“Are you sure you didn’t knock her off, instead of telling her to knock it off?” Mercedes joked.
“Mercedes,” Carlita chided. “I’m sure Brittney wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Her father, Vito? He was another story.
“Officer Clousen promised to call me as soon as he had more information.”
The newlyweds wandered back inside and joined them. “The wedding and reception were wonderful,” Shelby gushed. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you enough for helping to make this one of the best days of my life.”
“You’re welcome.” Carlita hugged her and then her son.
“We heard about Megan Burelli. Any word on her condition?” Tony asked.
“It’s not good. She’s in intensive care.”
Shelby’s eyes clouded. “I didn’t know Megan well. She’d only just started working at the post office. She’s a friend of Sierra’s, another co-worker.”
Reese consulted her watch. “I’ve got an evening shift to cover. I better hop to it and head to the trolley depot.” She hugged Tony and Shelby, and then Carlita walked her to the door.
“Thanks for inviting me, Carlita. This is the most exciting thing to happen to me since I kicked Elvira off my trolley,” she joked.
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early? I’ve got some stuff to return over on the other side of town.”
“The Big Peach and I will be here at seven fifteen sharp.” Reese gave Carlita a mock salute and strolled out of the building.
Carlita peered around the doorway, looking for Elvira. She didn’t see her, so she wandered to the corner, but Elvira was gone.
She returned to the nearly empty dining room and could hear the clatter of pots and pans coming from the kitchen.
Carlita eased the swinging door open. Dominic’s kitchen crew was gone. He and one other worker were the only ones left. “Before you put the food away, I would like to see if my kids want to take any leftovers.”
“Of course.” Dominic removed a pan of lasagna from the fridge and set it on the counter. “We have some lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, a couple of pizzas and some cake left.”
“Let me go round up the troops.” Carlita returned to the dining room. “Time to load up on leftovers.”
Violet ran over. “Cake! Cake!”
“We want cake too,” Noel piped up.
“Cake it is,” Gina smiled. “The cake was delicious. The food was delicious.”
“I agree,” Vinnie said. “My favorites were the appetizers.”
Brittney patted her tiny tummy bulge. “I enjoyed everything except for the chicken parmesan sticks. I’m pretty sure there were crushed nuts in them, and I’m allergic to nuts.”
“There aren’t any chicken parmesan sticks left,” Dominic said.
“The mini Italian cheese rolls were delicious,” Brittney hinted.
“I’m sorry. All of the appetizers are gone,” Dominic replied. “We have plenty of spaghetti and meatballs left.”
“Waste not, want not.” Carlita grabbed a stack of to-go containers and passed them out. Everyone loaded the containers with food, including Dominic and the employee.
While they loaded up, Carlita thanked them again and reminded Dominic he had a couple of days off before meeting again to go over the final details for the restaurant’s Friday opening.
After Dominic and the employee left, Carlita checked to make sure the doors were locked. She caught up with her children in the alley. “What a long, but wonderful day.”
“Yes, it was.” Tony gazed down at his bride as he squeezed her hand.
“My feet hurt,” PJ whined.
“These heels are killin’ me, too.” Gina ruffled her son’s hair. “We better head back to the hotel.”
“I want to go swimming.” PJ clung to his mother’s leg.
“I thought your feet hurt.”
“They do.”
“If you don’t knock it off, you’re going to get a nap instead,” his mother threatened.
PJ began crying.
“That’s it, Dad. Time to go.” Gina hugged Tony, Shelby, Carlita and finally Mercedes. “Everything was wonderful. We’ll call you tomorrow morning. Pirate Pete mentioned something about his Pirates in Peril show, and we thought we would take the kids.”
“I want to go, too,” Violet tugged on Carlita’s hand.
“Then that’s what we’ll do. The weekend matinee show starts at one o’clock.”
“Why don’t we meet you there, Ma?” Paulie suggested.
“What about you, Vinnie and Brittney?” Carlita asked.
“We would love to, but we’re going shopping at the outlet mall. I need to find some sensible shoes. Vinnie keeps telling me my stilettos are too high.”
“Brit agreed to buy a pair of two-inch heels,” Vinnie teased.
“But only until the baby comes.” Brittney wagged her finger at her husband. “Then I’m gonna start wearing my heels again.”
“Of course.” Vinnie kissed his wife’s cheek. “So we’ll be shopping tomorrow. How ‘bout we meet for dinner later instead?”
“Sounds good.”
“We’re gonna head out to grab some snacks. Brittney and the baby are craving potato chips and ice cream.” Vinnie and Brittney made their way to their car.
Out of nowhere, a black sedan with tinted windows cruised into the alley. It was Vito’s men. Ricco and Luigi followed Vinnie’s car onto the street.
“I see Vinnie’s bodyguards are still on it,” Tony said. “Shelby and I are gonna go change, grab our bags and head out.”
“At least the reception ended early, and you’ll have plenty of time to get to your hotel.”
The couple planned a short, two-day honeymoon, driving to Hilton Head, where they’d reserved a honeymoon suite at a beachside luxury resort.
The couple promised Violet they would take a longer, family honeymoon trip to Florida and Disney World later that fall.
Violet was excited about the trip but just as excited to be spending a couple of days with Nana Banana and Aunt Mercedes.
Tony and Shelby returned with their bags. Shelby dropped to her knees and pulled her daughter close. “We’ll be back before you know it.”
“I know.” Violet nodded solemnly. “Nana and I will
