Chapter 9
Note: This is a work of FICTION! Although the areas this story takes place in are real; all of the landscapes depicted, the people described, and everything else this story uses to make it enjoyable reading for you are NOT REAL. As you read this story, try to remember:
THIS IS A NOVEL!
31. Patricia and Stephano Get Married.
After speaking to Stephano on the phone, Victoria Valentino was very happy she was going to be at her son's wedding. This was a miracle, since she never thought she would see him alive, again. The gruesome pictures, the terrible emails, the arguments she heard her husband having with William, all led her to believe that her son would never survive his imprisonment. William turned out to be more of a man, then her husband. He told her husband, he could not hurt an innocent human being. That was exactly what her son was: an innocent. So was Laura Garrett and Bruno had killed her and forty students for no reason at all. She loved her husband. She did not love the things he did, but she did love her husband. She refused to live the lifestyle his money could have afforded her. She lived a quiet life. She did not wear jewelry. She did not go on expensive vacations. She would not let him buy her a mansion. They lived in the same brownstone building in Manhattan, for all their married life. It was moderately expensive when they bought it, but it was not in a trendy neighborhood. She walked to most of the stores where she shopped, except the grocery store, and there would be too many packages to carry home from there, anyhow.
This was the first time she was on an aircraft in eight years. The agent told her to buckle her seatbelt, and to look out the window while they descend. He said, "The Mountains here are red. They are spectacular to look at from the air, and on the ground. There is nothing else like them, anyplace on earth."
She enjoyed viewing the mountains, but she loved the view standing at the bottom of the stairway of the aircraft. Stephano was waiting for her on the tarmac. He took her in his arms, to prove to her, he was alive.
"Momma, I cannot breathe. If you don't let go of my chest, you are going to kill me."
"I have not seen you in over five months, and you refuse your mother a hug; you should be ashamed of yourself."
"I could survive a mother's hug; I am not sure about a hug from a mother grizzly bear."
Victoria smacked him playfully, again.
As they parked in front of the villa, Patricia, Jemma and William came out to meet them.
"Victoria Valentino, I would like to introduce you to William Zabo; and his wife Jemma Zabo.
Victoria responded, "Hello William, it has been a very long time."
William kissed her on both cheeks and said, "This time, Victoria, it is on a happier occasion. I would like to introduce you to my bride, Jemma."
"William, she is a head taller than you are. What do you do when you want to kiss her, get a ladder?"
"There are ways Victoria, and I am not that old yet that I cannot learn new tricks."
"You were always monogamous, when I knew you; did that change in all these years?"
"No, Victoria, I stayed true to the woman I loved; that never changed. The only reason I am back here is because your husband killed her, tried to kill my daughter, and killed many other innocent people."
"Yes, I know about all those horrible things William. He confessed those crimes to me and to the government. He will pay dearly for them. I am not here for that, because I had nothing to do with it. I am here for my son's wedding, and then I am going to return to New York to live out my life."
"Mother, why aren't you going to stay with me?"
"Both of you are going to have to hide for years, until the trials. You cannot drag an old woman around with you. I need my creature comforts. I need my home, my doctors, and my friends. If you need to move in a hurry, you do not need me to slow you down. Your father wanted me to ask you about money and my access to it, before the federal government impounds it all."
"Do not worry about that mother; I will take care of that tonight. I will move it from all of dad's legal businesses, because those will be the hardest for the government to find."
William told Stephano to transfer the money to his accounts, and he would take care of transferring the money to his mother. By the time the government tried to figure out where the money was three presidents would have come and gone, and they would still be looking for it.
Patricia nudged Stephano, with her elbow, and asked if anybody was going to introduce her to his mother.
Flippantly, Stephano said, "Oh yes, mom, this is my Patricia."
Patricia balled up her fist, and was getting ready to hit him, when her father yelled, "Patricia!"
"Papa, he earned this one."
"I agree, but there is a better way to handle that arrogance then hitting him. Your wedding night is coming, and he may not be."
Patricia looked at her father, smiled and said, "Papa, you are a genius."
Stephano was downtrodden. "Dad, that was mean. I have waited so long for that night, and you may have taken away from me."
Victoria asked her son, "Think for a minute Stephano, who took that night away from you? Was it you and your big mouth and arrogant attitude toward your future wife? Or was it your future father-in-law reminding his daughter not to use physical violence upon her spouse? One day you will learn to keep that big mouth of yours under control, before you put your foot into it. A day could turn into a week, a week into a month. The next time you speak to your father, ask him."
"Mom, not you, you would never do that to dad, would you?"
