The Sheathing of the Sword [DRAFT; DISCARDED]

The Family Business

"Lorenzo! Lorenzo, get in here!"

Enzo followed the sound of his father's voice, wondering why he sounded so excited. Dashing through the front yard of his aunt's house, he ran as fast as he could, curiosity propelling him forward. Through the front door, past the foyer, and into the living room ran the boy, his eyes sparkling with the shared enthusiasm from his father's voice. 

"Yes, Papa? What is it?" He didn't even know why he was excited, he just was.

"Enzo, today is a glorious day! You have to hear this! Where are your brother and sister?" His father glanced about, momentarily confused.

Enzo quirked an eyebrow. "You didn't call them, dad."

Confusion cleared up instantly from his father's face. "Ah, yes, you're right. Demetrius, Noelle, come here!" The stairs thundered with rapid steps, siblings racing down them to get to their father first. "Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Their father said, his dismayed face spectacularly contradicting his amused voice. "We're in your Aunt Rosabella's house, respect her property! We can't have her kicking us out, now can we? We wouldn't have anywhere to go."

Enzo stared at his father's face as he said this. His father took on a dark visage, a look that was rarely on his face. He knew he didn't like to talk about it, how his father was unable to provide for his children, but Enzo knew his dad loved them and that was all that mattered. Moments later, his dad's face cheered up, and the excitement took hold of Enzo once more as well.

 "What's the big news, papa?" Noelle asked, gazing up at her easily-excitable father. She was playing with one of her raven side locks, twirling it about her finger. She and Enzo's older brother, Demetrius, looked mildly interested at best.

Papa knelt before her, rolling up his dress-shirt sleeves and cupping her face in his hands as he grinned, shaking her lightly. "This is glorious, fantastic, magnificent! This is life-changing news! It means that life as we know it as going to change! Can you imagine it? How exciting!"

Enzo rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile. Papa usually did this, always oozing with child-like enthusiasm, but he knew that his father more often than not fell through with his claims. Sometimes, Enzo wondered if everything was alright in that mysterious, whirling mind of his. No one said anything for a few moments, and Enzo knew why.

"What exactly is it?" he asked, feigning disinterest. "Just tell us already."

His father's grin grew even wider. "I've got a job!"

Noelle gasped, Demetrius' eyes widened, and Enzo said, "Whoa." Papa's eyes flickered to each of his children's faces, gauging their reaction. He could tell they were stunned.

"Papa, is this for real?" Noelle asked, her question abrasive and to the point. "You've said you've gotten a job a few times before, and those have hardly turned out favourable. I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers the time y--"

Papa clasped his hand over her mouth, smiling brightly. "We promised we wouldn't mention that, didn't we, Noelle?" Noelle nodded, and her father released her mouth.

"I'm just saying," Noelle began, in that typical, annoying ten-year-old fashion, "You haven't exactly given us reason to believe this time should be any different."

"Oh, but it will." Papa's eyes gleamed with a soon-to-be-revealed secret. "Would you like to know why?"

"Not particularly," Demetrius murmured. A glance from his father made him keep his tongue, however. Enzo made to say he was interested, but he didn't get the chance.

"Well, I'm going to tell you anyways." Papa paused, for dramatic effect. "I am going to be...a cop!"

Enzo didn't see that one coming. "A cop?  But why? Isn't Nonno Giovanni a member of the Arma dei Carabinieri, the military police? And don't you dislike him? Why would you want to become a cop?"