Chapter 4

“Don, is this pin yours?”

He held out a brooch, a rose carved in gold with a ruby at its heart, and put it in Vito’s hand.

It was the anniversary gift I had given him back when he first became Don.

He recognized it. “It’s mine.”

The man said he had found it at the hospital entrance. Vito thanked him flatly. The window went up and the car pulled away.

On the drive, Vito’s mind was clearly somewhere else.

When Vivian asked about the brooch, he said nothing.

I sat on the other side of the car by the window, glancing over at him now and then, and in a daze I remembered the year we had loved each other most.

That brooch had cost a fortune. I bought it with money I earned myself.

I had studied dance since I was a child, and to save up I signed on with a company for performances.

Two shows a day, three solid months of dancing without a single break, and then I could finally afford it!

That night there was a grand Family dinner. Everyone was celebrating Vito taking over from the old Don.

Nervous, I saved the gift for a moment when we were alone, and told him to close his eyes.

He closed them without arguing. “What surprise have you got for me this time?”

I took the gift out and laid it gently in his palm.

He started to open his eyes and I said quickly, “Not yet.”

He laughed quietly. “Okay.”

I opened the box for him so the brooch would be the first thing he saw.

Those three months of work had all been for that one moment when he saw it.

I told him, “You can look now.”

Surprise flashed in his eyes when he saw it. As the new Don, he happened to need exactly that kind of pin to symbolize his position.

Once the surprise passed, he smiled at me. “Put it on for me, Mrs. Gambino.”

It was the first time he had ever called me that.

I held down the joy rising in me and pinned it on with shaking hands.

Under his burning gaze, I fled to the bedroom.

I lay on the bed imagining him wearing it every day while he ran the Family’s business.

A little later he came into the bedroom, pulled back the covers and gathered me into his arms. “I was about to ask you how it looked on me and you ran off.”

I caught the faint scent of his cologne and said, a little shy, “It looks good, obviously. I spent forever picking it out.”

Vito said, “I have a gift for Mrs. Gambino too.”

He scooped me up and carried me to the dressing room.

His gift was an evening gown he had commissioned a couture designer to make for me.

“You love to dance, don’t you? From now on you’ll wear this and dance with me at the parties.”

I blushed and agreed on the spot. He insisted we dance right then.

So I changed into the gown, and under the night sky and the lights we danced until neither of us wanted to stop.

When I came back to myself, we had already reached the estate.

The old Don sat in his wheelchair, watching us get out of the car.

He said a few kind words to Vivian, then turned to Vito. “Antonia’s father called me a little while ago. He said he isn’t well, and that he hasn’t seen his daughter in days.

“Do you know where Antonia is?”

Vito was always respectful with his father. “Antonia and I had a fight. She’s sulking. I haven’t seen her in days either.

“I messaged her to come to the hospital so I could take her for her checkup. She never answered.”

Vito showed him the message history. The old Don frowned. “Antonia has always been a sensible girl. You must have hurt her, or she wouldn’t have left.

“Go find her. Her parents and I all have a bad feeling about this.”

Vito still hesitated. “Father...”

The old Don pressed him. “Go. I won’t rest until I see her.”