It was just another sunny day on the Mediterranean shores of Eastern Italy, perfect for outdoor activities, and yet one could find a young couple spending the lazy afternoon laying together on a luxurious couch at some manor hidden behind nondescript XIX Century townhouses.
While the young man had his own house, as stately and fine as this one, but significantly more discreet and quieter, he rather liked to have his bride with him at the main parlour, where anyone could see them. In one hand, if surrounded by so many familiar and beloved faces, she would not be so alone; in the other, he felt an innate need to showcase his blessings to any willing (or unwilling) eye he could find.
Alas, in some unremarkable Tuesday, there they were, on the main salon of the Falzone family. Nicola had his legs laid lightly atop of hers as Liliana read him another passage from some random book she picked up and began leisurely reading aloud to him over the mild Summer of 1926, to muffle the violent noises coming from the streets outside.
His legs were much longer than hers, and they dangled off the edge of the couch, and the subject of the text was completely beyond the mafioso, but he did not pay any mind to it. He just liked being close to his woman, it is all that mattered, and if she wanted to read him some inconsequential romance, then it was all he cared for at any given moment.
While he did not get bored, that is.
He was, of his own admittance, flighty. While that woman held his undivided attention and his deepest desires at all times, he would often want her in different positions and different capacities. Variety is the taste of life, after all.
Alas, as the hours went by, the blond man began to get a bit bored of the book as she read for longer than usual, and Lili suddenly felt him move his feet off of her to lean his head on her poised shoulder.
Decided to naïvely ignore the movement, she continued on reading the classic play. The pious girl did not take those actions as a hint of her boyfriend's waning attention span, even when he began to actively fidget with her finely stitched sleeves like a mischievous kitten, which dangled as she turned page after page of the tome.
His childish playing often caused the ends of her expensive sleeves to become unstitched, but he would dismiss her complaints wadding cash at the problem, even under her protests. It was a beautiful and quite expensive dress, suited to a mob wife of her stature, and she would like to keep it in a good state for continued use.
The girl finally took the hint when Nicola playfully bit her exposed shoulder. It did not actually hurt, but she gave him a stern look nonetheless.
"What was that for?" She questioned, narrowing her green eyes in such a way the man found quite endearing, even if meant to display displeasure.
Nicola smirked in his usual wicked manner and his blue eyes, which denounced his holy heritage, quickly darted to her full lips.
"I'm just getting quite bored of the book, you see." He stated with a shrug. "I want to do something else with you now."
"Oh, really?" His girlfriend tutted. "What is in your mind, Nicola?"
He laughed and hugged her lean side, bringing her body back with him as he laid down on the couch once again. Lili laid down on his chest, closing her green eyes as she leaned her golden head into the taut crook of his neck.
Nicola felt himself smile slightly as he tried to get at an angle where he could massage her shoulders.
The girl felt herself melt into his arms as soon as he began his ministering. With the impending colonial war breathing down their necks, the ever-worsening political situation in the country and the usual concerns consequence of life amongst the mafia, life had been so stressful that she rarely had even a fleeting moment to calm down and ease her worries like this.
"Thank you, Nicola." She whispered devoutly, her warm breath hitting pleasantly his well-defined angular chin line. "I didn't know how much I actually needed that."
She brought her head out from his neck, opting instead to look deeply into the celeste blues of his eyes. The bon vivant airs of his expression would rest her mind and remind her that everything they go through would be worth it at the end.
He caressed the side of her beautiful face ever so slightly and, with the same confessional tone as her, he said, "Anytime, Lili."
He kissed her uncreased forehead, and the two of them drifted off to a calm sleep on the too small of a couch.