Page 18 of Odin

“Something like that. There’s been friction between the brothers since the wedding. They just need to man up and duke it out.”

I laughed and hugged her. “I am so glad you’re here.”

“Me too, Rena. Me too.”

We snacked all night, watched terrible reality TV, and just hung out. If I couldn’t have my husband home with me, this was the next best thing.

***

Odin

"I know. It hurts, but it'll go away tomorrow."

Lexie shook her head no at me.

"It will. Just think, you can have all the ice cream and popsicles you want."

She smiled shyly. I enjoyed her innocence, even though it would eventually shatter.

"You promise?" she asked in a high-pitched voice. I'd been here enough that this was standard practice. She'd try to get me to promise that she'd be well quickly, and I always told her she was tougher than she looked. I wouldn't promise a child something I couldn't deliver. Would this same conversation occur when I had my own kids? Now was not the time to explore those thoughts, when they would feature lewd fantasies of my wife as I tried to impregnate her.

I stood up from the side of her bed and held out my fist for her to bump. "Get some rest, and it'll be better in the morning."

She waved as I prepared to pack up my bag.

Walking out of her room, I waited in the hallway until Alexander Sterling exited his daughter's room and shut the door behind him.

"Doc, indulge me for a minute? My office is this way," he said, showing me which direction to head.

I was aware he had connections in the city, and he knew I was a Deviant. We'd always been cordial with each other, but he'd never invited me into his office before. He normally had my payment ready to go as I was wrapping up the appointment. This was new, and I wasn't sure if I liked it. I didn't want to have to owe this man any favors.

He ushered me into his office, closing the door behind us. "I like you, Doc. It’s why I call you when the kids are sick," he saidas he walked towards his desk and leaned against it, facing me. I didn't respond.

"You don't play the political games that rule this city, but you married an Italian, which means you're going to have to learn quick. Word on the street is that they are one shipment away from being raided again. No one wants to touch their product, so they’re having to get creative. It’ll be a turf war if the Old Man doesn’t turn it over soon or passes. You go out the exact way you come in.”

I caught the hidden message. Giuseppe Lombardo had won his territory in a turf war.

"I don't get involved in their dealings." I was trying to keep my answers short.

"I wouldn't either. They're a shit show waiting to implode." He crossed his arms and his legs to give the appearance that we were friendly. "I've never had the pleasure of meeting your wife, but they say she's different from her mother. I hope for your sake that's true, but I feel you need to know what you're up against."

I could smell the set up a mile away. He was going to ask me for a favor, and I wouldn't be able to say no without disrespecting him in his home.

"See, if I were you, I would think that I am telling you all of this because I want something." He let the sentence trail off and hang in the empty room. I wasn't walking into this trap. "However, you'll handle it, and that will be favor enough." Alex stood from the desk and went to a bookcase against the wall. Pulling an album out, he walked over and handed it to me.

Benjamin Franklin High School. Chicago, Illinois.

"A yearbook?" I asked.

"I marked the page you need."

There was a Post-It note sticking out of the top. Flipping to the page, I saw there were individual senior portraits for the highschool kids that graduated that year. I started at the top and scanned my way until I saw her.

Serena, but it wasn't my wife. The family resemblance was uncanny.

Cordelia Conti looked just like her daughter.

"She lost the weight right after Sergio was born. Been thin as a rail ever since," he said as I looked up from the book. I wondered if Serena knew this. I wouldn't tell her, but it made sense why her mother harped on her. I went back to the yearbook and quickly scanned the other kids.

---