Page 21 of Mob Star

“So, what now?”

My mom resumes folding, which is a good sign. “We’re going to tap into our retirement, take the penalty, and hope he gets a new job or his old one back.”

“No.”

My mom looks at me askance. “What do you mean ‘no?’”

“No. I’m a lot further away from retirement than either of you are. I have way more time to save aggressively if I take a break now. You are not tapping into a fixed income when you both might live another thirty-odd years.”

“And in thirty years, you’ll be ready to retire too.”

“Mom, no. If Papa can’t get disability or a new job, then I am helping you with whatever unemployment doesn’t cover. You live a modest life. It’s not like I’d be floating your jet-setting lifestyle. You know I have the means to do that.”

“You’re still paying off med school.”

“I am. And I’m actively saving for my retirement beyond what the hospital matches. I can reallocate those funds for now.”

“We’re not?—”

“So, you’re going to consider the alternative. That’s what you’re not telling me.”

My mother’s eyes narrow at me, and I feel like I’m six again and just put stickers all over my little wooden rocking chair.

“You know that isn’t what we’re going to do.”

“And when he finds out and comes knocking? Then what? You won’t be able to say no.”

“He won’t find out.”

I scoff at that. “Uncle Corey will absolutely find out. And he will absolutely come knocking. Or worse, he’ll send a half dozen guys to smash your windows and key your cars. He doesn’t give a hoot that Papa is his own nephew.”

This is what I feared being with Finn would bring back into my life. That being around the mob would be like the motorcycle club my dad’s uncle leads. My grandfather was a member too. My dad had no choice but to run with them when he was in his twenties. But he beat the shit out of his cousin for something he said about my mom when my parents were dating. It was along the lines of what Tony said about me— the caramel swirl part. Papa put his cousin in the hospital for three weeks with so much internal bleeding everyone was certain he would have died. When my dad said he wanted out, they showed him the door.

But that hasn’t kept Uncle Corey from making an appearance from time-to-time. I also know he’s been extorting my parents since they got married. They might have let my dad out, but he pays for the privilege of staying out. It’s that monthly payment that worries me more than if they can keep the electricity on. My mom makes enough to support them. So did my dad. But the moment Uncle Corey knows they’re having a hard time, he’ll up the payments. He’ll make sure they have other hardships, like needing cars or the house repaired. Then he’ll loan shark them. I’ve seen him do it to other people in our family.

“Ally?”

I twist to look at my dad in the doorway. “Hi, Papa.”

I go over to him and hug him, too. He’s as tall as Finn, at a few inches over six feet, but he’s a mountain. His forearms are the same width as the bottom half of my calves, which are not thin. He was a welder for nearly twenty years before he became a supervisor. There isn’t a ton of hand fabrication that still goes on, but there’s enough custom that his arms show the years of using a hammer and anvil. He’s as in shape now as he was when he beat the shit out of his cousin. I’ve seen photos from when my parents dated.

“I told Ally.” My mom sounds so defeated.

“I know. I could hear you as I came up the stairs. Ally, you are not taking care of us. We’re not feeble quite yet.”

“No one’s saying you are. There are plenty of cultures where this is totally a normal part of intergenerational families. Why does it have to be different here? I have the means.”

“Because you have a future to consider, and as kind as your offer is, it’s short-sighted.”

I take a deep breath. I won’t convince them otherwise. This is why my mom gave in and told me alone. She knew I would insist, and it’s actually better that I’m here alone than with my brothers. They’ll make the same offer, but they both have families. I’m the only single one with no one to support but myself. I’m also the highest paid of all three siblings.

Jamie and Asher are both associate professors who went through funded PhD programs, but they have kids, one of whom has severe medical issues. My other brother, Rod, is married with one kid. He’s an entrepreneur with a fleet of new trucks to pay for as an outsourced delivery service provider. He has thirty people working for him who need to get paid every two weeks. He’s also paying off his MBA. His wife is a nurse at the same hospital as me and is going through a doctoral program for Nurse Practitioners. This isn’t the time for either of my brothers to help, though I know they will insist. I’m the one who can do this, and I will. This isn’t the hill I’ll die on today, but it is the war I will win.

“Just keep it in the back of your mind, okay?”

My parents nod, and I know that means fat chance. But both of my parents combined still don’t equal how stubborn I can be. They know that, so I don’t meet either of their gazes, or they’ll know I have no intention of relenting. Truth be told, they already know that. I just don’t want them to see how deep I’m digging my heels in.

“Are you ready, Mom?”

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