Page 7 of Roque

“Where are you, child?”

“Papa’s study.”

He swore in a string of Italian.

“Wait behind the garden shed. Don’t make a sound. I’ll send somebody.”

“…Zio? Are they all gone? My aunt’s and cousin’s?”

“Yes. You and I are the only Fiorelli’s left.”

The Salvatore’s probably forgot about my Zio John. He wasn’t part of the outfit. He was ex-communicated. The truth was Zio was angry that Papa was the number one and Zio never wanted to be number two, so he left one day without a trace. Rumors spread that Papa had him killed for his insolence. But I knew the truth. Papa saved Zio. Helped him hide. Maybe deep-down Papa always knew his days were numbered.

Instead of math problems, Papa always drilled in Zio’s number into my head. He said if an emergency like today ever happened that I should call.

I waited long into the night, by the time the old woman from the café came for me my heart was as frozen as my feet.

“Mrs. Ponchetti?”

She nodded. “Your uncle was my favorite. I used to bounce him on my knee and feed him cannoli cream. Come child. I’ll keep you safe until your uncle can make arrangements to smuggle you out of here.”

I followed her out of the dark and into the back of her old VW. She fed me warmed biscuits and hot chocolate in the morning. She explained Zio was working old connections to smuggle me out of Italy to the USA… someplace called Brooklyn.

“Here, it’s your Zio.” She handed me the phone one day.

“Zio?”

“Little Romina… I can’t get you out of the country with your passport. The Salvatore’s have eyes and ears everywhere even in customs. You need a new name, I figured I’d let you choose.”

I wanted to be strong. Invincible. Something that stood for something but yet still felt like me. I remembered the Greek stories from mythology Mama used to read to me before she too was gunned down by the Salvatores. “Diana. Call me Diana. She was the goddess of the hunt. It will fit who I will be now.”

“Diana Palermo. That sounds good and Italian enough.”

“Palermo?”

“Yes. So, we never forget where we came from even though the Salvatore’s drove us out…Palermo will always be in our blood. I changed my last name to Palermo when I left. I’m working on getting you a new passport and papers. As soon as it’s done, I’ll send someone for you. I can’t come myself in case I’m recognized.”

“I’m going to live in America, with you?”

“Yes. You’ll be safe here.”

“Zio? I don’t want to be safe. I want vengeance.”

He breathed deeply into the phone. “So, do I. One day, little one. One day. Until then we will be patient. We will plan, but more importantly, we will train.”

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