The Holy Ghost - M.E. Clayton Page 0,9

Luca’s level of aloofness. “What?”

“It’s true, Francesca. Massimo has cancer. Stage-four.” Luca is the only person who calls me Francesca. He’s never called me Frankie. I’ve always been Francesca to him.

My eyes watered, but I didn’t care. Massimo had been one of the most stable things in our lives, and he was vital to the children of Silver Heights. He saved so many lives with his unconditional love and support of the worst of us.

“I…I…”

Luca took pity on me, and I didn’t take his kindness lightly. We may have been best friends once, but Luca was still Luca. “He was diagnosed earlier this year,” he said, explaining. “He had two choices. He could fight the good fight or surrender peacefully when the time came.”

“Did chemo not w…work, or something?”

“He declined chemo treatment, Francesca. He didn’t want the final days of his life to be riddled with treatments, weakness, and agony when he’s as old as he is.”

Before I could comment, Robbie walked up to our table. “Good Afternoon. May I get you guys something to drink? Eat?”

Luca didn’t spare her a glance which told me he had at least two of his men in the restaurant with us for him not to acknowledge her approach. “Nothing for me, thank you.”

I looked up at her. “I’m…I’m good, Robbie. My break isn’t that much longer, anyway.”

Her face was full of concern, but she didn’t push. “Okay. No problem,” she replied, and I knew she was going to demand an explanation later.

Luca didn’t speak again until she was out of earshot. “He’s almost eighty-years-old, Francesca. He didn’t want to put his body through an ordeal it might not survive. He chose to go the way of dying naturally, and he didn’t tell anyone because he didn’t want any of his kids to worry.”

The tears I was holding in finally fell free.

His kids.

“Oh, God…” I brokenly whispered.

“Massimo was admitted into the hospital last week and that’s when he could no longer keep his secret. Everyone from the neighborhood has been visiting him, reminiscing, and saying their final goodbyes,” he said.

I shook my head, then grabbed a napkin from the napkin dispenser to dry my eyes and keep snot from running down my face. “Final goodbyes?”

Luca’s face softened and it was a rare sight to behold. “He only has a few days left, Francesca. A week at the most.”

“Oh, Luca…how…” I didn’t even know what I wanted to ask him. The idea of Massimo suffering his secret alone was heartbreaking, but not surprising. He always protected us kids.

And then Luca got to the reason he was here. “I see him every day, Francesca,” he said. “And the last time I was with him he asked me about you.” I gasped in surprise, but then in shame. In the six years that I’ve been gone from Morgan City, I never once checked in on Massimo. I left him behind, along with everyone else, when I left town. “He wants to see you before he passes. You’re the only person left from the neighborhood that hasn’t gone to see him.”

“I don’t know what to say,” I replied, shame flooding my entire being.

“I don’t expect you to say anything,” he retorted. “I’m not here to tell you Massimo is dying, Francesca. I’m here to tell you that I will be here when your shift is over and you’re going back to Morgan City with me.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to issue an automatic refusal, but I wisely caught myself in time. There’s no way I’d deny a dying man’s last wish. And, even if I were heartless enough to do something that vile, there’s no way Luca would let me. Luca was here for exactly what he said he was here for. He was taking me back, whether peacefully or by my hair, and I didn’t blame him one bit.

“O…okay,” I agreed. “I…uhm, my shift ends at-”

“At five, I know,” he interrupted, and I hated that he knew that. I also wasn’t surprised that he did.

“Can…can I go home and change first?” I hated asking him for permission, but I was smart enough to realize the boy I knew was not the man sitting before me. Once upon a time, I could have sworn Luca Benetti would never harm me, but now? It’s possible six years has turned the Luca Benetti I once knew into an entirely different person.

“You may,” he allowed. “However, since we don’t have time for bullshit, your bag will already be