Playin' For Keeps, Pt.2

The three men had the truck almost completely empty in under an hour. Izzy finally managed to get the master bedroom in order bringing the number of basically complete rooms to five of twelve. The guys had just brought the kitchen table in through the patio doors when the security system chirped again. Izzy’s head snapped reflexively to the front door.
“Are you guys expecting company?” Izzy asked.
“Not that I know of,” Paulie answered, setting a box on the kitchen table. Izzy walked back over to the fridge and pressed the button.
“Oh oh, check this out!” Clara said excitedly, dragging Dominic over to where Izzy stood. The LCD screen swiveled down and the image burned in.
“Damn,” Dominic said, impressed. A black Mercedes was crawling up the driveway. Izzy could make out two figures in the front and two in the back.
“Please tell me one of you recognizes that car,” Izzy said, snapping her gaze to Dominic. Dominic smiled.
“The better part of the Brooklyn would recognize that car…” Dominic replied. “Guys, looks like Big Frank didn’t trust us to get the job done alone. He’s swingin’ by ta check up on us.”
The comment sent butterflies straight to Izzy’s stomach. She hadn’t seen her Uncle Frank in ten years. She had learned a lot through the grapevine since then about Frank “Aces” Romano, but that wasn’t the man she remembered from her mother’s funeral ten years before. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to act.
Phoenyx suddenly came clattering across the hardwood and Izzy snatched Phoenyx’s collar as she raced for the front door.
“Noooo ma’am,” Izzy said firmly, dragging the dog to the patio doors and chucking her out. “You get to stay in the backyard.” Izzy followed Clara, Dominic and the other guys to the front door.
Two men Izzy didn’t know got out of the driver’s seat and front seat, opening the back doors for the passengers. Izzy’s heart flip-flopped as she watched her uncle get out of the car. He was dressed in an expensive charcoal Italian-made suit that was perfectly tailored. He certainly looked the part of a mafia don. An attractive older woman Izzy recognized as her Aunt Leta got out of the back on the other side. Leta appeared to have a cake in her hands.
Izzy told herself to forget the things she had heard and treat her uncle like she would any other family member. Well, any other family member that lived on the fringe of the law and was rumored to have killed several people.
“Oh, hey guys,” Izzy said quietly to the men behind her. “I am begging you, please don’t tell Uncle Frank about the, uh, lock incident. I don’t want him thinking I’m some crazed redneck gun-toting Annie Oakley, okay?”
“Ey, I’m not tellin’ him. My guess is you’ve probably still got that pocket cannon layin’ around nearby and we now know what you do to things that piss you off,” Paulie grinned. Izzy’s face flushed in embarrassment. Before she could defend herself her aunt and uncle were on the porch.
“There she is!” Uncle Frank said, holding his arms out. Izzy immediately moved forward and hugged him warmly. “My God you’ve grown up, kid! And haven’t you turned inta a beautiful young lady now. Quite the looker, ey? You look exactly like your mothah at your age. Can you believe this girl, Leta?” Izzy smiled and hugged her aunt as well.
“Uncle Frank, Aunt Leta it is so good to see you both again! It’s been much too long. Please, please, come in!” Izzy turned and ushered her aunt and uncle into the house. Clara followed while the three guys wandered off the porch to talk with the other two men who had been in the Mercedes.
“This here is a beautiful house,” Uncle Frank said, looking around approvingly. “What’s it got like, seven, eight thousand square feet?”
“Somewhere in the neighborhood, yes sir,” Izzy answered. Uncle Frank turned and looked at her with a chuckle.
“Listen at you “sir”ing me like we ain’t met before,” he smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets. Izzy’s eyes flashed open wide and she looked mortified.
“Uncle Frank, I’m so sorry, it’s habit. I sir everybody…I “sirred” my father all the time, I…”
“Eeeasy kid, I was just messin’ with you!” Frank grinned, giving her a side hug. “You’re alright.” He wandered into the formal dining room and ran his hand over the ornate woodwork. “This really is a nice place. Real classy, well built.”
“Well, I’m afraid it’s kind of sparsely decorated still. My grandmother got rid of a lot of the furniture she had. I had enough stuff to fill a 600 sq. ft apartment and that didn’t take up a whole lot of this space. The master bedroom and bathroom and the library are the only rooms I’ve managed to unpack. I still have quite a few things in boxes and whatnot…” Izzy said as she glanced around the grand foyer and up into the balcony on the second story. “I’d be more than happy to give you all a tour though most of the rooms are still empty…”
“Oh no, dear, we didn’t come to interrupt. We know you are busy busy! We just wanted to drop by and welcome you to the neighborhood, make sure you don’t need anything,” Aunt Leta said with a smile.
“And make sure the boys weren’t givin’ you any trouble,” Uncle Frank added, glancing out at the door at the guys around his car.
“No no, they’ve been great, better than great,” Izzy replied. “You have already done more than enough, thank you so much”
“Oh! I almost forgot. It was short notice but I did whip up a spice cake for you!” Leta said suddenly and held out a magnificent looking cake. Izzy’s mouth dropped open and she had to stop herself from drooling.
“Oh my goodness! You shouldn’t have! How in the world did you manage it? It looks amazing, thank you so much!” Izzy cried. “Would you all like something to drink? I’ll take this into the kitchen, please feel free to look around. The fridge is this way and it’s pretty full…” Izzy took the cake and she, Clara, and Aunt Leta made their way into the kitchen. Izzy watched her Uncle Frank mount the stairs and wander up onto second floor.
“Isabella this is a glorious kitchen!” Aunt Leta praised. “You could cook a meal for 30 people in here without so much as a fuss! And look at that back yard!”
“Aunt Leta, please feel free to call me Izzy. Not that you have to, but it’s shorter and all of my friends call me that. And I was actually hoping to have a bit of a lawn party for the family once I get everything settled down…hopefully get to know people a little better. I’ve done the logistics on the house and the yard and I could accommodate at least 250 people,” Izzy mentioned, pouring herself a glass of tea.
“Dear that’s a wonderful idea! And don’t you think for one second you’d have to do all the preparing yourself! Why, me and the girls would be over here in a second and whip up a spread the likes of which New York has never before seen!” Aunt Leta said excitedly, clasping her hands together. Hal, Paulie, Dominic and the two other men from the car came into the kitchen and stood along the wall.
“Don’t mind us, we’re just takin’ a break,” Paulie said, rolling up the sleeves on his dress shirt.
“Well there are five different kinds of beer in the fridge, and tea and soda so help yourselves, you’ve earned it,” Izzy replied with a smile. “That goes for all of you.”
“Where are my manners? Izzy, this is Charlie and Alonso,” Leta said, gesturing to the two men from the car. Izzy walked over and shook both their hands and couldn’t help noticing all five men were fighting to smother smiles. Izzy pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Dominic and Paulie who were looking the most guiltily amused.
“Lemme guess you told them,” Izzy said bluntly, crossing her arms and staring Paulie down. The two new guys were grinning. Paulie put his hands innocently into the air.
“Ey, all you asked was that we didn’t tell Big Frank!” Paulie countered with a fink smile. Dominic snorted slightly and Izzy leveled her glare on him, striking a defensive stance. Dominic laughed submissively.
“What! They were totally impressed!” Dominic said with a grin. Izzy’s nostrils flared and she threw her hands in the air in disgust. She could see Clara smirking and her Aunt Leta was looking confused.
“What is it we aren’t telling Big Frank?”
All five guys jumped as Uncle Frank spoke from the doorway. Izzy scrunched up her face and gave the guys a furiously frustrated look.
“Gahh!” Izzy cried. She sighed defeatedly and lowered her head, glancing up to meet her Uncle’s gaze. She was a terrible liar and she had no doubt that Frank Romano could smell a lie from a mile off. “Well, uh…” She fidgeted with the zipper on her hoodie and tried to come up with something. “Okay fine. If you think less of me after hearing this, then I deserve it…” Izzy said weakly.
Uncle Frank raised an eyebrow and waited.
“Alright pardon my language but my idiot asshole movers decided to skip out on me three days ago. When they left they closed up the truck, put the lock on, took the key and left. Well, my mattress and everything else were in the truck so I have been sleeping on the floor and I was tired and upset this morning when Clara came by to help me move stuff because we needed to get into the truck…” Izzy paused, chewing on her lip, not wanting to finish the story. Uncle Frank nodded for her to continue. “So I uh, I came up with a slightly unconventional way to get to my stuff…”
“And that would have been?...” Her uncle prodded, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame. The five guys against the wall were all trying not to laugh out loud, elbowing each other and smirking. Izzy looked pained.
“Well, first I tried a tire iron but the angle was all wrong so I got a little fed up and kinda shot the lock off…” Izzy could see her aunt’s mouth fall open and her hand cover her heart. She was glad she had left out the part where she normally would have picked the lock, afraid her aunt may have had an embolism. Izzy closed her eyes and waited for some reaction from her uncle. She really didn’t want to get chastised, not to mention she was a little scared of her uncle. Seconds passed and when he didn’t say anything Izzy glanced at him to see he was grinning, his broad shoulders shaking with laughter.
“You shot the lock off,” he repeated with a hearty chuckle. Izzy saw her aunt give him a disapproving look.
“I swear I don’t carry a gun like that often...ever...I only have it in the house for protection. Half the time it isn’t even loaded,” Izzy rambled quickly, speaking more to her aunt than the others.
“It was a helluva shot,” Paulie mentioned. Izzy gave him a withering look.
“You’re not helping,” Izzy said. She looked over to her aunt who seemed to be past the shock and was completely composed again. Izzy was sure her aunt was accustomed to guns, probably just not presumably respectable young ladies wielding them.
“What kinda gun you got?” Her uncle asked.
“.357 Magnum.”
“Is the gun licensed?”
“Of course,” Izzy replied, hoping she didn’t sound too flippant in her response.
“You got a license to carry?”
“Yes, concealed.”
This reply brought a look from everyone in the room and the silence hung heavy. Izzy knew she had slipped up.
“They licensed you to carry concealed in New York?” Dominic asked skeptically. Izzy felt her heart start beating a little faster.
“Yeah, well I uh, my company does some security stuff for some people with a couple connections in the area and they got me licensed,” Izzy said, trying to explain while giving as little information as possible. “It kind of comes with the line of business…security and all. But like I said, I hardly ever carry….ever.”
“You ain’t a Fed, are you?” Hal suddenly asked, his hand unconsciously slipping into his jacket. Izzy felt her top lip inadvertently curl into a snarl at the insinuation and gave him a slightly disgruntled look.
“Whoa, ha ha, I’m guessing that’s a no,” Paulie mentioned.
“Huh uh, I work for whoever can afford my services. And while I may work in loose association with sectors of the federal government from time to time, I certainly don’t work for them,” Izzy said with a dark scoff. “I don’t belong to them…in fact they aren’t real fond of me most of the time,” she added. Luckily, it was the truth. The tension in the room dropped and Big Frank smiled a genuine smile.
“Then it sounds like you’ll fit right in,” Frank said with a nod. He walked over and opened the fridge and grabbed a couple of beers, handing them to the other guys. He looked at the bottle in his hand. “Imported, this is some good stuff right here,” he said sounding pleased.
A sudden insistent scratching noise came from the patio doors and Izzy chuckled.
“Dog, no one wants to be bothered by you…and you’re ruining my door!” Izzy said through the patio doors to the sad-eyed dog staring back at her.
“Oh isn’t she precious!” Leta said. “You can let her in!”
Izzy opened the door and Phoenyx came charging in, bypassing Hal Paulie and Dominic with a sniff. She circled Uncle Frank excitedly and then skittered over to Aunt Leta who had squatted down to pet her. Phoenix was snuffling and grinning with her teeth showing as Aunt Leta cooed and fawned over her, talking baby talk.
“Oooh, you are so cute! Yes you are! Who’s a good girl?” Leta gushed.
Izzy smiled at the dog and looked up to see her uncle staring at her with benign appraisal. She could see the gears working in his head and hoped she hadn’t blow the family trust with her previous comments. Then again, Izzy thought, maybe it would be safer not to be in the family’s circle of trust.
“She’s so short! What is she mixed with?” Leta asked.
“Well she’s mixed with collie but most of the shortness came from the abuse,” Izzy said, sipping at her tea on the counter. Her aunt looked at her wide-eyed. “She hasn’t always been my dog. She was actually my neighbor’s dog. They kept her in a cat carrier when she was a puppy. It was way too small and she couldn’t stand up in it so her legs didn’t develop quite right.”
“That’s terrible! Did you tell the authorities?” her aunt asked, running her hands protectively over the dog.
“I called animal services a couple of times. They said they’d ‘check into it’, which of course never happened. So one night my neighbors were having this wild party and they were all completely trashed and got the brilliant idea that it would be funny to douse the dog in gasoline and set her on fire and watch her run around. I could hear the dog yelping and howling up at my house but I had no idea what was going on…” Izzy said tightly, the memory still able to drive her blood pressure up. Izzy could see the astounded horror on her aunt’s face and was surprised to see that the story seemed to be bothering a couple of the guys too. They are still human, Izzy reminded herself.
“Well she managed to put herself out somehow and dragged her body over to my house. I found her almost dead on my front porch the next morning. I rushed her to the vet and they obviously managed to save her. That’s why I named her Phoenyx. The myth is that the phoenix is a magical bird that, when it gets too old, bursts into flames and is then reborn from the ashes. After the fire she got a whole new life with me and Dad so I thought it was fitting.”
“That is some sick shit,” one of the men from the car said with a disgusted head shake, setting his beer down like he’d lost his taste for it. “And the bastards got away with it?”
Izzy gave him a devious smile. “Weeelllll not entirely. Actually, the damnedest thing happened. Two nights after the big hooplah over at my neighbor’s house, I heard sirens pull up over there. Fire trucks were all over the place. Naturally as a concerned neighbor Dad and I both walked over to find out what happened. Apparently the engine of my dear neighbor’s brand new corvette had randomly exploded, caught fire and the car managed to roll down into the backyard into his swimming pool which mysteriously had a layer of gasoline on the surface of the water. Musta leaked out of the mowers he had left nearby and the engine fire ignited it because the whole pool was blazing. Well it’s pretty hard to put out burning water so the fire department couldn’t do much. The car was completely destroyed as was the better portion of the pool…the fire was so hot they never could determine what caused the explosion…” Izzy took a drink and looked at her audience. “What can I say…you reap what you sow.”
Nobody said anything for a while.
“Kid, you’s alright,” Hal finally said with an approving nod, taking a swig of his beer.
“Hey, I was in a live-feed video conference with several influential people at the time, all of whom could vouch for my whereabouts, as could my dad…as for the whereabouts of several of my closest girlfriends…” Izzy shrugged innocently without finishing the sentence. Her fervor cooled slightly and she ran a hand over the back of her neck. “Now that you all think I’m some crazed animal rights mercenary,” she laughed in embarassment. “I swear those are the two most interesting stories from my entire life. Ask Clara. I was a total nerdy hermit all the way through college. I never ever do anything wild or exciting.”
Clara laughed and gave a nod. “Yeah, she really was a total nerd.”
Izzy noticed her uncle was still smiling at her and was glad to see there was a fond warmth in the gesture.
“Oh, Uncle Frankie,” Clara said suddenly. “I’m gonna give Izzy a grand tour of the area after we both get cleaned up and I was gonna wrap up the tour at Gino’s, is that alright?”
“After what you just heard if you would both like to disown me from the family tree I would more than understand,” Izzy mentioned quickly, glancing apologetically at her aunt. Uncle Frank laughed out loud.
“Kid, after what I just heard you have more than solidified your place in the family tree. I’ll see you at Gino’s tonight. Leta, let’s let these fine young ladies get back to their work.” The two men from the car made their way out and Frank walked over and hugged Izzy, kissing her on the forehead. “Glad to have you back in the city,” he said. “Clara, see you tonight. Boys, be good. I’ll see you back at the bar.” He turned on his heel and started out. Izzy hugged her aunt and looked hopefully into her aunt’s eyes.
“Please give me a chance to show you I’m not some renegade lunatic,” Izzy said with a weak smile. “I’m as tame as a girl can be. I know it isn’t normal for a woman around here to…”
“Izzy,” her aunt cut her off. “There is nothing more attractive than an empowered woman,” she said. She inconspicuously hiked up her skirt and flashed a compact two-shot Derringer strapped to her leg, smiling somewhat saucily. “Let’s keep that our little secret tho.”
Izzy nodded, slightly astounded. She followed her aunt and uncle out onto the porch and thanked them. Charlie and Alonso got into the front of the car after Big Frank and Leta were in. Izzy stood waving as the Mercedes disappeared down the driveway. Hal, Paulie and Dominic slowly sauntered out of the kitchen with their beers. Izzy turned to them and smiled a tired smile.
“Gentlemen you have been a great help. I can easily get the rest of the boxes. I’m not trying to shoo you off, but feel free to leave anytime. You’ve done more than your share,” Izzy said gratefully. Dominic smiled at her.
“Well,” Clara announced. “I think I’m going to head out and go get cleaned up and gussied up to go out on the town tonight. If I’m back in say, an hour and a half will that give you enough time?”
Izzy nodded and stretched. “That’ll be plenty of time. So I’ll see you around 5:30, 5:45ish?”
“Yes ma’am!” Clara confirmed.
“Like, club casual dressy or cocktail party dressy?”
“Definitely more club casual,” Clara replied. “Bye boys, thanks for the help!” She jogged down the front steps and angled into her red Honda civic and disappeared down the driveway.
“Alright little killer, if you’s good ta go, we’ll be headin’ out as well,” Hal said with a grin, knocking back the end of his beer. “Try not to shoot nobody while we’s gone.” Izzy took the bottle from him and smiled innocently.
“I’ll try not to. Thanks again guys. Hopefully I’ll see you around sometime,” Izzy replied, locking her eyes on Dominic. She definitely hoped she’d see him around. Dominic gave her a crooked smile that made her body go mushy.
“Oh you’ll be seeing us again, I’m sure,” Dominic replied, holding her gaze. Izzy’s stomach flip-flopped excitedly and she told herself not to read too much into the comment. No one that attractive could be single, she told herself firmly.
She held the door open for them to leave and caught Phoenyx by the collar before the dog could follow them out. The cars slowly started down the driveway and Izzy waved goodbye. Once they rounded the bend Izzy let go of Phoenyx who was much to sensible to bother wasting enough energy to run that far.
Without even bothering to close the front door, Izzy heaved a heavy sigh and slowly made her way across the grand foyer. A refreshing breeze was coming through the door and Izzy closed her eyes. Izzy leaned against the doorframe to the dining room and then slowly slid to the floor. Her brain was buzzing with confusion, exhaustion, indecision and doubt. She dropped her head onto her bent knee and sighed again.
“We aren’t cut out for this,” Izzy said to Phoenyx as the dog came and sat down against her. She rubbed the dog without looking up. “We are totally in over our heads. I guess I was hoping all the rumors were fake. We don’t fit in this family at all…much less this city…Brooklyn…I mean honestly, what the hell are we doing in Brooklyn?” Izzy raised her head and looked at the dog who stared intently back. “How long do you think it would take to sell this house and move to like, Guam?” The dog blinked and cocked her head, nudging Izzy’s hand. Izzy dropped her head and banged it in gentle frustration against her knee. “Izzy Romano-Salieri, master of denial, screws herself over yet again by thinking she can actually handle something…nice work, good job dumb ass…” Tears started to brim in her eyes.
“I don’t think you’d like it in Guam. Lot of bugs I hear.”
Izzy jerked her head up and shot to her feet. Dominic was leaning against the front doorway with his arms crossed in a relaxed pose. He pulled away from the door frame and sauntered closer. His expression was soft and appraising and Izzy quickly swiped at her damp eyes. She was fighting to find a glib, witty response but her brain just couldn’t retrieve one with Dominic staring at her. Dominic walked over and snagged his jacket off the back of one of the dining room chairs. He paused in front of Izzy.
“Don’t drive a “for sale” sign in the yard just yet. Give us a chance. I think we’ll grow on you.” Dominic shot her a half smile and a wink. “Later.” He strode out of the house and jogged down the driveway to where one of the cars was idling. Izzy watched him go and then slowly shut the front door. She leaned her head against the door and blew out the air she had unconsciously pent up in her lungs.
“Uh, nice job Rin Tin-Tin!” Izzy said at last, looking over at Phoenyx. “Some guard dog you are! And don’t give me that “I knew he wasn’t a threat so I didn’t attack” look because we both know that he could have been a homicidal rapist and as long as he would rub your belly you’d let him walk in here,” Izzy reprimanded, smirking all the while at the innocent, bright-eyed dog across the room. “So, if you will excuse me,” Izzy continued as she threw the four manual locks and then set the electronic security system. “I now need to go take a long cold shower and completely reevaluate my entire life.”