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“No” Alessio tries to protest. “I knew. By then, I swear I knew I’d been wrong.”
I’m thinking, Really?
And Bruno’s head shakes. “I guess we’ll never know.”
Carlo chimes in, “Who’s to say?”
I wonder. Would anyone believe him?
I tell him, “You were the rat all along.”
He spins to face me, blood draining from his face. “What?”
“You were the rat. Maybe it’s even worse, you were Jerry’s goof. You were ratting us to him and you didn’t even know it.”
Alessio holds up his hands. Palms forward.
“I made a terrible mistake.” He bites his lips and looks from Carlo to Bruno to me. “I don’t know if you can ever forgive me. I knew it this morning and that’s why I couldn’t make it to your brunch. I didn’t know you were going to call us for brunch or I would have scheduled it differently, but when you called, I was already on the table and about halfway through.”
Bruno and Carlo look at each other. Then at me. I shake my head. I don”t know what he’s talking about, either.
“Even then, I thought it would be finished in time, or I would have said, but it took longer than the artist expected. When he and I both realized it was going to take longer, I should have called you, I know but I already felt too much of a dick. That’s why I called Carlo instead.”
He pulls the front of his shirt out of his pants and, as he undoes the buttons from the bottom, i start to see a pattern. Gradually, he it takes shape and makes sense.
Across the whole of his abs is a big, elaborate tattoo with spread eagle’s wings, hearts and flowers, and in the middle, a stamp saying, in capital letters,
PROPERTY OF:
LUCIA BENEDETTI, DONNA FORTUNA.
“I hope you can forgive me because, if you can’t, I’ve learned and I know now, my life means nothing.” He drops to one knee in front of me. “I was an idiot. And I’m sorry. I love you, Lucia.”
A tear is welling up in my eye. I’m telling myself that if I keep really still and keep my eye open wide, it won’t fall and roll down my cheek. I want to grab him and hug him.
Carlo shakes his head. Bruno says, “Boy, that must have hurt.”
Alessio says, “On the way here, it came to me what an idiot I really had been. And even then I didn’t know anything about the phone or any of that. I could only see what a stupid thing I’d done when I thought my eyes were open. You and Carlo did try to set me straight and talk me down and I took no notice.”
… “So the reason I was late was, I had to go back and get this,” He turns unbuckles his belt, turns around and lifts his coat. Then he pulls his pants down to reveal, on the curve of his right cheek, a smaller version of the stamp, saying,
CO-OWNED BY:
BRUNO FORTUNA
Then he turns to lower his pants to expose the left cheek:
CO-OWNED BY:
CARLO FORTUNA
Our faces all seem to be wet as we all close in for a big hug.
The sound system roars with Dolly Parton singing I Will Always Love You.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
As the clean-up team steps out onto the roof garden, Tai comes out to let us know that Waya is with the elders in the conference suite.
