Greater Than Rubies, a Novella inspired by the Jewel Trilogy (22 page)

She couldn’t get over the look on Tony’s face, the absolute helplessness. She wanted to go to him and take it all back and let him put the ring back on her finger, but she couldn’t. The thought of conceding and what that meant she’d have to face – she just couldn’t do it.

“Please God,” she said, “help me. Guide me in this.”

She heard the door open and she turned her head, startled. It partially surprised her and partially annoyed her when Sofia and Caroline came through the door.

The two pastors’ wives could not look more different – Sofia in her trim camel colored suit perfectly coifed, Caroline in her blue jeans and flannel shirt with her red hair sticking out everywhere. Robin could not love either woman more but she felt she needed solitude and privacy just now. They marched right up to her and then sat on each side of her making it clear they were here to stay. Caroline took her hand and Sofia put her arm over her shoulders.

Giving in, Robin rested her head on Sofia’s shoulder and sobbed. “I – “

“Hush, love,” Caroline said, “just let it out.” She handed Robin a cotton handkerchief, and Robin sobbed into it until it was soaked with sweat and tears. When she finally felt like she could cry no more, she closed her eyes and willed the headache to fade away.

“I called Stephanie Giordano,” Sofia said. “She had not heard from you yesterday or today. That tells me you didn’t cancel plans, and
that
, my very young child, tells me that you do not
want
to cancel plans.”

Robin’s sigh shuddered out of her body. “Of course I don’t want to cancel any plans. In the midst of destroying the most amazing man on the planet, I simply forgot to call my wedding planner. I’ll get on it right away.”

Caroline ran her hand over Robin’s hair. “Do you know why I don’t have any children of my own?” she asked, her Irish voice lyrical and overwhelmingly comforting. Robin shook her head. “Because a man hurt me when I was far too young. It was actually a miracle I even lived. But I did, though the doctors in Dublin told my mother that I’d likely never have children. Turns out they were right.”

Robin felt the air leave her body. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“I have had decades to heal,” she said, “and the love of a good man. It wasn’t easy trusting him, but I’m so very, very glad I did. I may never have known the special and private beauty God, in His incredible wisdom, has given husbands and wives.”

“God created a perfect planet,” Sofia said. “Then Eve took of the fruit, Adam took the fruit from her, and it broke the perfection. The world is groaning from the weight of sin. What God originally designed is not what is today.” She hugged Robin. “God’s nature is contrary to the violence that you, and so many others, have experienced.”

Caroline interjected. “Tony’s past is filled with women who abandoned him. Women who were supposed to take care of him, and love him, and nurture him, and protect him. Instead, at too young of an age, he had to take up for himself. His past is riddled with drugs and abuse, and the only love he could find was the momentary kind that he occasionally paid for, much to his present shame.”

“God has given you to Tony as much as He has given Tony to you. You two can heal each other and become one together. Not just physically, but spiritually as well,” Sofia said.

“I don’t know how –” Robin said, her voice hitching.

Caroline interrupted. “As comfortable as you are with Tony, just holding hands, talking, laughing, kissing, a physical relationship beyond that will be just as loving and fulfilling.” She put a hand on Robin’s wet cheek. “I know this, love. I live it. You can’t imagine it because you’ve never known it. But I tell you, child, I mourn for your loss if you never know it.”

Robin put her elbows on her knees and laced her fingers, resting her forehead against her hands. “What if it’s not?”

Sofia ran a hand over her hair. “It will be. But if there is a problem, you simply pray together. Everything will work out. God brought the two of you together, and He will work it out.”

“Let’s pray together now,” Caroline said. “We’ll pray for you to have wisdom and we’ll pray that your heart not be troubled and be strengthened for the path ahead.”

ERRICK
DeNunzio sat outside Tony Viscolli’s office wearing black slacks, a white button down shirt, and a waiter’s vest. He was proud of his clean, crisp uniform.

He tried to start seeing himself through Tony’s eyes. Tony had seen something in Derrick from the first time they met. Derrick had run out of options in his old life. He was miles underwater and drowning before Tony had thrown him a lifeline. Derrick had grabbed it and was hanging on by his fingernails and toes. He determined that he would work hard for Tony, show the man what he could do.

Derrick discovered that, for maybe the first time in his life, he was actually applying himself very tactically to a present path of work and personal sacrifice in order to strategically accomplish future goals in a committed way. That commitment and that personal hard work and sacrifice made him realize something even more shocking. He figured out that this new feeling he had been feeling since he decided to follow this path was a feeling he had never before had any reason to feel. He felt proud of himself and he felt valued and valuable.

But in the last few weeks, something had been on his mind more and more. Something he couldn’t wrap his head around – or his heart. Or maybe his soul, he wasn’t sure. It was something and he didn’t really have anyone else he could talk to about it so he had made a breakfast appointment with Tony.

Tony arrived at 8:15 and Derrick found himself standing, unconsciously balancing his weight on the balls of his feet out of years of pure habit. He nodded a greeting to Derrick and said, “Margaret, could you please have the kitchen send up something hot for the two of us. Maybe some hot bagels and some cream cheese, too. No hurry.”

Tony turned back to Derrick and gestured that the younger man should precede him into his office. Having worked the nightshift and not having seen Tony for a few days despite living in his apartment, Derrick said, “Good morning, sir.”

“Just getting off?” Tony asked.

“Yes. It’s a long shift until eight.” Derrick’s muscles felt slightly fatigued just from battling his body’s desire to sleep.

They settled down on the couches as they had the very first time Derrick had ever come to this office. Tony remained silent, letting the young man collect his thoughts, lost in his own. Four days had gone by since Robin had visited him, and he felt like he was trapped in a swirling abyss. He simply did not know what to do next. The only thing, and it was truly the only thing, that kept him moving forward day after day was the fact that everyone in his employ involved in this wedding still thought Robin was going through with it. Robin hadn’t canceled anything yet. He still had hope.

It almost took them both by surprise when, after a few minutes of silence, the breakfast arrived. Tony let Derrick pour them coffee, noticing the ear marks of Derrick’s waiter training as the young man set the cups ‘just so’ and arranged the silverware to the Viscolli Boston standard on the cloth napkins to the right of each plate.

When Derrick didn’t touch his food or drink, Tony finally spoke again. “Why don’t I bless this meal and then you tell me why you called this meeting, Derrick.” It wasn’t a question.

Derrick nodded. Tony blessed their meal and sipped his coffee as Derrick began to speak. Tony pushed aside all thoughts of Robin, knowing he needed to be all there for Derrick.

“Mr. Viscolli, I have to tell you something. The other day when we was, I mean, when we were helping Robin and her sisters move, you were telling Robin and them that you knew I didn’t steal anything. You know, those jewels. Her jewelry. I don’t know if you know, but I heard you. I was just outside her bedroom door, in the hallway, and I heard you.”

Tony pursed his lips. “That’s fine, Derrick. I didn’t say anything I wouldn’t have said in front of you.”

“I know, Mr. Viscolli. I just …” His voice suddenly stopped working. Derrick found himself in a surprisingly awkward and precarious state. There was a giant lump in his throat that his words couldn’t get around and he couldn’t breathe past it either. He felt tears welling up in his eyes and he suddenly hung his head in shame when he realized that he was about to break down and cry in front of this man.

As unmanly and silent tears streamed down his face, he felt a strong hand grip his shoulder. “What is it,
figlio
? Tell me what is bothering you so.” Tony urged.

Derrick gasped a baritone sob and heard silverware tumble as he grabbed his cloth napkin and covered his nose and mouth. Tony just kneaded the younger man’s shoulder and somehow, someway, Derrick knew that the older man had started praying for him in that second.

After perhaps half a minute, Derrick’s thick voice found its way out again. “No one has ever spoken up for me like that before. No one. Not even my mama.” His voice vanished into three breathy, strangled sobs. Through gritted teeth, he said, “You have everything and I can’t do anything for you. I looked around my room and realized something last night. I got almost nothing you didn’t give me. Even the room you gave me. And I got nothing worth anything that you didn’t. I don’t understand this. I don’t understand you. Why would you take up for me like that with them? How did you know I didn’t steal that stuff?”

“Ahh.” Tony clapped his hand on Derrick’s shoulder. “Okay. I understand. I’ve been waiting for this, actually.”

Tony walked over to the bookshelf behind his desk. He opened a file cabinet drawer and pulled out a miniature board game. It was a travel sized edition of the game of
Monopoly
and Derrick had a serious moment of doubt, wondering what a multi-billionaire was doing with a kid’s game in his desk drawer.

“You know how to play this game?” He asked casually.

“I played a few times as a kid.”

Tony met his eyes, “Ever win?”

Derrick shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe.”

“Well, tell me this, how do you win this game?”

Derrick sat up. “I buy some properties and charge rent when you land on my property.”

Tony nodded. “While that is a stunning display of your economic grasp of
lassais faire
capitalism, charging rent doesn’t mean you win. What if I charge you higher rent when it’s my turn? That’s just how you play, right? Not how you win.”

“Well, I can use the rent you pay me to build houses and then I collect higher rent. Then I can buy hotels.”

Tony held up a little red hotel and then put it down on New York Avenue. “You mean a hotel like this one?” Somehow Derrick understood that Tony wasn’t talking about the little plastic hotel game piece, but maybe he was actually referring to a hotel like the one in which they presently found themselves, or the Viscolli Hotel in Manhattan, or Atlanta, or Dallas, or Seattle, or Los Angeles. “Then you win?”

“No, it’s a really long game. I would have to build houses and lots of hotels and eventually force you to sell and mortgage all your houses and hotels and properties and then I would have to buy them from you.” Derrick said. “Then I would have to charge you rent until I took your very last dollar. Then I win. I win when you are flat broke.”