There's Always Tomorrow (Immortal Series) by Alice Addy Page B

was her life.
    So caught up
in the merriment of the moment, Anthony failed to notice the last few customers
leaving the restaurant.   He didn’t
observe the brothers placing chairs on the tops of tables.   It seemed he only had eyes for Giada.
    “Thank you
for bringing me here, Giada.   Your
family is nice,” he said, smiling.
    Her face lit
up at his sincere words.   “They
are, aren’t they?   I want to have a
family of my own, just like the one Mama and Papa gave us.   I love them all, so very much.   Do you have a big family, Anthony?”
    He shook his
head.   “All of my family is long
dead and buried.”   He looked at his
empty hands folded on the table.   “Most of my friends are, too.”
    “That’s
terrible.   You’re all alone, then?”
    “Yeah.   But now I have you.”   He winked.
    “Is that why
you drink?   Because you’re
lonely?”   Giada had a way of
getting straight to the heart of the matter.
    Anthony was
quiet for a few moments.   How much
could he tell her?   “I miss my best
friend.   He died in the war.”
    “I see,” she
said.   “But you’re still alive, Anthony.   Your friend wouldn’t want you to drink
yourself to death.   He’d want for
you, what you’d want for him.   Isn’t that so?”
    He
nodded.   “His death was
indescribably horrendous.   I’ll
never forget it, and it prevents me from sleeping at night.   The alcohol helps.”
    Giada shook
her head, causing her glossy black curls to dance around her lovely face.   She took hold of Anthony’s large
hands.   “The alcohol has not let
you forget your friend.   It has not
lessened the nightmares, or you wouldn’t still be trying to stop them with more
liquor.   The only thing you’re
succeeding at is killing yourself.   If the whiskey doesn’t get you, the gangsters will.   Johnny Torrio’s bunch is bad news,
Anthony.   I think we made him very
mad, tonight.”
    “I believe
you’ve got that right.   Do you have
any place to go, where he won’t find you?   You should disappear for a few months.”
    “No.   And I can’t just leave my family.   They need my money to keep the boys in
school.   I can’t just leave.”
    Anthony
stood up and stretched his long frame.   He was at least six feet, four inches tall, Giada estimated.   She was five feet, one inch.   They were a perfect match.
    It was
difficult for Anthony to take his eyes off Giada’s face.   She was perfection and much too good
for him.   He hated to say goodbye,
but it couldn’t be avoided.   “It’s
late.   I should go now.   Thank your family for me, Giada.   I can’t remember the last time I
enjoyed myself so much.   They made
me feel quite welcome.   You’re very
lucky.   Tomorrow morning, I’ll help
you find another job.   I’ll call on
you around …”
    Anthony
didn’t get the opportunity to finish his sentence before the sound of smashing
glass shattered the peace of the evening.   Fire raised its ugly head across the entrance to the little restaurant.   Someone had thrown a firebomb through
the plate glass window.
    Anthony
grabbed some nearby tablecloths, while Giada ran to the kitchen for buckets of
water.   Due to their fast thinking,
the flames hadn’t had a chance of catching, and soon they were extinguished,
with only a minimum amount of damage.   By the time the family had reassembled in the dining room, only smoke
and wet floors greeted them.
    Giada’s
mother crossed herself and started to cry.   Her father took his wife in his arms and tried to console
her.   “It is all right, Mama.   We are not hurt, and the children and I
can have the restaurant looking as good as ever, by dinnertime.   Now...now.   No more tears, Mama.”
    Giada’s
lovely face was covered in soot and she noticed Anthony’s hands were red and
blistered.   She wanted to cry, but
did not for the sake of her family.
    “This is
because of me, isn’t it, Anthony?” she muttered softly.
    He just
stood