as if they weren’t hidden behind the black lace. Her shock of me being here soon turns to disgust, and then anger. I’m ready for her revenge. I need it to want to wake up to another day.
Trey sits beside her, and the mayor beside him. Glancing down at her hands, they’re gloved, but there is no bulge where her engagement ring would sit.
The song of death grows louder, and everyone stands as Father Antonio’s coffin is carried in.
“This is so wrong. We shouldn’t be here,” Cristian whispers.
I don’t respond, growing tired of his rambling.
The coffin is laid on the table under the newly hung cross, and everyone takes their seats when a priest I’ve never seen before takes his place behind the podium.
He begins with a prayer in Latin, and I remain still when everyone makes the sign of Christ over their chests.
“Today we’re here to say goodbye to Father Antonio DeLuca, cruelly taken from us in a violent and torturous manner.”
Cries and sobs fill the church from behind me, and I continue to stare forward. They wouldn’t cry for someone on my side of the city.
“Father Antonio wanted peace in Vita, and it’s unfortunate he was taken from us so soon. I implore the powers that be bring peace to the city of Vita, ridding the evil that resides here. This madness has to stop!”
This is new. Even at my father’s funeral, the priest wasn’t this energetic. The congregation mutter their agreements, and I take a moment to peek over at Mila. She’s still staring at me, and not one tear has fallen from her eyes. It’s not because she doesn’t care, it’s because she won’t show her grief in public. She was taught by her father how to act, which is something that has served her well to this day.
The priest continues his prayers and declarations, and I close my eyes to the coffin before me.
“Raphael, stop! I can’t breathe!”
I pause my tickling assault on her stomach and lean down to claim her mouth, catching her breathless giggles. Her hair is splayed out around her head along the blanket we now hide by the old well to save me from lugging it around when I visit.
Breaking our kiss, I admit, “I dream of these moments with you.”
“Me too. Although, I dream of us being able to walk through the city hand in hand as well.”
Sighing wistfully, I lean up on my elbow and look up into the thousands of green leaves. Before long, those leaves will fall to the ground, announcing the arrival of winter. Where summers in Vita are blistering hot, the winters are dreadfully cold, with snow blanketing the city for months on end.
“It won’t be long before your dreams come true,” I remind her.
I too have had dreams of a life we’ll share after we’re married, and it can’t come soon enough. I want the world to know she’s mine, and that I’m hers.
“I’ve been taking more interest in my father’s men.”
“Really? Why don’t I like the sound of that?”
Slapping my arm, she raises up to a sitting position. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she rests her head on her knees and smiles at me, explaining, “Not like that. There are three men who hang around the house and execute his orders. It doesn’t matter what they are, they do it without hesitation. They might be a problem when it comes time to kill my father.”
“Leave that to me. I don’t want you worrying about such things.”
“Who says I’m worrying about it? I want to do my part, and I don’t want anything left to chance. Imagine something happening to one of us because we weren’t prepared. I couldn’t bear it.”
Sitting up, I shift around so I’m face-to-face with her.
“I don’t want you having to live with something you might later come to regret.”
“Do you not know me at all, Raphael? If something happens to you, I couldn’t live with that. I don’t want to be there when our fathers take their last breath, but I can do my part and help ease the path to their deaths for you. Let me do something.”
Let her? I’d never stop her from doing anything, but my fear for her safety makes me to think twice.
“Fine. But be careful. If your father catches you, or you raise suspicions, we both know he isn’t afraid to hurt you.”
She leans back on her hands, and my cross catches the light from the sun. I can only imagine how