Mafia Princess

Chapter Thirty-Five

Twilight...not mine (sigh).

Chapter Thirty-Five

The funeral was interesting, to say the least. Jacob looked sober and much better than yesterday. All in all, it was a beautiful service and Billy got an appropriate send off. The only fly in the ointment was Aro. He sat directly behind Bella, Charlie and Seth. Emmett and I had to sit in the front with the rest of the pallbearers. I was off to the side and I noticed that Aro was glaring at Charlie the entire time. I elbowed Emmett and he saw the same thing, resting his hand on his gun.

At the gravesite, we had another 'fly.' James Cacciatore was there with his girlfriend. She had flaming red hair and ice cold blue eyes. She smiled at Jacob, looking like a black widow spider just before it eats its mate. After we deposited the casket onto the grave, Emmett and I walked to Bella and Charlie. "I don't like the redhead," Emmett hissed to me. "She's...she's calculating something."

"I'm with you," I said. "She's focused on Jacob."

"Can you handle Uncle Charlie and Bella?" Emmett asked. "I want to make sure that the Wicked Witch of the West stays away from Jacob. He's not in the right frame of mind..."

"Yeah. You go," I answered, clapping Emmett on the shoulder. We separated and I stood next to Bella. She gave me a watery smile. I took her tiny hand in mine, lacing our fingers together. Her eyes widened. I gave her a crooked smile. She responded in kind, cuddling closer to me.

The priest did his schpiel about ashes to ashes and dust to dust before making the sign of the cross. Everyone lined up behind Rebecca, Rachel and Jacob to place white roses on Billy's casket. The line was slow moving but it was the final goodbye for Billy Black. I barely knew the guy and I was touched by the service. By the time Charlie and Bella walked up to the casket, most everyone had gone. The only people who remained were Jacob, Rebecca, Rachel, Aro and his family along with James and the redheaded viper.

Charlie bent down, kissing the casket. He murmured something in Italian before placing his rose on top. Bella held the rose to her body, her eyes closed and her lips barely moving. "Thank you," she whispered before kissing the flower and putting it next to her father's. I didn't say anything outwardly. I said the Lord 's Prayer in my head before putting my rose next to Bella's.

We were walking back to the limo to drive to the Il Terrazo Carmine when James blocked our path. He smiled, flashing all of his teeth and looking particularly evil. "It should have been you in there, del Cigno," he purred hypnotically. "Fucking shame that it wasn't."

"I'm like a cat. Nine lives and all," Charlie smirked. "This isn't the time, Cacciatore. Give Jacob and his family time to grieve. If you have a beef with me, choose an appropriate time and place. Not a funeral."

"It's perfect timing," James sneered. "The hole's already dug."

"Step back," I snarled. "Like you said, the hole's dug. I don't want to fill it with your body." I had slipped my gun out and pressed it to James' side.

"Edward," Charlie warned. I glared at James before stepping back and holstering my gun. "Until we meet again, James. And let me make this clear, you're not invited to the banquet. You show up and I won't have him hold back." James growled, grabbing his girlfriend and stalking into a waiting limo. The limo pulled away and it left us along with Jacob's family at the gravesite.

"That girl looks familiar," Bella muttered.

"Where have you seen her?" Charlie asked.

"At school. She's in my classes, I think," she replied. "I don't know. I don't really pay attention to my classmates. Just the lessons themselves."

"Keep an eye out, Edward. If she's in Bella's classes..." he trailed off, his brown eyes filling with fear.

"I promise. I'll keep an eye out," I said.

"I hope you like literature," Bella said, elbowing me lightly.

"I've been known to pick a book or two," I chided, smirking at her. She laughed and we got into the limo along with Emmett, Jacob and his sisters. In the limo, Jacob apologized for his outburst at the wake toward Charlie. Graciously, Charlie told him to think nothing of it. He did express his concern about Jacob's health and well-being. Jacob's sisters echoed that concern. Once everything was finalized with Jacob's father's death, Jacob said he'd check himself into rehab. Charlie was footing the bill.

At the banquet, stories were told about Billy and everyone remembered the larger-than-life man with a heart of gold and mouth like a trucker. Bella shared a story from when she was in middle school, when Billy first started working for them. "I was not the most graceful of children," she began. "I still have difficulties walking on a straight, flat surface. Unless it's in heels then, it's not a big deal. Sneakers or flats, steer clear. Anyhow, I was walking through the house, heading to the indoor pool to go swimming. Billy was living with us at the time in the basement apartment. My head was so far buried in a book that I tripped over my own feet and right into the water of the pool. Billy saw it all and panicked. He jumped in after me, wearing all of his clothes to save me from drowning. We got out of the water and after that day, I was named 'Stumblina.' Whenever Billy saw me, he called me Stumblina because I would stumble over thin air. I'll miss that. I'll miss him," she sniffled.

"I can still call you Stumblina," Emmett teased.

"It's not the same, Emmett," Bella laughed, tossing a napkin at him. "It was what Billy called me. Only he can. So, let's raise our glasses and remember Billy Black. He was good man with a warm heart and knack for making fun of his 'Stumblina.'"

"To Billy Black."

A/N: Stumblina story....totally true. Only it was me and I didn't have a Billy to 'rescue' me. It was just my uncle and he laughed at me, calling me Stumblina until he passed when I was thirteen. Pictures of the restaurant for Billy's banquet are on my blog. Link is in my profile. Find me on Facebook: Tufano79's Twilight Fanfiction Appreciation or on twitter: tufano79. Leave me some.