A Mafia Daughter 2

Part 3

One Year later

Viviana leaned over the stove, the fresh scent of sauce invading the apartment. She was making Meatballs and pasta for dinner. Debbie was arriving tonight to celebrate her birthday with her.

It had been a little over a month since she last saw her. Debbie had made it a point to visit every couple of weeks- trying not to leave Viviana on her own too much .

Viviana had quickly caught on to the escorts. Men dressed in regular clothing who she would spot watching her. She had considered returning to the City a few times and demanding to see Matteo but she knew they meant business.

She almost didn't care, wanting desperately to see Matteo but as the months passed, she began to loose hope that he would reach out to her. He hadn't tried to contact her, he hadn't even sent the divorce papers yet. Every night she cried herself to sleep, wondering where he was, wondering if he could feel her calling for him but everyday she was disappointed to find that this was real. He was gone.

Slowly she began to fill her days with activities, people, new moments. Still- none of it mattered, there was nothing that could quite fill the empty space she felt in her chest.

Viviana wondered when those divorce papers would arrive- she'd begun to believe maybe he didn't want her anymore.

Viviana heard a knock at the door, smiling.

"Come in." she called, hearing the door slide open. It was Debbie and she was holding a big bottle of wine.

"Hey Birthday girl." Debbie said, walking up to Viviana and giving her a hug. "Oh my god, it smells amazing."

"Thanks. It's been a while since I cooked." Viviana said, taking the wine bottle and placing it in the fridge to let it cool.

"Not that I'm complaining, because I'm not, but I still can't believe you didn't want to go out." Debbie said.

"Really? I hate going out." Viviana said with a frown.

"Yeah, I know but today is a special occasion." Debbie said, taking a seat on the other side of the island. Viviana shrugged.

"Nothing really feels special about it." Viviana muttered, turning to check on the food on the stove behind her. Debbie stared at Viviana. It had almost been a year and nothing really changed.

Sure, she smiled more but she still refused to meet new people, it was hard to get her to go places, and in the end she always brought up Matteo. Viviana was still as heartbroken today as the day he left her. It seemed that all she did was wake up, work out and read. She hadn't changed a bit- Debbie wondered if it was because she wanted Matteo to find her just the same if he ever decided to come looking for her.

But Debbie knew he never would.

"Oh." Debbie said, pulling an envelope out of her pocket. "I found this sticking out of your mailbox downstairs. It looks like a birthday card. I took it because It wasn't properly pushed in and I was afraid it would get lost."

Viviana took the envelope and stared at it.

"Who would send me a birthday card?" She said, turning it over. Her sisters certainly wouldn't and she hadn't spoke to anyone from school in a long time. Viviana opened the envelope and pulled out a photo.

"Well, who is it from?" Debbie asked. Viviana was still.

"It's from Matteo." She said, staring at the photo and turning it over. On the back, in handwriting she didn't quite recognize as his, she read a small scribble. "Vivi e Matteo."

"What? Let me see." Debbie said, taking the photo. She stared at it wide eyed.

It was a simple snapshot of Viviana and Matteo, standing next to her birthday cake last year. Viviana was wiping his mouth clean of cake while he held her closely.

"I'll be damned." Debbie said.

"He's so handsome." Viviana said. She didn't have any photos of Matteo or proof that they even had a life together.

"Do you think he sent it?" Debbie asked.

"Who else would? This is it. This is what I needed." Viviana said.

"What do you mean?" Debbie asked, not following her train of thought.

"I can't believe I had almost lost hope. Don't you see? Matteo sent this to let me know he still thinks about me. It's a reminder, a reminder to trust him. " Viviana said. Debbie stared at her friend, wondering if she was getting her hopes up.

"Viviana, don't you think he would have come to you directly? Maybe he just wanted to wish you a happy birthday." Debbie said.

"I don't care. He's thinking about me, isn't he? I have to go see him." Viviana said, walking towards her room.

"Viviana stop. You're forgetting about those giant monkeys across the street. If you take single foot out of Manhattan, they'll stop you. You've done this before." Debbie said. Viviana stopped.

"You're right. I have to wait until the year is up. Then I will go back." Viviana said, thinking it out.

"And the moment you try to go near the circuit, they'll recognize you immediately and keep you out." Debbie said.

"Then What do I do? Don't you get it? I don't want to live this way. I need to see Matteo, I need to speak to him again. I need to feel him again. I can't do this." Viviana said, beginning to weep.

"Viviana- don't cry." Debbie said.

"Then help me. Help me. When the year is over, I'm going back to the city and I'm going to find a way to get to Matteo." Viviana said. "Can you help me?"

"Of course." Debbie said, putting her hand over her friends.

-----

Debbie and Viviana went over every detail a hundred times. It was important to make sure they had everything covered.

Viviana wanted to return as soon as the mandatory year was up but Debbie had warned her against this.

"If you come back right away, they'll know. You need to give it a few extra months, make sure they aren't tailing you anymore." Debbie said. "If they know you are back, he'll know and they'll make sure you two can never meet."

Viviana nodded, knowing she was right.

"But won't they know I'm back when I try to get an apartment?" Viviana asked.

"Not if the apartment isn't under your name." Debbie said.

"Then how?" Viviana asked.

"We'll put the lease under my name." Debbie said. "They never check in on me."

"That's perfect." Viviana said.

Debbie and Viviana went over all the details. Viviana would need to keep out of sight, she didn't want to be recognized immediately on the street. It wasn't like she was hiding but she didn't want them to spot her right away either.

She would need time to figure out how to get to Matteo.

"Your hair." Debbie said one day as they were walking past a salon.

"Do you think I should cut it?" Viviana asked.

"I think you should change completely. Imagine it, with a pair of sunglasses on, they would never know it was you walking past them." Debbie said.

"Well, then let's go." Viviana said but Debbie stopped her.

"Not yet. I suggest you wait until just before you leave, just in case anyone is still watching." Debbie said, Viviana nodding.

"They're not anymore. I can tell." Viviana said after walking on for a few blocks.

"I honestly can't tell at all. If you weren't around to tell me, I would be clueless." Debbie said. Viviana shrugged.

"I can smell a mobster a mile away." Viviana said.

Debbie watched her friend over the next few days, and when she returned to the city, she immediately set out to find an apartment.

She wasn't sure Viviana would be able to ever see or speak to Matteo but Viviana had made up her mind. It was amazing how much her love for Matteo was guiding her, pushing her to keep going. She could never imagine loving someone that way.

She hoped as the weeks passed that Viviana would find whatever closure she needed.

-------

Matteo stared out the window of his office vacantly- it was a habit he had gotten into over the last year.

It had been about two months since the men stopped following Viviana, two months since he received his last weekly report of her. He'd thought of her, every single day. Everything reminded him of her. In the end, it had become too painful and he had closed the house and moved back into the apartment.

It didn't help much, however; the apartment was full of her laughter. He tried to spend as little time there as possible.

He wondered what she would do after the first year was up- maybe decide to teach? The reports showed that she had picked up volunteer work but nothing steady, spending all her time indoors. When he received the last report, he almost expected to find that she would be moving back to the city but instead he found she had extended her lease.

He smiled, hoping she had found some peace and was now ready to move on with her life.

Matteo sighed. He knew forgetting her would be impossible but he never imagined it would be this painful. Matteo turned as he heard a knock at the door.

"Hi." Bianca's voice was cheerful as she entered her son's office. For a moment, Matteo stared, reminded of every time Viviana poked her head through that door.

Bianca watched her son as he stood up slowly. He had changed. He was much more serious, less playful. His voice was always calm, his eyes cold and distant. She knew it hurt him, she knew he was suffering- missing her. Bianca would never dare ask why he did it, she, like everyone else, was forbidden from mentioning her altogether. But she knew he loved her, no matter what he said. She knew he loved her and missed her.

"Hi." he said, kissing his mother's cheek and guiding her to a chair in front of his desk. "This is a nice surprise."

"Well, I wanted to speak to you about your birthday." she said, reaching into her purse. Matteo groaned. Every year there was some sort of birthday party or celebration, it was always out of his hands. Last year he had managed to get her to forget about it.

"Yes, yes, I know you don't want a party but just because I let you off the hook last year doesn't mean you get off this year. Do you realize I wasn't able to throw my very own son his 30th birthday party?" she asked, pulling out her phone.

"So then if the big one is gone, why are you insisting on a 31st? To remind me I'm growing old?" He asked, walking back behind his desk.

Bianca stared at her son for a moment- this was always his mood.

Any other mother might cry out to his son to let go of whatever was holding him back and go find happiness but she couldn't. She couldn't acknowledge the past and she couldn't interfere.