Page 10 of Ribbons and Roses

Unfortunately for Paulio, it sounds as if things have not gone as he hoped they would.

“Maybe in time,” Stitches says with a shrug. “Paulio is young. Even younger than you were when you took the mantle from Lucius.”

“So long as he knows his place, there won’t be any issue,” I say. “Keep a close watch on him. Things have been too quiet. That’s usually when people are plotting.”

“Drink? You look like you’ve got other things on your mind. How are Mrs. Phi and the kiddos? Sasha texted me earlier and let me know that she and Bryce were coming over.”

“They did earlier this morning. Dom and Bryce had a whole hour-long snow fight.”

“That sounds like Bryce. That kid is on ten at all times. He might make a good future enforcer. If he doesn’t grow to be puny like his piece of shit dad was. He could be Dom’s right hand when he takes over.”

I make an amused hum sound from my throat. “Phi still isn’t sold on the idea of her son being involved in the family business. Understandably so.”

“Let me guess. She wants him to go to college.”

“All three of them.”

“You can go to college and still be in the mafia. Look at me.” Stitches gestures to himself, his glasses low on his nose, as he pulls out two glasses and fills them with bourbon.

“You mean like how you failed out of med school?”

“That’s beside the point, Psycho. I only failed ’cuz those professors were uptight and closed-minded. So what if I said it would be fine to do shakedowns on pharmaceutical companies? That should be standard practice if we get what we need. That’s all that matters.”

“You realize you would’ve disqualified yourself right there, right?”

“Good thing I’ve got a better job in the Mancino organization. Dom could too.”

“He’s six. He has time to decide for himself.”

“So what’s the long face for? You seem preoccupied.”

I sigh as he hands me my drink. “You expect me to believe you haven’t heard through Sasha?”

“The last thing I heard from Sasha was about how her water heater’s broken and I should come over to take a look at it.”

“Christmas is a couple weeks away. You know how Delphine is about the holidays.”

“And you’re the opposite. A certified Scrooge.”

“I’mnota Scrooge.”

“Psycho, you once told me you’d be fine with Christmas being wiped off the calendar altogether.”

“Yeah, and?”

“Scrooge,” Stitches says, swallowing his bourbon.

“I don’t like Christmas. It’s not a crime.”

“Well, you did have to deal with Lucius and Stefania during your holidays. Most people wouldn’t like Christmas either if they were you.”

“It used to be that simple,” I say, pausing to think. “It used to be as simple as ignoring the issue because all I had to consider was myself. Even when Phi and I were in a relationship, it was easy. It was one quick day where we exchanged presents and maybe watched some holiday movies. It’s different now that we’ve got kids.”

“It becomes a whole event,” Stitches says, and I nod along.

“Santa visits, decorations, Christmas carols, gingerbread cookies, and everything else that goes along with it. I should be able to just do what makes Dom, Rena, and Danny happy. But then these memories creep up. These bad feelings about it all.”

“You try speaking to Rhino’s wife about it? I thought you had some great sessions when you were doing therapy with her.”