I vividly recall the way she lightly cradled my face in her hand and said, “Farai grandi cose, non importa dove scegli di vivere.”You will do great things no matter where you choose to live.
Whether I had done great things while abroad was up for debate.
Now that I am back, my questionable practices have followed.
And apparently, my acceptance of commitments is also questionable.
Leaning back in my chair, I bring my bourbon tomy lips and sip it slowly, taking in the crowd as I do. Clinking glasses, boisterous laughs, and the ear-numbing tone of overlapping chatter fill the room.
According to Sully, those with the deepest pockets and the most power in the state are in attendance. Though it is difficult to recognize some beneath their masks, I can see he was accurate in his assessment.
Much to my dismay, I have also stumbled my gaze upon a few faces I’d be happy to never see again in my lifetime.
Especially one.
Joseph Paladino.
Second son of Maurizio Paladino, the man who killed my uncle. Years of hatred have simmered between my family and theirs.
After the murder of my uncle, Papà was successful in avoiding Maurizio, but the feud never settled. In fact, it intensified when Enzo and I reached our teenage years. Though that was because we finally came head to head with Maurizio’s sons, and when Enzo got into a fistfight with Joseph at a party, I didn’t hesitate to involve myself.
Coincidentally, or perhaps not, that was also the first time I had laid eyes on their sister since running into her at a dinner party at the mayor's house years prior.
Having already been riled from my run-in with her, not appreciating how my body perked up at the sight of the enemy, I was all too happy to take my aggressions out on a Paladino. No matter how much my hatred burned, I would never lay a hand on a female, so herbrother showing up when he did was like a gift from God.
In hindsight, two-on-one was not an honorable fight, but it was one Enzo and I both desperately craved.
Together we broke two of his ribs, split his lip, and gave him a nasty black eye we heard took weeks to fade.
At the moment, it was everything we had been waiting years for, but the aftermath was less than desirable.
Maurizio paid Papà a visit the very next day, escalating the feud between families.
A clear line was drawn, and both men made it clear there would be bloodshed if it were ever crossed.
Papà could be ruthless when provoked. Something I had seen very little of in my years, but did not doubt for a moment.
Part of the reason I left the country after upholding Mamma’s wishes of medical school was because I didn’t trust myself not to cross the line.
For Papà.
For Uncle Gabriele.
We had laid docile for long enough, and I was tired of letting the Paladinos think they had the upper hand.
Joseph Paladino had been running the Lucchetti name through the mud our entire youth, and I was at my wit's end listening to Papà when he said to do nothing.
Nothingwas theoppositeof what Enzo and I wanted to do.
My fists against him feltgood. Necessary.
But the Lucchetti-Paladino war was deeper than me or Enzo, or even Joseph, and Papà insisted that I stand down. Until Papà was physically unable to protect our family, or the Paladinos crossed that line, Ineededto stand down.
As the years passed, it became harder and harder to obey his wishes. Even with the distraction of medical school and focusing on mia famiglia and friends.
I knew what needed to be done.
Leavingallowed me to stand down.
