PresentSeptember 2016What started at the table made its way through the living room, the stairs and the furniture.Luc marked me wherever he wanted, as much as he wanted and he always did it looking me in the face, without letting go of the fact that he was the one who did it and that, whether I liked it or not, I wasn't enjoying it like I had ever until we had dinner."I never imagined we'd be this unstoppable, Emma." I stopped chewing as I listened to him talk. “My fantasies fall short.”"Well, are you pleased with the service, or are there more fantasies you want to explore? After all, it was your money that bought me.”At my monotone response, he looked at me as if he understood for the first time, since our reunion, that I was a different person and that I wasn't going to give in, so he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut after that.He didn't say anything else; he didn't want to go on, he just guided me to his room.The surprising thing when I walked in was that it bore a
Part II. The BeginningPastApril 2009 "Your mother killed herself.”Those aren't the words you want to hear as you come home from taking a calculus test at the end of a difficult day at the distinguished elite high school you attend at.Actually, I never expected anything from my family, not when it didn't function as a proper family set, however, hearing it from my neglected father when my little sister was in shock, was not what I thought would happen.Everything had turned into a mess in a matter of hours.I was supposed to do my usual role as a caregiver, I never expected to have to manage a loss like that. At the time, he was just another kid waiting for his mother, a woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder type two, to come in and finish off the bad joke.I couldn't believe it.I opened my mouth from the impact, about to say something stupid, but the hard look of Matteo Basciano, my father, was enough for me to even say anything. So, I turned my attention to my sister and went i
PastApril 2009 Days after burying our mother in the family crypt, we went with Grandpa to visit her. We were sitting on some blankets that Giulia arranged so that we could have a picnic, something that surprised us because she felt completely disturbed, so much so that the doctor prescribed some tranquilizers. Faced with that, Adriano had the brilliant idea that a season locked up in a mental nursing home would do him good to overcome the trauma and Enzo almost pulled his teeth.It was my grandfather who calmed the waters and had a private meeting with my father and older brother. That's why I realized that whatever Grandpa would tell us wouldn't be a simple thing."Now they don't have their mother, and they have to be strong together, more than ever, at least until I figure things out," he said earnestly. “They have to be strong, hold on until their father arrives and if something happens, they need to get back to me as soon as possible.”"Thank you, old man," Enzo replied calmly,
PastApril 2009 After the scene with Mr. Russo, my father didn't come to me like I thought he would. Honestly, I thought his response would be to crucify me, but he just went on to ignore me which was generally excellent, yet meant the calm before the storm.Hadrian looked at me with suppressed rage, an almost blinding rage that meant revenge, but I didn't understand why marriage was more important to him, what it might or might not mean in his scheme of things in his head.I wasn't on a mission to understand my cruel elder brother.I had enough on my plate with an absent mother, a controlling father, a sister on the verge of mental breakdown, and a brother capable of going to war, while Grandpa fought our battles. It was too much to worry about my father's importance to a marriage I never asked for.So, I took advantage of the fact that I had the last free hour to go to the Central Library to do some research. If Matteo Basciano found out that he had done extensive searches on Mr. R
PastApril 2009My father ushered the guests into the dining room, only he didn't count on the great detail that my grandfather Maurizio would be sitting at the headboard, drinking the most valuable whiskey in his collection. Matteo restrained himself, didn't let go of the fake smile, invited the Russo’s to sit down, then he took the other chair at the headboard, and so his children sat down to the side. I was wise to sit to my grandfather's right.I didn't want to get married."Dear Fabio, you know my eldest sons and father-in-law," Matteo said in a grim tone. “He introduced you to my youngest son, Enzo, he is sixteen years old, he goes to the Magno school, in the tenth grade and he is an excellent athlete.”"It's a pleasure to meet the male offspring of the Bascianos," replied the old man, looking at us condescendingly, and you could see at once how patently macho he was.” They seem like good prospects.”"Of course," Grandpa added with amusement. “They are Moretti after all, they ne
Past April 2009 Calm was what I was looking for and I only did that in the pool, so I headed there and swam for a long time before lying down on a sun lounger, there I realized that a brown leather wallet, aged, was underneath it. I opened it and noticed that it belonged to Grandpa's mechanic friend, Mr. Bruce, and it was my golden opportunity to investigate it. The wallet contained a debit card, two credit cards, a South Dakota driver's license, an organ donor card, about $500 in cash, and a copy of a tax permit from a shop in Aberdeen. That proved that I was a mechanic, and that I had to go back to the public library or my father would hunt down the trail. However, he trusted Grandpa, he wouldn't bring him, just like that. Seeing one of the pockets, a series of photos were hidden. There was that of a blonde woman, very beautiful, and on the back, it said: the love that could not be. It felt very intense, which made the memories of conversations with my grandparents make sense.
Past April 2009 Calm was what I was looking for and I only did that in the pool, so I headed there and swam for a long time before lying down on a sun lounger, there I realized that a brown leather wallet, aged, was underneath it. I opened it and noticed that it belonged to Grandpa's mechanic friend, Mr. Bruce, and it was my golden opportunity to investigate it. The wallet contained a debit card, two credit cards, a South Dakota driver's license, an organ donor card, about $500 in cash, and a copy of a tax permit from a shop in Aberdeen. That proved that I was a mechanic, and that I had to go back to the public library or my father would hunt down the trail. However, he trusted Grandpa, he wouldn't bring him, just like that. Seeing one of the pockets, a series of photos were hidden. There was that of a blonde woman, very beautiful, and on the back, it said: the love that could not be. It felt very intense, which made the memories of conversations with my grandparents make sense.
Past April 2009 I made it to Bruce's house with ease. The man received me immediately, as if he had already been waiting for me, and I did not hesitate. "Well, boy, let's park at the back of the property and you can settle in a small cabin he has on the outskirts of town, it's the best thing given the situation," he explained straight to the point after greeting us. So, we did. Half an hour later, I was in a small, wooden house that looked unkempt. In front of it, there was a more affluent truck, so I assumed it was the car he drove in his day-to-day life. There was no doubt in my mind that the red, beat-up van was the one that would leave me and I still felt good about it. "Your grandfather sent something for you to settle in and paid the months' rent, but he made it clear that the rest is up to you..." "In other words, the old man wants me to work..." I don't have a problem with it," I said confidently, and Bruce smiled. "You're going to work in the shop, you'll clean, you'