Page 2 of Merciless Monster

“It’s a crazy match. Isn’t it strange how opposites attract? I would never have put the two of you together.”

“Yup. Jeff’s the butter in my espresso, that’s for sure. But it works.”

“You’re so lucky, Gina. He’s a wonderful guy.”

“Jeff isn’t perfect. But he sure is perfect for me.”

“He’s a prince compared to the guys I seem to attract.”

“Sam is a master manipulator, M. Even I fell for his bullshit. You can’t blame yourself.”

“I guess. Anyway, he’s history. Thank God. Can you believe he had the nerve to send me flowers for my birthday?”

“What! He’s such an asshole. As if flowers could make up for what he did. Honestly, I don’t know how you’ve managed to keep it cool. I would have gone full Italian vengeance on his ass.”

“Does Jeff know about the extent of your Sicilian verve?” I giggle.

“Oh, yeah. Why do you think he’s so good to me? One dinner with the famiglia was all it took. My brothers gave him the hairy eyeball, and that was that.”

I laugh as Gina runs her thumb across her throat and sticks out her tongue. She’s such a nut. I love her so much.

“It’s a pity Georgio is too young for you, M. How nice would it be if we were related?”

“You’ve just warned me about them, and now you want me to join the crazy. Yeah, I don’t think so. But thanks for the offer.”

“Yeah, you’re right. You’re way too Californian for the Fontanas. Too vanilla, dare I say.”

“Way too much.”

I just turned twenty five. My plan was to be married by now. Maybe even pregnant. But I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen. I’ll probably end up an old maid with twenty cats, the way my luck has been going. Damn you, Sam!

It’s 4 a.m. when the next team arrives. I’m too wired to sleep, so I go to the bakery around the corner from my apartment for a fresh donut and a mug of hot chocolate. The orange glow of sunrise will brighten the horizon soon, welcoming the morning runners as they make their way along the promenade.

I love the ocean. It’s my happy place. There’s something about the salty scent in the air and the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore that resonates with my soul. My mom says I used to sit in the shallows for hours when I was a toddler, staring out to sea and grabbing handfuls of beach sand. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t either swimming in the ocean or surfing the break.

It’s been a little difficult lately to get to the beach. Working the graveyard shift at the pharmacy takes it out of me. But it pays the bills.

Another spectacular California sunrise.

See. It could have been worse. You could have had your heart broken inland, away from all this beauty.

* * *

“Oh, wow! Your village is gorgeous, Gina!”

The flight took forever, and we’ve just stepped out of a cab after a long drive, but I am instantly smitten with Sicily. It feels like I’m in a remake of an old gangster movie. The cobbled street and the sandstone colored buildings seem as if they’ve been here since the dawn of time.

“Welcome to Erice, my friend. She’s a beauty, alright.”

“Why would you ever leave such a place?”

“It’s too small for me. I like the hustle and bustle of city life. Besides, California is just far enough away from my nutty family,” she winks.

“Oh, my goodness! Look at that beautiful cathedral. I’m in love.”

“Erice isn’t known as the City of a Hundred Churches for nothing. This medieval town was once a sacred place dedicated to the goddess of fertility, Venus.”

“No wonder you have such a large family,” I chuckle.

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