Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi

Весса.

If anything, the receiving line at the Cathedral was even longer than the first one. People paid their respects, kissing the late Don Valentino on both cheeks before taking their seats. It was a full house. James and I sat at the front along with some cousins and other relatives once mass was about to start. It was a full Catholic Mass, with the blessing of the bread and everything.

As a Protestant, I did not go up to receive communion, something James's family, and those in the rows behind, noted and began to gossip about. Apparently, James was supposed to be with a good Catholic girl.

The bishop-for the bishop himself had come to perform the mass-gave mass in Italian. I didn't understand a word, but James leaned over and at least quietly translated the homily for me. James then stood to say a few words, also in Italian, but he'd rehearsed with me beforehand so I knew what he was saying.

We then processed to the family's mausoleum and people threw flowers on top of the casket before it was moved into the vault.

"He is with his wife now," Sofia said, coming to greet us after all was said and done. "His spirit is happy, I'm sure. Now, I think you two need to catch a plane."

It was true. Tony himself was waiting with the black sedan that would take us to the airport. "Thank you, Sofia," James responded. "You're a good friend."

"I will expect you to invest in my next venture," Sofia teased. Then she waved her hands at us. "Go, go."

James and I hurried to the car and slid into the back.

"I still think this is a bad idea," Tony muttered from the front seat, but directed the driver to take us to the airport just the same.

"I know you have things well in hand, Tony," James said. "You'll take good care of whatever comes up while I'm gone. Just remind people I'm fighting for the family heir, as a good Don should." "Hmph," Tony replied, but whatever else he was thinking, he kept to himself.

James and I practically ran to the jet, our bags having been sent ahead of us. I felt bad for leaving before the funeral reception, but Sofia had assured us she and the family would take care of it. Layla stood on the tarmac, holding Alessandro, looking bereft. "I want to keep him inside the compound and not let him out. I am so afraid he won't be coming back."

"We're not coming back until he comes back with us," James vowed. He gently took Alessandro from Layla's arms. "Take care of Dahlia. Tell her Mommy and Daddy love her very much." Layla sniffled and nodded. "I will."

"We'll still do video calls," I said. I felt my heart breaking, being away from my little girl for this travesty, but it was safer for her if we left her here. I kept reminding myself of that.

I hugged Layla, then James and I walked up the stairs into the jet.

As the door closed, my heart sank.

James bounced a clueless Alessandro in his lap and took my hand. "We'll be back before you know it."

"Yes. Yes, of course," I replied. I wondered if Chad, even as a quadriplegic, would still feel it if I kicked him in the nuts.

During the flight, James and I encouraged Alessandro as he crawled around the floor and pulled himself up to a standing position on all the different chairs. He would be walking soon, I knew, and my heart broke because I wondered what milestones I might miss with Dahlia.

"Mmma." Alessandro crawled over and raised his arms to me. "Mmma."

"Oh my God, he said Ma!" I said on a sob, scooping Alessandro up in my arms.

He flexed his chubby fists at James. "Da."

James smiled and got Alessandro a fruit-and-vegetable pouch for him to suck on.

Alessandro settled happily in my lap and sucked on the pouch.

"Well, now that he's decided we're his ma and da, there's no way they could possibly take him away," I sniffled, rocking Alessandro gently.

"They have no case," James assured me. "No case at all."

****

James.

"They have a case," Janet Loveless, Attorney at Law said as we sat in her office.

Becca was holding Alessandro, and her grip suddenly tightened on him. I rubbed her knee, trying to relax her.

But I could hardly blame her. I'd tensed up myself the moment the sentence had come out of Ms. Loveless's mouth.

"They've also hired Kensington, Kensington, and Pierce," Ms. Loveless continued. "They are most well-known for corporate law, but their criminal and family law teams are nothing to be sneezed at. Aside from them, I can tell you without being prideful that I am the best. We've got a good defense. Tally's final wishes were known, set down, witnessed, and notarized. Chad Cartwright signing away his parental rights is, however, a bit of a sticky situation."

"He was going to sign them away anyway," I grunted, knowing where this was going.

Ms. Loveless steepled her fingers under her chin. "Then you should have let him sign them away. There are a few witnesses suggesting you may have 'roughed him up.' This does not help our case."

I raked my hand over my hair. "Okay, so that was a bad move. But he's a real jackass. He beat up my daughter."

"Who, as you say, refused to go to the hospital just in case it might have gotten Chad in trouble," Ms. Loveless pointed out. "That leaves just the two of you as witnesses. We can bring it up in court-and likely I will-but it's not a strong point we can make."

"Are there any other girlfriends who can attest to his being violent?" Becca asked, and I nodded at her question.

"Besides you?" Ms. Loveless said. "My team hasn't had any luck. Chad's friends have circled the wagons. It's been impossible to find anyone among his peers who will testify against his character." "Shit," I muttered. "Shit, shit."

"Shit," Alessandro echoed.

I looked down at him, shocked. Then I dropped my face into my hands and groaned. "Oh, that's just great."

"Please don't teach him any more cuss words," Ms. Loveless sighed. "We don't want him bursting out with something like that in court. They'll poke holes in your fitness to be parents."

"Just because he learned one bad word?" Becca asked.

"They're out for blood," Ms. Loveless said. "We have to be the same. Trust me, my team is beating the bushes for people who will take our side reputable people. But it's been a slog. They sprang this on you when they already had all their ducks in a row. Our side hasn't had that kind of time to prepare."

Alessandro grumped and slid out of Becca's lap, going to crawl around on the floor.

"We can point that out to the judge, right? I mean, I'd like to get this over with as quickly as possible, but if we need more time, and the judge will grant it..." I suggested.

"I'm going to try to get an extension, but there are no guarantees. We're going to have to be as prepared as we can be," Ms. Loveless said. She looked over her desk and smiled softly. "He's a beautiful child. And clearly, he loves you both. I don't want to see you separated."

"Thank you." I held out my arms to Alessandro when he pulled himself up on my chair. He gripped my finger and tugged, clearly wanting me to walk him around the room. "I'm sorry, buddy. Daddy's in a meeting."

Alessandro's face screwed up as though he was going to cry.

"Another problem," Ms. Loveless said as I sighed and got up, walking Alessandro around the room. "Is your affiliation with the mafia. Your KNOWN affiliation with the mafia."

I winced. "There's not a lot I can do about that."

"I know. I'm just telling you it will be a problem," Ms. Loveless responded.

"How bad is it?" Becca finally asked the same question that was percolating in the back of my mind.

Ms. Loveless pursed her lips. "Bad."

Becca's breath came out in a sharp hiss.

I scooped Alessandro up in my arms, even though he squirmed in protest. "I... don't suppose you can recommend we go back to Italy and forget this whole thing..."

"You couldn't even if you wanted to," Ms. Loveless said. "The judge has ordered that you surrender your passports. He'll collect them at the hearing, but if you tried to use them now, you'd not only be in contempt of court, but also be facing serious jail time for trying to flee the country."

"I should have listened to Tony," I muttered while Alessandro let out an unholy shriek.

"Well, you're here now, and we're going to fight. You still have Tally's will. If she wanted Becca to have Alessandro, that's going to carry a lot of weight," Ms. Loveless assured us.

I did not feel reassured. "I won't let them take my grandson. These people... they're terrible people. It's not what my Tally wanted."

"Like I said, we're going to fight," Ms. Loveless repeated firmly. "Now, I suggest you go home and rest. It's been a very long two days for you, what with the funeral and coming here right off the plane."

Becca looked at me. "Are we going back to the hotel we stayed in last night?" she asked, sounding a bit defeated.

I decided I needed to be strong for the both of us, at least until Becca got her confidence back. "No, love. We're going to a home in Scarsdale. It will be well-fortified."

"Okay." Becca rose slowly to her feet, clutching her purse like it was a shield. She didn't even question my choice in homes.

"Don't get disheartened. We're working on this around the clock, and we're going to put up a strong fight," Ms. Loveless said.

I rocked the screaming Alessandro in my arms. "Thank you, Ms. Loveless. We'll keep our spirits up."

"Court is a week from today at 9:00 AM sharp," Ms. Loveless informed us. "We'll be meeting before then, of course, but I wanted to give you our timeframe."

"Not a lot of time," I murmured.

"It's going to feel like forever," Ms. Loveless warned. "Call me anytime with questions or concerns."

"What happens if we lose him?" Becca asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Ms. Loveless steepled her fingers again, clearly trying to figure out how to phrase bad news. "If we lose, there are many options. Even if you lose some custody, there's always partial custody, half-custody..." "I mean what happens if we lose him altogether?" Becca choked.

"Then we appeal. And we appeal. And we appeal," Ms. Loveless said firmly. "It's never over."

"And they can do the same if they lose," Becca inferred.

I looked at Ms. Loveless.

"... Yes," Ms. Loveless replied. "And they probably will."

Becca closed her eyes. "It's never over."