AN: Here, Theresa finally meets Frankie's daughters, and she gets a taste of the problems in the Valli marriage.
Theresa was glad the initial ice with Mary had been broken. The next step would be meeting the daughters. Her thoughts drifted to little Francine, in particular. According to both of her parents, she was a total sweetheart, but she was a bit standoffish at first around new people. Theresa sighed as she mused over it, still partially distracted by the dishes she was washing. She was drying her hands, when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Rees. How are ya?"
"Oh, hi, Mary. What's up?"
Man, this was ironic.
"I need your help with somethin'."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Calm down. Nobody's dyin'", and she giggled before continuing, "I'm meetin' my sista' for a shared hair appointment, but every babysitta' I called wasn't available. Frankie told me you're involved in that kind of thing, so I was wonderin' if you could help me out."
Now, it was a double-irony. Obviously, Mary must've cleared this idea with her husband, before calling Theresa. She wondered if Tommy knew, too. She missed the guys a lot, since they were away on tour. When she remembered that Mary was waiting for an answer, she forced a couple of coughs as a plausible excuse.
Then, she told her, "Sure. I'll be there. I mean, I haven't met the girls yet, so I hope they like me."
"I think they will. They've heard enough about ya."
"Uh-oh."
The pair shared a laugh, before Theresa said, "Let me get a pen and paper, okay? I want to write down the directions to your house."
"Sure."
Theresa was full of nervous anticipation, while standing on the doorstep of Casa Valli. She took a deep breath, before knocking on the door and embracing the new milestone.
"Sorry for being a couple minutes late. I hit some road construction on the way here."
As she hugged her, Mary replied, "It's no trouble. I still got plenty of time."
It was then that the seventeen-year-old got her first full glimpse of the house's interior. The walls were sold white, and the floors were made of a light-colored cedar wood. The couches were suede and a pretty shade of reddish-brown. Theresa's favorite accessory was the small pillows: champagne-colored, but with red and dark blue polka-dots. She could hear several loud footsteps overhead, and she giggled when her eyes met Mary's again.
The older woman said, "It's like a freakin' heard of elephants, sometimes. I swear."
"Nah. They're fine."
"Yeah. Ya think so now", and she took a quick, deep breath before continuing, "Celia! Toni! Francine! Front and centa'!"
"Coming, Mom", an adolescent-sounding voice yelled back.
Seconds later, three brown heads appeared on the staircase, lined up diagonally along the bannister.
Mary put an arm around the seventeen-year-old and said, "Rees is in charge while I'm gone, understand? You betta' behave for her."
"We will", replied the girl closest to them.
She then walked over and introduced herself to her babysitter: "I'm Celia."
"I know. Your dad showed me pictures. I'm glad to finally meet you."
"You're Uncle Tommy's sister, right", asked the next girl in line.
The gold A-shaped charm on her necklace gave away her identity: Antonia, the middle child.
"Yeah. That's me."
Mary left a few seconds later, once she'd given each of her daughters a final hug goodbye. After shutting the door, Theresa turned to the girls and clapped her hands together.
She asked, "So...what would you like to do first?"
"I'm not sure", Celia said with a giggle, "We didn't really think about it."
"Well...okay. Check in your room, and see how much nail polish you have. We'll start there, and see where the wind takes us. How does that sound?"
"Great!"
She smiled, watching the girl jog back upstairs. A few minutes later, they were sitting cross-legged on the floor. A cluster of polish bottles sat in the middle of the circle they'd created. Theresa said they could go from oldest to youngest, in picking their colors. She chose a sparkly shade of red, which she affectionately called "Dorothy slipper". Celia picked a metallic shade of kelly-green. Antonia decided to layer two colors together, a solid sky-blue with a clear coat of pink sparkles, while Francine chose a soft shade of apricot. The youngest Valli girl remained mostly subdued, only smiling occasionally when one of her sisters would make a joke. Theresa was curious as to why she was being so quiet, but was a bit nervous about asking. She tried to think of a way to make all of them smile. The girls didn't realize it, but they suddenly gave their babysitter an idea.
When Antonia showed off the sparkle of her second coat, she said, "Pretty sweet, huh?"
Sweets. That was the answer. When she felt her nails were dry enough, Theresa ventured into the kitchen with the excuse of needing a drink. She searched through the cabinet, skimming past a couple boxes of muffin mix before she discovered one for double-chocolate-chunk cookies. Bingo. She was breaking the required eggs into a bowl, when a small framed portrait caught her eye. It sat on the counter near the sink, and it'd clearly been taken at Frankie and Mary's wedding. The happy couple were sharing a piece of cake, both smiling as they fed pieces to each other. Meanwhile, Tommy could just barely be seen behind them, sticking his head up over the tops of their heads. Theresa giggled over how much of a ham he was. While the cookies baked, she decided to teach the girls a boardgame they claimed to have never played before: chess. They did a couple of test-run games, more showing the ropes than truly keeping score. Then, over her shoulder, Theresa noticed that Francine was now sitting on the couch. The girl looked so lonely, randomely flipping through t. v. channels. She barely seemed to notice, when a spot beside her was jostled.
"Hi, Rees."
"Hi, sweetie. What's up? Are you okay?"
"Yeah. A little lonely, I guess."
She understood what the girl meant. Francine was missing her father. She hoped this wouldn't interfere with the bridge she was trying to build. She tried to think of something to calm the child down. An idea came, as she watched her twirl a lock of hair around her finger.
"Would you like me to braid your hair, sweetie?"
"What?"
"I asked if you wanted me to braid your hair."
"You can do that?"
Theresa replied, "Sure, I can. My mom taught me, when I was about your age. If you can get a couple of bands from your room, I'll do it right now."
"Mommy keeps an extra brush in the downstairs half-bath. She says it's for guests."
"That's perfect. I didn't want to go upstairs, anyway. I'd feel like I was invading your private family space."
A couple of minutes later, she was twisting Francine's hair into a perfect French braid. Suddenly, she got an unexpected question.
"How do you handle missing your brother, when he's away?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Just curious."
Maybe, the girl was looking for ways to handle her own stress, and she planned to use Theresa's answer as advice.
"I do things and go places that remind me of him."
"Like what? Where do you go?"
"Some of the clubs the guys used to play in. I have to show the owners my emancipation card, which says I'm to be considered aa an adult."
"That sounds cool", Antonia chimed in, "I wish I had one of those cards."
"No, you don't. Trust me", Theresa replied, "It's not all it's cracked up to be."
Then, she said, "I also go their favorite restaurants, and even music supply shops. The dude, who Tommy and Nick buys their strings from, knows me pretty well. Anything that makes me feel closer to them is fine."
"What about singing? Can you do that?"
Theresa froze. She hadn't been asked this question by the guys yet, but she knew it was going to happen sooner or later.
She thought for a minute, before answering, "I haven't sung in several years."
"Oh."
When the girl didn't pose another question, Theresa asked, "Can you sing, sweetie? Is that why you asked that?"
"What you said about connecting...I'd like to connect with Daddy in some way. There's nothing better than having a shared passion, right?"
"Exactly. You know, you speak very maturely for a girl of your age."
By that point, Theresa had finished Francine's braid, and the cookies were done. The youngest Valli girl was also in a much-better mood, which was probably helped by the warm, gooey treats. They were just about to clean up, when Mary got home.
"Seems like youse had a pretty good time", she said.
"Yeah. I guess we did. How did your appointment go?"
"It was fine. There was a fireman in there with his little boy, and he gave my sista' his numba'."
"Well, good for her", Theresa replied through a laugh.
Then, she noticed what'd been done to her youngest daughter's hair.
"Look at you, baby girl. That's so pretty."
"Rees did it. She said her mother taught her how."
Though Mary kept smiling, Theresa thought she saw a flicker of jealousy in the older woman's eyes. But why, though? She didn't get the time to wonder, though, because a folded wad of bills was placed in her hand.
"Thanks so much for this."
"It's no trouble. They were great."
As she went through the doorway, Theresa observed something odd. Mary walked straight into the kitchen and ducked down into one specific cabinet, taking out a bottle of what was either brandy or scotch. Antonia noticed the direction she'd been staring in.
As the door was shut, she whispered to her, "Mom's taking her medicine again."
With that, she was gone. Theresa mouthed the word "medcine" in a questioning way, as she walked to her car. She'd taken a relaxing bubble-bath and had changed clothes, when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"What's shakin', doll?"
She giggled. This had pretty much become their special greeting, by that point. She'd been looking forward to this phone call. It was the second of the three she got each week, something which the guys had promised her.
"Hey, Frankie. I'm doing okay. I finally used those aromatherapy candles one of my cousins sent me for Christmas."
"Oh, yeah? What for?"
"A nice, long bath. I kind of needed it."
He cleared his throat, shaking his head to get that image out of his mind.
Then, she asked him, "So, what's everyone else doing?"
He told her, "Tommy and Nicky are downstairs, shootin' pool. Bobby's havin' allergy problems, and the meds the doc prescribed have him knocked out."
"Well, hopefully, this will help him recharge for the show tonight."
"Yeah. Hey, how was your time with the girls? Mary said you'd be babysittin' 'em today."
"They were great. Very well-behaved."
"They better be."
Another giggle was followed by, "We had some girly time, painting each other's nails and baking cookies. I taught them to play chess, too."
"Sounds like fun."
But something else had happened, which wasn't so fun. In fact, it was downright confusing. As awkward as it was, Theresa needed his opinion.
She told Frankie, "Um...Mary did something that kind of bugged me."
His tone suddenly became nervous: "What did she do now?"
Now? She definitely hadn't expected that response, nor the tone in which it was given. She knew Mary had a temper. But clearly, there was still more to her than met the eye.
She went on to say, "As I was leaving, I saw her head to the liquor cabinet in the kitchen. She patted the girls on their shoulders, but she didn't really speak to them, before going in there. Toni said she was taking her medicine. Is that...normal for her?"
A sigh was followed with, "Sadly, yeah."
He made a noise she could only describe as a growl. This was followed by a shout and something heavy, crashing against a wall.
He yelled, "Man, I hate dis! It's part of the reason we fight so much! I keep tellin' her, doin' dis stuff in front of the girls is gonna destroy 'em one day!"
Theresa felt the vibrations of his voice against her cheek. She'd never heard him so angry before. And the more agitated he got, the thicker his accent became. She repeated his name several times in a soft, soothing tone.
"Take a few deep breaths", she told him, "Relax. You're not thinking clearly right now."
"I'm thinkin' just fine, doll."
He tried to sound sharp, but the fact that he'd used the nickname said he was already calming down. She didn't bother to ask what their other reasons for fighting were. Truth be told, she didn't really want to know.
When she felt everything was fully stable again, she said, "I know what this feels like, Frankie. Trust me. Addiction is a scary thing, especially when kids are involved."
He didn't know why, but he felt a tug in his heart at the way she said "Trust me". It was something he'd definitely have to ask her about at some point.
He said, "I hate havin' all this drama on my mind, when I can't be there in person to deal with it."
"I know, but there's nothing that can be done right now. You'll just have to push it aside, until you get home. Have a good time, and don't worry. "
She didn't tell him that the static, caused by his heavy sigh, hurt her ear.
"I'm sorry for losin' it like that, Rees. I didn't mean to freak you out."
"You didn't. I promise. I am here to listen, you know."
"Yeah. And I hope ya don't forget it's the same for us."
She made a soft, "Aw"-type squeal, thanking him for being so sweet. She then asked him if there were any other special things going on that he wanted to mention.
He chuckled warmly and said, "Well, Tommy's gonna kill me for spillin' the beans early. But we were thinkin that, once we get home, we'd take ya to meet our friend, Gyp."
"You mean that mob guy, you're constantly talking about?"
"Yeah. Gyp de Carlo."
"What family does he serve again?"
"Genovese. He's a capo regime for them."
He realized, when his answer was followed by silence, that Theresa had no clue what this term referred to.
He said, "That means he's a captain. Ya know, like...like an executive vice president for some big, corporate business."
"Right. You mean monkey-business."
She smiled at the laugh her comment earned. They'd would be home in a couple more weeks. She could handle the wait. She was a little nervous about what kind of picture her brother had painted of her for Gyp, and whether or not she'd be able to live up to that picture. That question remained at the forefront of her mind, as she later hung up the phone. She let go a huge sigh, before collapsing into the nearby armchair. It wasn't the first time she'd wondered what she'd gotten herself into, since meeting the guys. And it probably wouldn't be the last, either.
AN: Sorry for the delay in updating. I haven't been feeling well, and neither has my mom. We're having a lot of financial trouble, & somebody we've known for 19yrs said many nasty things in a recent letter. We're trying to sort everything out. Anyway...in the next chapter, Theresa will face yet another first meeting. She'll also be confronted with a major question, and early plans will start being made for her eighteenth birthday party.