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When they arrived, Celia went upstairs to get her as Corrado waited by the entrance He opened the car door when he saw the and Gia slid into the back seat of the Mercedes without acknowledging him She scowled, her arms crossed over her chest
Corrado shut the door, sighing, as Celia shot him a pointed look that said whatever they were about to endure was entirely his fault
He would take the blame It was the least he could do
"You look nice, Gia," he said politely as he pulled out into traffic "Is that a new dress?"
"Is that a new dress?" shehim She stubbornly stared out the sideof the car, refusing to look in his direction "I’ treated like one--especially by you Antonio would have your head if he were still alive, God rest that bastard’s soul"
"He would," Corrado agreed quietly "Antonio would be severely disappointed"
"It really is a nice dress, Mo into the backseat with a hopeful smile plastered on her face "That color blue looks fantastic on you"
"And other colors don’t?" Gia asked, finally shifting position to look at her daughter Her gaze scanned her, picking her apart piece by piece with her sharp eyes "You shouldn’t wear so much black, Celia The darkness washes you out, and you look like you’re in oing to start wondering about your e Is that what you want? For them to think you can’t please your husband?"
"Don’t be silly," Celia said, turning back around "Everyone knoear black because it’s sli," Gia said "Maybe you should try exercise"
Celia forced a laugh, but Corrado could tell frorab his wife’s hand, wordlessly coht, traffic heavy despite it being early on a Sunday Gia dralanced in the rearview h time to see her turn her stubborn eyes back out the side"I can’t believe we’re late We’re going to have to sit in the back"
"We always sit in the back, Mom"
"Because ant to, not because we have to," Gia said "I hate when I don’t have a choice I should have a choice, you know When your father was alive, everyone waited for us to sit first It was a matter of respect No one cares anyht turned green
The church was packed when they finally arrived, and Corrado had to park around the corner He offered Gia his ar the entire way Celia tried to keep up with herslowly toward the church doors
He slid into the back pew beside his wife a fewout his jacket Mass had already started, Father Alberto standing up front preaching about love and forgiveness Corrado reh the motions, and he stayed in his seat when it was time for communion When it was over and they were dismissed, Corrado was out the door before anyone else
Celia and Gia joined hi friends Corrado stood along the side, patiently waiting for theht him out in the crowd "I didn’t see you at first, Corrado I thought perhaps you werechurch today, after all"
"Of course not, Father," he replied "We were just running a bit late"
The priest eyed hi you later this week?"
"For?"
"Anything," he said "My door is always open, but as you know, I regularly take confession on Wednesday nights"
He was fishing, Corrado realized He wanted inforive
"Maybe," he replied "The week’s still young There’s no telling what may happen between now and then"
27
The run-down building was set back off the ravel lot surrounding it, cars haphazardly parked every which way to avoid getting stuck in the above the entrance, the word SINSATIONS flickering in hot pink letters
"What are we doing here?" Carer seat of the black Mercedes Corrado had dragged hi, but he hadn’t explained where they were going on the drive Of all the places he considered, a trashy strip club hadn’t been one of the for Carh the parking lot behind his uncle "Do you own this place, too?"
Corrado’s footsteps faltered as he flashed Carmine an irritated look "You clearly don’t know me very well if you think I’d run a place like this The owner pays a fee every month and we let them keep their filthy dump in our territory"
"Blackmail and extortion," Carhed dryly "It’s a fair trade No one e we utilize their facilities when necessary"
"What would you ever ith this shithole?"
"You’ll see"