blood runs black

VIII

'don't call my name, don't call my name, alejandro'

- lady gaga 

dior

After a short drive, Dior and Olivia ended up going to Maria's. It was a bar that Dior owned, that she named after her mom. There were a few drinks dedicated to her mom too, because her mom happened to be a little bit of a drinker.

Dior didn't blame her. Married to Fernandez Castillo? If Dior ever got with a man in any way similar to her dad, she'd probably be a full-blown drug addict. At least her mom was only an alcoholic.

Dior honestly wished her mom had stuck to drinking all the time, rather than ending her life. But if it brought her peace, then it brought her peace. Dior had learned to live with that.

"Ale." Dior smiled, sitting down on one of the barstools, patting the one beside it to let Giovanna know she should sit there. "This is my new friend Giovanna. Make her something good."

"Got it, boss."

Giovanna sat down, turning to face Dior. "You come here often?"

"I mean.. I own the place, so.."

"That's pretty cool." Giovanna smiled. "So the bartender's part of the mafia thing too?"

"I know I own the place, but Livy, sweetheart, you really gotta stop bringing up the mafia thing so much." Dior said, laughing a little. "I try not to bring it up too much. So you gotta stop bringing it up that much too, kay?"

"Okay. But it is, right?"

"Yeah." Dior nodded. "Alejandro's one of my college friends. I offered him a job when he was struggling with student finance and shit, and now he's the manager. Has been for a while. And his talent is knowing exactly what drink would be perfect for his customers."

Alejandro slid a pretty pink drink with a slice of grapefruit on the side across the bar table to Dior. "Paloma for you, loquita." 

"Wait, that's really pretty. What's in it?" 

"Tequila, lime and grapefruit soda." Alejandro said. "It's incredibly popular in Mexico."

"Is it good?"

"So good." Dior said between sips. "It's the first thing he ever made for me, and I've loved it ever since. Especially when I go back to Mexico. And speaking of where I'm from, where are you from?"

"Oh, I'm- I'm Latvian." 

"Really?"

Giovanna laughed, shaking her head a little. She wasn't noticeably Latvian, with her long, straight, dyed cherry-red hair, amber eyes, pale skin and soft pink lips. She was about an inch taller than Dior, and looked pretty much nothing like her otherwise. It made her wonder why the hell Steve cheated on someone so different to Dior.

"Yeah, I'm Latvian." She said. "Latvian-Italian actually. My mom's Latvian, and my dad's Italian. But.. with who you are, I thought I probably shouldn't mention the Italian part."

"You do realise I'm not gonna kill you for being Italian, right?"

"You've been real sweet, but I still gotta be careful."

Dior sighed and took another sip of her drink. "That's fair. But, really, I mean it when I say I'm not gonna hurt you. You have my word. And I don't go back on my word."

"Is that another.." Giovanna lowered her voice. "Mafia thing?" 

Dior rolled her eyes and laughed as Alejandro slid a tall glass of a red-orange liquid with a little orange slice on the side over to Giovanna. She picked up the drink, looked at it curiously, and then took a sip.