Love Child (eBook)

James W. Sacony (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022 | 1. Auflage
118 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-6678-7674-0 (ISBN)

Infos

'Love Child' is a tale of two sisters, who were torn apart by misfortune at a very young age. However, as fate would have it, they were reunited by a love much greater than their own.

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"e;Love Child"e; is a tale of two sisters, who were torn apart by tragedy at a very young age. As a toddler, Madison was taken by the authorities for adoption. This was heart-wrenching for Maggie who as a young child was left alone to navigate the Foster Care system. As time will prove fate is not favorable to Maggie as she fights the drug demons that haunt her putting her life on a path of love, destruction, and death.

Textauszug

Chapter 5

Who are they?

Two and a half years later, special agent Adison Burke, a decorated field agent and a highly skilled psychologist for the D.E.A. is escorting Gianni on a bumpy flight to Philadelphia for a special debriefing. Unaware that the meeting is a setup, meant to further the investigation of senior agent Jo Kerami and special agent Eddie Cortez, Adison continues her assignment focusing on Gianni’s mental health. Trained to understand the dynamics of mind manipulation, her proposed assignment is to detect abnormalities in Gianni’s personality. Adison has spent years undercover for the Government and has extensive experience recognizing confusing realities and consequently understands the mass complexity of the relationship with criminals. Special agent Burke has been briefed that this assignment has an unspecified special meaning, yet to be disclosed.

Her first order of business is to evaluate whether he is living in dual realities separately and safely. Knowing that trust is the only bridge that will join them together, Adison prepares for their debriefing, realizing that it will only bear witness to what he wants them to know. Frustrated that it was necessary to pull him in when he was just weeks from bringing down the world’s most notorious Drug Lord, Carlos Mendoza, Gianni plans to use this opportunity to execute his overdue revenge. With tensions building, and a power struggle ensuing between Carlos Mendoza and Gianni, he decides to press his authority by eliminating the Mendoza family/ Santo family connection in Philly.

Reclined in his seat, with his sunglasses covering his eyes, he listens to Adison nervously shuffling her papers as she reviews her assignment file, which includes his picture. Closing the file, and feeling somewhat intimidated Adison looks up and asks has anyone ever told you, you look like Jesus?

Patiently waiting for an answer, his eyebrows rise, then he says what part of me looks like Jesus. Your eyes Adison replies, again there is silence. Realizing she is nervous, he tries to be kind, and says there were no cameras when Jesus walked the earth, so how would you know my eyes were like his? Stumbling to reply as her body temperature rises, and her cheeks begin to blush as she says, I don’t, just what I’ve seen in the movies, again there is silence. Playing a head game with her, he asks so you believe all that you see in the movies?

Now insulted, she emphatically says NO. Again, silence echoes loud as Gianni tries to ease the awkwardness he created. These are my Mothers eyes, and she would have loved the reference to Jesus, he was her favorite. Still in the same position he pauses a moment then says life is amazing, I never thought I would have a relevant opportunity to share some of my crazy family history with someone. However since you imply that I favor Jesus you might find this family history interesting.

I am a descendant of Pope Alexander VI who ruled the Catholic Church from 1492 until 1503. His family name was Rodrigo de Borgias, and as history has revealed, the inspiration for the image of Jesus that the world has grown to worship is of his oldest son Cesare (Ces/a/rae), who I am a darker version. With a puzzled look on Adison’s face Gianni says don’t be shocked, the Catholic Church was ruled by greed, and self-indulgence for many years, and yes Popes did marry at that time. Unaware of Adison spiritual beliefs, Gianni decides to refrain from further religious confrontation that may intimidate her. Feeling somewhat trivialized and irritated, Adison detests the silence that once again separates them; however knowing that there are listening devices throughout the plane Gianni intentionally avoids conversation. Blind to his reason for his cold shoulder, Adison views his continued silence as rather rude to say the least. Annoyed by his arrogance Adison persists to ask her questions, expecting his mind games to continue. Could you please explain your aliases Adison asks? With the silence deafening for a moment, he then says which one.

Surprised, yet appreciative of his somewhat amenable change of demeanor, Adison says let us start with the Prince. With his head resting against the seat he hesitates to answer her irrelevant question. However knowing he cannot escape her persistence, he replied many years ago, I earned this infamous reputation and gained the respect of the world’s drug lords because of my ability to create the wealth and freedom they now enjoy. Reflecting a moment he explains, it has not been easy playing both sides against the middle, pausing he adds, I have been lucky to have accomplished what I have, and still be alive. Nodding in agreement, she asks who “Gianni” is. Understanding her job, he willingly says that’s a little more personable, with his sunglasses still covering his eyes, he leans toward her, removing his glasses, and continues to say, I bet you are wondering if Gianni is my altered ego.

That will depend on your answer, she replies. With a deep sigh, Gianni says when I was a teenager I befriended an elderly Sicilian immigrant by the name of Emilio, who worked in the maintenance department at the recreation center in my neighborhood. One of his duties was to walk the playground picking up the litter with a pole that had a metal spear on the end, and a plastic trash bucket, all the while singing Italian love songs. The kids in the neighborhood would taunt him calling him names, and from time to time, they would throw stones at him. When Emilio would yell for them to stop, they would laugh at his broken English, and call him stupid.

I felt his pain growing up in this predominantly Polish and German neighborhood where they called me Half Breed, Mollie, Dago, Wop, Guinea, some of the same names they called him. I remember as a little boy asking my Nonna (grandmother) what those words meant; she told me that they were hate words which left me wondering why Italians were so unloved by some. When I asked why I was darker than her she explained to me that my Father’s mother was Sicilian, and a descendant of the moors, who ruled Sicily for two centuries and were primarily Arab, Spanish, and Amazigh (Berber). In other words, they were darker skin people, and her daughter, who was my mother, was a lighter skin tone Italian. My ethnicity confused my fair-skinned neighbors, because they were not used to seeing someone with white features and darker skin color. Anyway, I fought most of the kids in the neighborhood, defending this man because he was the grandfather I never had. His accent was strong, and I was not familiar with the name Gianni, I thought he was calling me Johnny. Then one day I asked him, why do you call me Johnny?

Frustrated he said no, no, I call you Gianni, Gianni as he emphasized the “G,” causea you looka like my Gianni who wasa my grandson. Then he started to cry, and through his tears, he told me, he loved his grandson so much but never told me why he was crying. For years, I wondered how much I looked like him, then one sad, cold, snowy day Emilio passed away, and I attended his funeral. Greeting me in the sparse reception line was his granddaughter who said to me you must be, she hesitates holding back her tears then said you must be the young man my grandfather called Gianni, nodding my head yes I asked how did you know? Reaching for a picture on the table beside her, she hands it to me. It was as if I was looking into a mirror…we could have been twins. She went on to say that he died of a drug overdose about the time Emilio blessed me with my new name.

Her eyes dropped to the floor, and began to tear again, then said you were who my grandfather wished my brother could have been. Adjusting to the American way of life was hard for my brother who would beg every day to return to Sicily. He had no friends, and coping with the bullying at school became too hard for him to deal with so to ease the pain he turned to drugs. His passing was extremely sad for my Grandfather who felt like he failed his grandson because it was he who encouraged my parents to move to the land of opportunity. Coming to America was supposed to be a good thing. Holding back her tears, I hugged her, and said I answer to Gianni in honor of Emilio. As we separated, I smiled and told her that my neighborhood friends found it easier to call me Gianni because there were too many Jimmy’s in the neighborhood.

Kissing me on the cheek she said thank you for all you have done for my grandfather, you helped him heal from his depression, you filled the void and made him happy. As I walked away, I could not help but be angry at all those who were so mean to him but unfortunately, the lack of tolerance for someone different than themselves created the dividing line in my neighborhood, and the color of your skin really did matter to some. Realizing she just found some common ground, Adison utters, I know that world, and it hurts to hear words of ignorance that causes such emotional pain. My adoptive parents were interracial, my mom was black and my dad was white, and I fit right between them with my light coco color skin tone with white features. I remember one Christmas my Mom took me to a department store to have our picture taken as a Christmas gift for my Dad to display in his office.

She was so excited; she dressed me in a red jumper with a white blouse, and black patent leather shoes. I remember looking at her and admiring how pretty she looked in her holly green blouse and tan slacks with matching green shoes. We were planning lunch when the receptionist called our name and we walked back to the photographer studio where the photographer looked at me and...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 30.11.2022
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-10: 1-6678-7674-0 / 1667876740
• ISBN-13: 978-1-6678-7674-0 / 9781667876740