Page 140 of Mafia And Maid
“I’m sorry?”
“We thought we’d leave in about an hour or so, try to beat some of the traffic. Are you still joining us? It would be great to spend some more time with you.”
I shouldn’t. Despite how helpful everyone’s been, I have a job to do—if you can consider cleaning an already clean house a job.
“It’ll only be for a few hours. Just to get the kids to run off some energy and to kill time while Mr. Fluffy is at the groomers nearby,” Juliana adds in a friendly voice. Her brow puckers. “Not hungry again?”
“Are you sure it’s not my cooking?” Cate laughs as she gathers the empty dish of scrambled eggs to drop off at the sink.
“No!” I rush to assure, clearing my throat as heat crawls over my cheeks and neck. “You’re both great at cooking. It’s just, I’m…” My tongue feels heavy in my mouth, but I plaster on a smile. “I’ll grab something in a bit before we leave.”
Guilt gnaws on my insides at the lie. The thought of eating turns my stomach sour as I remember what my mother used to say to me:You’re better off not eating. It’s not like your body can’t handle it.
“I’ll finish clearing the dishes,” I offer, jumping from the table. Anything to banish the words that worm into my subconscious. Dizziness rolls through my body, and I grip the table.
“Rosa, are you okay?”
“Fine. Just, um, I just stood up too fast.” I smile off Juliana’s concern.
She and Cate exchange a look, but thankfully, I make it to the sink before either of them can protest. I’ve made it a point the last few days to always volunteer to do the dishes. I make myself useful rather than idly sitting by.
Black hedges my vision, and I hastily blink it away.
Three days.
I’ve gone three days without eating much. A glass of water. A stick of gum here and there to try and curb the awful pangs and cravings as I try to trick my body and mind. Longer sessions in the gym on the treadmill—which is really hard when the lack of food is causing headaches and making me feel so fatigued and sluggish. It’s hard to hide at dinner what I’m doing. It’s hard to find excuses as to why I’m picking at my plate even though the food always smells and looks delicious.
My stomach clenches in on itself, and I double over at the sink. Three sharp breaths hiss through my teeth until the feeling subsides. Hunger pains.
Tears prick my eyes as I right myself and quickly finish cleaning.
The tremble in my hand worsens, as do the dots along the edge of my vision.
***
I end up getting to the park an hour after the others.
I sit at the picnic tables with Juliana and Cate as we watch the children run around in the sunshine, climbing up the slides and relaxing on the swings.
"It’s been really great that the guys had you to look after them," Cate says softly.
"We were worried sick when they kept going through one maid after another,” Juliana adds. “It was already stressful having to flee to Italy and be separated, and it was made worse thinking that the guys weren’t being looked after back here in Chicago. They can get a bit intense when the pressure’s on. Marco can get a bit…aggressive," she says carefully.
I keep quiet about my own initial experiences with her husband.
Cate sighs. "He sure can. And Alessio, when he’s stressed, he gets pretty controlling. But it sounds like you made the mansion feel like a home for them while we were away, and we’re truly thankful for that."
I flush a little at their words. “It was no problem, really. I needed the work, and I was just doing the job they hired me to do.”
“Working for the Marchiano brothers is more than just a job,” Juliana giggles. “And after Savona left, I thought they were going to be without a maid until we came back.”
Cate bites back her grin. “Alessio told me about the agencies laughing in their faces when they asked them for a maid. It was the men who were lucky to get you.”
Camillo’s told me a little about Marco and Alessio’s relationships which started out as arranged marriages. Although Marco and Juliana’s wedding turned into a bloody wedding, while Alessio forced Cate into marriage with him.
It sounds as though things didn’t start well for either of these women. Which is hard to believe when I see the couples now. But from what Camillo’s said, politics in the mafia world are complex and fraught with power plays.
“We were pretty much strangers to our husbands when we married,” Juliana says. “It’s surprising that out of all the brothers, Camillo is the one to meet someone by himself.”