The Don's Doctor

Secrets

Chiara's POV

I was glad when Vincent’s hand brushed over my leg, because I could pass my gasp off as surprise, rather than the icy cold realisation of knowing something that you wish you didn’t. Who would a mafia princess struggle to justify having a relationship with? Who would be brave enough to start a relationship with the Don’s sister? She said Valentino’s father wasn’t part of their world, and that no-one would accept them. I had thought at the time that he belonged to an enemy family, or was a low-down soldier or associate, but Officer Miller’s reaction had me racing towards new conclusions. When he heard the news about Valentino he was shocked to hear that Viviana had a child, as if he should have been informed. Why would a keen police officer feel he was entitled to know this information? Plus, when he was told the baby was sick, his face looked crestfallen. It was more than compassion- I was sure of it. However, it was the timing that gripped my suspicion most keenly. It fit so perfectly that I was surprised that Vincent hadn’t joined the two together, but then again, maybe it was because it was so inconceivable that a mafia princess and loyal police officer would find comfort in each other.

Alarmingly, I can’t help but wonder if Vincent was right to think that Viviana’s lover had taken advantage of her. If it was Miller, and he had been sent to offer emotional and practical support to a family experiencing the worst pain imaginable, and somehow, in the course of that time, he had started an affair with my friend, when she was at her most vulnerable and lost, then maybe he wasn’t as decent as he presented on first inspection. Perhaps it would be better not to ask her about him. The last thing I want to do is invite a viper into an already distrustful household. Imagine if Officer Miller’s intention had been to spy on the family, and I enabled him to continue in his covert mission, after all, why was he so close to the Benedetti estate? Telling the woman who loved him that he knew about their secret child might lead to more problems. Then again, Viviana was protected by enough people, and I wanted to be someone she could trust. If she found out that I knew and didn’t tell her, she would feel betrayed.

A soft kiss lands on my knuckles, distracting me from my thoughts. Logic tells me to pull my hand out of his, but my heart forbids me. It is as if it is stuck in a vice of my own crafting. I look at the cash that is in the drinks' holder: the one he had planned to use as a bribe. In my mind, I trace that fifty dollar note to its origin. The capo that gave it to him, the drug addict he took off, the mother that gave her child some financial support that they used to feed their addiction. It is a sickening thought. My emotions release the antidote to these scathing ideas, and I think of him in the shop laughing over salt water taffy, I think of him pressed against me in my flat to protect me. I squirm at the thought of us in the walk-in wardrobe where he ensured I wouldn’t regret being with him. He cares for me so much that he would rather go without me than let me view him as something to be ashamed of. Regrettably, I can’t ignore the darker side of him, but the flashes of ordinary I see are slowly compelling me to accept his caresses.

“Tell me more about your life as an architect.” I ask him.

“I would rather show you. When we go to the place I want to take you, I will talk to you about the man I used to be.”

“I wish you could be that man again. It would be so easy to love you if I didn’t know how scary your world is. Being with you is like making a bargain with Pluto. I’d have to accept death, the ones you make happen and the ones that could happen to us. It is my job to stop death as often as I can, and here I am letting you kiss my hand.”

“Is that all it will take? A life away from this? If that is what you need to be with me, I will restructure this entire city. If I am death, let me your virus of morality. I’ll spread your good intentions and make it kill the greed that runs through the people of this city. Tell me, is this what I need to do to have you? Change the world as I know it? If I do that, could you forgive all I have done before?”

I nod. It is all I needed. Scruples were for women who didn’t rush to the mafia leader’s house to be his surgeon, it was for women who didn’t stay in the bed of the man they wished was lying next to them, it was for women who didn’t masturbate imagining he was watching them. They weren’t for me anymore, because I crave him beyond the confines of reason. My biggest fear is that I will lose my medical licence, and the future I had envisioned would be irrevocably altered. Was this why I was so wishful that Miller and Viviana were lovers? If there was hope that they could complete each other, wasn’t it a fair assumption to say that a doctor and Don could be devoted to each other too? Softly, I bring his knuckles to my lips and kiss him gently. Passion would be indulged eventually, but for now we were each other’s lighthouse in the unpredictable foggy climate.

The journey home had been serenely peaceful. Opening the door, it seems that Valentino has settled a little, as the crying has stopped. We part awkwardly, neither of us being able to say the right words to appropriately acknowledge the shift that has just happened between us. Instead, he smiles at me, just as he had done in the store, and once again I see the man beneath the responsibility and pressure.

Rushing to the nursery, I see that my papa is sitting on a dining chair outside the door. His mouth is slightly agape, but tiredness is a doctor’s companion. If I am willing to accept Vincent, then I knew I had to forgive my father too.

“Papa.” I whisper, gently rousing him. “You can go to bed for a while. I’m back now, I’ll stay with him, I’ll call you if he changes for the worse.” He smiles at me, and holds my cheek.

“You’re a good daughter, Chiara. I’m sorry I’m not the papa you thought I was, but the love you know I feel for you, I never lied about that.” He replies, kissing my forehead, before walking back to his room.

Opening the door gently, I’m not shocked to find that Viviana is still awake. I knew she wouldn’t rest until Valentino was well. Placing the medicine on the windowsill, I stop her as she goes to wake her son. He is finally resting, so there is little need to disturb his peace. Gesturing for her to sit on the rocking chair, I hand her some taffy and sit crossed-legged at her feet.

“We were stopped by an officer on the way home.” I whisper so quietly, that I am sure she is mainly lip-reading, but she freezes nonetheless, before trying to rectify her reaction.

“I don’t think my brother has ever been pulled over before.” She says, offhandedly.

“Me neither. It was lucky that he knew him, because after Vincent told him that his nephew was unwell he let us leave immediately.” I watch her closely as my words are understood, and all I can see is fear.

“What was the officer’s name?” She asks.

“Miller”

Viviana’s face turns from me towards her son. Her hand is shaking, and I can’t make out if she is feeling fiercely protective or afraid. She looks at me and nods, confirming my suspicions, but she is too scared to verbalise the truth.

“Teddy, Officer Miller, won’t rest until he sees us. He loves me and I know he will love our child. Vincent will kill him, there is no way that he will have a cop in the family, and Ted will never leave the service. It’s all he ever wanted to be. You have to help me, Chiara. Find a way to keep Teddy away, and to keep Vincent and Renzo in the dark!” She clutches my hands in desperation. “Please.”

I am about to tell her that I will do all I can when the room lights up from her mobile indicating an incoming call. Picking it up, she holds it far from her, then shows me the caller ID. Two simple initials: TM. There is a good chance I can keep a secret from Vincent, but it will be harder to keep Officer Miller quiet, when he is determined to be heard.