Page 49 of Time Served in New York
“These are just the appetizers, guys,” Santa assured all the cranky men. “We’re gonna have dinner in a few minutes, and then we’ll do the dancing shit. Frankie’s already arranged for pizzas to be delivered after we get back to our rooms.”
“Better be some beer with those,” Boss snapped.
“I’m sure there will be,” Santa replied. “But look at our women, guys. All dolled up and mingling with the fancy folks. I think we’re the luckiest men in the room.”
“That’s the damn truth,” Preacher agreed with a grin. “They’re fancied up with their hair and faces all done. You know what that means, right?”
“Oh, I know what that means to me,” Boss said with a wicked grin.
“It means every damn one of us is gonna have to rub their feet when the night’s over,” Stamp said knowingly. “We might get some of the good stuff later, but they’re all gonna be bitching that their feet hurt while we eat dinner. Just watch.”
“Paula’s gonna have her shoes off within the hour, I guarantee it,” Hook said with a laugh. “I’d bet Blue does the same.”
Preacher laughed. “I wouldn’t bet against it.”
“What are you boys over here laughing about?” Brea asked as she approached the table. Rather than sit in the chair next to Chef, she perched on his leg and draped her arm over his shoulders. He was perfectly content with her there, but she suddenly stood with wide eyes and sat down in the chair beside him and rested her hands in her lap. “Shit. I forgot where we were for a minute.”
“I liked where you were sitting before, Pickle. Come back.”
“No, Marques. We’re among some of the most elite socialites. They’re already eyeing us like they’re afraid we’re gonna steal the silver.”
“Fuck them,” Chef grumbled. “They can all go to hell.”
“We just have to hold out a little longer,” Santa assured us.
I watched August and Sis break away and start toward us, and the other women seemed to gravitate toward them, chatting as they walked across the dance floor toward our group of tables.
“What are you grumps over here mumbling about?” August asked as she sat next to me. I reached for her hand and pulled it into my lap as she rested her head on my shoulder.
“The animals at the zoo are restless. Apparently, it’s feeding time,” Frankie said as she sat down next to Santa. “I could see all of you snapping and snarling from across the room.”
“How much longer, Hince?”
Just then, we heard, “Ladies and gentlemen,” as Vincente Moretti, Paula’s oldest brother, walked across the raised stage holding a microphone. “If you’ll take your seats, dinner will be served momentarily. I’d like to thank you for your support tonight and ask for a round of applause for Francesca Romano and her fiancé, Christopher Miller, who so graciously arranged to support this cause as part of their wedding festivities. As many of you know, there have been some changes recently that are reflected in the crowd you see around you. Tonight, as my brother Antonio and I have recently done in our daily business dealings, I’ll hand over control to my son, Cento, and my nephew, Tonio, so they can act as your hosts for this evening.”
I looked around and saw shock on many faces and heard frantic whispers as people in the room processed what Vincente had just said - that he and his brother had handed over the reins of the family to their sons.
“And so it begins,” I heard Paula whisper.
“Thanks, Dad,” Cento said as he took the microphone from his father. “As you all know, we’re here to celebrate the impending union of Francesca, a dear friend and the saving grace of my aunt and her best friend, Paola Moretti. Tonight’s fundraiser will support a foundation that’s close to all of our hearts for many reasons, and we’d like to introduce you to the board members and founders of this worthy cause. We’ll hear a few words from some of them and then leave you to enjoy your dinner while we watch a video presentation outlining our plans for the Four Families Foundation.”
I leaned back as one of the servers set a plate in front of me and then August. I looked around and realized that almost everyone had been served but were ignoring their food in favor of the activity on the stage.
“Thank you, Cento,” Tonio said as he took the mic from his brother. “The Four Families Foundation was started by a group of friends who decided to break the cycle of violence against women and children that has been accepted by generation after generation of not only the families of the board members but many of you here this evening. Tonight, you’ll witness something that has taken years to bring to fruition but will last for many generations to come. Let me introduce our good friends, Zach Campana, Matteo and Luca Russo, along with Rico, Ziggy, and Relio Romano.”
There was an audible gasp as people around the room realized what this meant, and I couldn’t help but smile as I watched Frankie and Paula try unsuccessfully to hold back their happy tears as Stamp grinned proudly at the men on stage.
I looked back to the front of the room and saw the men I’d come to consider friends standing shoulder to shoulder as they looked out over the crowd that included some of the biggest movers and shakers in New York City.
The servers had vanished, and the only people moving in the room now were the photographers and videographers who’d been hired to document tonight’s gala.
Paula’s son took the microphone from Tonio and smiled at the crowd before he said, “Congratulations, Aunt Frankie. This celebration is all about you and the happiness you’ve found. I’d also like to take a moment to officially thank you for helping my mom when no one else could. Working together with my friends and associates, we’ll try to make sure other women won’t be stuck in situations like she lived through. Children won’t have to feel powerless like I did while I watched her husband abuse her and her own parents abandon her when she needed them the most.”
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see Paula take Frankie’s hand across the table. There wasn’t a dry eye among us, at least among the women, and I was having trouble breathing past the lump in my throat.
“The Four Families Foundation would like to thank you for joining us tonight, and we ask that you enjoy your dinner while watching the video presentation explaining how we plan to work together to make sure things change for the better, starting today,” Ziggy said after he took the mic from Zach. “I hope you’re looking forward to dancing after dinner, and don’t forget that throughout the evening, winners of the silent auction will be notified personally by one of the Four Families representatives. Thank you.”
There was applause as the men filed off the stage and then sat with a few other members of their exclusive group that would now be ruling the New York mafia scene in a way that no one had ever imagined. United. Together.
