Affliction Read Online Free PDF Page A

stop babying me.”
    She caressed h is cheek. “We can go if you like.”
    Amelda was staring him down. That fucking woman had a problem. “Yes, let’s get out of here.”
    Lucia tapped her glass with a fork to get everyone’s attention. When they quieted her charm is what Sergio admired. “Grazie famiglia. Sergio and I thank you for this lovely dinner.” She rubbed her distended abdomen. In four short months the bambino would appear and join those she loved. She was excited at the prospect and happy to have another chance to be a mother. Sergio was young and virile, and with him she was certain to have many more bambini. She was not like Amelda who cared only about business. She preferred to stay at home. Let the men go out and toil in stressful surroundings and then return to a peaceful abode. For her life, enjoying motherhood is what she wanted. She could do as she pleased in leisure and bring pleasure to her husband’s loins. Frown on Amelda, she thought and then beamed with the radiance of pregnancy. “I am tired, so we must go. Ciao!”
    As the couple prepared to leave, Lucia’s mother who spoke very little English asked about Sergio’s choice of best man. Lucia translated as they stood near the door perched to exit.
    “My mama says the wedding is soon and she must know.”
    Sergio had considered asking Uncle Nico to do the honors, but in light of the latest deaths, he decided to forego tradition and have his sister step in. The more he thought about it, the more he loved the idea of Tonya being at his side at this whirlwind event. “My sister is who I have in mind.”
    When Lucia turned to tell her mother, she shrieked and held her chest. “Aye…aye…no…no!”
    Sergio was shocked by the theatrical response . Mrs. Peglesi continued to wail bringing her elderly parents scampering to her aid. His eyes bulged when she shook a fist in his face, while shouting, “Heathen…ah mio…santo…santo…perché?”
    Lucia tried to calm her mother to no avail. Her other siblings appeared, stroking and talking in a language Sergio didn’t understand, yet .
    “What have you said to my mama?” Matteo scowled.
    A shrug. “That my sister is my choice for Best Man.”
    “Are you stupido?” Matteo bellowed.
    “Eh, fratello, por favore, this is not your wedding.” Lucia intervened in Sergio’s defense.
    Matteo’s eyes were granite. “Cazzo, you will give my mama a heart attack. Best man means un uomo!”
    Sergio shrugged. “Not to me.”
    The shrieks continued. Sergio was officially a heathen in their eyes. He refused to bend on who he wanted for Best Person, they could scream to the rafters. Once he started bowing to demands from Lucia’s thuggish family, he’d find himself always kissing their Italian shoes.
    “You will reconsider for tua madre’s heart will not take this, capisce?” Matteo sneered close to Sergio’s face with his garlic breath.
    “I didn’t know she had a heart condition, she looks healthy to me.”
    Matteo’s fist didn’t connect because he was rushed and detained by the bulky men who had joined the chaos. Their beer and wine stomachs did not hinder the strength of arms holding Matteo from doing harm to Lucia’s future husband.
    The sinister woman he called a wife said, “I suggest you take il ragazzo home Lucia and nurse him with your tit before he receives a beating from mio marito!”
    “Zitto Amelda!”
    Amelda was as belligerent as her husband.
    The yelling match that ensued between the women joined the chaotic wails of Lucia’s manipulative mother. Sergio escorted Lucia from the mayhem. “Come on Lucia. This isn’t good for the baby. To hell with this craziness.”
    “Sí, va!” Amelda smirked as she stood on the side of her husband who had shaken loose but allowed Sergio to leave without harm due to the pleas of a pregnant sorella and elderly Nonna.
    “Your family is nuts,” Sergio commented when they were safely in their car.
    Lucia laughed. “We are passionate