Vendetta (4 page)

     He walked towards the back of the room and entered the kitchen through the stainless steel double doors. Lucy quickly emptied the room and ordered, “No one is to touch this cake!” she said loudly, commanding everyone in the room. When Lucy spoke, everyone listened whether they wanted to or not.

     “Well, this is it, my Masterpiece! What do you think? Do you think she will be pleased?” Lucy looked at me curiously with raised eyebrows.

     It was a gorgeous three tiered cake. Extremely detailed with crème colored icing, purple roses and bright green foliage twisting and turning, cascading down the to the bottom tier.

     “This is the most lavish birthday cake I’ve ever seen. Lucy, you have really out done yourself!” Mark was shocked.  “You truly have a gift as a wonderful baker,” he said honestly.

     “Oh, you’re just saying that,” she said coyly.

     “I mean it, Lucy... it looks like a wedding cake!”

     “Thank you, Marko, you’re too kind! This is real ivy you know,” she pointed out.

     “It’s amazing what you’ve done with everything, Lucy, I couldn’t have planned all this out in a million years,” he laughed.

      “I know! Now, leave me, I’m very busy,” she grasped his shoulders firmly, almost too hard, as she quickly pecked his cheek, and disappeared through the double doors.

     Mark walked back out into the busy dining hall and thought about what Allies’ reaction to all of this might be. She was going to love all of this attention; that was for sure! All of her friends will be here, enjoying all her favorite foods. Anybody who knows Allie, KNOWS how she feels about her lamb chops! Mark stood and watched his workers hustling about, politely smiling and nodding at the few who happened to notice him.

     “Our little princess is all grown up,” Dom’s said in his usual deep voice, as he quietly walked up behind Mark.

     “Yes, she is, as much as I hate to acknowledge it. The inevitable has happened and way too fast, might I add,” Mark admitted.

     Dom chuckled. “She will be pleased, no?” Dom gestured to the dining hall.

     “She will! She might even be speechless, if you can imagine that!” Mark laughed.

     Not joking any longer, Mark turned and spoke directly to Dom.

     ”I want you to know, that your generosity is greatly appreciated. This will be a big night for her, and very memorable for us all. I thank you and Lucy both; I am truly in your indebted to you,” Mark said humbly.

     “You’re family, Marko. There is no debt to be paid. Stop thanking us, it isn’t necessary, as we all know you to be very gracious and sincere. Come, let’s discuss business,” Dom patted Marks back as they turned towards the hallway.

     Stepping aside frequently to stay out of the people’s way, they walked down the narrow hall to Dom’s office, chatting and addressing finished paper work for incoming shipments next week.

     “There’s plenty of extra help today,” Dom sat down at his desk. “Only Lucy knows what to do, and how to do it, so let’s not get in her way!” They laughed. “Everything will go as planned tonight, so don’t you worry about a thing.” Dom stopped smiling and cleared his throat.

     “I would like to address something with you,” Dom said.

    “Go right ahead,” Mark allowed.

     “You know how I adore Allie. I want you to know that I will always look after you both, regardless of whatever happens with the restaurant. I have no children and you’re the closest I’ll ever have to that,” Dom looked at Mark very seriously. Mark undoubtedly believed him. Dom was very trustworthy.

     Dom always spoke what was on his mind, and this made it especially easy to be his friend as well as a business partner. At least you know where you stand with him, and that’s a rarity these days. Mark had a great amount of respect for this man. However, this time there was a subtlety to what Dom was saying. Almost like he was hiding something… and NOT saying what he wanted to. NOT expressing what was really on his mind.

     “We feel the same towards you, Lucy, Nick, and Julie... we’re all family here,” Mark answered cautiously. He wondered where Dom’s sudden sentiments were coming from. Was the old man getting soft?

     “Dom, you gave a single father a job, with many promotions after and have always treated us like your own. I don’t take that for granted and I hope you don’t think I do either,” Mark said.

     “I don’t think that at all. Those promotions were given, rightly so,” Dom said, as a matter of fact.

     Mark nodded in agreement, still perplexed by the odd conversation. He noticed that Dom’s expression had become distant as he stared down at his desk top calendar.

     Mark hesitated briefly, but decided to say something. ”Is everything alright Dom? Is there something else going on here, maybe something with Anita, your sister? I heard she’s had difficulty with her Rheumatoid Arthritis,” he added.

     Dom looked up and stared intensely at Mark for a moment before his dark eyes softened.

     “Everything is fine, Marko, don’t you worry. Something’s just aren’t spoken as often as they should be. Yes, my sister has had difficulty getting around since Sophia, my niece has moved out on her own. I will be spending quite some time with her this weekend,” Dom stated.

     “I’m sorry to hear that. I‘m glad she has you to be there for her. Obviously, if there’s anything we can do to help you, just let us know,” Mark knew Dom would never ask him for help, but he saw how much this bothered him. He had never seen Dom so distracted.

     “Thank you, Marko. Again, there’s no need to worry,” he said smiling.

     “Everything will be just fine,” Dom assured him.

     Mark didn’t feel assured at all.

     Dom turned and opened a cupboard behind him and took out two wine glasses, placing them on his desk. He reached down and took out an old bottle of wine from his bottom desk drawer. Mark knew that this bottle was saved for a special occasion.

     “Now, dear friend,” he poured as he spoke, sounding jubilant, “Let’s toast! In just a few short hours our princess shall be arriving through the royal doors,” he grinned.

     Mark relaxed a little as Dom changed the subject. He also realized the sudden truth in Dom‘s words. Where had the time gone? His day off had flown by. That figured.

     They raised their glasses of deep burgundy and swirled it around in their glasses, inhaling the sweet musky aroma.

     “To family, and loyalty,” Dom declared, making sure their eyes met.

     “To family, and loyalty,” Mark repeated. They nodded and clinked glasses.

     Mark sipped on his glass of red wine, as his mind lingered on their earlier conversation. Mark was certain that there was something odd about it. Mark’s intuition beckoned him, but he needed to let it go. He was also certain of one other thing; that was that his daughter was going to have the most memorable night of her life, and he wasn’t about to let anything in the world ruin that. Maybe then, she won’t be so upset with him if she ever finds out that he paid her best friend to take her out for coffee.

                                     CHAPTER 2

                   
         FLOATING CANDLES

     Mark was sitting at the kitchen table with his back to the wall, reading the newspaper, when Allie came in through the back door. He asked her how her day was.

    
     “It was good. Well, I was busy at school, but the highlight of the day was the coffee shop! I loved it there, it was so peaceful and cozy,” she said happily, “very cool.”

     He didn’t look up at her at all, he just calmly nodded. “Good,” he said, “How was their coffee?” he asked.

     “Oh, it was amazing! The place is really cool Dad; you’ll have to go with me some time… if you’re not too old, that is,” she looked at him, trying to get a rise out of him. “It might not be your scene,” she joked, “but they do have newspapers.” He still didn’t look up.

    
She lugged her heavy bag over to the breakfast bar and flung it down on the counter top with a loud thud. Allie peered at her father through squinted eyes.

    
“Why do I get the feeling I’m about to be in trouble for something that I may or may not have done?” she asked.

    
He shrugged. “I don’t know, are you feeling guilty about something? Why else would you be so suspicious?” Mark grinned.

    
“Why?” Her eyes widened and she raised her eyebrows. “Because of that smile on your face, that’s why!” She coyly grinned.

    
He slowly revealed a gift box that he was hiding under the table. “Well, I might have a little surprise for you,” his twinkling hazel eyes and crooked grin gave it all away.

    
“Dad,” she said surprised. “Oh, my goodness… what’s this for? My birthday was almost two weeks ago. What is it?” she asked.

    
“Well, sit down and open it up… find out for yourself,” he gestured to the table and pulled out her chair.

    
She gently slid off the purple satin ribbon from the long white box and set it aside. ”We need to save this,” she mentioned.

    
Allie reached through the crinkly tissue paper and gently pulled it back, revealing her gifts. It was a black, satin dress decorated with sparkling crystals and beads. There was a purple ribbon sache at the waist. Another present was then seen at the bottom of the box. It was a matching pair of shoes of the same color as the ribbon. She sat down, without saying a word. She gently ran her fingers over the smooth satin shoes.

   
Mark panicked. “Do you like the dress, and slippers? Or flats, whatever they’re called. I picked it out myself and you know how I can be…” Mark was afraid he had picked out the wrong style. “Look, I know you’re not a little girl anymore, but I couldn’t resist, this one…. last time,” he gulped, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat.

     
Allie put her hand on her father’s arm to quiet his nervous chatter. She looked up at him... with tears welled up in her eyes. “There beautiful, thank you,” she smiled, as the tears blinked down her cheeks. “It’s perfect. I‘m never going to be too old for your surprises, thank you, Daddy.”

    
“Oh, come here, baby. You’re very welcome,” he hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “I didn‘t mean to make you cry, honey,” Mark consoled her. He couldn’t be more relieved that she liked his gift. Correction; Loved.

    
“It’s ok, Dad, they’re happy tears, I just appreciate it. It’s very sweet,” she said wiping her face.

    
“Now, I want you to go upstairs and get yourself ready. Put your new duds on, because we’re going out to dinner tonight, just you and me,” Mark said.

    
He helped wipe away a runaway tear on her cheek.

    
“Duds? Really, Dad,” Allie joked.

     “Yeah, I should’ve stopped while I was ahead,” he smiled. “Okay, run along…
tonight’s going to be really special!”

   
Allie grabbed her gift box and stopped at the doorway. She turned and said, “Of course it will be… it’ll be with you, Dad, and that’s all that matters.”

                                   ~                

     Mark guided his daughter into the restaurant wearing a blind fold. He explained that he had one more surprise for her. When he finally took it off, all of the friends and family, who had so patiently waited, jumped up and shouted, “SURPRISE!”

    
Mark kept his arm around her and walked her to the center of the loud, cheerful room. To say she was surprised would have been the understatement of the year. She was stunned with disbelief.

    
“What in the world is this? Dad, everybody’s here!” she exclaimed.