun. ‎ ‎"It is past 11pm , Chriselda" Nani said quietly as if that explained anything. She knew Xelda hated being called her full name and even now Nani watched her roll her eyes in undisguised displeasure. ‎ ‎"I wish you wouldn't call me that" Xelda snapped immediately "Papa never called me that." ‎ ‎"Well papa has been dead for eleven years now and papa would never encourage late night outings with a heroin addict who beats you when you wouldn't give him money to fund his lifestyle". ‎ ‎"That's enough, Nan". Xelda nearly screamed "Henry and I love each other". ‎ ‎"And if that be love, then the saints be damned " Nani's voice was even a pitch higher. Thank God they didn't have any neighbors. Nani Boyden was from Halithia and she wouldn't watch a woman give her thunder in her own house. ‎ ‎In a way, Xelda had inherited her famous temper from her mother though she would loath to admit that. These days she seemed to hate even the very air her mother breathed and it had all began since that miserable day two years ago when Henry Nicholson had come into her life. ‎ ‎"How would you know what love is. Papa wasn't even in the grave yet when you began going out with that miserable school teacher". Xelda stared at her flatly , but the slap that hit her after this outrageous statement made her reel backwards holding the dressing table for support. ‎ ‎"You will watch your tongue, Young lady " Nani said firmly , "And Henry can never be as noble as Frankie. Open your eyes, Chriselda. The man is milking you dry and introducing you to a lifestyle that keeps you very irresponsible. Oh Peppi Boyden, look how low our daughter has sunk". Nani placed a hand on her chest as if the invocation to her dead husband would suffice. ‎ ‎Xelda regained her balance, grabbed a chic handbag and disappeared in furious strides on hot heels. Nani did not try to stop her and very soon the car could be heard warming up in the garage. ‎ ‎Nani sighed but she remained in Xelda's room, an extravagantly wide airy space with two wardrobes and a high bed covered in a luscious pink bedding. ‎ ‎Xelda Boyden was rich and had been spoilt and thoroughly pampered as a child. But she was very brilliant. Nani watched the awards lining the walls of the bedroom and she almost smiled. Her brain and Peppi's brain had not made half of Xelda's. At twenty nine, Xelda had recently finished her third degree in Accounting and Auditing, and while she was currently working as the Senior Auditor in a small reputable firm, she was also eying the Professor's position in Lakeside State University and from the favorable reviews she was getting , Nani was sure Xelda would secure that too. She always got whatever she set her heart to. ‎ ‎It had been hard raising a child like Xelda. Stubborn, aggressive and wanting to always have her way, but where Nani had tried to be firm, Peppi had been overtly indulging and so Xelda had grown with the idea that she could control her way out of any situation and she very often did. ‎ ‎She should have been a boy. Nani sighed. Xelda had the temerity and audacity that Halithian youths could boast of, but her temper spoiled everything. There were times when a quiet cunning was necessary and the ability to reason . She had inherited her father's brains but not his notorious calmness. Her real father. Nani's hands flew to her mouth and she paused in her steps, wondering if she had voiced her thoughts out. ‎ ‎But the house was empty, there was nothing to be worried about. Nani Boyden was too Halithian old fashioned, she permitted no live in maids and she did all the cooking herself. Too bad Xelda never bothered to learn any of her recipes. She would rather be seen in the sheds fixing cars with Peppi than in the kitchen with Nani. ‎ ‎She should have been a boy. Nani sighed once again. ‎ ‎Just then she heard a car parking in the garage. Nani paused, it hadn't been up to twenty minutes that Xelda had stormed out of the house and it was very unlikely that she would return so soon. God knows to what amoral dump she had gone to , with that leech Henry . ‎ ‎Peering through the vast jewelled curtains, Nani could see three cars pull up in the garage, black, tinted windows, convoy styled. ‎ ‎Her heart stopped, and restarted again. No. It couldn't be. Her hands on the curtain shook , but she peered still, electrified as if she was seeing ghosts . ‎ ‎The first car opened and two hefty men came out, they were all dressed in black. Black suits. Black glasses and very black elegant trousers . Even their boots were darker than nights. The men looked like bouncers , and funny enough she could smell Halithia on all of them. They did not belong to the softness of Lakeside County. ‎ ‎The second car opened and a boy came out. Yes, she was not mistaken. He was a boy. He did not have the bulk of the hefty men and neither did he have the height. He looked almost unremarkable and translucent, like a child in a midst of elders. His blonde hair was short and sat regal atop his head, his clothes were chic, casual and fashionable and even if his height was impressive on its own, he looked more like a film star than a thug. ‎ ‎This boy opened the back door and the next person that came out made Nani scream out inaudibly . No, it could not be true. Were her eyes deceiving her . No. She clung to the curtains desperately, but the sight did not disappear. ‎ ‎The man was old and short like a gnome but what he lacked in height, he made up for it three times over in bulk and so even now he could not be described as withered. But the hair on his head was completely grey and he leaned heavily on a staff, a dreadful magnificent thing that looked like a viper's head. He was puffing on a pipe with his other hand and his white tailored suit seemed inappropriate for the look he oozed out. Like the devil wearing white. ‎ ‎Nani froze. In almost thirty years she could recognize him anywhere. This man. His foxy eyes darted to the window and she crunched below. He was always so precise. ‎ ‎The short devil . ‎ ‎She heard the third car opening but she did not need to peer to know that it was another set of black attired hefty thugs. ‎ ‎The audacity to show up at her house after almost thirty years, but even that thought was not comforting. Was it really her house? This storeyed mansion they had lived for twenty nine years. It had been bought in Xelda's name. The cars. The luxury trips. ‎ ‎Nani nearly swooned when she heard the doorbell downstairs. She thought of pretending she wasn't home. But who would leave a big house open . Xelda had stormed out and she hadn't even locked the door. ‎ ‎Nani counted the tickling clock but found no solace. If she didn't go down they would walk the length and breadth of this house and eventually excavate her from her hiding place. She knew that too well. ‎ ‎What did he want ? Why was he here ? After all these years. ‎ ‎Her legs shook as she slowly descended the stairs. ‎ ‎When she got down, she saw they had let themselves in. The old man was staring at a huge portrait of Xelda hanging by the fireplace. It had been taken at her recent graduation three months ago and the title PHD was boldly inscribed there. ‎ ‎The boy who looked like a movie star was coming out from her kitchen with a steaming cup of coffee. Nani struggled to hide her temper. The blazing audacity. ‎ ‎He saw her first because the old man had his back turned to the stairs while he stared at the portrait. Two of the thugs stood by the door, and if they saw her they made no bones of it. Their eyes were hidden in thick black glasses and they had not bothered to hide the gleaming shiny guns dangling from their waists. ‎ ‎Nani Boyden felt sick all of a sudden. Her eyes darted to the telephone on the table and she thought of calling the police. ‎ ‎She killed the stupid thought instantly. A man like this man in front of her definitely had the Police of Lakeside in his pockets. She knew that too well. It was not a miracle that Xelda had never once been arrested for drunk driving. ‎ ‎The boy mumbled a greeting but did not seem surprised at seeing her. Rather he looked at her from top to bottom kindly and carried the cup of coffee to the old man who had not still turned back. He retrieved the pipe from the old man's hand and handed him the coffee, setting the pipe on the table. ‎ ‎From a close distance, the boy was even younger than she thought, his shirt carelessly missing the two top buttons. She placed him at either twenty three or twenty four at most. He should be in college somewhere. What was he doing in this kind of dubious company. He was handsome, she wouldn't be surprised if she heard he was a model or something. ‎ ‎But that still did not explain his involvement with this short devil. ‎ ‎"Nancy Elena Boyden " The voice was thick and lined with age, but the authority in it was enough to make Nani quake. Her legs faltered and when the old man turned to face her, she found her knees weak enough to drop to the nearest chair. ‎ ‎"Horatio, quick. Our Nancy has had a terrible shock". The foxy eyes darted at her cunningly and the mockery in his old eyes were enough to rob her of speech. She watched the young boy hurry into the kitchen and in less than a second he had efficiently whipped up a second cup of hot coffee and jammed it into her throat without a word. ‎ ‎The old man finished his coffee in a gulp and continued staring at the portrait. ‎ ‎"Our Chriselda" He beamed "Oh, how she's grown ". ‎ ‎When Nani opened her mouth, all her previous fears escalated in a torrent of speech "You are not taking my daughter away from me. You evil , wicked tyrant. You are not taking Xelda away from me. ". ‎