Page 51 of Mario
His gaze moves briefly to the window. From this side of the building, the city is brightening beneath a thin, cloudy sky. The river looks almost black between the buildings.
“It is a loud city,” he says. “Even when it is quiet. Takes time.”
Something in his voice tells me he is no longer talking only about sleep.
I look at him more carefully.
Diego Conti is not as intense as his brothers.
That does not mean he is lighter.
It may only mean his darkness sits deeper, under calmer water.
“I suppose it does,” I say.
Even with their accents, I sometimes forget that they're not from here.
They came from Naples. I can't even imagine moving from a place like that to Chicago. I can't even imaginewhythey would move from a place like that to Chicago.
Beautiful seaside town in Italy.
To Chicago.
“What made you guys come here?” I ask softly, not sure if it’s an appropriate question to ask.
For the first time since he stepped into my office, Diego’s expression loses all trace of teasing.
“The polite answer?” he asks.
I hold my coffee cup a little tighter. “Is there another kind?”
“There is always another kind.”
I should take that as my cue to back away from the question. I know I should. I have files to review and a meeting with Mario in less than an hour. I do not need to wander into family history before breakfast.
But Diego is looking at the city now, not me, and there is something about the quiet in him that makes me stay still.
“The polite answer,” he says, “is opportunity.”
“And the other answer?”
I could kick myself.
His mouth curves faintly, but there is no humor in it. “Necessity.”
That is all he gives me. One word that means nothing and everything.
I look down at my coffee because looking at him feels suddenly intrusive. “I’m sorry. That was probably too personal.”
“No,” he says. “It was a normal question.”
“Normal doesn’t always mean safe.”
That brings the smallest hint of humor back to his face. “Especially with my family, huh?”
I smile.
Then he sets the files on my desk, careful and neat. “Naples is beautiful. It is also complicated.”
