Owning the Mafia Don

Proserpina

When I reached home, it was to discover that chaos ruled over the Delano kingdom.

Nothing new, I thought with a sigh.

Little Claude had poured water over one of Ria’s precious dolls. She had dunked him in soapy water in retaliation, aided and abetted by her twin. The maids were almost in tears and Beatrice was threatening anyone and everyone she saw.

“It’s high time I packed you off to some residential school, kids.’ I said in a steely voice as I supervised Claude’s cleaning up and scolded the twins.

Ria’s head went up, her golden curls bobbing.

“In the mountains, please!’ she cried clapping her hands, eyes dancing. She began to waltz around the room, arms raised in joy.

I shook my head in exasperation. The girl would turn a punishment into a party.

*

I noticed young Philippe at the kitchen door, shifting uncertainly from one foot to the other when I entered the kitchen later to take care of lunch and set dinner preparations going.

‘For you,’ he said, his ears turning pink in embarrassment, dropping his eyes shyly. He was a good child, I thought as I took the flowers from him. Well brought up and polite.

“What is this?’ I asked in some puzzlement, looking at the sprig of flowers bound neatly by a pretty red ribbon.

‘Ri…Miss Ria said you are going to be a mother again ‘ he blushed and I felt a rush of fondness for the young boy who was now a teenager. I put out my arms and hugged him impulsively. He was stiff and embarrassed and rushed out of the kitchen when I released him.

Beatrice who had materialised beside me, grunted.

“Boy looks like a cherry tomato, what with you huggin’ and kissin’ him an’ all.’ She huffed.

I dimpled happily.

“Bea, look at this…isn’t it sweet?’ I laughed delightedly.

Beatrice met my eyes and said gruffly,

“You is a too kind and lovin’ girl. Charmin’everyone…’

I sighed as I remembered a pair of hard green eyes as they had glared at me, in hate.

Sophie… The woman seemed to hate me and I had no idea why.

I looked up at Beatrice and said sadly, pensively,

“Bea, do you know why Sophie hates me?’

Her face grew hard.

‘That gal blames you for what happened to her sister.’

My jaw dropped.

‘Me?,’ I squeaked in astonishment. ‘Me?’

I had never met her sister. What was this all about?

Sinking down onto a chair in the kitchen, I stared at her. Bea fetched a tall glass of chilled lemonade and placed it before me. Then she began to speak.

* * *

Months ago.

At the Delano household, somewhere near New York.

Sophie

Ria and Piers are playing in the kitchen. Sophie enters and sees that Paddy is with them. She is still smarting from the discovery that James Schwartz is and has been smitten by Proserpina. She knows that she does not really stand a chance in his life.

Unrequited love can be a terrible thing.

*

Proserpina is not around; Mother Hen had not been feeling well and is resting, thought Sophie disdainfully.

But she has already been there and has seen to lunch from the aroma of food in the air…

Immersed in her angry, hurt thoughts, she gradually tunes in to the conversation amongst the children who are on the floor, playing at the baker’s shop. Paddy is almost always the unfortunate customer who is robbed blind by the devious brother-sister duo.

“…and my Mumma told Pappa to not do anything to her again.’

Paddy is listening to her, his eyes filled with tears, lower lip trembling.

“Apil don’t…’ he mumbles, in distress. He says ‘Apil’ when he is unhappy.

But Piers joins his sister, leaning across the small table, he adds,Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“Yes, Paddy, Mumma told Pappa that. I heard her.’ And he sits back on his heels, importantly. He never says anything but the truth, unlike his sister who is the original Teller of Tall Tales.

*

Annoyed at the sight of Paddy’s tears, Sophie marches up and glares at the twins who glare right back. No love lost there at all. They care for Paddy but they make no bones about the fact that they cannot stand Sophie.

“Why are you two making Paddy upset?’ she snaps.

Ria jumps to her feet and glares back at her, her small hands on her hips.

‘Mumma says adults should not interfere when kids are playing.’ she retorts, sticking out her chin.

Swallowing the urge to reach out and slap the small pink face with the golden locks now in long braids, Sophie becomes aware that the other adults in the kitchen are staring at her in some bemusement.

Beatrice is gazing at Sophie in some impatience.

And young Philippe who has come with some fresh vegetables from the garden that Proserpina tends to with such love is standing in the doorway, his dark eyes glowering in fury, preparing to jump to the defence of the twins.

The youth has his fists clenched in readiness to leap at Sophie, she notices in shock.

The need was to avoid a confrontation. She knows when she was outnumbered.

But as she is turning away, she overhears Ria who has settled down and has begun to continue with the game.

“So my Mumma made my Pappa get rid of Sondra.’ She proclaims with a flourish.

*

A horrible thought strikes Sophie. She moves swiftly and grabs the child who is startled.

She shouts as she shakes the little girl hard,

“What did you say, you little bi*ch? What did you just say?’

But she cannot go on. A fist smashes into her face, slamming into her cheek hard and she falls back, stunned.

Young Philippe stands there, all of twelve years old, his eyes flashing, and ready to knock her down. Ria’s protector as always, she recalls.

Ria is sobbing, in the arms of Beatrice who is screaming at her, the maids are tugging her away and Philippe looks like he is readying to punch her again.

Sophie stumbles away but a horrible thought is forming in her head.

Did Lucien Delano, the horny b*stard, get involved with Sondra? Maybe he was one of the men who kept f*cking her?

The fact that he could barely keep his fly shut, was something everyone knew!

And did Saint Proserpina discover it and demand that her Mafia Boss husband break off all relations with Sophie, maybe, even do something like get rid of her?

Sophie’s heart is pounding as she collapses on the bed in the sunny, airy room she has been given. How she made it to the room is a blur.

*

A conversation she had had with her sister a little before Sondra disappeared again comes to mind.

Sondra is smoking.

” I got involved with a man.’ She says it bitterly.

Sophie, the much younger Sophie turned to look at her. They are in the kitchen of the tiny flat. Sophie is rinsing out the dishes; their Mother is asleep and so is little Paddy.

Pensively, Sondra continues.

‘I knew it was foolish…he was just a mafia man, but Sop, he promised to take me out of the hell I was in.’ Tears trickle down her face.

“He swore on his children that he would take Paddy, give him a home…’

And then, in a whisper, ‘I believed him, like a bl*ody fool. I believed him.’

Now she is crying in earnest, sinking to the floor, burying her face in her hands.

“I wanted to believe that someone could care for a wh*re like me, someone would see the woman inside me…’

Sophie sinks down beside her sister, her eyes filling in empathy.

“Who…who was it? What happened?’ she asks urgently

Sondra looks up, eyes glowing in rage, ‘His f*cking WIFE found out.’ She snarls.

And the bugger dropped me, just like that…”

She breaks down completely as Sophie enfolds her in her arms.

“Sondra, tell me, who was the man?’ begs Sophie, pleading.

‘He…Del…’she sobs but her voice is muffled.

And since their mother comes into the kitchen at the time, Sophie forgets the conversation. For their mother slips to the ground in a faint, the little boy comes awake at the same time and begins howling and the next day, Sondra disappears.

*

Had she been trying to say ‘Delano?’ wonders Sophie as she clutches the bed.

Only one way to find out.

Grabbing the phone, she feverishly rings Worthington.

*

“Was Sondra involved with Lucien Delano?’ she snaps when the odious man picks up the phone.

There is a long pause and then he sighs carefully before he speaks and the words make her stop breathing.,

‘Ah, my dear, but that is what I wanted to tell you all this while…Lucien Delano was f*cking your sister Sondra behind his wife’s back.’