Page 46 of Mafia’s Dirty Secret

She knew it was all distraction, that she should probably wait and have someone else do it, but she couldn’t. She took the AC out of the window in her mother’s room, lugged it down to her own room, and fiddled with it to get it snug in her bedroom window. When the unit came on and started to fill her small room with cool air, Marie sighed. She smiled and laughed at her own silliness.

Her back ached, but she didn’t care. She had air conditioning in her room, for the first time ever. She had peace and quiet, and the certainty that she wouldn’t be woken up in the middle of the night to clean up another human being. For the first time, she let herself think it, without guilt.

She was free. She could do whatever she wanted, go wherever she wanted, be whoever she wanted to be. Thoughts began to spin wildly around in her head. So, instead of doing anything, she curled up on her bed and rested.

She must have fallen asleep because it was dark when she woke up. She checked the phone Matteo gave her and saw he hadn’t messaged or called. Odd, but something was going on there.

He’d said something about her mother’s past. What could that possibly mean? She didn’t know but wondered for a moment. Could he be some relative of her father’s? He was from New York, but would he sleep with her, knowing they were related? No, that was insane. They weren’t related.

He probably just wanted her to talk about the years of abuse he suspected she’d endured. That was more than likely it, she decided and got up to go find something to eat. She saw the mail she’d collected from the mailbox and wasn’t surprised when she saw a bill from the hospital.

They hadn’t even given her time to grieve. She set it aside and went through the rest. Condolence cards from the businesses her mother had been associated with over the years. The pharmacy, the local grocery store, so small it knew when one of its customers passed away, the doctor’s office. Even the agencies that had sent Jane and Regina sent cards.

She put them all in a pile, and that made her brain click. What would happen to the equipment in the bedroom? Her mother had paid for it all. There wouldn’t be anyone coming to collect it. She’d have to sell them somehow, she decided.

Which made her think about her mother’s clothes. Her jewelry. It was all fake, except that diamond ring she’d held onto for dear life. Marie went back to her mother’s room, dug the jewelry box out of the dresser, and brought it back to the kitchen.

Trashy costume jewelry filled the box, but a few pieces weren’t too bad. Marie put aside some earrings, a couple of cheap but pretty rings, a silver bracelet, and two that must have been gold. Marie had no idea how to tell if any of it was real, but the two gold bracelets hadn’t faded so they must be real. She put them all aside and decided to ask Matteo about the rest of the jewelry before she put it in a yard sale.

She’d decided that’s what she would do. She would put everything up for sale, see how much she could get, and what was left, she’d give to charity. She’d keep the furniture and appliances she used until she could replace them, and then she’d get rid of that too. Maybe she’d even paint the rooms, cover up the awful colors that decorated the walls now.

That’s how she’d fill the empty hours until she found a job. She decided she’d give herself a few days, and then she’d call the agency that paid her. They must need someone with her experience? And she was used to the work now, they wouldn’t even have to train her. She knew what to do.

Marie wasn’t exactly happy, but she felt a little better. She had a direction to go in now, a plan, kind of. She took out a bowl of gumbo from the freezer and put it in the microwave. She wasn’t hungry, and she couldn’t taste her food, but she knew she had to eat.

One day, this grief would leave her, and she’d have to go out into the world. The world had no idea she existed, and she didn’t know a whole lot about the world out there, but she’d have to find a way to settle into it, one way or another. Her phone rang, and she answered it without really looking to see who it was.

“Hello?” she said, happy that someone had called her.

“Hi, Marie, it’s Jane. How are you, honey?”

“Oh, Jane! Hi! I’m alright. Glad you called.” She really was glad. She’d started to feel lonely, there in the house alone.

“I’m sorry I missed the funeral. I couldn’t get anyone to switch shifts with me.”

“It’s alright, Jane, really. It was dreary anyway. Well, I guess most funerals are, but the rain made it terrible.” She fiddled with the pile of cards as she spoke. She knew she was only speaking to fill the silence but couldn’t help herself.

“Are you alright there by yourself? I could come over later if you want company.”

“That would be nice, actually. Matteo has to go to New York for the next few days, and well, I’m all alone.”

“I know you are, honey. I’ll bring pizza and some videos. We’ll have a girl’s night in, shall we?”

“That sounds great, Jane. I look forward to it.” Marie pushed the bowl of gumbo away and sat up a little straighter. “Do you have a DVD player by any chance? I only have a VCR, and I don’t think anybody has tapes for those anymore.”

“Actually, I have an embarrassingly large collection of movies for VCRs. I’ll bring some of my favorites, and I’ll introduce you to some classics.”

“That would be great, Jane. Thanks.”

“No problem, it’ll be my pleasure.”

Marie hung up the phone and got up to clean the bowl she’d used. Jane didn’t have a family, her husband died in a car accident when they were both 33 and she had never remarried. Her husband hadn’t been able to father children, but Jane didn’t mind. She liked taking care of her patients and she’d devoted her life to doing just that.

Now, she was going to be Marie’s friend, a real friend, and come stay with her for a little while. That meant the world to a woman that felt entirely alone. Marie knew she had Matteo to lean on, but he’d be gone, and she really needed someone to keep her company at least.

Jane was that someone and Marie thought that it figured it would be Jane. The woman was as kind as she could be.

When Jane arrived, Marie let her in, and they went into the living room. Jane had several bags in her hands, and she handed one to Marie. “These are the tapes I brought. See what tickles your fancy and we’ll get started. I’ve brought chips and dip, microwave popcorn, and some sweets if we decide we want that at some point.”