“Elena,” Massimo called as he walked over to her. “Guests will be arriving any minute. Are you ready?”
Elena nodded. She slipped her phone back into her pocket–the conversation with her husband would have to
wait.
Elena took Massimo’s offered arm and followed his lead.
Everything was going well. No one was kicking up any fuss and Elena had yet to spot anyone from either the Vitale or Morello families. That’s why Elena wasn’t surprise when one of Massimo’s subordinates came running over–things had been too quiet for a mafia gathering,
“What do you mean the wedding officiant is gone?” Massimo muttered. His voice was soft and low so that no one could overhear them, but it held plenty of anger.
“He didn’t know it was a mafia wedding,” the servant hurriedly explained. “When someone let that slip this morning, he stormed out!”
“Wasn’t this officiant an old friend of Gavino’s?” Elena asked, confused.
“He knew him from his undercover days,” Massimo explained. “There was a big police department restructuring before Gavino got pegged as a mole, so not everyone knows his true colors.”
“So what do you want to do?” the servant asked. “We can’t hold a wedding without an officiant!”
“Stall,” Massimo hissed. “Get every worker on this wedding in on it if you can–but be discreet. I don’t want word getting out about this to anyone.”
The servant quickly bowed and ran off, no doubt to carry out Massimo’s orders.
“So where are we finding a wedding officiant on such short notice?” Elena asked. “I imagine any priests from the nearby church share the same opinion of the mafia as their head pastor.”
Massimo sighed and rubbed his temple. “There’s an older man about an hour away who’s ordained to do weddings,” Massimo suggested. “He’s practically deaf and blind at this point, but he’s a mafia man, so he can’t have any objects.”
Elena found her copy of Massimo’s car keys. “Then let’s head out now. I’ll drive.”
“I can’t believe Gavino wants a traditional ceremony,” Elena said as she drove along the winding Maine roads. Despite the circumstances, it was a rather peaceful drive. “With a real priest and everything.”
“It’s pretty standard for mafia weddings,” Massimo explained. “Almost every mafia wedding is overseen by a man of the cloth.”
“That’s crazy,” Elena replied.
“The founding families of the mafia were Italian immigrants,” Massimo said. “They were very religious, so of course the more conservative mafia families would be, too.”
“So what, they just ignored the parts of the bible that said can’t claim to be religious and then pick and choose w
to do murder or any crime?” Elena shot back. “Yo!
and do not apply.”
1/2
Chapter 1
+25 Bonus
“Things were different in the beginning,” Massimo admitted. “There was less conflict. But these days, the religious aspects are mostly symbolic rather than done in good faith.”
“You can say that again,” Elena replied. “I feel like the reason half of the dons like stained glass windows in churches is because of the artistry and price tag–maybe the respect for tradition. But none of them share the beliefs,”
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