Page 55 of Long Live the King
Alannah
Iwasn’t sure if I should tell him. Last night, I sat on the toilet in our bathroom holding the pregnancy test, waiting for the results, when I heard Dominic letting out brutally heartbreaking sobs. In all of our years of knowing each other, I’ve never seen Dominic cry, so when I heard it, I knew he was going through something harder than I could imagine. He sounded hopeless, and I felt beyond terrible for him. He lost his best friend and his mother in one night, and the future doesn’t look so happy either. I could hear the despair and misery pouring out of him. It had built up to the point that he just couldn’t hold it inside anymore, and I couldn’t stand listening to it.
So, when the test came back positive, the first thing I thought was how incredible it is, but the second thing was when would be the right time to tell Dominic. Should I wait until we’re in a better place—until all of this craziness dies down and we’re comfortable? What if that day doesn’t come for another three or four months? What if things get worse because of this drama with Victor and the Commission finding out about Tommy’s death? I realized that there was a possibility that things weren’t going to get better anytime soon. So, as I heard him sobbing uncontrollably, I decided to try to give him a bit of sunshine. I knew I was taking a risk—that telling him about the baby might make things worse for him right now, but I also thought it could make things better. I thought it could be a rainbow at the end of his storm, and as it turns out, I was right.
When Dominic found out about the pregnancy, I watched him change from the inside out. His face shifted slightly, but I knew it was a big deal. The culmination of all of the events in one day ending with the positive pregnancy test changed his entire idea of what it meant to be alive. He rubbed my stomach as if I were already showing, and the look on his face was different. It was like he was thankful. Like he was thanking me for saving him from something, even though he was still going through so much.
After I told him about the baby, his demeanor changed. He didn’t grow meaner or colder, he became tougher, more focused. When we climbed into bed together, it was like he didn’t want me to be even an inch away from him, and he pulled me closer if our skin ever got separated. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but even this morning when we woke up I could feel it and see it in him. He’s still Dominic, but it’s like he has this aura around him now—the semblance of a king. A king who cares more about the lives of his people than he does his own.
I watch him as he walks into the bathroom and washes his face, just before standing in front of the sink and staring at himself in the mirror. His shirtless back is riddled with muscles and bruises from yesterday’s clash with Tommy Two Nines, but he’s like a warrior returning home from battle after a glorious victory. His face has a slight smile of pride as he looks at himself before splashing water on his face again. Once he brushes his teeth, he looks in the mirror and sees me watching him in the reflection.
“Good morning,” he says with a smile, as he turns around and starts to walk towards me. He’s wearing nothing but his boxer briefs, so I get the perfect view of his body and his manhood pressed against his underwear as he approaches.
“Morning,” I reply as he reaches me and leans over to kiss me. The soft touch of his lips on mine is like an espresso, jolting my skin to life. “So, what’s the plan today Don Collazo?”
He flashes a broken smile at the name, but it looks pained, as if he isn’t so fond of being the don of the Giordano family right now. It’s something I’ve never seen in him before, but I can’t say I’m surprised. After what’s gone on these past few days, who would want to be a part of any of it anymore?
“To set everything right,” he replies, still holding on to that pained smile. “All I want to do is make sure everything’s safe across the board. Then we can go from there.”
I know what he means when he says that. Last night, to my surprise, Dominic brought up the idea of getting out of La Cosa Nostra. Now, anyone who knows anything about the mob knows you don’t just “get out” of La Cosa Nostra. That’d be true if you were a small-time guy, but it’s especially true for a boss. If you’re the boss, the only way out is prison or death, and some of them are still very much involved even when they’re in prison. Although Dominic didn’t want to get into the details of how this was even possible last night, he was adamant about it, and apparently still is this morning.
I don’t press the issue right now because I know this is going to be one step at a time. We’re going to have to take baby steps if this is ever going to work, and I’m not so sure that it is, even as I watch Dominic grab his cell phone and place a call to Frankie.
