Rely on me

***

Blessed St. Joseph,

model for all those who are committed to labor,

get for me the grace to work conscientiously,

placing the call of duty above my many sins;

to work with gratitude and joy,

considering it an honor to employ and develop,

through the means of labor,

the gifts received from God;

to work with order,

peace, prudence and patience,

never giving into weariness or difficulties;

to work, above all,

with purity of purpose,

and with detachment from self,

having always death in front of my eyes

and the account which I must render of time lost,

of talents wasted,

good omitted,

of shallow complacency in success

so fatal to the work of God.

All for Jesus,

and all for Mary,

all after Your example,

Loving Patriarch Joseph.

Such shall be my motto in life and death.

Amen.

***

A knock.

-Mr. Leo, it is time to- she stopped in her tracks when she saw him in front of the window, gazing somewhere beyond it.

-I am awake, Nina. Don’t worry. – Leo told his maid giving her a reassuring smile that could warm a heart. She left without a word. He had been staring out of his French door. The view was awful. He could see the whole city, to be precise the Alesi part of it. It looked sad, it looked dark. All the mansions and expensive architecture could never compensate how dead everything appeared to be. He had always thought that he would never manage to fit in there. It was slowly changing though. He was continuously fitting better and better, the worse it got.

***

-Leo, you look disgusting, man. – Georgio mocks, driving off to the highway. – Do you sleep? – He chuckles.

-Ha-Ha, very funny… - Leo says back, making Georgio laugh back at him.

-Would you two, please, stop? You are already giving me a headache. – Ave complained from the backseat, painfully obvious of how irritated she was.

-Ma’am, you yourself don’t look any better. – Georgio retorted with a playful smirk.

-Shut up, obscure shit. – Ave hissed, lying down. Georgio just laughed.

-You both look awful; maybe sleep, before it’s time to exchange. – He said with a little pity in his eyes, an eyebrow raised as if begging them to.

-That said, what’s the first stop? – Leo asked half asleep on the passenger side.

 – A gas station 40 minutes before Naples. – Georgio answered nonchalantly, lighting a cigarette. –We will have lunch there and use the phone to call here. – He added blowing the smoke through the window.

-Mmmm…- was all that Leo’s answer contemplated from. Ave had already passed out. Georgio chuckled looking at them.

***

-  Oi, sleeping beauties! – Georgio sing-sang parking the car. Ave was the first to react, jerking up so fast that she hit her head on the rooftop of the car at which Georgio chuckled, holding baack from laughing outloud. She gave him a glare.

-        Oi, rich boy! – He shook Leo, who slowly opened his eyes observing his surroundings.

-I will take charge of fulling the car, you and Ave go- HEY! I am still talking! Wait! – Ave had already gone out of the car walking away. – Aren’t we going after her? – Leo looked at him as if he was senile and yawned.

- Are you dumb? – He asked confused. – After what you saw you think you think we should? – He got out of the car, put his hands in the pockets and started walking off.

- Yeah, but-

-She is probably looking for a phone. – Leo interrupted him waving him off. Georgio sighed and got out of the car, too.

***

-How much would a phone call cost? – Ave asked an old lady in a candy shop that she spotted near the gas station.

The lady smiled and pointed her palm at her.

-5 cents? – Ave asked in disbelief and the lady just nodded. – Okay, I will pay you once I have finished talking. – She said in a rush. The lady smiled nicely, making Ave blush a little.

She dialed the number and waited for a little while. The phone rang once, it rang twice, now trice, oh, and they have picked up already.

-         We are in almost in Bologna. –Ave declared in a serious tone, intending to give more details but the Don spoke before her.

-         Ave… - He called her name. – Come back as soon as you can. – She felt goosebumps running down her skin.

-         Why? – She asked unable to either comprehend or assume what could have happened for the past hour and a half she had been missing.

-         Now isn’t the time. – He said harshly. – Let Leo and your comrade finish the job and come back alone.

-         But why out of the-

-         Do as you are told, Ave. – He instructed. To be controlled and to control. She had to obey.

-         Yes, sir. – She said and hung up the phone. She stayed there for a while, staring at the yellow wall of the shop. She did not really want to leave Leo alone. She took a deep breath and sighed. She headed towards the lady at the cashpoint and smiled back at her. While she was still digging in her pocket, a coin of 10 cents rolled on the counter before her.

-         I will pay the lady’s call. – A male voice purred behind her. She was irritated just by the sound of it.

-         No need, sir. I can pay for my own call, thank you. – Ave played along, shoving the coin back to Georgio. The veins on her forehead were ready to pop.

-         Ah, a pretty lady like you shouldn’t. – He spoke innocently just like his expression would suggest and looked back at the lady. – I will also have a phone call, miss. – He smiled widely at her and walked towards the phone. Ave looked back at the lady ready to bargain but she smiled at her so cutely that she just gave up with a sigh.

-         Go to Leo. He is at the gas station’s dinner. – Georgio spoke, dialing a phone number. Ave scoffed.

-         Mr. Pagolo… - Ave heard him say as she reached for the door’s knob… What was that? She walked back and stood near the phone. The stalls full of sweets were hiding her enough not to be noticed.

-         I see… I understand…. Yes…. I will get the job done, sir…. – Georgio replied monotonously. She couldn’t understand the context and now he had hung up. Damn it! Oh, no. He is walking towards her stall. She glued her back to the stall. Ah, he passed by. He turned on the next one. She sighed and turned around ready to walk out of the shop but someone grabbed her hand and pinned her against the stall again.

-         Oi, ma’am, eavesdropping is impolite. – Georgio hissed at her, his eyes were darker than usual. She took a deep breath.

-         You are one to talk! – She whisper shouted. – What do you think you- a knife against her abdomen shut her up. All she could do was glare at him and grit her teeth in irritation.

-         Leo won’t know a word about it. – He whispered in her ear, the dagger dangerously hard pressed against her skin. She looked away.

-         Why would I? – She asked, giving it a try to push him away. He wouldn’t budge.

-         If you die a few blocks from here, who will protect lil Leo? – He asked smirking against her ear. Her eyes widened.

-         Don’t you dare!

-         Stop me if you can, kitty. – He said with a playful smile, obviously mocking her. He put down his dagger and took a few sweets from the stall. – You got the message, I guess. – He said with a serious tone, picking sweets from here and there. – Dinner bar. – He commanded and she started walking towards the door with a flinch. So he was not entirely a fool, huh? However, playing his game... Perhaps, she ought to obey? She would hate to but she already did, because there she was – at the door of the gas station’s dinner.

-         It took you some time. – Leo mumbled. The plates were on the table, he hadn’t touched his own.

“He still hates eating alone…” she thought. She stared at the table for a moment.

-I will have to go back. – She said. Leo’s eyes widened.

-Why so fast? – He placed his hand on the table’s surface anticipating for an answer.

-I am not sure. But I will be fine. You and Georgio go ahead and- her eyes widened. Damn it! How is she going to leave him alone now?

-Ma’am, you leaving our company so soon? – Georgio asked with a cute disappointed face, sitting next to her. Her face immediately dropped.

-Let’s find you a car if that’s the case. – Leo said looking out of the window. She nodded.

-I will be back after that so- Leo had stood up and went to the cash point as she had started talking. Georgio broke out laughing. She glared at him.

-Something funny, rascal? – She hissed.

-This whole situation, honestly. – He blurted out nonchalantly having a bite from his steak.

-I am not quite fond of you as so you know. – She said starting to eat as well. – I will be keeping a close look on you, I bet you know. – He nodded with an excited smile, not averting his face from his plate. – Don’t try anything funny. – She hissed her threat.

-Ma’am, please do keep your eyes on me. – He said in a low voice with a smirk on his face.

-I am serious here. – She spoke, an irritated mark on her forehead already forming. He just waved his hand at her making a bored expression. Bastard, she thought.

- Mhm… - he hummed picking a little from her steak.

- Are you a kid? Jeeze… - he slapped his hand away.

-You two just cannot get along, huh? – Leo asked while sitting back in his place.

-Hmph…- Ave exclaimed and dug into her food. Georgio chuckled with a smug smirking on his face.