their first play tomorrow
night. Anne and I would love it if you could make it.” Nicholas
Terenzio-Fidelio looked over at his lover.
Mario smiled softly. “I’d love to. Man,
they grow up fast.”
“ Yes, they do.” Nicholas
leaned across the seat and kissed him. “Have a good
night.”
Mario squeezed Nicholas’ thigh. “Enjoy
your dinner meeting.”
“ Unlikely.” Nicholas kissed
him again, and climbed out of the car with his blazer in one hand.
When he entered Cleona’s, Alcyone’s finest Italian restaurant, he
put the jacket on. “Hello, Jimmy.”
“ Ah, Mr. Fidelio. Miss Kayla
is waiting for you.” Plucking up a menu, the maître d’ led Nicholas
to the Terenzio family’s private booth. Kayla was sitting there,
sipping a glass of white wine. She smiled politely at Nicholas and
tilted her head up to accept the proprietary kiss he placed on her
cheek.
“ Thank you for coming. How
are Anne and the kids?” Kayla asked.
“ They’re fine.” Nicholas
snapped open his menu. Once the maître d' had gone, he looked at
Kayla. “What do you want?”
Kayla’s mouth curved into a smile.
“Your Uncle Joey is always so polite. So is your mother. What
happened to you and your father, I’ll never guess.”
“ My Uncle doesn’t know when
to shut up, and my father is an idiot,” Nicholas said evenly.
“You’re right about Grandma Issa, though.”
“ How are you and your father
getting along these days?” Kayla watched him closely.
“ We’re not.”
“ Shame. And all over
Mario.”
Nicholas’s eyes narrowed. “What do you
want, Kayla?”
“ If you had a choice between
controlling the world or letting the world control itself, which
would you choose?” Kayla asked casually, bringing her wine glass to
her mouth.
A frown set on Nicholas’s face. “What
the hell kind of question is that?”
“ A very simple yes or no
one.” A hint of impatience exposed itself in her tone. “Answer
it.”
“ My mother may have gotten
married, but I am still a Terenzio, Kayla. That means we control
the world, not the other way around.”
She made a thoughtful noise. “You’d be
surprised.”
Nicholas arched a brow.
“Meaning?”
“ What if I told you, your
children’s future was at stake due to poor management choices?
Specifically made by your uncle and my father?”
Nicholas studied her face. At length,
he said, “I’d tell you to keep talking.”
“ Nicholas…” Kayla reached
across the short distance that separated them and touched his hand.
Inwardly, she flinched, but her distaste for the physical contact
was well hidden. “For the majority of your life, your father has
thought you a waste. I’d like to give you a chance to not only
prove him wrong, but help me move this family in the direction it
should be going.”
Nicholas stared at his water glass.
Worthless, his father had always called him, and much crueler
things before Dominic stopped acknowledging his son’s existence
altogether. Nicholas had been strong enough to not give a fuck what
his father thought, but a chance to really prove his worth and
situate himself in a position of greater authority in the family
was very, very appealing. He brought familiar gray eyes up to
Kayla’s. “Maybe we should order something. I think we may be here
for a while.”
§
October 18, 1994 - 6:22 PM
Alcyone Island
Home of Carissa Terenzio
*Dominic was irritated today, as he
often was when he thought of what a colossal failure his son had
become. He did not often think of Nicholas. Not after he'd caught
him with... Shaking his head in disgust, Dominic forced the memory
away and pushed open the door to his mother's home. It was Tuesday
night, and he took her to dinner every Tuesday night. "Mother?" He
called out from the foyer.
Carissa Marie Terenzio-Fidelio may have
been eighty-four years old, but she never let that stop her. It was
no surprise, then, that she was busy when her youngest arrived to
take her to dinner. "Up here,
night. Anne and I would love it if you could make it.” Nicholas
Terenzio-Fidelio looked over at his lover.
Mario smiled softly. “I’d love to. Man,
they grow up fast.”
“ Yes, they do.” Nicholas
leaned across the seat and kissed him. “Have a good
night.”
Mario squeezed Nicholas’ thigh. “Enjoy
your dinner meeting.”
“ Unlikely.” Nicholas kissed
him again, and climbed out of the car with his blazer in one hand.
When he entered Cleona’s, Alcyone’s finest Italian restaurant, he
put the jacket on. “Hello, Jimmy.”
“ Ah, Mr. Fidelio. Miss Kayla
is waiting for you.” Plucking up a menu, the maître d’ led Nicholas
to the Terenzio family’s private booth. Kayla was sitting there,
sipping a glass of white wine. She smiled politely at Nicholas and
tilted her head up to accept the proprietary kiss he placed on her
cheek.
“ Thank you for coming. How
are Anne and the kids?” Kayla asked.
“ They’re fine.” Nicholas
snapped open his menu. Once the maître d' had gone, he looked at
Kayla. “What do you want?”
Kayla’s mouth curved into a smile.
“Your Uncle Joey is always so polite. So is your mother. What
happened to you and your father, I’ll never guess.”
“ My Uncle doesn’t know when
to shut up, and my father is an idiot,” Nicholas said evenly.
“You’re right about Grandma Issa, though.”
“ How are you and your father
getting along these days?” Kayla watched him closely.
“ We’re not.”
“ Shame. And all over
Mario.”
Nicholas’s eyes narrowed. “What do you
want, Kayla?”
“ If you had a choice between
controlling the world or letting the world control itself, which
would you choose?” Kayla asked casually, bringing her wine glass to
her mouth.
A frown set on Nicholas’s face. “What
the hell kind of question is that?”
“ A very simple yes or no
one.” A hint of impatience exposed itself in her tone. “Answer
it.”
“ My mother may have gotten
married, but I am still a Terenzio, Kayla. That means we control
the world, not the other way around.”
She made a thoughtful noise. “You’d be
surprised.”
Nicholas arched a brow.
“Meaning?”
“ What if I told you, your
children’s future was at stake due to poor management choices?
Specifically made by your uncle and my father?”
Nicholas studied her face. At length,
he said, “I’d tell you to keep talking.”
“ Nicholas…” Kayla reached
across the short distance that separated them and touched his hand.
Inwardly, she flinched, but her distaste for the physical contact
was well hidden. “For the majority of your life, your father has
thought you a waste. I’d like to give you a chance to not only
prove him wrong, but help me move this family in the direction it
should be going.”
Nicholas stared at his water glass.
Worthless, his father had always called him, and much crueler
things before Dominic stopped acknowledging his son’s existence
altogether. Nicholas had been strong enough to not give a fuck what
his father thought, but a chance to really prove his worth and
situate himself in a position of greater authority in the family
was very, very appealing. He brought familiar gray eyes up to
Kayla’s. “Maybe we should order something. I think we may be here
for a while.”
§
October 18, 1994 - 6:22 PM
Alcyone Island
Home of Carissa Terenzio
*Dominic was irritated today, as he
often was when he thought of what a colossal failure his son had
become. He did not often think of Nicholas. Not after he'd caught
him with... Shaking his head in disgust, Dominic forced the memory
away and pushed open the door to his mother's home. It was Tuesday
night, and he took her to dinner every Tuesday night. "Mother?" He
called out from the foyer.
Carissa Marie Terenzio-Fidelio may have
been eighty-four years old, but she never let that stop her. It was
no surprise, then, that she was busy when her youngest arrived to
take her to dinner. "Up here,
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