Liliana hadn't touched a drop of alcohol for a year. Tonight, out with Sophia and Sophia's cousin, Anfisa Volkova, Liliana had drank far more than what was sensible as if to make up for that fact. Liliana's head had been spinning for the entire car journey home, and her entire body felt flushed with the alcohol. Even now, was the stumbled up to the front door of her home, her steps were staggered and unsteady. Liliana glared down at her heels.
She could count on one hand the number of times she had drank this much. In fact, there was only one other instance where she had been this intoxicated, and that had been with Sophia too. Clearly her friend was a horrible influence on her. But, she hadn't once regretted that night - even if the hangover had been immense. It had been somewhat of a turning point in her relationship with her husband; it had been the first time Liliana had truly believed that Marcello cared for her with no ulterior motive.
With Sophia giggling beside her, the two women entered the grand home, a home that was usually silent in such early morning hours, until their return had dispelled all sense of tranquillity. They were both rather clumsy as they tackled the overwhelming task that was the main staircase. Liliana's feet felt so heavy with every step, and she crumbled to her knees mid way. Sophia following her decent as her own body splayed across the steps, her grip on the bannister futile.
They continued to laugh, uttering inside jokes from the night's conversations, not even attempting to keep their voices quiet. She didn't want to be quiet; not when she was having so much fun; not when she wanted Marcello to hear them and come looking for her.
They would never scale the staircase any time soon, not when the whole room was still spinning around her. But she missed him so much, despite having only endured a few hours of separation, and she wanted to seem him now.
Then there was her baby, the little monster who had lungs strong enough to scream for days, the fussiest appetite she had ever known, and the most inconsistent sleep schedule, and who she loved with every fibre of her being. She wanted to see her baby, those little chubby fingers and toes so small and cute they should be illegal. And those fat cheeks that dimpled with every smile. Just thinking about that smile made her heart ache. Thankfully she wasn't so drunk, that waking a three-month old baby at 2am sounded like a good idea. Marcello certainly wouldn't be happy at having to put the baby down again. He already hadn't been happy at the prospect of being left alone with the baby the entire evening; mostly from fear of doing something wrong in her absence. Most of his time spent as a father was filled with the fear of fucking up. Hell, most of her time as a mother was filled with those same fears.
They'd hardly had the right parental role models in their life. So far their entire parenting strategy had been to simply pray they were doing something, anything at all, right.
"You're so heavy," Liliana grunted, words slurred as her friend fell into her side.
"Take my shoes off," Sophia urged, completely ignoring anything Liliana said. She thrust her heeled feet towards Liliana, just as Liliana swung her legs towards Sophia.
"Only if you take mine off."
They had been sat down for most of the night, drinking cocktails while Liliana listened to Anfisa's wild tales of drunken college experiences. But still her feet ached from the heels.
Sophia grabbed at her foot but did nothing to remove the shoes, instead hugging Liliana's leg to her chest while muttering, "Let's sleep here."
"You're drunk," Liliana scoffed, eyes clenched shut to escape the spinning of the room but it only made it so much worse.
YOU ARE READING
Tainted Faith
Romance"The rules for a Mafia wife were endless and strict. Once she entered into this life she would never be free. Women in the Mafia were first daughters, then wives, and then mothers; always under the control of a man, always expected to live up to the...
