NO DOUBT [bwwm]

• 17.5 • The Man for Her

The next morning, church bells were minutes away from ringing as the friends of the late Stefano Ricci steadily gathered in the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Ma, Luca, Elijah and I were posted in front of the huge double doors, welcoming each guest one by one.

"My sincerest condolences, Mrs Ricci," a familiar voice spoke, distracting me from my small talk with an old friend of Ma's who claimed to have held me regularly when I was a child.

"Thank you, Enzo. It's really nice of you to show up," my mother said back while I managed to swiftly rid myself of the older lady.

I turned away to meet the smirking face of Enzo Balboa, a member of a less important family that composed our Mafia. "Of course, Mrs Ricci. Stefano was a great man, more than just as a boss," he took a few steps in my direction, "Too bad his own son couldn't have his back, tell me how does it feel to have lost your father to no other but Las Casas? I'm guessing failure has never tasted more bitter. I wonder how the rest of the business feels about you becoming the next Boss after this."

"And I wonder how much you'll keep smirking if I get that smile of yours real crooked, permanently," I threatened him through gritted teeth. "Don't think I don't know about your new underground fighting business in Chicago. How would the authorities feel about minors being involved? I can promise you this, Enzo, the Ricci name won't save you this time. So you better not mess with me."

His face fell a bit before he prepared to retort, but Luca promptly interrupted him, "How's the wife, Balboa? Heard she still got a hard time keeping what's hers closed. Actually, I'm lying, I got to experience it first-hand a few months back. So how about you mind your own marital business, and let the ones in charge worry about the real business, alright pal?"

Enzo mumbled under his breath and walked into the church with who I guessed was his men following behind like minions. "Remind me to never become that tacky, no matter how powerful we get," I winced as I adressed myself to Luca.

He simply chuckled before nodding to our left, "Look who showed up. She seems awfully serene for someone who just got broken up with."

Gracefully strolling our way was Francesca in her usual glam, looking undeniably pretty, so much so she could make any man forget they were attending a funeral. Once at our level she leaned in to kiss me on the cheek, which I didn't dodge since we were in public and as soon as I noticed her father behind her, I mentally patted myself on the back for my wise decision.

"You two don't have to act like prudes in front of us, we're family!" The almighty Giovanni Di Vincenzo boomed in laughter and I awkwardly did the same. "In all seriousness, I wasn't a huge fan of Stefano, but he was a respectable man. May he rest in peace."

He walked into the church without expecting any type of response, leaving me with the ex-girlfriend. The latter grinned as her blue eyes focused on me, "I told you I'd come, Orlando. Don't act like you've seen a ghost."

"That's exactly what you're supposed to be, Fran, a ghost. I'm pretty sure that's how breakups work."

"You keep using that word like it applies to us. I'm here to give my respects to your father, yes, but I'm mostly here to stand by my man," she took my hand in hers and caressed it with her thumb as she would habitually, "By you."

I softened a bit under her touch, as her intentions were genuine, "I'll let you play girlfriend for today, but after all this, we're done. For real. You can keep the house, the Mercedes, it doesn't matter, but we're done."

She scoffed as if mocking my lack of intelligence, "I couldn't care less about those. And I'll gladly give you space and time, but you'll find your way back to me, dear, I know it."

She let got of my hand and waltzed into the cathedral. I shook my head, overwhelmed by her stubborness.

"What was that?" Luca asked me once Francesca disappeared into the building.

"Just my daily dose of crazy," I simply answered. "Come on, I think we can get settled in, most people should be here already."

We were all seated in the front row, and seat arrangement obliged, I was next to Francesca. Thankfully, she didn't care to talk to me - and I didn't want her to - and my brother was on my other side. The altar was neatly decorated - with Ma's beloved orchids - and held a picture of father just above his open casket. The photograph portrayed him exactly as he was in his living; humble, powerful and youthful. I refused to take too long of a look at his lifeless body, but I could tell they did a great job at hiding the bullet mark on his forehead.

Everything felt surreal. As if I wasn't the one living that moment. But it was very much real. And Padre was very much dead.

"You know, he never wanted any of this for his funeral," Luca said making me divert my attention to him. He was focused on the photo of our father. "He once told me that when he'd die,-"

"He'd die where he first started to live," I finished for him with a sad smile. "The river behind the small church where Ma and him got married, back in Italy. He wanted to be cremated and have his ashes thrown in that river. I can't believe I forgot about all this." There was a silent pause before I started talking again, "He was so in love with her. Ma, I mean. I'm convinced he loved her at least a thousand times more than he did us. He just had that much love in him..."

"We should honour his wishes. We owe him at least that. Even though we were only his second favourites," he proposed.

"I think you're right."

I let that idea sink in as the priest started the ceremony. All throughout, my eyes wandered in Josie's direction who gave me a reassuring smile whenever hers met mine.

This woman was... something else. She was just 22, much younger than me, but you wouldn't consider her a girl, in fact, she was more than a woman. Despite her younger age, she carried herself with such maturity, warmth and assurance that made her all the more attractive. But at the same time, something in me wanted to protect her from whatever it is that forced her into growing up so early. My heart knew that I wanted to be that man for her, but my mind knew that it was as good as impossible.

A/N:

Everybody say it with me; awww.

I'm gonna already tell y'all, Enzo is pretty much insignificant, I just had to have somebody who would "confirm" Orlando's insecurites.

More or less of a filler chapter...
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