Chapter Two:
No Ordinary Day For Vito
Vito did not get much sleep after the dream of his mother before Genco came knocking on the door for another day of work. When Vito opened the door to greet him the glance they shared Genco didn't need much time to realize how Vito's night went. "You had the dream again," Genco said in a worried but warm tone. "It's nothing," Vito said sternly.
"We're all surprised this lack of sleep isn't affecting your work," this comment got a subtle chuckle from Vito. "Your father has been too kind for me to disappoint him."
This offended Genco somewhat, "Vito you make it sound like you're his servant,
Your as much a son to him as I am."
Vito couldn't say anything to this, he loved Gencos father dearly but couldn't bring himself to be referred to as the mans son, Vito thought it an insult to his own father memory.
"He's worried about you Vito, he wishes you'd talk about your mother more." Genco said this with affection that Vito felt grateful to have gained in his life.
Vito put a hand on Gencos shoulder and squeezed gently, Genco realized that with this gesture Vito was about to give him one of his pearls of wisdom, Genco was amazed at how Vito seemed to have so much knowledge at their young age.
"Genco…Genco I've told your family about what happened back in Corleone, you know it affected me only a soul-less man wouldn't be a little traumatized about seeing his mother murdered in front of his own eyes, as a little child in quarantine I wept. But to repeat these feelings as an excuse to do or become whatever, it's self pity my friend. The only word to describe a man who wallows in his own sorrows is weak."
Genco nodded his head in agreement, and with that Vito put his arm around the shoulder of the man he thought of as his brother and they headed to the shop.
Back at the store it was a business day like any other, customers came pouring in droves, the Abbandandos were a very respected family in the neighborhood, always held great conversation while their customers were looking for the ingredients to their respectful family recipes.
On this day they got an unexpected visit from the son of Don Farenzallo to collect "protection" money. Genco and his father greeted this stranger to Vito with fear in their voices, while Gencos father reluctantly paid up. It killed Vito to see his guardian and a man who was like a brother to him basically bow to this man like he was royalty but knew he had to keep his mouth shut.
"Business is good eh Abbandando?" the young extortionist said in a statement more than a question.
"Cant complain." The proud storeowner said, his father figures humility was something Vito had always admired.
"When are you going to let these strapping young men come work for me Abbandando huh?" Faranzallo said gesturing towards Vito and Genco. Through the corner of his eye Vito saw the forming of a smile on Gencos face.
"With all due respect their content with where they are," Gencos father said in an obviously nervous tone.
"Your sons eyes tell a different story clerk," Faranzallo said as he began walking towards Genco, he mockingly patted Gencos cheek then turned his attention to Vito.
"Stand up, paisan let me get a good look at you." The gangster studied Vito up and down sizing him up, Vito would have liked nothing more than to knock this cocky young man on his ass. Vito was scrawny to the gangster's eye but there was something in the young mans eyes that unmistakingly radiated a chilled sense of power. "You should come work for me, working in a place like this I sense money isn't of much concern to you, but I know a power hungry kid when I see one."
Vito studied this man before him carefully, wondering where he got the nerve to talk to him like this, "You work for your father out of loyalty to him am I right?"
Faranzallo turned to Genco with a curious look before turning his attention back to Vito, "yes."
"I harbor the same loyalty to the man you just took money from." Vito said, he added a cold tone to his voice for affect.
The two fairly young men shared a long stare, Faranzallo had the look on his face of a predator about to pounce on his prey, and Vito had the look on his face that was daring him to try.
"If you ever get over being content working in a run down market, your going to go far, mark my words." Faranzallo said as a matter of factly. The two shared another short stare before the men heard some ruckus outside. Two young punks were brawling outside over god knows what. "Duty calls paisan" Maranzallo said in Italian before giving Gencos father one more pat on the cheek before exiting the store to go confront the brawling kids. Several minutes of Faranzallo confronting these youngsters and the two kids showed no signs of giving up their quarrel, for a man who was "running" the neighborhood he didn't seem to be to affective Vito thought. Watching the whole scene from the front window of Gencos store was like watching a scene from a silent movie, and then the world seemed to stop when they heard a gunshot and then the young Faranzallo dropping like a fly, there were screams of terror from women and children on the street, and even some of the men. That let Vito know how it was so easy for these idiots to run the neighborhood through fear. What happened next shocked Genco and his father. The young boy who had shot Faranzallo but the gun to his temple and took his own life, before the young man did it he seemed in a state of panic, had a look on his face like he just saw the devil himself.
Vito automatically understood why the young man did it, he thought the action of suicide pathetic but knew that the young man would have ended up dead anyway for putting a bullet in head of a son of a feared mafia chieftain. What had provoked the young man to pull such an idiotic move of shooting Faranzallo in the first place is something Vito would never know.
Hours after the incident flew by since the police came to question Vito, Genco, and his father. They couldn't give the cops the boy who had escaped name because they honestly didn't know. They also didn't tell the police that Faranzallo had been there to visit with Abbandando beforehand; he knew there would be repercussions from Faranzallos father.
"I wonder who Faranzallo will send down here to take over the neighborhood," Genco said to his father in Italian, "Maybe that Fannuci character, I heard the mans fierce, just as reckless as that moron that got himself killed today though."
Vito turned to Genco cracked a smile and said in Italian, "Moron? With that smile on your face earlier you seemed perfectly ready to be his right hand man." Vito said this jokingly which caused Genco and himself to laugh. Gencos father was not all that pleased, he didn't want his son to have to resort to a life like that, at least not under the thumb of Faranzallo, days like this made him fear for Genco, who had no worries however of Vito. "Whoever ends up taking over this neighborhood, if their anything thing like that Faranzallo character, somebody will kill him just as abruptly." Vito said in a menacing tone that sent a shiver up Genco's spine.
Night had fallen Vito stayed at the store longer than usual to make sure everything was all right, Vito was just about to start walking home when in walked a woman Vito genuinely had mistaken for an angel. Her face, like something out of a painting, her hair up in a bun, clothes that let him know she lived the same subtle life of the men standing in the room. This mattered not to Vito. None of them had ever seen her in the store before, which was curious for a neighborhood such as this, but the men, including Gencos father stood in a trance as the woman casually shopped for what she needed.
"I hear you gentlemen witnessed quite a scene outside of the shop this morning, terrible what these streets are being reduced to." Carmella said as she strolled up to the counter to pay for her groceries, which weren't much, this broke Vito's heart. Her voice just enticed Vito even more; Genco turned to Vito and softly chuckled at the expression on his friends face. Carmella had a short conversation with Gencos father before turning to walk away, when she reached the door, almost as if it was out instinct she turned to look at Vito, she had a look on her face that said she wanted to walk up to him and ask him his whole life's story, his face said the same, she put on a smile and walked out the door.
"She's a beauty" Genco said a few moments after she was gone. Vito looked down at the floor ashamed that he did not say something. He slowly turned to Genco and said softly, "Beauty is too small a word to be in the same sentence with that woman."