A Mafia Daughter 1

Part 4

Viviana sat in the booth, Matteo just a few inches away. Without saying anything, he lit up a cigar- a privilege only the right people had in the right restaurants. 

"I believe it's illegal to smoke inside a restaurant." She said, realizing how dumb she sounded talking about legality like it mattered to the Don's son. Matteo shrugged.

"I believe it is." His voice was low as he looked over the menu. Viviana watched him- he was quite aloof and much less grabby than the last time she saw him. She raised her brows for a second, nervous. He was behaving but somehow she couldn't quite feel at ease. She picked up the menu and looked it over.

"So, Viviana, you were away for 10 years. Didn't you miss home? I don't remember you coming to visit." He said, not looking up towards. Viviana stared at him in awe. First he plays the deadly seduction role and now he makes casual conversation. It wasn't like she minded how cool he was being, but it certainly wasn't what she expected. She felt her shoulders drop a little as she allowed herself to relax. The night of the party, they'd both had quite a bit to drink, maybe he wasn't really interested in her... after all, she wasn't nearly as good looking as some of the other women around here.

"There wasn't a lot of time, I was very dedicated to my studies." She repeated the same lie she had practiced on the flight back. It was simple and she had found it was easy to elaborate on without having to make up too many lies.

"Really? Not even for Christmas?" He asked, arching his brow at her.

"There was always something to do." She said simply, taking a drink of water.

"And now you're back. I imagine it's very different." He said coolly.

"It is. Night and day." She said, a bit of sadness in her voice.

"Tell me. As you can imagine, I have only ever lived here- except for my brief stint in boarding school. I want to hear about it?" He said. She turned to look at him, surprised by his interest.

"You've travelled plenty." She said, as if it she was skeptical of his interest. He shrugged.

"Sure, but I didn't have a typical school experience." He said.

"Well, school was nice but there is so much more beyond that. " She began to tell him about the music scene, her interest in theater and how she had eventually settled on teaching.

"A Teacher? Is that what you are?" He asked at length.

"No. I'm not, I didn't get the chance to be. I have a degree, pretty and wrinkle free, and I really want to work with young children but it's just not in the cards." She said, surprised at herself for being so candid. She wondered if she sounded upset about having to be here.

"But that's enough about me. What about you?" She asked, trying to shift the subject away from herself. The last thing she needed was for him to pry or delve any further. She smiled and looked up at him, noticing for the first time he was much closer than before.

Matteo watched her for a second, it was obvious in the way that she spoke that she resented not being able to teach or work. He hadn't met women in la Famiglia who were like that, but he could understand why she might feel like her education was a waste.

"Me? I'm simple. I have a legacy so to speak. I've watched my father work all his life, and I want that too. " Viviana was annoyed. She had watched them murder, steal and cheat all their lives. How dare he call that work?

"It's getting late, I should go." She said, reaching into her purse for her wallet.

"No. Stop." Matteo said, sounding a bit offended. Viviana looked up at him, as he spoke.

"but..." She began but he shook his head.

"I'll take care of it." He said, pushing the bill away from her. Viviana sighed and placed her wallet back into her purse. There was no point in arguing, she had almost forgotten where she was.

"Okay. Well, Thanks." She said, standing, just wanting to get away as soon as possible. Matteo stood up just as quickly as she did and followed her to the door. Viviana frowned as she saw the time- lunch had made her late and there was no way she'd make it to the DMV on time today.

"Is there a problem?" Matteo asked, noting she looked annoyed. Viviana shook her head.

"Not really. I was supposed to go to the DMV today. I lost my license." She said casually, grabbing her keys. "But I'll just go tomorrow."

"Well, then I'm your savior." He said, the playfulness back in his voice. Viviana raised a brow, unaware of how attractive she looked when she did that.

"Really? How is that?" She asked.

"Guess what I found after you left the party." He said, a smirk forming above his perfect chin.

"You found my bag?" She asked, relieved. She didn't have much in it except a debit card and her driver's license, things that could be easily replaced or taken care of but... but it was nice not to have to go through the hassle of it all.

"Yes, although I didn't bring it because I didn't think we'd run into each other." He said.

"Oh, that's okay. I'll come by and get it." She said, then quickly changed her mind, "or you could give it to my father next time you see him."

She had almost forgotten that she didn't want to be anywhere near him.

"Can't- your father is leaving tonight for a week remember? I can bring it over." He said, seemingly enjoying her discomfort. It was like he could see her groaning inwardly, like he knew he was annoying her and liked it. She thought about it for a second.

"No, thanks. I'll come by and get it later." She said, turning to walk back towards her car. She figured it would be easier to leave his place than to get him to leave hers. Matteo walked next to her, his hand on her back. Viviana told herself to relax, any friend might act this way. She couldn't let him be such a bother to her.

Viviana and Matteo walked on in silence, him opening her car door as she unlocked it. She turned to say goodbye to him and noted how close he was but something across the street caught her eye.

"Isn't that Mario Ricco?" Viviana said, referring to an older man who was walking out of the office. She was still recognizing people at random and was surprised that she remembered his name.

"Yes, it is." Matteo said, also looking in his direction. Viviana knew this man- he was Marta's husband. She could picture the two of them together now, a long time ago, maybe it was before they were even married. She frowned, unable to place the memory exactly. Then she saw him climb into the driver seat of a car, a young girl seated next to him.

"Is that his daughter?" She asked, trying to remember if they had children. Marta wasn't that much older than her, was she? Not old enough to have a daughter that age...

"You should go." Matteo suddenly said coldly, turning away from Viviana. She stared after him a moment, she had been so sure he would try to pull something but now he had opened up the distance between them. Now it felt like he was trying to get rid of her.

"What time would be good to drop by for my bag?" She asked, remembering her white clutch. She sooner she picked it up and got it over with, the better.

"Anytime, Vivi, anytime." He said. She noticed he had shortened her name, something no one had ever done before. It sounded strange to her, she wasn't sure she liked it but dismissed it, climbing into the car and driving away.

-------

When Viviana returned home a few hours later, it was to find that her father's car was already parked outside. It was unusual for him to be home before her but she shrugged it off, thinking he would be resting for his trip.

It was when she walked into the kitchen and saw Fabi crying, that she felt truly alarmed. For a moment, she thought something might have happened to Fausta but she was immediately relieved to see her come in a few seconds later with some tea.

"Hey, What's going on?" Viviana asked nervously, dropping her bag on the floor and taking a seat next to Fabi. Fabi wiped her tears and cleared her throat.

"It's Marta." Fabi said, her father made a grunting sound.

"Did something happen to Marta?" Viviana asked but her father pounded his fist on the table before Fabi could reply. Viviana's eyes shot to him in surprise as she jumped up in her seat.

"That's enough. We've talked about it enough. Simple enough to say that Marta is out. She has been cast out. And we are NEVER to mention her name again. For her sake and ours. Is that understood?" The three girls nodded, Viviana in utter shock. She couldn't believe what she had heard- Marta was out. She turned back towards Fabi, moving automatically, hoping it was obvious that she was shivering. With a sigh, she put her hand over Fabi's and tried to smile comfortingly but Fabi stood and walked away silently.

Some time later, Fausta sat with Viviana at the table, her father had gone upstairs and Fabi had gone to bed.

"I saw him today, with a young girl." Viviana said. Her voice completely monotone as she stared blankly across the room at the wall, the whole thing suddenly making sense.

"I haven't seen it happen in so long, I had forgotten it was done." Fausta said. Viviana took a sip of her tea, she hadn't even bothered to change out of her gym clothes yet.

"So she's out? Completely?" Viviana was curious. Fausta nodded.

"He found someone else, someone he actually wants to marry." Fausta said in a low voice. It was typical of Mafia men to take mistresses, have girl friends and flirtations- A Mafia wife knew this could happen but as long as she was loyal and obeyed, she would always be given his place and her husband would protect her.

But even Mafia marriages went sour. Viviana remembered hearing about it once as a child. What do you do when a man of the Mafia wants a new wife? Common sense says a divorce- Imagination would say murder. But the Don was protective of all the members of his family. We would not murder a good woman because her husband has found love in a new place. So there was a divorce, a pay out and finally- she was cast out. Marta would be picked up with all her belongings, there would be a quicky, no contest divorce, her now ex-husband would settle some money on her and she would be asked to leave.

It was considered the best choice for everyone- to avoid discord in the family, to avoid her shame. By tomorrow, no one would even mention Marta and as for Marta, in exchange for her silence she would be allowed to live, although she would never be allowed to contact anyone within la famiglia again.

They erased her. That was it-plain and simple. They had erased her and it made Viviana furious.

"That's so sad." Viviana said, wondering what Marta would do all on her own. Why was it always women that suffered? Why is it that everything in their world was designed for men to win and women to lose?

Viviana looked at the clock on the wall. It was 6pm.

"I'm going to take a shower and then I have to go out." She said, standing up and taking a few steps away from the table.

"Out? Dinner is at 8." Fausta asked but she didn't move or look up.

"I'll be back. I'm just going to pick up something from... a friend." Viviana said as she ran up the stairs. She thought about Marta as she showered. It was such a terrible thing to make a woman leave her home, her friends, her life just because one of these disgusting Mafia pigs decided he no longer wanted her. She couldn't believe it. This type of thing was so rare- it had only happened twice before.

Well good for Marta, Viviana thought. At least she can get out of here and start a new life. She wondered what must be going through her mind at this moment.

As Viviana drove to Matteo's house, she couldn't quite shake the idea out of her mind. In many ways, Marta was lucky to be cast out. It was all Viviana wanted, after all.

"Ms. Aliotta to see you." The servant led Viviana into a small room that was dimly lit.

Matteo sat in an arm chair lazily, but stood immediately the moment she walked in. He didn't move, he didn't say anything, only smiled. Then, the doors were closed behind her and he was at her side in two long strides.

"It's nice to see you." He said, taking her hand and leading her deeper into the room. Viviana followed but she shook her head when Matteo tried to get her to sit.

"I can't stay. I have to be home for dinner." She said, looking around and noticing a pile of books on the floor near the sofa. She wondered if he read much, and began to note the titles.

"I like this look on you... so much less formal." he said, looking her over. Viviana tried not to roll her eyes. For a moment, she had forgotten how much he annoyed her. She had purposely chosen an old pair of jeans and a tee, something loose fitting and comfortable. She couldn't get used to the way Matteo looked at her.

"You said you have my clutch?" She asked, ignoring his comment and scanning the room for it. Matteo sighed and walked over to a small table, picking up her white clutch.

Viviana extended her arm so that he needn't get so close to her but instead he took her hand and pulled her down onto the couch, holding the clutch firmly with his free hand. She sighed, not caring anymore if he noticed how annoyed she was.

"Thank you." She said, reaching over to take the clutch from him but he held it at arms length. Viviana leaned back and rose her brow.

"I enjoyed having lunch with you today." He said, smiling at her. She took a deep breath.

"Yes, it was nice." She said, trying to sound uninterested.

"You know, Vivi," He began, moving closer to her on the seat as he spoke, "You and I have some unfinished business I believe we should attend to." She blushed, remembering he had almost kissed her the other night in the garden.

"We do? I don't recall..." She began, playing dumb but she stopped when both his arms began to snake around her.

"I should remind you." He whispered, suddenly bringing her against him and crushing her with his lips.