52

The next morning Charley went into Vincent’s office at the Laundry to tell him that he was engaged to marry his daughter, closing the door behind him. Vincent stared at him for several beats before he spoke. “You coulda said something, you sneaky fuck.”

“Whadda you mean?”

“You know what I mean. You took my little girl away from me, that’s what I mean.”

Charley thought about how he had been steamrollered by Mae and all the trouble she had caused in his life, but he felt sympathy for her, she was just a woman in love, a woman who couldn’t help herself.

“It hadda happen, a beautiful girl like Mae. If it wasn’t me, it’d be somebody else.”

“But do I have to find out about it from my little girl? Not from you?”

Charley sat down. “It just worked out like that.”

“The daughter of my heart, and you come right in and take her away and you don’t say nothing.”

“What could I say? She hadda clear it first.”

“No. That ain’t the way. You go to the father. You show respect. You ask the father if he will bless the union, if he will give his okay for you to ask the daughter to marry.”

“Only in the old country.”

“Here! Wherever. You coulda knocked me over.”

“So I am here to ask for your blessing, Vincent.”

“What can I tell you? Does a man give up a treasure?”

“It hadda happen. The time has come for you to get grandchildren.”

“Well, it’s not like you was an outsider. Angelo’s son. The son of my consigliere. My father’s oldest friend. His son.” Tears filled Vincent’s eyes. “My life is full, Charley. I give you the daughter of my heart with my blessing.”

“Thank you, Vincent.”

Vincent lit a large Mexican cigar to cover his mixed feelings and polluted the air of the room with heavy smoke. He decided to change the subject. “How long did it take the cyanide to work on Little Jaimito and his people?” he asked with professional interest.