Chapter 6

Standing in the middle of the Viscolis’ sitting room and watching their reactions after his sensational outburst, Tony was certain that he finally had their full attention.

Mario had almost had enough of Tony’s crude mannerism which, in his opinion, completely lacked respect. He was almost at the verge of throwing the spoilt little brat out of his house so he could concentrate on the disaster that Angelo had caused by forcing his daughter into an impromptu contract marriage. But Tony’s latest remark had forced Mario to hold off throwing the young lad out until he had explained why he was so desperate to marry his daughter.

Sitting right next to Mario and equally intrigued by Tony’s remarks, Isabella could not help but notice how passionately her daughter was loved by the strange young man standing before her. She marvelled at Tony’s bravery to stand before an irate father who clearly disliked him; and still confess his undying love at whatever cost. Isabella’s admiration of Tony’s bravery inevitably showed up in the form of a smile over her face.

“You want to… or you have to marry my daughter?” Mario cross-examined Tony’s statement.

“Both…, actually. I really have to get Moira back. The wedding… eloping.. was my idea; even though Moira agreed to it, it was my idea in the first place. I… we have to get her back as soon as possible, please.” Tony said with the same passion in his voice.

“Oh, how romantic! This boy must be a poet!” Isabella murmured; not realising that she had actually said her thoughts out loud enough for her husband to hear.

“Romantic my ass! It sounds to me like this boy is trying to use Moira for selfish ends. Tell us Tony Scott, why might a young man like you be so enthusiastic about marrying our daughter? Why her in particular?” Mario quizzed; shifting to the edge of his seat, his eyes not leaving Tony for a second.

Tony retreated to his previous seat and eased into it, “There’s something I have to tell you.”

“We’re listening.” Mario said impatiently.

“I am an only son from a very traditional family and recently, my parents have been pressuring me into this arranged marriage, back in my home town. I never really took them seriously whenever they spoke about it before… I just thought it was some kind of tasteless joke. But they really are serious about it.” Tony paused and shifted to the edge of his seat.

“There was no way I could get out of it without totally offending my folks and perhaps even losing them. But again, I didn’t want to marry if it was not for love. So I made a deal with my parents… they let me search for my own true love; and if I couldn’t find a suitable bride within a year, I’d marry the girl they chose for me.”

Mario and Isabella’s hands instinctively joined; their eyes fixed on Tony and their minds completely absorbed in the tale he was telling.

“My dad agreed to the deal but he didn’t completely believe that I was sincere; he thought I was running away from the family and would never return. So he made me promise that I’d not let him die without at least seeing my bride.” Tony’s face fell as he said this part.

“Was your father right, though? Are you trying to tell us that you did run away from your responsibilities back home?” Mario asked.

“No. Never; quite the opposite actually. I’d never do that. I came to look for love… true love; and I found it in Moira; well ahead of the deadline my dad and I agreed on. I only delayed going back because Moira and I were planning to properly get married in a big wedding back home… but then I received bad news a few days ago. My dad is dying and I have to go and be with him. The problem is, if I return home without a wife, I’d have to marry the girl my parents picked out for me. The only way to avoid that is if I marry Moira. That’s why we had to eloping.”

There was silence in the house as both of Moira’s parents realised how quickly and unfairly they had judged Tony. Isabella had noticed how deeply Tony felt for her daughter but she had prematurely dismissed it as childish infatuation. Mario, on the other hand, had completely dismissed Tony as some spoilt kid who was just out to have some meaningless fun with his daughter.

“What’s wrong with your father?” Mario asked, adjusting his tone to sound empathetic to Tony’s situation.

“Cancer; doctors said he had less than a month… and that was two weeks ago. My mother only told me about his condition a few days ago. I have to be there for my dad. It’d be great if Moira was there with me.” Tony lamented.

“We’re so sorry, Tony. I wish there was something we could do to help but as you can see, we’re all in a fix. I’m afraid you might have…” Isabella tried to explain the impossible situation but Tony wouldn’t even let her finish.

“Don’t say that… please, I can’t afford to give up on Moira just yet. There must be something we can do to get her out of this mess. Surely, we can’t just send her away to that messed up monster and forget about her for a whole half year. She’d never forgive us, believe me. I don’t know about you but I’d never forgive myself either.”

Tony was definitely making all the sense in the world, in accordance with his unbelievably desperate situation. However, to Mario and Isabella, it was one of those unfortunate situations that could not be avoided; an inevitable tragedy that nobody could stop.

Mario and Isabella were shocked to learn about the coincidental likeness of their traditions and those of Tony’s family; the striking resemblance between Tony’s reasons for wanting to elope and those that their daughter most probably harboured but clearly never shared with Tony.

Isabella clutched at her husband’s arm with one hand and stroked it with the other. Their eyes met and locked in a long gaze; each one knowing exactly what the other was thinking.

“Oh, Mario; what a horrible mess things have suddenly turned out to be!” Isabella softly whispered in her husband’s ear as she leaned on his shoulder. “What an ugly mess!”

“So are you guys ready to help me out or not? I’m definitely going to do whatever it takes to get Moira out… not in six months but right now!” Tony declared completely oblivious of how much his little back-story had worsened the Viscolis’ yet to be revealed predicament.