Chapter 85

Alec’s cell phone alarm was set to wake up every day at seven in the morning. And as it was Sunday, hearing that noise, Evangeline grumbled for him to hang up and continue to sleep.

Since his phone had been in his pants pocket, which was lying on the floor of his room, Alec had to get up to go there. When he opened his eye and sat down, he noticed a small figure beside the door, looking towards them with a lot of curiosity.

"Evie?" Alec calls, pushing her slowly. "Evangeline?”

"What do you want, Alec? Can’t find your phone?”

"I think you’d better sit down.”

Sleepily, the redhead lifts her body up and yawns, staring at Alec. As he stared forward, she followed his gaze and found Allegra there.

"Daughter!" Evangeline gets up quickly and goes to the confused girl. "Hi... I..." she looks at Alec. "Get dressed! Come with me, Allegra.”

Evangeline holds the girl’s arm and leads her to the room.

"I can explain." she says, looking at her daughter.

"What?”

The woman blinks a few times. She wonders if her daughter is Sonambula and has even seen Alec in the room.

"Alec, you know...”

"Ah..." Allegra shrugs. "He went to Grandpa’s party?”

"Yes. Grandpa worked with Alec a few years ago.”

Alec appeared in the room, holding his jacket and trying to visualize where his shoes had stopped.

"Hey, Alec." Allegra smiles and that lights up the mobster. "Are you okay?"

"I am. And you? Slept well?”

Evangeline looks at Alec, completely confused by her daughter’s reaction. She knew that with the education she gave the girl, she would never do anything different from what she was doing, but she had just seen her mother lying in the same bed as the man she discovered to be her father. Allegra should be at least confused.

"A little, but the milk shake that Mom makes makes everything better.”

"I wonder." Alec says, smiling. "Well, I think I should go.”

"Although?" Allegra asks, facing the two interspersed. "But will not stay a little with me?”

Alec didn’t have to leave just at that time, he just thought doing it should be right. He looked at Evangeline, who nodded in the affirmative.

"Of course he will stay." Evie gets up from the couch. "We’ll have a family breakfast. What do you think?”

Allegra’s reaction was enough to make Alec relax and accept Evangeline’s proposal. The three go to the kitchen and begin preparations. As Evangeline makes her famous milkshake, Alec is turning on the coffee maker.

"I was thinking..." Alec says aloud, looking at Allegra. "What would you think of moving?”

"Alec..." Evangeline murmurs.

"To New York?”

"At first, yes." he continues. "But your mother and I were thinking about moving anywhere in the world. You could even choose.”

"Will you be together? I mean, the three of us...”

"Yes. Until your mother gets tired of me.”

Evie looks at him sideways and shakes her head, laughing at that sentence. She does not answer and does not disrupt the conversation that father and daughter were leading.

"So I think GREAT!" Allegra’s emphasis on the last word, snatching laughs from her parents. "I don’t mind moving, as long as Mom’s happy.”

"Daughter, do you understand that you would need to leave school, judo? Everything you do here. Your friends...”

"Mom, ever since I started to understand things, I always saw you sad. Even smiling, making me happy, you were sad. Especially when Dad was late and you were fighting." Evangeline abandons what she was doing and looks at her daughter. "Alec makes you happy. I noticed the smiles the lady gave when she was going through her phone these days. So if Alec and you get together and you’re always smiling, I’ll be happy. It doesn’t matter the city.”

Evangeline went around the kitchen counter and hugged her little seed. Alec was amazed at all the words spoken by the girl. No one expected such maturity from a child almost ten years old.

"I’ll take that answer as a yes." Alec says, looking at the two women in his life. "Right?”

Evie sniffs, kisses Allegra’s forehead and looks at her.

"Yes?”

"Yes!" the girl responds with great joy. "When are we going? Today?”

"For me...”

"Today does not." Evangeline says, returning to the milkshake. "I still need to solve the issue of work and take care of your transfer. I don’t know if we’ll get a school in New York by then.”

"Leave it to me.”

"Alec, I need to...”

"I already said I solve." he says once again, looking at her in his green eyes. "Trust me.”

"Anyway... shall we eat?”

Watered with coffee, toasted with jam, milkshake and cookies from the previous day, the three take breakfast in complete harmony. The main subject was which cities or countries they wanted to visit.

Just before nine o'clock, Alec says he needs to go back to New York. That makes Allegra sad, as she planned to spend Sunday getting to know her father better.

"Look, I really need to go." he says, bending down to be at the same height as her. "We did not agree that we are going to Switzerland?" Allegra nods. "So. Today I’m going to a meeting where I will let my partner know that I’m leaving work to live in Switzerland with my family.”

"When will we see each other again?”

"When you least expect it. I promise.”

The girl smiles and jumps on Alec’s neck, hugging him tight. The Mafioso faces Evangeline, who watched them with a charming smile. That was a scene Evie didn’t expect to see in her life.

After saying goodbye to mother and daughter, Alec leaves the apartment and goes to the airport, where his jet is. Before the plane even takes off, he makes a simple call.

[…]

"Mom?”

"I’m in the shower!" Evie talks, without pausing the hair wash. "What is it?”

"Your phone is ringing. It’s a strange number.”

Since Alec had not yet warned that he had arrived and when things are going well, something goes wrong, Evangeline decides to answer the call. She dries her hand, picks up the phone and puts it in the speaker, before answering.

"Hello?”

"Evangeline Atkins?" She stares at the bathroom stall, wondering where she would know that voice. "I don’t know if she still remembers me, but it’s me... Jude. Your old teacher.”

"Jude! Hi. Of course I remember. How long.”

"Yeah... we heard about your accident, and we’re very sorry about losing your talent on our team.”

"What happened?" Evangeline asks, wanting to take away the subject of his accident. "It’s strange you’re calling me ten years later...”

"I thought you’d be expecting my call, but... we heard you’re coming back to New York and you’re looking for a job.”

"Am I?”

Evangeline laughs. It was obvious that Alec had fixed it.

"I’m about to retire and I was looking for someone skilled. I know your technique and would love you to be that person. Do you accept?”