Where There's Smoke

Frustrating Being The Boss

Roman's POV

            I walked upstairs and found my mom on her floor looking at her phone with a sleeping Vic on her bed. I set Eva down on her two little feet and she toddled over to my mom. My mom smiled and scooped her up. She just kissed her face and talked to her. "You have a walker. When did this happen and why am I just finding out?"
    "I wanted to bring her by. It hasn't been long. How are you mom?"
    "I'm good, we have family in town. Imagine my surprise when I go downstairs and see your father and Elisabetta talking over coffee. Would you care to explain child of mine?"
    "Stuff is getting real." I laughed.
    "Working on words?"
    "Yes, Janae said if her first word real word is an F-bomb I'm she's sending me back here to you." I laughed.
    "You and Nae huh?"
    "She's been diagnosed with postpartum. She's started her treatment. That's pretty much her getting away for like an hour a day and doing whatever she wants. It seems to be helping. We're doing better."
    "Oh, that's good. Your father and I were really worried about you two. It pained us to see you guys like that."
    "It was my fault mom."
    "I know, but I still hurt when you hurt my sweet boy. Have you talked to your dad? He's been talking about sitting with you for a few weeks."
    "I'm good." I shrugged setting my sleepy baby on the bed by her cousin. Nick would try to talk to me, but if it wasn't about this shit I wouldn't respond. "Roman, I think you and your father should talk."
    "You want to know what he did in Italy. He choked me because he didn't like what I said. He pushed his forearm against my windpipe and it took everyone to get him off. That's what my sperm donor did."
    "I'm sorry."
    "This is the part where you tell me he's not really my dad. You went on a trip and met a nice man who romanced you and you made sweet passionate love and I was created. Dad never knew and it's time for me to meet my real dad." I joked with her.
    "My sweet boy, stop watching Lifetime with your wife. It's giving you dumbass ideas. He is your father and I am your mother. I hate your guy's relationship." She rolled her eyes.
    "What relationship?"
    "That's what I'm fucking saying. Well why don't you try?"
    "I did all my life. I'm over it. I have my own kids now. I'm never going to make them feel like he's made me feel. I'm going to be the best fucking dad possible." I looked down.
    "I know you will be honey." She kissed my head. "I know you're angry with your dad, but you guys need to work together."
    "He can kiss my ass." We sat in silence against her bed staring at the wall that had turned into a shrine for my siblings and me. My eyes wondered to a picture of Janae and me at our wedding at the altar. That was my mom's favorite picture. We were holding hands and the sun was just setting behind us on the water. Our wedding was one of my favorite days. "Mom, do you think that Janae and I got married too fast?" I asked.
    "Yes, you did."
    "Mom!" I laughed.
    "You did, but listen. You saw something you wanted and you went after it. You and Janae are meant to be. I'm the one that told your brother to see what could happen because the moment you told me you liked her I knew nothing was going to stop you. I mean it was her choice at the end of the day, but at least leave the options you know. I never thought a minute that you didn't love her. I know you do. You've always just been a super impulsive person. You started dating Janae then boom you want to live with her and you did that. You live together you're like let's get married now. You did that. Then she was ready for a baby and boy did you put up some resistance! She called me and talked to me about you she was upset. Then you want a baby and your try and try and you get a baby. Have you noticed a pattern?" I just looked at her. "Your relationship moves when you're ready. Not when she's ready. Not naturally like it should. You dictate where your relationship and when. Baby boy that is not how that happens. You can't call the shots when you're a team."
    "I don't."
    "Oh? Well I had called my daughter in law to check in to see if she needed help or anything. While talking she just happened to ask about what it was like having 3 babies at once. She was really curious. You wouldn't be putting that thought of another baby in her head would you?"
    "I mean I mentioned it here or there."
    "Why?"
    "Because I want a lot of kids."
    "You have 3 girls."
    "I want a boy."
    "I thought you guys agreed on 3 kids?"
    "We, as in Janae and I, technically only have one."
    "Does she claim Adrian?"
    "Yes."
    "Do you claim Tatyana?"
    "Yes."
    "Then count with me that's 1, 2, and 3 daughters."
    "One more couldn't hurt."
    "A feather."
    "Huh?"
    "A single feather could break the fragile ground your marriage is on. She already has postpartum give her a break. Work on your marriage. Once bother Tati and Eva can tie their shoes, fix a bowl of cereal, and use a microwave that's when you try for another." I nodded.  Janae walked in after pleading to sit in on a meeting. She sat right next to me listening, reading, and looking at everything closely. She was always really good at studying, but in this setting it was interesting. She hadn't said much at all. Just a clarifying questions here or there. Every so often she'd speak up to point out how something wouldn't work. For example Ignacio said offered up a mini slaughter to get to the lure them out. She had to explain to a room of a bunch of grown men why that was a bad idea and why they weren't going to do anything of the sort. She spoke to them how she speaks to Eva which was hilarious to me. Everyone took kindly to her being here which was great. Gianni was even impressed. When we took an hour break for lunch when everyone left we snuck upstairs for a quickie. I couldn't help myself. Seeing her play the role as the capo's wife, who is supposed to be my number one to go to was a real turn on. Tristan had warned me about how Rita used to discuss with him on occasion and that's how they ended up with Isaac. Everyone was looking at the evidence from Angelo's murder. "I've been to all of the homes in the past week. Your house by far had the most cameras Lorenzo. How could someone get in and out?" Giuseppe questioned
    "You can see only the cameras on the first floor of their home were cut." Cal answered for me. "It looks like they could only hack in just enough to cut those ones."
    "Well, their face had to be seen somewhere." Junior said.
    "Fucker, they cut the cameras. What part of that do you not get? If a person saw them, they didn't live long enough to tell us! We thought of that! Put your phone away and listen! I'm not telling you again! Next time I see it out during a meeting I will put a goddamn bullet not only through your phone, but your hand." I snapped at him.
    "Nobody has seen them. The people who we killed were ploys. They were used for sacrificial purposes only." Gianni spoke up.
    "Well how are we supposed to...?" Simon started to ask.
    "I've seen him." Janae leaned back and crossed her legs.
    "Huh?" I turned to her.
    "I've seen him. The one that broke into our house. I saw him. It was a man." She looked at me.
    "Janae." Gianni called her.
    "I saw his face before I passed out. He walked over me." She set the pen down.
    "Out." I stood up at my desk. "Everyone fucking out!" I yelled. Everyone left and it was just Janae and I left in my office. I shut the door. We just stared at each other. "Why didn't you tell me?"
   "I don't know. It was just a glimpse. I barely saw him before he passed. He had all black on and a hat pulled low. He stared me down though. His eyes were hazel. He had a similar build to you. A butt chin and his hair kind of was sticking out it was brown."
    "Why do you remember all of this?"
    "He stared at me as he short Angelo. He was the last thing I saw before I passed out. That's what I saw in my nightmares."
    "How could you not tell me?"
    "I don't know? Maybe because it happened over a year ago and when it was fresh you weren't there."
    "Then how do you remember now?"
    "I had my I talked to someone about how to dig out a memory that I was trying to suppress. I want help!"
    "How about coming to me first instead of dropping that bomb in my meeting! You can't do that Janae!" I yelled frustrated.
    "I'm sorry for giving you more than you had! Maybe if you would have checked to see then if I saw them this could have been avoided!"
    "You have no problem opening your mouth and talking any other time. You could have said so then!"
    "When between the morning sickness, ER visits, keeping our child alive, or working? Maybe I should have told you when you came home one of those nights. Oh yeah you didn't come home for weeks!"
    "Because I was trying to kill the person who killed my brother!"
    "Did you ever once think to check here first!"
    "You shouldn't have come today." I looked down.
    "Of course because God forbid I'm right." She crossed her arms. "I'm going to go get Eva and head back to my house. You can stay here tonight since I shouldn't have come." She grabbed her purse and her jacket. She walked pass me and slammed the door. I slammed my first on my desk. That cause a family photo of the girls, Janae, and I from Eva's birthday to fall and shatter on the floor. All this shit was really starting to put me on edge. Everyone came back a few hours later and my fuse was super short. Junior pulled out his phone again and I snatched it. I went outside and emptied my clip into it. Once it hit 2 in the morning we called it a night and everyone left. I drove to Janae's house and walked in. The house was silent of course and all the girls were sleeping. I made sure all the doors and windows were shut and locked before getting undressed for bed. I climbed in and pulled her into me. "I told you to stay home." She grumbled half asleep trying to push my arm away. I wasn't budging and that caused her to give up. She threw her arm over my face which she knew she hated. I kissed her arm and gently moved it. "My home is here with you and our girls." She just took a deep breath and fell asleep in my arms.