Mafia's Missing Murderer.

43. Am I Overdressed?

Luciana Point of View

As I ran my fingers over the soft fabric of the dress, the fresh memories of purchasing it invaded my mind. It was only yesterday when me and Alessio went to the over crowded shopping mall to find the perfect jaw dropping outfit for my date.

Trying to find it was the worst thing I have ever experienced. And that comes from someone who gets seriously injured frequently.

Every time we entered a store, Alessio would look at everything they had. If he thought something would look nice on me, he would shove the clothes into my arms and I would try them on. Mostly everything I tried on wasn't good enough.

We would go into another store after looking at everything the previous store had. And surprise, surprise, the process would repeat itself. Browse, try things on, put them back, and then go to a different store.

Alessio and I were in the mall from when it opened until all the stores were closed and only a few food stands were open in the food court. With having no other choice, I ended up getting a black dress that had a red and pink floral pattern.

Here I am in my bathroom freaking out about this date. I was very tempted to bail entirely. The more minutes that ticked by, the more anxiety rose from inside me.

Pounding against the door made me jump. "Hurry or you're going to be late", Alessio yelled.

"I'm almost ready", I muttered. I knew Alessio didn't hear me, I mostly said it for myself. I sighed, knowing I needed to leave if I wanted to be on time.

I carefully put the dress on. I didn't want to mess up my carefully styled hair or my light makeup. Once I was dressed, I glanced into the mirror to make sure I didn't mess anything up.

Tears were beginning to fill my eyes, I was baffled with what I saw. I didn't see myself in the mirror, I only saw my mama. Memories of my childhood were distracting me from leaving the mirror. The memories were only fragments of what I used to remember.

The bathroom door was pulled open and Alessio rushed inside the bathroom. "Luciana? What's wrong, I've been yelling for almost ten minutes.", Alessio nervously asked.

"Sorry", I shook my head," I was distracted."

When I turned to leave, Alessio was still staring at me. A small smile was creeping onto his face but it quickly faded away. He shook his head and began to walk out of the bathroom. I quickly grabbed his wrist.

"Am I overdressed?", I pondered.

"No Luciana, you look perfect", He smiled. "You look so much like Auntie." Tears were now forming in his eyes.

"That's what was taking me forever, I was thinking about mama.", I paused, trying to regain my composure. "But I'm starting to forget her."

He paused and pulled me into a tight, warm hug. "Everyone knew you would forget one day, you were so young when the incident happened."

"As I got older I knew I would one day, but I didn't realize it would happen so soon." I agreed.

"You should leave, you're going to be late", Alessio told me as he pulled away from me.

I carefully wiped a stray tear, "I don't think I can go."

"Hey, remember our deal."

I sighed, "You're right." I left the bathroom and went to retrieve my black heels.

Once they were on, I began to pose. "How do I look?", I asked.

Alessio took his phone from his pocket and practically squealed from excitement, "I need to take a picture."

"One picture", I sternly said.

He nodded and snapped a picture of me. "Now you have to leave before you are even more late than you already are."

I grabbed my small handbag from the counter and promptly left my apartment. I retrieved my phone from inside it. I ignored the messages from my brothers, not wanting to ruin my happy night. My eye managed to catch another message, it was from Josephine.

"Leaving my place now, I should be there in twenty."

I cursed under my breath, I was really late. I stuffed my phone into my bag. I needed to run if I wanted to arrive on time. As soon as I stepped foot onto the sidewalk, I started to run.

The movie theater wasn't super far, however the high heels I was wearing slowed me down. When the theater was in my sights, I noticed Josphine almost instantly. Her bright red hair made her stand out from the small crowd of people.

"Josie", I announced, slightly out of breath.

It didn't take her long for her to turn around. When she did, she looked sexy as hell. She wore a green cotton dress, than made her tan skin pop.

I blurted, "You look beautiful."

My face went a deep shade of scarlet, and hers followed.

"I'm sorry...", I muttered, ashamed.

"It's okay", She sweetly smiled

The line to get into the movies was quite long, we used that time to talk and get to know each other.

"So have anything planned for the future", I asked.

She pondered the question for a few moments before she answered, " I really want to travel the world, but I need to work more shifts at the diner to be able to go anywhere."

"Traveling is super exciting", I agreed.

"Have you been anywhere?"

"I was born in Italy, but I grew up in Los Angelos", I answered quickly, hoping she wouldn't ask any follow up questions.

"I've lived in New York my entire life."

I enjoyed seeing the excitement in her eyes as she rambled about her childhood and her parent's diner. It was different to have such a hopeful and happy person in my life.

It was finally our turn to go into the cinema, but I had no interest in paying attention to the film. A question was lingering inside my mind. It was like a gnat in the summer heat, refusing to leave you alone.

When the film ended, we went outside into the cool crispy air.

I took a deep breath. "Josie?"

"Hm?", She replied as she threw her soda cup into the trash can.

"If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?"

"New Zealand", She answered almost instantly, "Why do you ask?"

"I'll pay for the round trip, if you don't mind if I tag along.", I anxiously asked.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, it's too much", She shook her head.

I sighed, "You're not asking, I'm offering."

"Why would you want to travel with me?"

"Since I first saw you, I felt joy. I haven't felt that happy in the past twelve years", I paused, hoping she wasn't going to run from my boldness," Please allow me to repay that favor with this trip."

She nervously chuckled, "Seems like I am going to need to buy a suitcase."

A massive grin quickly formed on my face. In the mists of my excitement, I pulled Josie close to me and gently pressed my lips against hers.