Post by Cross Recoba on Jan 5, 2019 20:28:47 GMT -5
Sicilians were not known to do anything religious by halves, Christmas time was no different. Cross looked around the living room he grew up in Cicero and sighed. His mother, Sophia, had been in the same house since they’d arrived in Illinois all those years ago and nothing had changed since his father had disappeared that morning - the flowers, though replaced, were still the same variety that Pipi had bought her the week before his abscondment, his recliner still faced the television, mercifully upgraded under duress to welcome technological advancements, and yet no-one was to sit there.
He looked back over his shoulder and saw her pottering away in the kitchen. Maria, his elder sister, had fallen into the role she played on Christmas Eve as a child - that of helper/skivvy, albeit now flanked with two little helpers of her own in Stacey and Francesca. Turi, his elder brother, sat in front of the television with his own son, Luca, and his wife, Bryony. Cross had agreed with his brother to avoid the game the night before and had acquired a copy of the tape. Palermo vs Spezia was never going to be shown on Fox or NBC anytime soon and so the legality of the tape was currently being scrutinized.
“Santino!” Turi’s voice had always been authoritative to Cross due to the age difference, the fact he was part of the Chicago PD now did nothing to change that, “How did you get the match so quickly?” The question was laced with an unspoken accusation.
“It’s DAZN, Turi, you could get this service.” Cross replied absent-mindedly.
Recoba had spent the entirety of Christmas Eve night in a similar fugue, his body present but his mind seemingly elsewhere, a situation his brother had being only too eager to exploit.
“You hear that, Bry? Cross got something legally…”
The dig landed but not outwardly, the trip back home had been something he’d planned but, lately, things had a way of flipping on themselves. Originally, Dakota and he would have been hosting back in New York State and they’d have escaped the piousness that encroached itself within the Recoba home, have escaped the empty place-setting for his father that was more ceremonial than anything by this point. That Sophia had stepped in to ‘save everyone having to deal with airports at Christmas’ was another string to the multi-faceted bow that Turi had been using to beat down his younger brother.
Recoba felt a tug on his jacket and looked down to see a very greasy handed Francesca looking up expectantly. Her small stature framed by the huge saucer-like eyes that brimmed with excitement and expectation.
“Uncle Santino….”
Cross looked down to acknowledge his niece.
“...when is Dakota getting here?”
Recoba struggled to find the right words, Dakota was the bigger star to the girls, her and Vannah, but the day she appeared opposite the turkey to him was the day that he’d start wearing Crocs.
“Millie told me I was full of it when I said my Uncle knew Kota but I stuck up for you!”
Cross spotted his brother watching with a little too much glee as to the predicament he found himself in.
“Dakota dumped Uncle Tino! Look!”
Francesca’s elder sister thrust her phone in front of her showing the paperazzi shot of Dakota and her new beau, Andrew.
“But, you promised!” Francesca’s voice now took on a whiney undertone.
“Don’t worry, he told me I could take some pictures with his belt but…” Luca chimed in to make a trifecta of trouble.
“...but he lost it in his first real match” there it was, the completion to the string quartet of torment. He made a mental note to get Turi back at the first available opportunity.
Cross looked at the clock and saw it was only five o’clock, they still had dinner and then a window before midnight mass to get through.
“Hold on, I’ll ring Dakota now, would a facetime call be a decent substitute? I need to go to the kitchen to wipe down my jacket.”
Cross extricated himself quickly from the living room and walked into the kitchen, he pretended to type a text to Dakota as he walked away from his nieces and nephew. He hadn’t spoken to Dakota since Copenhagen, he wasn’t sure if they weren’t talking but he wasn’t about to try and find out tonight.
“Santino! They’re right, but you pick the wrong women! We never met Kelsey, but she seemed to be more into cartoons than the kids, and now Dakota? Why don’t you settle down with a nice Italian girl?” Sophia had a great way of cutting out the preamble in conversation when it came to relationships, Maria sat in the corner preparing the crab legs for dinner, she wasn’t going to butt in when she could watch from afar.
Cross grabbed a cloth from the kitchen counter and started to dab at the grease marks before they stained too badly, ignoring any chance to take the bait.
“You could talk to Rosalia at Mass tonight!” Sophia’s voice lifted at her own suggestion, “You remember her, Stefania’s daughter? You two used to be inseparable when you were kids...remember when your father caught you kissing her in communi-”
“Mom, give it a rest! It’s Christmas, I’m not being set-up with a girl at church!”
Maria couldn’t help herself any longer.
“Yeah, Mom, he only dates wrestlers and models now…”
“They don’t have child-bearing hips though!” Sophia scoffed, “Your sister and brother have given me grandchildren, when are you going to?”
“Mom, I will do ANYTHING for you but I’m not going to have you arrange my social life..” This was forgotten and foreign territory, he was the one who made people feel uncomfortable.
“Well, I found something you left here last Christmas, and as you’re leaving tomorrow morning…”
“Yes…”
Sophia pulled out a titanium cane with a lionshead grip and thrust it in Cross’ direction.
“Take this with you to your next show, I’ve had the priest bless it with holy water, it’ll bring you luck…”
Cross looked at the cane, even if it had been blessed it still wrenched up memories from one of the lowest parts of his life. He looked back at his mother and knew this wasn’t an offer but a demand.
“No problem, Mom, I think it’ll bring me luck too...oh, got a text back from Dakota.”
At the mention of his ex’s name nieces one and two ran into the kitchen.
“What did she say?”
Cross looked at them and dropped his features into a look of sadness.
“Sorry, kiddos, she said she hasn’t got time for you both as you’re not real fans, if you were your parents would take you to her next show to be with all her other loyal and closest fans…”