Novus Ordo Seclorum

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be.

Vincente Finestre pulled up at the departure entrance of the aerodrome. Turning toward the elderly man in the passenger seat, he said, "Okay, Pop. We're here. You didn't want me to go in with you, did you?"

"No. You don't need to. Only if you want to." Gianni sighed as he opened his door. "Well, then. I guess I'll see you in seven years. You hug those babies for me, you hear."

Vincente came around to unload the luggage from the trunk. Seeing what his father had brought, he hissed, "What makes you think you can get away with taking this DVR? You know..."

"Would you hush! Just let me worry about it."

"Yeah, yeah. I just don't want to get a call to have to come pick you up again in an hour."

"Oh, I don't think they'd call you. They'd just put my ass in the black van and send me to the Retraining Center."

"And would you watch your language?"

"There's no Listeners here, you fool. Remember, I wrote the program, and set up the system. They won't work here. They interfere too much with navigation. You know, I love my family. Hell, I still love your mother. But I am so damned glad to get out of that asylum you call a home, this trip on the Elder Shuttle couldn't have come at a better time."

"I'm sorry we don't get along better, Pop," Vincente said, staring at his shoes. "One more thing, before you go." He reached in the back seat and pulled out a manila folder. "Could you sign this for me? Just as a precaution, you know."

Gianni took the document and read the first page. He was livid. "You sorry little bastard! I'm not even out of the house an hour and you and your brother are trying to take my property away from me. Can't you even wait until I'm dead? Whatever possessed you to present me with a Quit Claim Deed?"

"I thought it would be for the best. You know, you are going to be gone for seven years and all. I thought it would be easier if the property had already reverted to me and Pietro."

"Sorry, Vinney." He smiled when he saw his son flinch at the bastardization of his first name. "You and Petey will just have to wait until I'm good and cold. You two still want to live there, you can damn well keep the property taxes and insurance up, too. I'm through with carrying you two."

"But Pop..."

"Don't 'but Pop' me. You all like your mother so much, why didn't you go mooch off of her? When times got tough, you and Petey and that rabble you call families descended on me. Jesus. I'm going on a seven year cruise with a bunch of strangers, and I think I'll have more privacy then I ever had in my own home."

"But Pop, you know Mom and Giorgio didn't have room for us."

"Oh, I know that's what they said. You believe what you want. I know the truth. Giorgio can't stand his step children." Vincente's mouth fell open. "Yes, your mama's precious husband hates you and your brother, and your whole noisy family. I don't even think he's too fond of your mother, half the time. That's why he takes in borders to fill up his spare bedrooms. You think it's a coincidence he has single women moving into those rooms?"

"Pop, you don't think Giorgio is doing THAT, do you?"

"No, I don't THINK he's doing anything. I know for a fact. He raped at least one of the women who was rooming there. She came to me for help, and I gave it. You want something else to hate me for? I found her a back alley abortionist." He paused in his diatribe while his son sputtered. "Oh, shut your mouth, Vince, before you catch a fly. The bastard made her pregnant. She was single, with nowhere else to go, and he took advantage of a lonely young woman. I was able to find an old friend who used to work at Planned Parenthood, before they executed all the doctors. She still had some of the surgical instruments in her basement, at least what she was able to smuggle out before the soldiers burned the place to the ground. But it was enough, and she was more than glad to help. But you want to know what the real irony of the story is? Because of that prick your mother married, that poor girl wound up working in the local Pleasure House."

Vincente smirked, "Well, she must have liked it, then."

For the first time in twenty years, Gianni wanted to slap his son's mouth. "No, you ass hole. She had no choice. She was engaged, and when time came to get the license, she had to go for a pelvic exam. As soon as the doctor found out she wasn't a virgin, he sent a message off to the powers that be, and there she was, a new flower for the local bordello. How's that for justice?"

"But you don't have any real proof that it was Giorgio, do you?"

"I've got that girl's word. A woman doesn't lie about that. And a word of warning. She was twenty-three, but looked like she was about twelve years old. Giorgio likes them young. So, you and Petey best keep your girls away from him. So help me, if you let anything happen to those babies, I'll make it a point to get my cousin Guido after the whole bunch of you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Pop. The girls never liked him, anyway. I just never knew why. He seemed

okay."

Gianni was glad to see his son at least appeared contrite. "That's the way most

pedophiles are, Vincente. Hail fellow, well met, and all that bull shit. But they're always cruising. Personally, I think that's one of the reasons he married Isabella."

"But Mom doesn't look like a little kid."

"She makes a good cover, working in the elementary school. Didn't you ever think it was strange that Giorgio went on all the class trips? And he's always giving parties for the neighborhood kids. I tried to turn him in two years ago, when I found out what was going on."

"What happened?"

"Damned police wanted to know who was getting molested. When they found out it was 'only little girls' they just gave me the speech about how women serve the needs of men, and if they couldn't keep their chastity until marriage, they belonged in the brothels. Welcome to the brave new world."

"Oh, my God. I never realized... Pop, why did we wait until now to talk, just when you're getting ready to leave?"

"I guess you weren't ready. Now then, give your old man a hug, and let me get out of here. Just remember what I said, okay?"

Vincente hugged his father and wiped an errant tear as he watched him disappear through the automatic doors.