“So, I was thinking,” Libby said. “You’ve been to Paris, right?”
I laughed. “Yes, I’ve been a few times. Why?”
“Well, when Bernie was talking about all of those amazing cities in Europe, I found myself wishing I had been to all of them. I was just thinking that we could make a list and every time we decide to do a vacation then we could just check one off and go there.”
“Ok,” I said. “That would be great. We can definitely do that. No problem at all, honey.”
“Wow, I didn’t even have to twist your arm.”
Libby held my hand briefly and kissed me on the cheek.
“There are advantages to having your own jet. I don’t have to go through security. And I can take off whenever the thought strikes me.”
“That is true,” Libby said.
“Those are all perks of being in love with Mason Savage,” I said with a smile.
I was only teasing, but I realized immediately that I’d hurt Libby’s feelings a little.
“You don’t think the money actually means anything to me, not really, right?”
“What? Of course. I would never insinuate that, and if I did, then I’m very sorry.”
“Good. I would love you just as much if you were as poor as me,” she said.
“That’s good to hear,” I said. “Because I just talked to my accountant and the numbers aren’t good.”
“What?” Libby asked, her face growing very serious.
I held on a moment and then erupted in laughter.
“Gotcha!”
Libby scowled and hit me on the arm. “You prick.”
“Yes, I am sometimes. But you love me anyway, right?”
Libby nodded with a smirk and then reached over to touch my hand again. “Yes. I guess I have to now. You’ve saved my life too many times for me to not at least return some love your way.”
“Good,” I said. “I’m glad to hear that. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to hear you say it.”
Libby returned to her phone. It was only a few seconds before she gasped.
“NO! NO!” Libby yelled. She held her hand to her mouth trying to quiet her squeals of fear and pain. Tears were already streaming out of her eyes and I could tell she was choking on her emotions.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“Pull over…” she whispered, her voice strained and her head shaking.
I pulled the car over quickly, ignoring the jerky bumps on the side of the road.
“What is it, babe?” I asked.
Libby swallowed hard. “My news feed… it said that there’s been a big shootout between the Scarluccis and the Zeffaris. Many are dead. The Scarluccis came looking for them. It happened last night.”
“I… I don’t believe it…” I said. I read through the list of names. Most of them were guys I knew well. And the last name—Ranier Caplinger. Ranier was dead. Most of the highest ranking members of the family were gone on both sides. It was a travesty.
Libby held her face in her hands. She was bawling heavily.
“It’s all my fault!” She screamed.
Toby was starting to wake up in the back seat.
“What’s going on?” Toby asked.
“Quiet buddy,” I said. “We got some bad news. It’s ok.”
Toby sat there quietly. He stared at me, trying to understand what was happening.
I wanted to tell him; I wanted him to know, and to understand. I never wanted to be one of those parents who just assumed that kids were too young to be told the truth about things, but you had to do it in the right way and the right times.
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “This would have happened eventually with or without you. It was just a miracle that it didn’t happen sooner. That is the nature of that life.”
Libby nodded, trying to agree with me. But the guilt she was feeling—it was overwhelming her. I held her tightly and kissed her on the cheek.
I didn’t have any other words that would have comforted her. There really was nothing else to say to allay the responsibility that she felt for this tragedy.
I’d lost several people I considered brothers, and I was so sorry. I wanted to go and talk to the family, but I didn’t really know what the story was going to be. Most likely, with the highest ranking members of the families dead, the beef they had with me or with Libby would be squashed. I’d probably pay them anyway just on a measure of good faith, but the lower level guys wouldn’t care a bit about Libby. They would be too busy trying to see if they could rebuild even a little bit of what they had built up before. And that could take a long time.
“Babe, it will be alright,” I said. “Let’s find a hotel where we can lay low for a bit. I think we will be ok. There is good that can still come from this. I don’t believe that anyone is looking for us now. I know that Ranier and the other brothers would have taken some measure of comfort in knowing this.”