When The Mafia Cries

Shacked Up

As he stared at the picture of his mother hanging on the naked wall, he was frustrated that she meant nothing to him and that he had no memory of her because she died on the day she birthed him. He took a step closer to the framed picture, with arms out and ready to grab it when suddenly, he heard the low whimpering of a wet mutt behind him. He turned around and saw his beloved Benji looking at him with an intense stare carried into the deeper dimensions of his heart through its soulful eyes.

“Benji?” He called out.

The dog barked at him, wagging his tail happily with excitement brimming all around him.

“Come here, boy,” he called out.

The dog ran over to his father who bent down so he could embrace it. He stroked the soft fur of the golden retriever who laid on his back and happily accepted his owner’s playful touch. But then suddenly, as he took his hands off the dog’s body, he noticed that they were covered in mud; wet mud. He looked down at his dog which was now nothing but a rotting corpse with its exposed bones, melting skin, putrid odour and bloated eyeballs.

“Why didn’t you save me, father? Why didn’t you?” Benji asked before growling ferociously and pouncing on Andre.

“No!” Andre yelled as he woke up from his slumber, panting loudly.

He looked around and saw that he was in his bedroom and began to relax after realising that he had only been dreaming it. He looked over at the clock on his bed stand and saw that it was just a few minutes past one in the morning. He had now lost all will to go back to sleep so he decided to take a walk. He grabbed his phone and put on some sweats and a large coat before stepping out of his room.

He went outside the mansion and took a walk through the garden, his mind still thinking about the dream he had of Benji which made him decide to pay his father a visit. Andre got to his father’s grave and looked down at it with so much hate in his eyes. His mind began to travel back in time as he reminisced all the terrible things he went through as a child and as a teenager because of his father; things that shaped him into what he was now. There were some parts of him that were grateful to his father for how he turned out but, there were other parts that despised him for it.

Andre suddenly had a feeling that someone was watching him. He looked over at some of the hedges around the graveyard but there was no one in sight and then, he turned around and looked up at one of the windows of the mansion. The light within the room was turned on and the silhouette of a woman was right by the window; Gabriella.

Seeing her up there, staring down at him in her nightdress caused Andre’s thoughts to morph into the incident that occurred between them in the forest the previous evening; an incident that they were yet to talk about. And with that in mind, Andre took out his phone and called Alphonso who he was sure was still guarding Gabriella’s door, since around this time of day, it was usually his shift.

“Alphonso?” Andre said after the guard picked up.

“Yes, boss?” He answered.

“Let Miss Gabriella out of her room and show her the way to the graveyard,” he said before hanging up.

Alphonso did as he had been instructed and about a minute later, Gabriella was walking up to him from behind. She got to him and stood by his side in a white lacy nightdress covered with a silk jacket. She looked over at Andre but he wasn’t looking back at her, rather, his eyes were on the grave of his father. She also faced the grave and saw his name on the stone.

“We don’t have as much time on the earth as we think, Gabriella. At a point in our lives, we’re at our peak, our very best, with the world in our hands and a legion at our beck and call.., and in the blink of an eye, we become nothing, returned to the dust from whence we came,” Andre said.

“I already know this, Andre,” she said.

He liked hearing her voice say his name. There was just something about the way it rolled off her tongue that sparked a flame within his loins.

“...which is why I want to use the little time I have to live the way I want and not the way the world expects me to. Your father was one of the lucky ones; he died of old age in a world of drugs and bullets but not everyone is so lucky – not everyone survives,” she said and wiped her teary eyes.

Andre saw her wipe her eyes and heard her sniffle like she was about to cry but was holding it back. He turned and walked over to her and as he reached her, she could perceive his intoxicating masculinity enveloping her with its presence. He held her arms with his hands and stared deeply into her eyes and it made her knees weak. He took one hand and caressed her face with it – his thumb wiped her eye before sliding down to her cheeks and arriving on her lips, grazing her ever so slightly that it made her shiver from desire. Gabriella didn’t know if he wanted a repeat of what happened between them in the forest and she wasn’t sure if she didn’t want it. She just stood there and let him touch her, waiting for him to make the next move. However, when he did, it wasn’t the move she was expecting or rather, hoping for.

“What did you lose?” He asked.

“Huh?” Gabriella replied, unsure of what he meant.

“You hate this world of mafias so much and that can only be because it took something important from you. What did you lose?” He asked again.

Gabriella hesitated for a moment, considering whether she should tell Andre what he wanted to hear. This was an intimate part of her life that she had never shared with anyone so the idea of her sharing it with someone who literally kidnapped her didn’t feel right. But, neither was the idea of sleeping with him and seeing as she had already done that, perhaps she could do this too.

“His name was Jacob and he was the first and only man I had ever loved,” she answered.

“Was?” Andre asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah, was,” she said sadly, “he’s dead now. He was murdered by my mother when she found out about our relationship.”

Gabriella’s thoughts travelled back to seven years ago when she was seventeen years old as she re-lived what happened to her childhood love; her Jacob.

******

Like a ballerina, Gabriella hopped and skipped through the meadow in her yellow flower-print dress. Her ponytail bounced around like a ping-pong ball as she moved, smiling from ear to ear due to her excitement of finally seeing Jacob again after he was gone for a few weeks.

He was the son of the groundskeeper of the King’s Gold estate. His father had been in service to Gabriella’s father since he was just a little boy and he got to know her from a very tender age. They practically grew up together and were very close as children. And as they grew and became teens, what was just a childhood friendship started to turn into something else until it became a romantic affiliation, but because they came from two completely different worlds, they knew their parents wouldn’t approve so they kept their relationship a secret from everyone.

Seventeen-year-old Gabriella kept running through the meadow until she got to an abandoned shack which was about a mile away from the estate but it was still the Rossis’ land. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one followed her before she opened the door to the shack and went inside. The interior of the shack was not in the state that she had expected. It was clean, with red candles lit everywhere, a flower vase with a bouquet of roses in it, a blanket with a picnic basket on it and Jacob in the middle of the room with a wrapped present in his hands.

“Hey there, baby. Did you miss me?” He asked her with a smile.

“Jacob,” Gabriella called out and ran over to him.

She jumped on top of him in a warm embrace and they both kissed each other as if they were dying and only the touch of their lips could save their lives. Jacob put her down and kissed her softly again before putting his present down so he could feel her beautiful face with both hands.

“I’m so happy to see you again. You have no idea how many nights I sat at home thinking of this moment,” Jacob said.

“Me too. Ever since you left, I spent every day just missing you and counting down the seconds until you would come back to me,” Gabriella replied.

“Here,” he picked up the present, “I got you a little something.”

“Jacob, you didn’t have to,” she said modestly.

“Then, I suppose you don’t want it,” he playfully tried to take it away but she snatched it out of his hand, causing him to chuckle.

She peeled the paper off, revealing the present to be a small wooden sculpture of a woman’s head down to her torso, and it was made in her likeness. Gabriella couldn’t believe her eyes because the sculpture looked so much like her and she was amazed by the craftsmanship.

“You made this yourself? This must have taken you such a long time to make.”

“It didn’t take that long. I have a very wonderful muse,” he said, smiling at her.

“Well, I absolutely love it. I’ll cherish it forever,” she said.

“You made sure no one saw you leaving, right?” Jacob asked, knowing the risk he was taking in secretly dating the boss’ daughter.

“No one saw me, I promise,” she assured him.

They both sat down on the blanket and began to enjoy the day together. They talked, ate, drank, kissed some more and shared stories of their adventures during their time apart until they arrived at the topic of her father’s death.

“I heard about what happened to your dad last week. I’m so sorry,” Jacob said while holding her hand.

“My father always used to tell me that one of these days, he may not return home. I guess that day came sooner rather than later,” she said plainly, not wanting to show her emotions.

“It’s okay to be sad, Gabby. Whatever he may have done in his life, he was still your father and he loved you a lot…in his own way,”

“I’m sure he did,” Gabriella said dryly and to avoid remaining on the subject, she leaned over to Jacob and they kissed again.

Their make-out session grew more intense and they drew each other closer and began to take their clothes off.

“This has been the only thing I could think about since you left. When it happened the first time, I enjoyed it so much that I would dream about it every night,” she muttered as they undressed each other.

“Well, it’s no longer a dream, my love,” he replied.

In little time, they were both naked on the blanket, kissing and cradling in each other’s arms but before they could go further, Carla and one of her mother’s men kicked the door of the shack and Carolina entered with a berated look on her face.

“Mother!”

Gabriella cried out and covered her breasts with her blouse and Jacob covered himself as well.

“So, this is what you do in your leisure time, huh, Gabriella…and with the gardener’s son of all people. Have you no shame? Your father just died only a week ago and you’re here f*****g around like a little w***e?” She yelled.

“Mother, it’s not like that. We’re in love and we plan to get married someday…” Gabriella tried to explain but her mother cut her off.

“Oh shut up! What do you even know about love? You’re just a naive little girl who let this buffoon take advantage of you. Put on your clothes this instant,” she ordered.

Gabriella stood up and put on her clothes but as Jacob was about to do the same, Carolina ordered him not to.

“Carla, take her outside,” Carolina said.

“What about him, mother?” Gabriella asked, worried for Jacob’s safety.

“He’ll get what’s coming to him,” Carolina said and gestured at the other man to teach Jacob a lesson he would soon never forget.

Gabriella knew that he was going to get beaten up and she pleaded to her mother to spare Jacob as Carla dragged her out of the shack but her pleas fell on deaf ears.