Page 57 of Time Served in New York
Unfortunately, it didn’t take away any of the fear.
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FRANKIE
“Aunt Frankie, look what I made,” Freddy, my 11-year-old nephew, said as he skidded to a halt next to my chair. “It’s a cyborg hand. I can do anything with it.”
“That’s cool, bud. You made that?” Christopher asked.
“I did. Olivia gave me the kit for my birthday.”
“Olivia? That’s your cousin's kid, right?”
I nodded and told Christopher, “She’s Guila’s daughter. They’re the same age.”
“I’m never gonna be able to keep everyone straight, I swear,” Christopher grumbled before he took another bite of the omelet my brother had made.
“Why don’t you try eating with that thing?” my brother, Federico, suggested to Freddy. “You haven’t eaten a bite this morning.”
Freddy leaned his head back and let out a long sigh of frustration. “Can I eat in the den while I watch TV with the guys? I know you’ll probably want to talk about wedding stuff, and I’m over all that.”
My brother studied his son for a minute and shook his head. “The world is not ready for a kid like you, I swear.”
Freddy grinned and picked up his plate with his free hand and then rushed toward the den where I could hear the television that seemed to stay on day and night.
“He’s grown so much since my last visit. It’s crazy.”
Constance, my niece that I’d nicknamed Stan years ago, laughed from her perch at the bar where she was scrolling through her phone. “I was gone for a week, and when I came back, he was at least six inches taller.”
“When I got here earlier, he chewed me out because he’d had to stand still for the tailorforeverwhen they had to make last-minute alterations to his tuxedo. Somehow that’s my fault.”
Stan laughed, “Of course it’s your fault. You’re the one who’s making him get dressed up and stand in front of a million people.”
“He’s the only kid in either family who’s big enough to be in the wedding,” Christopher explained.
I nodded. “I would have loved to have Boo and Jared in the ceremony, but they’re just too young.”
“Well, Olivia’s stoked about getting to dress up and be the flower girl,” Stan assured me. “As a matter of fact, I need to get going so I can meet her and Guila at the salon. We’re getting manis and pedis together and then having lunch afterward before we pick up Olivia’s dress.”
Stan walked over and gave my brother a kiss on the cheek and then waved at me and Christopher as she called out a goodbye to her little brother and then disappeared down the hall.
“She seems to be handling things well,” I pointed out before I took a sip of my coffee.
“She was pretty resistant to the 24-hour bodyguard thing, but she knew it was inevitable,” my brother said sadly. “We chose some that were young enough that they wouldn’t stand out while they escorted her, and that helped. I had two of my guys on her at first, and she said she felt like she was being followed around by Father Time and his evil twin.”
“What about when she’s in class?” I asked.
“They’re getting a free education out of the deal,” my brother told me with a grin. “They’re not enjoying that part of the job at all.”
“They go to class with her?” Christopher asked with a bark of laughter. “That’s funny.”
“It’s costing me through the nose, but I wanted to make sure they had eyes on her every second.”
“Fred,” I said, calling my brother by the nickname I’d given him years ago. “You’re going to have to let her breathe, or she’ll rebel. You know that, right?”
“Sully and Park are good kids. They were raised in the life and understand the importance of her security, but they’re young enough that they’ve become her friends too.”
“Friends, huh? And how old are they?” I asked. “What do they look like?”
