Page 42 of King of the Bronx
Enzo looked at me out the corner of his eye but didn’t say anything. We moved through security. Enzo was somehow able to get me a passport overnight. He’d dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a button-down shirt. He looked good in anything he wore, but I liked it best when he was in a pair of sweatpants with no shirt on. I followed him through the airport before taking a seat at our gate.
“Are you inviting anyone?” I asked him. He mentioned his mom once, and I wonder if he’d invite her.
“My mom and sister are meeting us down there.” He handed over my plane ticket. When I looked down, I had to double check to make sure I read it right.
“Italy?”
“My mom said she’s always imagined me getting married there.”
I guess Italy is as good a place as any to get married. “I’ve never been.”
“It’s beautiful. I think you’ll like it.” Butterflies started to form in my stomach. Even though this was under very strange circumstances, I couldn’t hide that I was filled with both excitement and nerves. What would his mom think of me? Why did I care? His mom couldn’t be happy that he was marrying a woman she hadn’t even gotten the chance to meet yet.
“Is your mom going to hate me?”
“No, she’ll love you. She will just be happy I’m getting married.”
“Does she know—”
“No. And you’re not going to tell her.” He leveled me with a glare.
I looked away from him, out the window, and watched the planes land. I couldn’t believe I was on my way to Italy to get married to Enzo. Even though I hated him right now for taking me prisoner and, now, forcing me to be his wife, there were worse men I could spend the rest of my life with. Working at the brothel, I’ve been surrounded by men who didn’t have respect for anything or anyone. Enzo was far from the worst. He was getting married in Italy to please his mom—that must count for something.
“Come on,” he said, bringing me out of my thoughts. The plane had started to board. He carried my small carry-on bag to our seat and placed it in the overhang. We were seated in first class. At least that’s what I assumed since the seats looked more spread out than I imagined and the people already seated had glasses of champagne in their hands.
“Can I sit by the window?” I asked him. He nodded and I slid into the seat. My stomach clenched a moment when I realized how far away from the ground the plane was, and we weren’t even in the sky yet.
“Nervous?” he whispered into my ear. Goosebumps rose over my body as I nodded my head.
“Have you ever been on a plane?” he asked.
“No, plane tickets are expensive.” I looked around at the area we were seated in. I had a ton of room to stretch out, and there was a TV to one side of me. There was also a short plastic wall that gave us some privacy from the rest of the passengers. Enzo got into the seat next to me and pulled out his phone. The flight attendant stood at the front of the aircraft and started to go over the safety features as I felt the plane move. I looked out the window and saw we were slowly rolling toward the runway. The flight attendant finished her speech, and we started to gain speed. My stomach twisted, and I gripped the side of the seat. Enzo reached over and, to my surprise, grabbed one of my hands and squeezed.
“Taking off is the worst part. Once we’re in the sky, it levels out.”
I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt the plane lift off the ground.
“Can we get a couple glasses of champagne?” Enzo said to someone. A moment later, a glass was placed in my hand. I opened my eyes to look down at the champagne.
“It will help you to relax.”
I nodded and drank it all down in one go. He handed me another one, and I managed to smile at him.
Once we were in the sky, I started to relax a little bit. I was able to look out the window and see all the clouds and houses below them.
“You will love Italy. It’s beautiful,” Enzo said.
“You’ve been before?” I asked.
He nodded. “A few times.”
I imagined Enzo would blend in perfectly in a place like Italy.
“Sleep. We have a long time before we land.”
I snuggled down in the seat and let my eyes close.
*****