TOMMY AND BENEDETTI SPENT THE DAY organizing things for the new position the young man would take on. After leaving Tony's mansion, they went downtown and visited some men's clothing stores looking for new, better quality suits. They had no talent for clothes, so doing that was almost a challenge...
— There are three things I've given up trying to do... — Benedetti grumbled, holding shirts and ties while Tommy went into a dressing room to try on the new clothes.
— And what would they be? — Leone asked, struggling to adjust his tie in front of the mirror.
— Learn how to cook, have patience when choosing clothes, and know what a woman thinks, at least once in my life... — he replied, smiling.
The young man looked at him sideways and raised an eyebrow, frowning.
— I only want one thing — and he tightened his tie, which was noticeably crooked at his collar — to make my wife happy — And I leave those things to her!
Benedetti laughed, a little embarrassing considering the elegant store environment they were in. He smiled and replied:
— And the boy wants to start with the most difficult part!
— Yeah... I know, I know...
— I tried once... — Carl said, breathing slowly, as he scanned the floor of the place, looking for something to fix them on. — I wanted to please Sharon, we were still just dating, young, and I was just starting out with Francesco in the organization, Tony was a bottle-fed boy. I was like you. We were going to celebrate our first year of dating, and two days before she asked me what we were going to do.
— And what did you tell her?
— I said I wanted something very special and I decided to do the best I could, I got some money from Francesco, I bought a new suit, I asked my sister, Allison, to help me choose a ring, the most beautiful one, with a stone in the center, sparkling like a fountain of light. I also bought her a beautiful bouquet of red roses.
— At the time, that would make any woman jealous.
Carl smiled and continued:
— Allison herself was upset and almost didn't come to help me. She said I was crazy to spend all that money on just one night. She was so jealous of Sharon with me. On the day of our celebration, I took her to the best restaurant in the city at the time, the New York Palace, and asked for a table near the conservatory. That alone cost me two months of working on bread and water… After dinner, I put the small black box on the table in front of her and opened it slowly. I took the ring, put it on her finger very carefully, looking into her eyes, and said: for a year of happiness…"
— And what happened? — Tom asked curiously.
— When I looked into her eyes, she was staring at me with a frown, she seemed to want to kill me. She gave me a good slap in the face and shouted: how can you do this to me? From that moment on, she was furious and spent days without even speaking to me or welcoming me into her home.
Leone was surprised by her response.
— I knocked on her door every day. When she decided to let me in, I asked her what was wrong.
— And what was it?
— She said I made it sound like I was going to ask her to marry me — he concluded, as if telling a joke.
They both laughed a little, but Tom had to contain himself, because he could tell that deep down there was a nostalgic regret in his friend's story. He had lost the woman of his life; Tom had heard the end of the story before. That woman had been a tragedy in his life.
She thought Carl was a big man in the mafia, someone with money and power. She stayed with him for two years, until she realized that his checking account would never have the amount of digits she wanted. One day he found out that she had left, without a goodbye, without an explanation, without an apology.
While he was moping around the city's bars in his free time and while he was working, he discovered that she had left him for a sailor, perhaps someone high-ranking, who could provide him with the lifestyle he desired.
Since she left, no one has heard of another woman he had been involved with.
— I think someone must have finally asked her out... — Carl finished in a somber tone.
Leo tried to ease the sadness that the conversation had stumbled upon:
— I think I'll have to agree with you, maybe it would be easier to learn how to cook and pay a good tailor...
— But I see that you and Katy get along very well." Benedetti replied, giving him a jacket to wear.
— Yes, I don't know what she saw in me, but I feel like she likes it.
— Don't waste it, then...
The conversation was good and helped pass the time from the tedious task of choosing clothes. After a long afternoon, they managed to order the suits that were suitable for work.