kid to my house .
How dare you let her beg for candy .
How dare you let her take my fucking money .
He even wouldn't have been surprised
by an " I'll kill you " for old time's sake.
But thank you?
Thank you?
What the fuck?
"I, uh… I didn't…" Carmine
stammered, not knowing what the hell to say. If he didn't know his uncle so
well, he might think that was sarcasm, but Corrado said something sarcastic
even less than he fucking said 'thank you'. "You're welcome?"
Corrado's serious expression melted a
bit, the corner of his lips twitching with the hint of a smile. "You don't
even know why I'm thanking you."
"No," he admitted.
"I'm just shocked I did anything to deserve some gratitude."
"You do a lot to deserve my
gratitude."
Carmine stared at him with disbelief.
"You're shitting me."
The smile withered away just as
quickly as it started to appear. "Profanity aside, I have no problem with
you, Carmine. Not anymore, anyway. You were a terrible soldato . One of
the worst I've ever been unfortunate enough to come across. But you're a good
nephew. You're a good man. I don't much care for holidays like this, but I can
tell this meant a lot to Celia, you coming here, bringing your daughter… so
thank you."
"You're welcome," Carmine
said. "You might want to tone it down, though, you know… you keep up this
whole family Kumbaya shit and I might start hitting
you up for free babysitting."
Corrado laughed. He fucking laughed .
Carmine could scarcely remember the last time he heard the man let out a laugh
that wasn't bitter or scathing. Fuck, had it ever happened before?
"We used to babysit you and your
brother," Corrado said. "Or, well… Celia babysat you. I've
never been good with children."
"I don't know," Carmine
said. "You just did pretty good with Maura. You might be better than you
think. Maybe it's like a secret talent or something."
Corrado laughed. Again .
"I have many talents, kid, but this isn't one of them."
"Is that why you never had
children?"
"One of many reasons,"
Corrado said. "I never wanted to have to be responsible for anyone else...
and yet, now I'm in charge of hundreds."
"Funny how that works."
"Yeah, but I thank God you're
not one of them anymore. Like I said, terrible soldato ." The smile returned to his lips yet
again as he reached over, grasping Carmine's shoulder. "Even worse than
your father, and I never thought that was possible."
Carmine was utterly speechless. He
didn't have a chance to come up with some sort of response, as there was ruckus
on the stairs then, ending the moment. Maura came running back in, still
filthy, but her hands were at least washed and her shoes were again tied.
Carmine glanced at his watch, realizing they'd been there for well over an hour
already. "We should get going. The others are probably wondering what
happened to us."
Celia walked in, immediately slipping
into Corrado's arms. It never failed to surprise Carmine, how affectionate
those two were in private. Corrado came off cold, sure, but he clearly
worshipped his wife, pulling her close, his arm protectively around her.
Carmine's memories of his own parents were vague, dimming over time, every year
taking away a little more of them. All he had were flashes of images, hazy
snapshots of the two of them together in his head. It was fucked up, he
thought, how time slowly erased the memories filled with love but didn't do a
goddamn thing to take away the visions of bloodshed. He liked to think his
parents had been like that, though. And it was the kind of husband he hoped to
be, the kind that always showed his wife how much she meant to him.
"Well, thanks for the,
uh..." Carmine picked the plastic bag up from the counter. Christ, it was
heavy. He held it up and shook his head. "The groceries, I guess."
"Tricky treat!" Maura
yelled, running over and wrapping her arms around Celia's legs, grasping ahold
of Corrado's pants behind her, hugging both at the same time. Carmine smiled,
watching his daughter,
How dare you let her beg for candy .
How dare you let her take my fucking money .
He even wouldn't have been surprised
by an " I'll kill you " for old time's sake.
But thank you?
Thank you?
What the fuck?
"I, uh… I didn't…" Carmine
stammered, not knowing what the hell to say. If he didn't know his uncle so
well, he might think that was sarcasm, but Corrado said something sarcastic
even less than he fucking said 'thank you'. "You're welcome?"
Corrado's serious expression melted a
bit, the corner of his lips twitching with the hint of a smile. "You don't
even know why I'm thanking you."
"No," he admitted.
"I'm just shocked I did anything to deserve some gratitude."
"You do a lot to deserve my
gratitude."
Carmine stared at him with disbelief.
"You're shitting me."
The smile withered away just as
quickly as it started to appear. "Profanity aside, I have no problem with
you, Carmine. Not anymore, anyway. You were a terrible soldato . One of
the worst I've ever been unfortunate enough to come across. But you're a good
nephew. You're a good man. I don't much care for holidays like this, but I can
tell this meant a lot to Celia, you coming here, bringing your daughter… so
thank you."
"You're welcome," Carmine
said. "You might want to tone it down, though, you know… you keep up this
whole family Kumbaya shit and I might start hitting
you up for free babysitting."
Corrado laughed. He fucking laughed .
Carmine could scarcely remember the last time he heard the man let out a laugh
that wasn't bitter or scathing. Fuck, had it ever happened before?
"We used to babysit you and your
brother," Corrado said. "Or, well… Celia babysat you. I've
never been good with children."
"I don't know," Carmine
said. "You just did pretty good with Maura. You might be better than you
think. Maybe it's like a secret talent or something."
Corrado laughed. Again .
"I have many talents, kid, but this isn't one of them."
"Is that why you never had
children?"
"One of many reasons,"
Corrado said. "I never wanted to have to be responsible for anyone else...
and yet, now I'm in charge of hundreds."
"Funny how that works."
"Yeah, but I thank God you're
not one of them anymore. Like I said, terrible soldato ." The smile returned to his lips yet
again as he reached over, grasping Carmine's shoulder. "Even worse than
your father, and I never thought that was possible."
Carmine was utterly speechless. He
didn't have a chance to come up with some sort of response, as there was ruckus
on the stairs then, ending the moment. Maura came running back in, still
filthy, but her hands were at least washed and her shoes were again tied.
Carmine glanced at his watch, realizing they'd been there for well over an hour
already. "We should get going. The others are probably wondering what
happened to us."
Celia walked in, immediately slipping
into Corrado's arms. It never failed to surprise Carmine, how affectionate
those two were in private. Corrado came off cold, sure, but he clearly
worshipped his wife, pulling her close, his arm protectively around her.
Carmine's memories of his own parents were vague, dimming over time, every year
taking away a little more of them. All he had were flashes of images, hazy
snapshots of the two of them together in his head. It was fucked up, he
thought, how time slowly erased the memories filled with love but didn't do a
goddamn thing to take away the visions of bloodshed. He liked to think his
parents had been like that, though. And it was the kind of husband he hoped to
be, the kind that always showed his wife how much she meant to him.
"Well, thanks for the,
uh..." Carmine picked the plastic bag up from the counter. Christ, it was
heavy. He held it up and shook his head. "The groceries, I guess."
"Tricky treat!" Maura
yelled, running over and wrapping her arms around Celia's legs, grasping ahold
of Corrado's pants behind her, hugging both at the same time. Carmine smiled,
watching his daughter,
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