Chapter Four
The next day, Abbacchio and Bucciarati went to the lounge Lucien ran. This time of day, it was closed, so there wasn't anyone around but a few of the staff. That didn't stop the two men from striding right in.
"Is Lucien here?" Bucciarati asked a man who was sitting at one of the tables, counting money.
He looked shocked to see them there, and pointed to the back of the lounge. "He's in his office."
"Hello, is there anything I can do for you?"
Bucciarati and Abbacchio turned and Abbacchio instantly recognized the man he had seen coming out of Carmen's apartment. This time he was dressed in a disgusting mustard yellow suit, completing the sleazy picture with slicked-back hair.
"Bucciarati, right?" the man asked.
"Correct," Bruno replied.
"Don't usually see you around here. Is there something I can help you with?"
"We had some questions about one of your girls," Bruno told him. "Carmen?"
Lucien snorted. "What about her? She bail out on you or something?"
"No," Bruno said stiffly and Abbacchio only wished he had his friend's calm demeanor. Just looking at Lucien made him want to punch the man in the face. "It's just come to our attention that her position might be a bit difficult. I make it a point to help people in this city who need it."
Lucien gave a short chuckle. "Even hookers who can't even make a decent living? The reason she's struggling is because she insisted on keeping that brat when I told her not to."
Abbacchio's fists clenched. "That wasn't exactly your decision to make."
Lucien finally turned his attention to him, raising an eyebrow. "Wait, is it your baby?"
"No, but that's not the point," Abbacchio growled.
"Then why are you sticking your noses in other people's business that doesn't concern you?" Lucien demanded darkly.
Normally, Abbacchio probably would have agreed with that sentiment, but in this case, he opened his mouth to retort, when Bruno held up a hand to stop him. "My team is in charge of Passione, Lucien. Everything that happens in this city concerns me."
"So, what? You want the tart or something?"
"I understand she has debts," Bucciarati said. "I would simply like to pay them for her."
Lucien smirked in a slimy way. "That's really sweet, but it's not possible."
Abbacchio snapped then. "You just said she can't work the way you want her to! Why the hell do you need her anyway? What exactly would you lose by letting her go? You could easily find girls to replace her."
Lucien narrowed his eyes at him. "You seem concerned for Carmen and yet you also know nothing about her. She's the one who's begging to stay here. And I am willing to keep her because my customers like her."
"What do you have over her?" Abbacchio demanded.
"Nothing," Lucien replied with a shrug. "It's not me who holds her debt. I'm protecting her from someone else."
Abbacchio tried to process this, remembering the conversation he'd overheard. Sounds like all his suspicions were confirmed.
"Who?" Bucciarati demanded.
"A man from her past. Some drug dealer or something. She's the one who came to me, begging for a job and protection from him. I agreed, and aside from that, I keep my hands out of it. As long as she shows up to work, it's not my problem."
"You don't even know his name?" Abbacchio growled.
"It's been so long since she mentioned it," Lucien shrugged nonchalantly, obviously knowing more than he was letting on. "You'll have to ask her if you're so cozy. I'm sure you could get it out of her in bed if you paid her extra."
Abbacchio surged forward and Bucciarati grabbed his arm, pulling him back almost reluctantly as Abbacchio's fingers barely grazed Lucien's lapel.
"You should keep your dog on a tighter leash, Bucciarati," Lucien said, stepping back and straightening his suit. "And for future reference, I don't usually allow cops in here, disgraced or otherwise."
"That's your prerogative," Bucciarati said darkly. "But you should be careful insulting any members of Passione. Especially ones who have the ear of the Don."
He tugged on Abbacchio and practically pushed him outside into the bright sunlight.
"That son of a bitch," Abbacchio gritted his teeth. "You should have let me punch him."
Bucciarati's jaw was tight, mouth pinched. "It wouldn't have done any good."
"He knows who's hounding Carmen."
"Yes," Bucciarati sighed, before looking up at Abbacchio. "And…perhaps, it's best she tell you herself. After all, it is her personal business."
Abbacchio huffed, trying to force the anger away, but it was a slow process. "She's not gonna tell me."
"You don't know that," Bucciarati replied as they walked back to the car.
Abbacchio scoffed, looking away. "People don't tell me things, Bruno; I'm not good with words like you are."
"That is absolutely not true," Bucciarati chided as he unlocked the car. "You're always giving the kids advice, and me as well. In fact, I probably wouldn't be married right now if you hadn't given me a talking to." He smiled, leaning against the roof of the car to look across it at Abbacchio. "Besides, if anyone can understand what it's like having a past you want to run from, it's you."
"I still don't know if she even wants to see me again or not," Abbacchio muttered.
Bucciarati cocked his head to one side in that perceptive way of his. "Do you want to see her again?"
Abbacchio looked away, hand clenched on the roof of the car. "Yeah," he finally admitted.
"Then it's worth it to try," Bucciarati replied. "Even if it seems like she doesn't want your help, that doesn't mean she actually thinks that way. You of all people should know that."
Abbacchio grunted and yanked the door open, getting in as Bruno did the same. "I'm not good at being on this side of things," he muttered.
"Well, take it from me then, sometimes pushing is a good thing. But you can't expect someone to open up instantly either. You need to weigh your wish to help the person against their own needs."
Abbacchio nodded. "Okay." He glanced sideways. "Thanks."
Bruno smiled. "Any time."
"If we see Lucien again though…"
Bruno huffed. "If there's a just cause, you may punch him in the face."
Abbacchio leaned back in the seat, satisfied.
Now though, he just had to figure out how to help Carmen and eventually get her out of her predicament.
"You should ask her on a date."
Abbacchio looked up from his cup of tea sharply at Maria who had, for some reason, come up with that out of the blue after only a few minutes talking about Carmen.
"What?" he demanded,
"That's a great idea!" Trish said from where she was currently rummaging in the fridge.
"Why do you think she would want to go on a date with me?" Abbacchio asked, and angrily felt his neck heating slightly as Maria and Trish both turned to scrutinize him.
"Well, for one, you obviously like her," Trish pointed out.
Abbacchio glowered, but didn't try to deny it. He just…hadn't really processed his feelings enough to understand what they really were besides the obvious innate protectiveness he felt toward Carmen and her child.
"I don't even know what to do on a date," Abbacchio protested. "I haven't even been on one since high school."
"Take her out to dinner," Maria suggested.
"And what about the baby?"
"Tell her we'll babysit." Maria smiled sweetly.
Abbacchio folded his arms across his chest, out of excuses. "Okay, so, say I do ask her on a date, what if she doesn't want to go?"
"Abba has a date?!" Narancia demanded as he came into the kitchen, grinning.
"Shut up, brat, I do not," Abbacchio snarled, kicking him in the backside as he passed.
"Is it with the girl with the baby?" Narancia ignored him, grabbing a bag of chips.
Abbacchio rolled his eyes as Trish grinned. "Yes, we're trying to get Abba to ask her out."
"Good luck," Narancia smirked, before Trish hit him in the arm. "Ow!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Abbacchio demanded.
Narancia shrugged. "You have to loosen up a little if you want to ask a girl out."
"And you would know, would you?" Abbacchio said darkly.
Narancia pressed his lips together. "I watch a lot of movies."
Maria laughed good-naturedly. "Don't worry, Leone, it's really not that hard."
"Asking her won't hurt anything," Trish added. "The worst thing that can happen is she says no."
Abbacchio shrugged in agreement. "Yeah. But where should I take her? I don't know if I have anything to wear. What if she doesn't have anything to wear? Then it would be awkward if I asked…"
"I have an idea," Trish told him. "Why don't you buy her a dress if you're worried about it? New dresses always make me happy."
Abbacchio considered for a second. "I guess that would make sense. But I might need some help."
"Of course!" Trish exclaimed excitedly. "We'll help you pick something. And for you as well. Does that mean we get to go shopping tomorrow?"
"Yuck," Narancia pulled a face and left the kitchen.
"No one invited you anyway," Trish stuck her tongue out.
Abbacchio rolled his eyes, knowing he was probably getting himself in way too deep here. "Fine. We'll go shopping tomorrow."
He did not like the look Trish and Maria shared. Heaven help him.
The next morning, he tried to beg off that he had work, but Maria shook her head firmly, already pulling him out the door with Trish in tow.
"Nope, you're ours for the day. I have the ear of the Capo after all. He's already cleared your schedule." Maria winked at him.
Abbacchio rolled his eyes and reluctantly grabbed the car keys as he resigned himself to a day of shopping.
They ended up in the part of town that had a lot of high-end boutiques and Trish pulled Abbacchio toward one that sold fancy dresses.
"What sort of thing do you think Carmen would like? There's a lot of different styles to choose from here."
"Where are you planning on taking her?" Maria asked. "That might help us decide too."
"I want to take her somewhere nice," Abbacchio admitted. "So probably something more formal?"
He was instantly assaulted by multiple dresses being thrown his way. Some were way too elaborate, others, he couldn't even figure out how they would go on and even if Carmen would know, he didn't really want to subject her to that.
"Maybe something more elegant, and not so….ridiculous. Black is always a good color." Abbacchio commented after Trish had gushed over some monstrosity that looked more like modern art than a dress.
"He's probably right," Maria said with a smile before she pulled another dress out. "Something more like this?"
It came down to three, which Maria and Trish modeled for him, and Abbacchio finally picked one that was simple, yet elegant, and would hopefully flatter Carmen's figure.
After buying it, he was whisked off to another store.
"Your turn now," Maria told him with a grin.
This was possibly even more annoying, but at least Abbacchio knew what he wanted, and refused most of the things Trish and Maria tried to force on him. He definitely wasn't going to wear that disgusting gold monstrosity that looked like something only Giorno would be caught dead in.
He finally settled on a black velvet blazer with an open purple silk shirt and slim black slacks. Black leather ankle boots with purple soles finished off the outfit nicely.
"Very handsome," Maria told him fondly with a smile, smoothing down the shoulders of the coat as he examined the outfit in the shop's mirror.
"I look ridiculous," Abbacchio grumbled.
"You don't!" Trish promised. "It's really flattering!"
"But the velvet…is it too much?" Narancia was sure to quip something about Count Dracula.
"Not at all, I think it's very elegant," Maria assured him. "And it suits you well."
Abbacchio sighed, cringing again as he looked into the full-length mirror, but, maybe they were right. It certainly didn't look awful. He just didn't understand why he felt like he was back in high school, agonizing over how he was going to ask a girl to the dance.
"All right, well, it's not going to get any better than this," he grumbled as he went back to change into his normal clothes and bought the outfit before he was obliged to take the ladies to several more shops before taking a break for lunch.
By the time they finally got back, it was late afternoon and they had tons of bags.
Bruno met them at the door, giving Abbacchio a pitying look before he greeted his wife with a kiss.
"Did you have a nice day, tesero?" he asked, relieving her of some of the bags.
"Yes," Maria replied. "Our mission was a success; we found Leone a new outfit, as well as one for Carmen."
"Lovely," Bruno winked at Abbacchio who scowled back. "I'm sure you did a fantastic job."
Maria grinned and turned to Trish. "Come on, Trish, let's go unpack all of our purchases."
Abbacchio was already heading into the living room, letting his bags fall to the ground as he sank wearily into the couch.
"That felt way more draining than any mission I've been on," he muttered.
Bruno laughed. "I know. I've gone shopping with them before. But at least you were successful. So, when are you planning on going on your date?"
Abbacchio cringed. "Sometime before I lose my nerve."
Bruno sat down across from him, a sympathetic look on his face. "You'll be fine, I promise."
"What if she doesn't want to go, though?" Abbacchio asked. "What if it's too presumptuous to buy her a dress? It's kind of creepy when you think about it. She might think I want to dress her up myself as if what she has isn't good enough…"
"Leone, you'll be fine," Bruno repeated. "If anything happens, it certainly won't be your fault. You'll either find out that she wants to go out with you, or she doesn't and if that's the case, then at least you'll know."
Abbacchio sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Bruno smiled. "Now, as for where to take her…"
"I don't know anywhere good," Abbacchio muttered. "It's not like we ever eat any place other than Libecchio."
"Don't worry about that, I'll find somewhere nice for you," Bruno assured him.
Abbacchio nodded gratefully. "Thanks."
"Two nights from now sound good?"
Abbacchio's stomach flipped but he nodded. Two days. That would hopefully give him enough time to get his shit together.
He grabbed his purchases and took them up to his room, wanting a minute to himself.
He hung out the suit and glanced at the other box on the bed. Maria had gotten the shop staff to box the dress nicely. Abbacchio opened the lid, pushing aside the tissue paper. The dress was really nice and he couldn't deny that Carmen would look good in it. He hoped she liked it.
He closed the box with a sigh and set it on his desk as he glanced out the window. He just didn't really know what he was doing, what he wanted to do. What was Carmen to him? Was it just his feeling of protectiveness toward her, or was there something else that his damaged psyche was trying to shove as far away as possible? He supposed that a night out would at least be beneficial for figuring that out if nothing else.
He just hoped it wouldn't do more damage to Carmen than anything.
When it was finally the night of the date, the household seemed annoyingly aware. Bruno came to him that morning and told him he had a reservation at a restaurant for 8:30.
"Passione owned too, so there won't be any trouble," Bruno assured him.
Fugo and Narancia showed up with a fancy cabriole from somewhere, though the acquisition must have been sanctioned by Bruno because he didn't say anything when Narancia handed over the keys to Abbacchio, grinning.
Mista gave Abbacchio some "pointers" which he mostly grumbled at, but secretly tucked away, because he knew how awkward he could be when he was nervous.
Trish handed him a small box before he went up to change. "Here, I picked this out for you. The shade will match the shirt you're wearing."
Abbacchio saw it was dark purple lipstick, which, yes, he had to agree was definitely his color.
Even Giorno knocked on his door as he was just finishing getting dressed and asked, "Do you want flowers?"
Abbacchio hadn't even thought of that, which was really stupid. "Yes. Um…do you have roses?"
Giorno smiled and led him out to the garden where huge bushes of gorgeous roses bloomed in the gloaming. Abbacchio picked a bunch of red and purple ones, which Giorno wrapped in paper as Gold Experience touched the flowers, imbuing some extra life into them.
"They'll last a lot longer than usual even though they're cut," he explained as he handed them over. "Good luck on your date."
Abbacchio sighed and ruffled Giorno's hair fondly. "Thanks, kid."
As he went back inside, he saw it was time to leave. Maria handed him the box with the dress as Bruno squeezed his shoulder.
"You'll do fine," he said.
"Thanks for your vote of confidence," Abbacchio muttered.
Maria stood on tip-toes to kiss his cheek. "Don't worry so much!"
Abbacchio braced himself and grabbed the keys. "Alright, well, if all goes well, we'll drop the baby off if that's still okay?"
"Of course," Maria assured him, wrapping her arms around Bruno as everyone else came out to bid him farewell.
Abbacchio fought back a wave of embarrassment as he finally forced himself out the door.
No going back now, he told himself. Whatever was going to happen that night was going to happen and he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.