A Mob Boss's Family (Book 2 Of The New York Mafia Trilogy)

2. The Hurtful Nightmare

Francesco woke up from his nightmare breathing heavily. He sat up on his bed and looked at the bed side clock. It was one in the morning. So it meant he had hardly slept for one hour after he had called it a day at work. He looked at Adele and leaned over to her and gently planted a kiss at the side of her head and whispered "You are my world sweetheart."

Francesco took care not to wake her up as he slowly got up from the bed and walked to his liqueur cabinet. He always needed a drink after seeing one of his nightmares. The effect of alcohol on his system was quick. It made it easier to endure the images of the horrors he saw in his nightmares. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and walked to the balcony door but didn't open the door. He didn't care about walking out with no shirt on and catching a cold. He just didn't want to wake up his angel with an unexpected wind.

Francesco started sipping from his drink and looked over at his compound. He tried to make himself forget his nightmare. He kept telling himself that he didn't need anyone anymore and had an empire that was the envy of the top business men in the world. Now he had power too. Plenty of it. His father couldn't hurt him and his brother anymore. He was old enough to move on with his life and be with the girl of his dreams soon. His Adele. His shining light. The first and only girl he had laid eyes on that he truly loved. He still remembered the first time he had seen her. it was the best day of his life. The day he had found a ray of hope in his life. The day he had found her, he had become convinced that miracles happened. He never dreamt he could find a woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He never thought he could find a woman that could ever walk in a room and make him feel like the luckiest man in the world just by being there. He never thought he could ever meet a woman that could light up his dark world with her bright smile. He never thought he could love anyone so much.

Then he heard her beautiful voice. She sounded sleepy "Francesco ... What is it? Why are you awake?"

Adele was afraid. She was still shaken up from the events that day that had gone by so slowly and painfully. The day Francesco had murdered so many people for revenge for his fathers assassination. She shuddered at the thought. She wasn't sure how to think about him being awake. Was he up to more dispecable acts even at that hour? She couldn't be sure. But she thought back to Costanzo's words. He kept telling her not to give up on Francesco and be strong. So she was putting her fears aside and making a conversation with him hoping to carry on their relationship as it was without showing his much he was scared of Francesco after a fresh reminder of what he could do and what he did for a living.

Francesco gave Adele a weak smile and leaned to the balcony window sipping from his drink. He whispered " I am sorry for waking you up sweetheart. I just woke up from a nightmare."

Adele was curious. She spoke " A nightmare? Really? Do you ... want to talk about it?"

Francesco sighed and put down his drink on a side table. He walked to Adele and sat on the edge of the bed as Adele moved slightly to give him room to sit. He spoke " It happens sometimes. I get nightmares. I just need a drink afterwards to keep me calm. I don't think talking about it will help."

Adele spoke " It's obviously bad enough to wake you up and keep you awake. Was it ..... about me or anything to do with me?"

Francesco shook his head " Not this time. Sometimes I see nightmares with you present in them but this one wasn't about you ..... It was about one of my last memories of my mother."

Adele felt sympathy for Francesco as emotion crossed his face. She moved her hand towards his. She gently took his hand in hers and spoke " Tell me. What was it about? I want to know what's keeping you awake tonight."

Francesco took a deep breath and looked thoughtful. He then sighed " Fine. I tell you. But it don't matter. It is from a long time ago.... My dream was a memory of the past. What i describe to you actually happened but its one haunting memory. It was a scene showing the last thanksgiving dinner my family had. All four of us. My father, Costanzo, I and my mother. All around the same table. My uncle couldn't make it for some reason that year. I don't know why. So Costanzo and i set up the table and my mother brought the turkey in and all those delicious pies she had made. We sat together and ate. And then ..... my father and my mother started arguing. They were fighting. I couldn't remember before why the fight had started till now but I saw it in this dream. It was an actual memory I had forgotten. I think that's what this nightmare was. It was me revisiting the past. One of my last memories of my mother ...."