He stopped at a red light before reaching into the back of his car for something. A present. He set it on my lap. It was a little heavy. I looked at it, then at him, but he was no longer looking at me, just straight ahead. The light turned green, and he took off.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Open it.”
I reached into the gift bag and pulled out a top-of-the-line straightener.
I smiled a little.
“For the one you broke. I’m sorry I caused you to break it,” he said softly.
I felt tears welling in my eyes but didn’t say anything as I stared down at it.
“And I’m so fucking sorry for my words, Isa. I didn’t mean it. I would never violate your privacy like that by having a doctor come and…”
I shifted in my seat when he trailed off.
“Thank you,” I said. “I just wanted your apology. You didn’t have to go out and buy me a new straightener.”
He shrugged. “I broke it.”
Technically, I did. When I threw it at him.
“It’s perfect,” I said.
“Does that mean you forgive me?”
“Yes,” I answered. “I forgive you.”
“Good,” he grunted out. My brother wasn’t really a man of many words.
But that was okay. His actions always told me everything I needed to know. We drove the rest of the way in silence. But the tension that had been in the car when I first got in had dissipated almost completely.
We pulled into the center of the strip, where most of the De Luca-owned casinos were located.
“We’re having lunch here?” I asked.
“Something’s going on at one of the casinos. We’re not going there, but I wanted to stay close just in case. And Tommaso is here to take you home if I am needed,” he said, looking at something in his rearview mirror. I turned and looked, finding the car I usually took with Tommaso.
“Okay,” I said. It didn’t matter much to me either way. I was just glad Valentino and I had made up. Now I just have to find my bravery, enough to confess everything to him, and hope beyond hope that he wouldn’t react so much in public.
I stayed in the car and waited for Valentino to come out and get me. It was a rule he gave me when I was younger. I wasn’t supposed to get out of the car until he could assess his surroundings first.
He opened my door.
I smiled at him and got out. My brother didn’t smile back at me, but I didn't expect him to. His eyes did soften marginally though.
We walked into a small restaurant in the Siren Casino.
The casino was beautifully built, with influences from Italy, featuring a white marble sculpture of a beautiful woman, whom I assumed was “the siren.” She stood in the center of the entryway, looking down at everyone who came inside.
If I remembered correctly, this was one of the first casinos established by the De Luca patriarch, Ricardo De Luca, Elio’s grandfather.
He had come to America after escaping the Sicilian mob because he was caught in bed with the mob boss’s daughter. He established himself in Las Vegas, and after nearly a decade of illegal work, he managed to open his first legitimate business.
Though I was sure the casino was a front to help disguise the more illicit activities.
Either way, the place was beautiful and teeming with tourists, who were unaware that the mob actually owned it.
