After the plane landed, we deported into the lobby with our stuff, and found Uncle Jimmy. He stood there with his wide belly and gray hair on top of his head; as soon as he saw us he opened his arms wide," Aye the last of our Familia!" Ma and I reluctantly ran into his arms," Hey Uncle Jimmy." "Hey tesoro." "My favorite brother." Ma playfully pinched his chubby cheeks. We let go of each other and headed to the car. We put our stuff in the trunk, Ma sat up front with Uncle Jimmy and i sat in the back alone. I miss Tony so much," Why so quiet back there Delona?" Uncle Jimmy asked. I looked at him in the rearview mirror," I miss someone." Suddenly Ma sighed and shook her head,"Tony, Tony, tony." I glared at her and looked out the window," Melina let the girl be in love." Ma shook her head and sighed,"Who is this..Tony?" "the greatest man alive..besides you Uncle Jimmy." I laughed at the last part and grinned at him in the rearview mirror. He caught my eye contact and smiled at me. Finally we got to the family mansion, by the grape vinery. Ma and i grabbed our stuff, we walked to the entrance while Uncle Jimmy followed behind us.
As we got to the door, Ma steadily opened the door; surprisingly everyone cheered when we walked in,"bentornato!" Mom squealed as she ran into everyones opened arms. Tony would've loved this, i wonder if he's thinking about me now,"Ezra...EZRA!" I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to the person," Yeah Ma?" "Say hi to the familia." I laughed to myself," Scusa, hi you guys." I hugged everyone and the guys took our stuff to the room that we're gonna share. Momentarily everyone went into the huge dining area and food was everywhere. All the adults sat at the dining table while the kids sat at the kid table. We passed around the different cuisines one by one. Everyones plates were full, overflowing with veggies and pasta. As everyone was eating and talking; suddenly there was a knock on the front door. Papa Sam got up from the table and went to the door," Aaah look who showed up everybody!" Soon he waltzed in with the guy i hate most,Leon. "Aye everybody." Everyone greeted him while i glared him down. Suddenly his eyes trailed from the family to me. He stared at me like a stack of steaks. I looked away from him and looked to my right; there was an empty seat beside me. I mentally sighed to myself. He immediately took his chance and sat beside," Long time no see Z." He glanced at me and smirked. I rolled my eyes, suddenly he grabbed my open hand and kissed it," Mmm, your like a fine wine.. With age you look AND taste better everyday." I snatched away my hand and made a disgusted face," Please go die." He laughed at statement and did his signature smile," You know you love me." Along time ago when i was about 15, i had a big crush on Leon, but he didn't like me. He said alot of disgusting, rude things about me, which literally broke my heart. Now that im all grown he wants to get with me. Not gonna happen ever." I despise you Leon." He laughed and dug into his plate. Gawd i hate him, he's so conceited and just ew. He's really cute but not enough for that ugly personality. "So, Ezra when are you gonna get a husband?" Aunt Debbie asked. Ma rolled her eyes,"Don't get her started Debbie." "Hopefully soon Auntie." I shot back from Ma's comment," So who is this lucky guy?" I smiled wide,"To-" "Me!" I was interrupted by the rude Leon. Everyone laughed but me. I would never marry that asshole," uuh no. Why would i ever marry YOU?" "Look at me, I'm gorgeous." "But your personality isn't." I shot back with an evil glare. "Anywho, his name is Tony, and i love him alot." "Are we gonna see some little Tony's running around here?" I blushed and put my head down to hide my embarrassment. Everyone laughed but Leon and MaMa.
Finally dinner was over, everyone went into the family room and just relaxed our bellies. I stood near the staircase beside the family room; suddenly a figure stalked beside me. I turned to the figure and saw Leon; i didn't feel like getting an attitude with him so i let him talk," So you're really with someone?" "Yeah, what does it matter to you?" He inhaled and sighed," i messed up Z." I glanced at him and raised an eyebrow," What are you talking about?" "I let you get away. I should've never rejected you." "Well you're right, you did mess up, cause i don't want you anymore." He sighed again," Obviously." I shook my head at him," I use to be so in love with you Leon. Everyday i would beg my mom to come here, just so i could see you... Now i know why i couldn't have you." "And why is that?" I smiled to myself," I met the man of my dreams." I shrugged my shoulders and strutted away into the family room.
After family time, all the women including Ma and me, got ready for bed. The guys stayed down to talk about business; i don't know why this late at night but they did. Before i went to bed i called Tony; it rung a couple times before he finally answered," Hello?" "Tony?" "Z? How are you pussycat?" I laughed at my new nickname," I miss you so much tesoro." "I miss you too pussycat." I paused for a moment," Tony whats the real reason why you didn't come?" I heard him sigh through the phone," You need to do some research on your family Z." "Why what they do?" "Im pretty sure someone knows down there." I sighed," Tony just tell me." "Do you want me to die?" "No!" "Then don't worry about it mane...Understand?" "Yeah. Well um i have to go. I love you." "I love you too pussycat. Goodnight." "Bye. Muah." I kissed him through the phone and hung up. I walked back into the room and laid beside MaMa in the bed. I cut off my lamp," Goodnight MaMa." "Goodnight sweetheart." She shut off her lamp and we went to sleep.
I woke up to the smell of breakfast in the air. I stretched my limbs and removed the covers from my body. I went into bathroom and took a shower. After i got out, i put on some clothes and went downstairs where everyone else was,"Morning Sleeping Beauty." Uncle Jimmy greeted. I laughed and took a seat next to Ma. "Good morning everyone." Everyone greeted me back as they passed me food from the table. As we were eating, i stayed quiet thinking about what Tony told me last night. I tried to concentrate on every story Ma has ever told me about our family and none of them were about killing people...well why would a parent tell a child that anyway?"Delona!" I immediately erased my thoughts and turned to my mom. I glanced at her very confused," ..yeah?" She pointed to Uncle Jimmy," He's talking to you." I shook my head and grinned a little," Im sorry Zio. What were u saying?" He raised his eyebrow and smiled," How did you sleep? By the way your acting, not to well, whats the matter?" I fake smiled,"Im just stressed out." I nodded as i took a bite out of my omelet." Whats stressing you out?" I paused," This family." I shrugged my shoulders and continued eating, While him and mom sat there shocked at my answer.
It was the afternoon and Tony's comment was still running through my head. All the guys were in the den while the ladies were in the living room gossiping. I was sitting there beside them silent as a mouse," What is wrong with you Ezra?" Aunt debbie asked as everyone turned there attention on me," I uh i'm gonna go." I got up and headed towards the den downstairs. I silently crept down so the guys wouldn't hear me. As i got near the bottom, i leaned against the wall that was separating the room from the stairs. I closely tuned in on what they were saying," Have you guys heard about the guy Sosa in Bolivia?" Someone asked," Yeah, he has drug cartel all over South America. He's biiig competion." "He's not as good as us. Hell, we started this thing." Everyone chuckled at the comment." Well if he gets in the way. He's gonna be sleeping with the fishes." They all chuckled again and i giggled a little bit," Did you guys hear that?" Oh shit, i quickly and quietly ran up the stairs trying not to get caught. I finally got out of there and went back to the living. Now i know what Tony was talking about; he would've been dead if he came here. God this is a relief but scary at the same time, knowing that the man of dreams could've died because of my notorious family.
*Aunt Debbie's point of view*
RING RING! "I'll get it!" I yelled to everyone as i got up from the couch. I paced over to the phone and grabbed it off the hook," Hello?" "Hi, is uh Z there?" "Yes she is. May i ask who's speaking?" "Im Tony, her fian-""FIANCE! Yes we heard so much about you. Now tell me, why didn't come over here?" I stood there for a moment waiting on an answer," You're family, is very notorious, with the drugs and all." I paused surprised at his comment, how does he know of this, its a family secret," H-How do you know of this?" "I have my can i speak with Z?"the last part of his sentence had a lot of attitude," Don't you dare disrespect me, TONY!" "Where's Z?" Suddenly i heard a sweet innocent voice through the phone," Aunt Debbie, i got it." "Ok sweetheart." I calmly put the phone on the hook, knowing i wanted to slam it and break it into little pieces. I quickly raced into the kitchen with all my sisters and cousins," Whats wrong Debbie?" Linda, my younger sister asked. I shook my head disappointedly," You were right Melina." She looked at me confusingly," Right about what?" I paused and looked into her eyes with sorrow," Tony." She shook her head and laughed humorlessly," I told you Debbie." "That little runt tried to get an attitude with me on the need to tell Ezra to leave his sorry ass." "I try to tell her Deb, but she doesn't listen." "His actions are rubbing off on her, she's acting just like you when-" "when i met Dion."
*Ezra's point of view*
"I really want to come back home Tony." "Then why don't you?" "Because my family Tony, they'll be sad that i left early." "Well if you come back early, i'll be here waiting on you. Aye i gotta go pussycat, i'll talk to you later, ok." "Ok, i love you." "I love you too." I sighed and put the phone back on the hook. I brushed through my wet tangled hair a couple more times and headed downstairs. As i was closer to the bottom i over heard Aunt Debbie and Ma complaining about Tony. I immediately ran down the last few steps and budded in," What about Tony?" Aunt Debbie impulsively stood up with anger," You need to forget about him!" "What are you talking about?" Ma stood up and faced me," He is not gonna be my son-in-law!" I stood there shocked at her sudden change of heart," What!? A few days ago you seemed like you wanted him to be!" "You better calm your tone down young lady!" I rolled my eyes and laughed humorlessly," I am so done with this family! All you do is judge me when you guys are no better!" Suddenly Ma's hand collided with my face. She has never hit me before. EVER. Suddenly tears began to run down my face. I backed away from the room of angry women and run up the stairs to me and Ma's bedroom. I grabbed my suitcase an stuffed everything in there. I closed it, put on my shoes and ran down the stairs with my stuff." Where are you going Ezra!" "HOME!" "You're not going anywhere Delona!" "Yes. ! I'm not your little baby anymore! I am 23 years old, you have no control over me anymore!" And with that, i ran out the door and ran as fast as i could to the city. I took a taxi that took me to the airport and paid for a ticket back to Miami with the money that Tony gave me. This was by far the worst trip back to Italy.