Epilogue: Part Two

Epilogue: Part Two
A few near-miss collisions and one scolding granny later, Frankie pulled up in front of the Accardi’s building. Gloria swung her leg over the bike and looked at the duffel bag on the back.

“Please tell me that’s not where you put your mother’s cake she made for us to bring?” Gloria said, pointing at it.

“What?” Frankie asked with a shrug.

Gloria groaned. “Dangit, Frank,” she said as she unzipped the bag. “It’s going to be all…” She sighed as she presented the chocolate cake, one half melted, the other half smashed. “Ruined.”

“Nah, it’ll taste fine, come on,” he assured her, wrapping his arm around her neck and turning her toward the building.

They made their way up the five flights of stairs… with Frankie having to carry her the last two because she was practically dead on her feet. He knocked on the door with her still in his arms. A moment passed before Gen opened the door with a beaming smile.

“Hey, guys! Uh oh, you okay, Gloria?”

“She’s just getting off a shift,” Frankie explained as he set her down.

“Sorry, I didn’t have time to change,” Gloria said as Gen ushered them inside.

“It’s Sunday, no one is dressed up,” Gen told her, pointing down at her ‘plain’ sundress.

“Everyone loves a hot chick in scrubs,” Frankie said, kissing her on the forehead in reassurance.

“What’s with the costume?” Conor asked, water glass pressed to his lips.

Gloria turned and glared at Frankie. “I didn’t have time to change. We were escorted out of the building.”

“At work? What did you do?”

“What do you think they did?” Accardi asked, stepping up to smack Frankie on the back. “Glad you all could make it. I know you must be exhausted, Gloria.”

Gloria shrugged. “What’s another few hours?” She held out the cake. “We brought, uh, mush.”

“Oh,” Gen said, giggling as she took the cake from Gloria’s hands. “It… well, it looks yummy,” she said, covering her mouth as laughter bubbled up and took over her entire body.

“It’s perfectly fine!” Frankie said. He clicked his tongue and ripped the cake back from Gen. “Where’s my man at? He’ll love it.”

“Uncle Frankie!!!”

A moment later, a small boy ran through the throngs of people toward the door. Frankie squatted just in time to accept the little boy in his arms.

“Hey, Nio!” Frankie said, gripping Accardi’s son tight. “How’s my godson doing?”

“Great! I helped Daddy bake some croissants this morning and me and Elisa helped Mommy decorate, and then I went with Daddy to the store cause he forgot to get the lemons Mommy needed and… Is that cake?!”

“Sure is, Nonna Marge made it specially for you.”

Antonio took the cake from Frankie’s hands and screamed.

“Whoa, Nio, inside voice,” Accardi reprimanded, cupping his son’s head to his thigh.

“Elisa! Lulu, Mary, Joe! Cake!!” Nio ran off, soon to be surrounded by a gaggle of children all trying to get the cellophane wrapping away from the cake using nothing but sheer willpower and child tenacity.

Frankie stood up, eyes shining bright, proud of himself. “Told you it wouldn’t matter. Yuk, get off me, beast,” Frankie said, sidestepping behind Gloria as a large white dog nuzzled his hand.

“Nella, sit,” Conor said with a snap of his finger that had the dog immediately heel. “Good girl.”

“You know, when I gave you that thing, it was to attract chicks, not replace them,” Frankie grumbled, holding onto Gloria’s shoulders from behind like a human shield.

“She’s great company. Who needs a girl?”

“Five years without a woman doesn’t look good on you, man. You need to get laid.” Frankie gasped. “There’s this girl at the hospital, clearly pissed cause Gloria has me and gets it good on the regular. She clearly needs a nice fuck. I can get you her number!”

Gloria patted Frankie’s hand, trying to settle him. “How are you, Conor?”

“Good, good, got my five-year coin,” he said, holding it up for them all to see.

“That’s wonderful, really,” Gen said, rubbing Conor’s arm. “We’re all very proud of you.”

“I don’t know how you do it. Especially since Gloria’s got access to some…”

“Frank, I think the kids are having a hard time with the cake. Maybe you should go and help?” Gloria suggested.

“You’re trying to get rid of me.”

“Yes.”

“I can respect that,” Frankie said as he sauntered off in the direction of the children who had formed a circle around the cake as if they were about to perform a Celtic ceremony asking the fairies for help in getting the childproof wrapping off their prize. As he stepped around Conor, though, he grabbed him by one shoulder. “But seriously, if you decide to crack on the women or the, well, you know, crack, give me a call. I have all sorts of hookups.”

“Thanks, Frank,” Conor said, face stone as he lifted the glass of water back to his lips.

“You know he wouldn’t actually…” Gloria began.

“Yeah, I know. He’s just a dick,” Conor said, snapping his fingers again and turning back to the party with Nella following faithfully behind.

Accardi stepped back and cleared his throat. “So, Gloria, we appreciated your stepping in last night.”

“Happy to. I’m glad I can help with the event. I’m sorry to hear about the troubles.”

“No troubles. But we should discuss the monthly family meeting in Chicago. Juliano says things are going well out there, but we really need to get the board together and go over a few of the issues they’re having with shipments. We can handle it on our end, of course, but as you wish to maintain the face of the family, I think it would be good if you could be present to reassure investors that…”

“Uh, uh, uh,” Gen said, catching on to what her husband was saying. “No business talk on Sundays. Y’all can talk Russian, Italian subterfuge tomorrow. Today is family and friends. Now go talk to Ben. Charlotte has abandoned him to fawn over Jada, and Louis’ baby, and the Bostonians are clearly talking sex as it looks like he’s turning red in the face.”

“Okay, Weakness,” Accardi said, knocking back his whiskey. He kissed her on the cheek and said low, thinking Gloria couldn’t hear, “Only because of what you gave me this morning and what I’ll be taking later tonight when these fuckers clear out of here.”

Gen shoved him in the back toward the direction of her friends, who had flown down from Boston for the weekend. Gen shook her head and sighed as she crossed her arms. Both women looked inward at the living room where Leo had his third baby strapped to his chest, and Lucy rested on the couch with Jada, who looked worn out from the energy of her first baby boy being held in Louis’ arms. Accardi grabbed Ben, hauled him away from the women, and pulled him into conversation with Leo like the professional networker he was.

In the center of it all was Frankie Donati, sitting cross-legged on the floor, the other children following suit. He made precise, pounding hand gestures with the side of his hand against his open palm. The other children stared down at the cake, their lips pursed, their brows furrowed, and some with their hands braced on their knees as the thirty-seven-year-old toddler gave precise plans for attack.

“He is such a good uncle and godfather,” Gen commented with a soft smile as her son raised his hand to ask a question, and Frankie pointed a finger for him to go ahead.

“He’s just a kid himself, so it’s nice for him to have time to socialize with his own kind,” Gloria said with a laugh.

Frankie yelled a made-up word, and suddenly the kids flung themselves into the middle of the circle. The adults turned their attention to the mayhem.

“I got it!” Frankie yelled, holding the plate no longer wrapped in plastic above his head. The kids tackled him, all trying to get a slice. He screamed dramatically as he was overtaken by small hands and feet.

“It’s a shame the two of you will never be parents. I mean, I completely understand, don’t get me wrong,” Gen amended quickly. “I just think the two of you would be perfect parents.”

Gen wrapped both arms around Gloria’s waist, and Gloria leaned her head against hers. They had grown quite close in recent years. They almost had to, as their husbands were practically attached at the hip. They spent long nights awake, worrying over where their husbands could be while downing unhealthy levels of wine. They spent holidays together, Sunday afternoons, picnics in the park; they were family.

Gloria smiled softly as Frankie relented, allowing the kids to cart off the cake like the children in Animal Farm with their sacrifice. He sat back on the palms of his hands, out of breath but grinning from ear to ear. As if sensing her gaze, Frankie turned to look at her. He cocked his head to the side and bit his lip while his eyes raked over her body. She felt a blush creep over her cheeks, something she did less and less as she grew older and more comfortable with herself.

“Well,” Gloria said quietly. “Never say never.”

Author's Note

Thank you, thank you, thank you. For everyone who stook through this novel. For everyone who had patience. For everyone who continued to support me through the inconsistent updates, moments of silence, and doubtful completion. Thank you. Your support through one of the most turbulent times of my life meant more to me than I'll ever be able to fully express. I hope I was able to conclude this tumultous story in a way that satisfied your patience. Frankie and Gloria's story may be over, but you will see these two crazy characters again. There will be two more books in this series. The third book will feature Conor and as for the fourth? Well, that will be announced soon. I am also considering a collection of short stories featuring a few of the side characters we have all grown to know and love. This story and all future works will be available through Amazon once final edits are complete. If you'd like to stay up to date with my current and future projects, please give me a follow on social media. My name is the same across all of them: allisonthenovelist

Thank you all again and I hope to see you in my comments section again soon!