Chapter V
Little Italy is—as the name implies—Italy but smaller. This includes Sicily's vast beauty, Naples' richness in history, arts, and culture, and even Rome's majesty. If one could walk through the whole area, he or she could swear that they went through Italy itself.
Kayla and Leo walked through a few blocks and saw more or less pieces of Italy around them. They heard music and saw Italian life in the sidewalks they walked and were caught in awe of the scenery.
"I hope Little Italy stays like this forever," Kayla commented as they walked. They were about to go around the block and after that reach the street where the bistro and deli were located.
"Yeah," Leo agreed quietly. Kayla's attention was aimed at the scenery. It was almost as if she hadn't noticed Leo with her anymore. Leo decided to start another topic, "So, your parents still in Louisiana?"
"The same Forest Hill, Louisiana," she answered in a Southern tone. "My dad told me that if he gets promoted, I'm going to move back to Forest Hill."
"Would you come back to New York if you had the chance?" Leo asked. There was a tone of worry in his voice. There was a moment of silence that followed the question, which was shortly followed by her answer: "I don't know."
The silence resumed.
"Maybe I would," Kayla broke the silence. "Why?"
"It's nice having you around," Leo said and looked down at the sidewalk. He didn't want Kayla to notice that he was slowly smirking. "You're a good cook," he added to give her a different impression of what he was really thinking.
The two remained silent for the rest of the walk and continued walking around the block until they reached the street they both lived in. It was quieter than usual; less people than earlier in the morning.
Before they crossed the intersection that led to the sidewalk where the bistro was on, Leo noticed a tiny spark of light flash on the door and on the windows. Then, the bistro burst into a great ball of flames. Pieces of steel and stone shot out into the street. Leo embraced Kayla to protect her from any of the incoming debris. She cried out loud at the sound of the explosion, as did many others.
The explosion died and fire just burned behind the broken windows. People rushed towards the ruins of the bistro and looked inside to see if there were any survivors. Kayla herself struggled out of Leo's arms and ran to the door. She swung it open and immediately called out, "Uncle Givinni?"
She ran inside the burned bistro and searched for her uncle. Leo ran after her into the bistro. When he entered, he didn't hear the crackling of fire or the collapsing of broken wood, but rather the high-pitched scream that belonged only to a girl. Leo looked for the source of the scream and deducted that it could only be Kayla.
Leo found her kneeling down before a corpse covered by debris of stone. The corpse was burned and dusty from all the fallen concrete. Splinters of wood had cut his face all over. It was Givinni.
Kayla began sobbing over her dead uncle's corpse. Tears streamed down from her eyes to her red cheeks. Leo crouched down beside her and did his best to comfort her for the death in the family.
In this event alone, Little Italy had lost its beauty for a moment.
The funeral took place in a small part of Little Italy near the bistro. It was a small ceremony. A few of Givinni's family members gathered. Leo and Juanito came as well. Kayla said many things about Givinni during the eulogy and broke into tears in the middle of it all.
After the funeral, Kayla stated that she wished to remain in New York for the rest of the year and thus, she moved into the deli with Leo and Juanito. She promised to work at the deli as an extra helping hand.
With Kayla around, deliveries and orders were easier to do. Juanito was able to catch up on paying debts and buying groceries for the two kids he was now taking care of.
Juanito had suspected that foul play was involved, but whenever Leo would ask why, Juanito would tell him that the matters were too complicated and that he would never understand. But later on, Leo was able to convince Juanito to tell him what he was thinking and the answer was that one of the Five Families had done it. He was entirely unsure of which one, but he knew that one family did it.
The one thing Leo was never able to learn though was the letter that he gave to Givinni that day. Whenever Leo brought it up to Juanito, Juanito would curse in Italian and gave Leo the idea that he really would never find out.
From time to time, Kayla would go out to the back and cry for the loss of her uncle. Leo would hear her and would comfort her in the back, telling her that we would all pass someday. She stopped crying three weeks after the funeral.
As for Juanito, Leo noticed that from time to time, he would go out to the back of the deli, and not for a smoke or rest, but for something else. On a weekly basis, the same two men would come to the deli and ask for Juanito to meet them at the back alley.
On one weekend, Leo quietly followed Juanito to the back and overheard his conversation with the two men. As Leo recollected it, the two men were members of a certain family—Leo was unsure which one—and they demanded money from Juanito. As far as Leo could remember, Juanito didn't owe anyone anything anymore.
After awhile, Leo realized what these two men were demanding from Juanito: extortion money. Leo couldn't believe the deep shit he was in.
Their weekly visits continued and during each visit, Leo would again follow to try and figure which family these two belonged to. They wore dark golden suits; it was a color that Leo didn't recognize on any of the Five Families. Did any of the families change colors? Or was there a new family starting out business by extorting one of the most respected businessmen in Little Italy?
Either way, things did not go so well in the following weeks as the two extortionists demanded even higher prices and Juanito was soon losing more money than earning it. Juanito then made a decision one night; it was a decision that would not only change his life, but the also lives of the two children he took care of.