Angel's Lie (Mafia)

Ten Years Later

"Happy birthday Angelica!"

Kill me now. I open my eyes to see Grandmother Acardi at the foot of my bed, don't get me wrong I love my grandmother, but when it's eight in the morning that love is subsided.

"Good morning," I say with a not so cheerful voice.

"Angelica, what time did you go to bed young lady?" She says with a stern voice as she looks at my barely open eyes.

"Three." I peep out.

"You're lucky it's your birthday and technically you are an adult," she says with a smile.

Well, if we want to get technical I won't be an adult until 10:38 A.M. but I won't tell her that right now.

"Well, Angelica today is the big day. The day you move back home! I'm going to miss you so much." She says as she holds me in a hug.

"I know, but you can always visit New York whenever you want, I'm sure father wouldn't mind having you stay. I'm sure it will be lonely here without grandfather around.

"Oh Angelica, I think I can manage without your grandfather around. What have I always told you? If a man has to keep you company because you are not good enough company for yourself, then you are doing something wrong. " she says giving me a matter-of-fact smile.

"I understand, but I'm just scared for you. This huge house all alone." I worry about all the ways she could get hurt. My grandmother is pretty old and fragile. I'm usually the one doing the cooking and the cleaning and now she will have to do it all herself.

"Well, darling no need to worry about me on your birthday." She puts her hands on my shoulder and looks me up and down. "I hope you know that I am very proud of you. I've taught you well, I can confidently say you will go on to do great things, my love." I notice her eyes tearing up. I pull her into another hug and thank her for everything she has done for me. "Finish getting your things around, I'll call T.J."

While I watch her leave I notice her look down at a gift bag that sits next to my door. she gives me a sly smile and walks out. I hurriedly rush over to what I assume is a birthday gift. The card reads-

Happy birthday, my sweet Angel. We are beyond excited to see you tonight. Remember, always dress to impress.

Dress to impress, a sentence that has been drilled into my head since I was eight years old. I open the gift bag and pull out a sleek black dress. it reminds me of something I would see on women whenever my father would have dinner parties. it's funny, as a child I could never understand why they want to wear such boring clothing. When I first got to California Grandmother stripped away all of my sparkly dresses and tutus. She would always say,

"You can't walk around like you're about to go to a birthday party, you must dress accordingly and none of those clothes will ever fit the dress code. You must dress to impress others not yourself."

I slide the dress over my head and am actually quite surprised. I can tell right away Sylvia picked this dress out for me. It ends mid-thigh, which I'm sure once grandmother sees she will freak out. Grandmother is very old fashion when it comes to fashion. Meaning any dress or skirt I own is usually mid-thigh.

When I walk downstairs grandmother has a huge breakfast made for me. Including all of my favorites. Pancakes, bacon, french toast, and fruit.

"Wow, it's just the two of us. Don't you think this is a little much?"

"Nonsense it is our last meal together and besides I'm sure T.J. will help me finish some of it up when he arrives from dropping you off."

Tyler-James also known as T.J. has been my grandma's driver ever since my Grandfather died five years ago. It makes me feel a little better knowing that he lives next door and is retired so he can check on grandma whenever needed. T.J. knocks on the door shortly after I finished my breakfast. I look over to my grandmother who I can tell is trying to fight back tears. I can only imagine how hard this is for her. she has raised me for the last ten years teaching me everything I need to know for when I step into the real world. As T.J. grabs the rest of my bags I say my final goodbyes to Grandmother.

"You be good. Don't put the last decade of learning to waste," she says with a serious smile.

"I won't, please be very careful and visit soon. I love you."

With one last hug, I walk towards T.J. who is holding the car door open for me.

"T.J. please keep an eye on her for me," I ask.

"You have my word, Mrs. Angelica."

When I get to the airport I'm beyond excited. I haven't left California in ten years. Father, Carlo, and Bruno visit whenever they have business to take care of in California, which is pretty often. Carlo is twenty-five and is dad's right-hand man, Bruno is twenty-one who looks like he lives in a gym. Father tells me it's easier for them to visit me instead of me visiting them. He's very skeptical of me riding planes by myself, I assured him I will be fine but I know he'll worry until I get there. He doesn't even want me to move back to New York, but it's where I'm deciding to go to college, and now that I'm eighteen he can't have a say on where I go. I board our private plane and the second we take off, I'm out like a light.

Sylvia picks me up from the airport. I haven't seen her in a few months, she would sometimes visit me in California for a month at a time when dad and the boys went on business trips. She's been seeing one of dad's friends and I know he has a busy schedule so I haven't been begging her to come to see me as much. I'd rather her spend time with her new man. Although, it did get lonely being alone all of the time. I didn't make very many friends in the last ten years. My Grandmother did let me go to a regular all-girls school, but all of the girls there were stuck up and rude. Which I never understood, all of the girls who attended had everything made for them. I never understood why they would try to one-up each other there. I did have a small group of friends but I only got to see them during school. Not because Grandmother wouldn't allow me to see them outside of school but because I didn't want to. I did have a cousin who also lived with us. KB, was a year older than me so she went off to college in Montana last year. She came two years after I got there when I was ten. The only reason she was sent to live with our Grandparents was that she was gay. Our Grandmother didn't care but our Grandfather did. Before he died he would take her to church three times a week. After his death, our Grandmother told her there was no need for her to live there anymore since she didn't care what her sexuality was, but she decided to stay with us until she turned eighteen knowing her parents would want nothing to do with her. We became best friends, but the last year has been the hardest since she was gone.

Sylvia runs up to me with open arms. For being forty-four she still has the same amount of energy as a four-year-old. When we got in the car I was intrigued by the new guy she was seeing. She told me so many stories about him and made him out to be a very handsome man. The last time I have seen her they had only had their first date. From the way she speaks of him I can tell he makes her very happy. In no time we were in front of the huge estate I once called my home.