I consider the question. “No. He was just following orders.”
“Whose orders?”
“Rico’s father. Luca LaRiccia.”
“And he’s still alive? Luca?”
“Oh, fuck yeah, he is. That bastard isn’t going anywhere.”
“Is that why Rico hates you? Because you shot his father’s man?”
“No. Rico hates me because he’s Rico. He was torturing me long before the kidnapping.”
“What do you mean? What did he do?”
I shake my head. “We’re not playing that game.”
“What game?”
“The one where we compare traumas to see whose childhood was worse.”
“I wasn’t?—”
“You were.” I cut her off again. “And it doesn’t matter. Pain isn’t a competition.”
She falls silent, considering this. “Okay,” she says finally. “Then let’s play a different game.”
“I’m not in the mood for games.”
“Too bad. This one’s called ‘One Good Thing.’” She shifts to face me fully. “You tell me one good memory from your childhood. Just one. And I’ll tell you one of mine.”
I stare at her, trying to determine her angle. “Why?”
“Because I’m tired of ghosts, Giovanni. I’m tired of letting the past determine who I am now. Just... give me one good thing. Please.”
Thepleasecatches me off guard. I search my memory, pushing past the darkness to find something worth sharing.
“I already told you one good thing. I told you about the wisteria. My grandparents were mafia, obviously. But things were different back then. And I know it’s stupid to say this, but there was more honor. I don’t know, I’m probably just romanticizing it.”
“Well, just tell me one more. Good things don’t hurt.”
“You’re wrong. Good things hurt the most. It’s just a reminder of what you can lose.”
She sighs again. “For fuck’s sake. I guess I should go first. I hadn’t realized you’re such a nihilist.”
I smile. Then speak, taking my turn. “My mother used to read to me. Every night, no matter how late she got home. Even if I was already asleep, she’d wake me up just to read one chapter.”
“What did she read?”
“Everything. Classics, mostly. But my favorite wasThe Little Prince.”
“That’s a sad book for a kid.”
“Is it? I always thought it was hopeful.”
“It’s quite philosophical for a child. And the lessons are big ones. ‘You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed,’” she quotes softly.
“You’ve read it.”