The Twelve Vitali Ch. 06

CJ came in and set up her phone with apps to access a range of family details, as well as an email address specifically for her work with them. "I've put an SOS beacon on your phone if you are ever in trouble, hit it and we will find you, okay?" he said so seriously it made her wonder why she or anyone in this family would need it.

"This family is a bit too much for a girl like me who grew up with nothing to take in," Cat finally spoke instead of just nodding her understanding. "Is all of this really necessary? I don't need much, and I won't be here very long," she said, feeling so overwhelmed that she wanted to run away from everything just to get some peace and quiet. She needed some time to think and take it all in.

"I thought you did some work for the Vitali's?" Angelo frowned at her.

"I was hired by Vanessa's interior design firm about six months or so ago. I was just an employee though. Nothing like this," she indicated her leather card case and her phone. "Frankie I've known for years, he coached my brother and asked me to do that picture that Dante saw and liked for a charity auction. I never knew he was a Vitali at the time, or that he had bought the painting himself."

"I guess I can see why we may seem a little over the top, but, wait, there's more," he chuckled. "No, not that set of steak knives you were expecting, but," he handed her a business card. "You'll need a car to run around in while you're here. See Larry and he'll organise something so you won't have to call our driver every time you just want to go out and grab some milk and bread."

"That makes sense, I guess," she gave a half laugh. "Is that everything?" she asked.

"Pretty much," Angelo spread his hands.

"Do you think it would be okay if I just stayed here in the library for a little while, just to wrap my head around everything?" she asked. "These last two days have been the strangest of my life," she grimaced.

*****

Matteo was becoming worried. He had seen Pete return without Cat and asked him where she was and found out that she was meeting with Angelo about some of the details of her commission. When she hadn't appeared an hour later he went looking for her, questioning first CJ and then Angelo, who he found with Josh and Dante downstairs playing Mario Cart with the children.

"So, you and the painter chick, huh?" Dante smirked. "I'll help you look. She's probably still in the library."

"I dunno, maybe, there's something about her," he shrugged. "Not the type I would normally go for. You should have seen her that first night," he laughed.

"What do you mean?" Dante shrugged. "She looks pretty hot to me."

"Remember it was really stormy the other night? I'd gone home because your brother cancelled dinner. It was late, I was on the couch in my boxers working on a project when the door bursts open and a drowned rat with blue war paint streaked across her face pushed open the door and almost fell into the apartment. She looked a mess, trust me, the wet hair sticking out and the paint that had obviously exploded in her bag smearing her face. Not so beautiful." Matteo admitted with a chuckle. "Cute, maybe, but I wasn't in the mood to notice, considering the situation."

"Then what happened?" Dante asked, seeming concerned but thinking this was the beginning of another great story he could regale his friends and family with instead of constantly teasing Josh, who had seemed to make an effort to relax with the family today. He'd need to get Cat's version of events, of course, the women's versions were always funnier than the men's.

"She sat down and went through her bag, cleaning up the paint, went to clean up and came back looking less like a drowned rat and more like a beautiful young woman. She informed me that she wasn't leaving in no uncertain terms. I called you and discovered the mix-up, then I offered to take the couch. We had pizza and beer, which she ate most of, and we talked. She was pretty much unlike any woman I knew, and I liked that. Now we're friends."

"Friends with benefits?" Dante nudged his friend.

"I can't even get a first date with her while your family is throwing parties every day," he chuckled.

"I can fix that," Dante winked. "All you had to do was say so instead of trying to tell me nothing happened when I asked you last night."

"Peri has a secret 'girls only' room for when the chaos gets too much. She comes from a small family too, just her and her mum, no siblings or extended family, so she understands how overwhelming we can be, especially to new-comers. I bet Cat is there. Go back outside, I'll bring her down," Dante said easily, clapping him on the shoulder before walking off.

"This is where you've been hiding," Dante said, walking into the cluttered attic style room Peri had shown her to sympathise with her need for peace and quiet for a few moments.

"Who wouldn't want to hide here, this place is amazing," Cat grinned, not denying that she was hiding.

"There's a very good friend of mind downstairs with a sad face who's been looking for you, and this you ran away to," he said with a soft smile and saw her eyes widen. "A family this size can take a bit of getting used to, he just needs to know you're coping. He also thought you'd probably be hungry. He told me about barging into his room the other night with war paint on your face and eating his pizza before making him sleep on the couch. Sounds pretty tenacious, I'm not sure why he thinks you wouldn't be fine looking after yourself."

"That's not what happened!" she gasped and blushed deeply.

"So, tell me your side of the story," Dante chuckled.

"I let myself into the apartment because I had a key; I was supposed to be there! I certainly wasn't expecting a half-naked man sitting on the couch! He gave me such a fright that I almost tripped over my bag and fell coming through the door. Then, instead of seeing if I was okay, he ordered me to leave and pointed out that I had obviously broken a paint tube and had it smeared on my face. So I told him that I wasn't leaving in the middle of a severe storm and went to clean up. I offered to take the couch, but he insisted. He ordered pizza for us to share and tried to get me drunk so I would agree to go on a date with him. I think he just liked the idea of slumming it for a while." She grimaced and shook her head. "I meant that I don't usually run in yours or his social circles, and I was dressed in sweats at the time," she qualified the statement. "When he told me who he was I turned him down flat and went to bed alone."

"What's wrong with who he is?" Dante asked, laughing loudly at her version of the story. He could imagine that Matteo was finding this girl frustratingly attractive on a number of levels.

"I worked for an interior design company owned by the Vitali's, and I may have dated his brother for a little while," she admitted.

"So what? I dated Carlo's wife for a little while, and, well, I guess Peri explained that Josh met her first when she worked for him," he said as if it wasn't a big deal. "It's not like you married his brother, and even if you did, that's no big deal."

"Speaking of Josh and Peri," Cat remembered what Louisa had said this morning. "Louisa seems to have this theory about "How I met your mother" stories. She said that all of the desperately in love couples she knew had one. She's thinking about putting the women's versions into book form and calling it "How I met your father". I heard Margarite's story this morning," she smiled. "It is a fabulous story, but she said the way you tell the Josh and Peri story is way better than any other of the stories, and she couldn't do it justice." They had walked back out to the rear deck of the house.

"Hi, I was getting worried you had run away," Matteo said, coming close and placing an arm around her waist. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving," she said and smiled. "Seems I've arrived just in time."

"Grab a seat, I'll get you a calzone," he offered. "Beer or wine?" he asked.

"Always beer with Pizza," she laughed.

"Come sit with Dom and Fin," Dante guided her to one of the many tables that littered the back decking of the house. "They aren't quite as loud as the rest of us."

"Thanks, I think," Dom smiled warmly at Cat as Dante excused himself. "You're the painter who's going to be around during the gathering?" he asked Cat directly.

"That would be me," she smiled in return, assuming he meant the family gatherings and events Peri had mentioned would be happening over the next few weeks.

"Rosanna and Angelo do such a great job out there getting everything ready, the property turns into a village atmosphere, complete with markets and everything, you'll love it!" Finola said enthusiastically.

"I only met with Peri for the first time on New Year's Eve, so I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about, but it sounds wonderful," she agreed. "At the moment, I am just trying to get to know all the faces I need for the painting. Would you mind if I doodled while we talked?"

"Not at all, but you may want to swap seats, this is my good side," Dom chuckled, making Finola roll her eyes at him.

Matteo and Dante arrived back with food and drinks a little while later, and Cat slipped her sketchbook into her carryall and accepted the beer Matteo handed her.

"May I look, please?" Finola asked. "I have always wished I was better at drawing."

"It's just a rough doodle," Cat said quickly, but seeing everyone turn to watch her she nodded and passed the sketchbook over after flicking through to the page where she had tried to capture Dom's facial features and written small notes for herself.

"If this is a doodle I can't wait to see the real thing!" Finola looked up at her in amazement. "You have a real talent." She smiled. "Did you go to art school?"

"Thank you," Cat said, feeling a blush creep into her cheeks. "No, it just wasn't possible, but when I was younger we had an old neighbour who taught me the basics in return for doing his shopping for him." She said sadly, thinking of the old drunk who had been kind to her and David when they were still very young.

"Dom, Cat tells me Louisa is planning on writing a book as well, you should investigate that. It sounds like it will be a riot from cover to cover," Dante cut across anymore questioning from Finola as he saw Cat become sad and Matteo stiffen as if about to come to her defence.

"Do tell," he raised an eyebrow and looked around seeing Louisa with Carlo hovering protectively over her.

"Carlo, let your wife breathe for a few minutes and come and talk to us," he called out. When Carlo began to walk toward them with her, he laughed. "Not you, your beautiful wife, but you can come too if you want." They made their small circle bigger to accommodate the other couple.

"Cat tells us you're writing a book," Dom frowned at her. "Why am I only hearing about this now?"

"I'm doing what?" she looked surprised and turned to face Cat, looking cross-eyed and poking her tongue sideways at her, making her laugh.

"My mistake," Cat giggled, shaking her head.

"If you want me to tell her the story then you're going to have to fess up in front of Dom," Dante challenged her and leaned back in his chair, fixing Louisa with an evil stare.

"Fine, but it's not a very good book that anyone aside of Margarite and I will probably want to read," she said.

"I'd read it, if only to hear Margarite's story again," Cat smiled encouragingly.

"You can't hear it if you're reading it, but if it's as good as I think it will be I can narrate an audio version for you," Dante offered.

"It would be a collection of stories, sort of like an anthology," Louisa began tentatively. "Margarite and I were talking, and all of the best love stories that end in great marriages have one thing in common," she explained, taking Carlo's hand. "A great 'How I met your mother' type of beginning, Josh and Peri being the prime example. Theirs wasn't love at first sight, but even in that first moment they knew something big was happening. Carlo and I, Margarite and Larry, even the first time you met Peri," she poked a finger at Dante. "Now you owe Cat the story, and you might as well include your own."

"I'd read that book!" Finola exclaimed.

"Read it? You'd be in it!" Louisa laughed. "I know all about how you two met, don't forget. I've been collecting these stories for a while now."

"Okay, evict this baby already. Isn't he overdue now? Then you can write me my book. We won't be letting Josh in on this deal, just you and me, okay?" Dom said with a smirk.

"I heard that!" Josh said. "Why does everyone in this family think I'm deaf?"

"I, for one, am glad you're not, because I was just about to tell MattCatt the story of how you met Peri," Dante grinned widely.

"MattCatt?" Josh pulled a face.

"You know, like Brangelina, I just made it up, I don't have the copywrite in place yet, so don't get any ideas," he narrowed his eyes at Josh.

"Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo," Josh called light-heartedly, and Romy came over to the now large group.

"What's up?" he looked around and saw Dante giving him an evil look. "What's D. done now?"

"I need a gag order, immediately," Josh instructed.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea. Louisa told me I had to do it," he pointed at Louisa. "To tell you the truth, brother, I'm more than a little scared of Carlo at the moment, so if Louisa says jump I ask how high," Dante said with a perfectly straight face.

"You have a problem with that?" Carlo grumbled at Josh, moving closer to Louisa, who looked so pleased.

"Good grief," Josh sat on the end of the small couch Cat shared with Matteo, making her move closer to him. "What is it you don't want me to know?" he turned on Dom.

"Louisa is also planning on putting that story, along with others, into a book which I said I would publish for her," Dom said quickly. "Carlo scares me too," he chuckled.

"Carlo, why are you doing this to me?" Josh asked in a pained voice.

"Name one thing, just one thing, that Peri has wanted that you haven't given her," Carlo said easily and spread his hands. "You can't expect me to say no to my wife when you can't say no to your own."

"This is your fault," he turned on Dante again. "Don't think I don't know you started this," Josh grumbled.

"It can't be as embarrassing as the first time I met Matteo," Cat said softly, sympathising with Josh, who immediately perked up.

"You two are dating?" Josh asked.

"I asked, but she turned me down flat. I figure if I keep asking she'll eventually say yes, just to shut me up," Matteo shrugged, making them laugh. "It wasn't an embarrassing story," he looked at Cat with a frown.

"You weren't the one who looked like a reject from the set of brave heart," she said dismally.

"Luckily for you 'Dante the dramatist' doesn't know your story then," Josh commiserated.

"Sure I do. Haven't you learnt by now I know everything," Dante laughed.

The circle seemed to widen as more people joined them until all twenty-two of the Donati table sat with Matteo and Cat. Despite the number, it still felt like an intimate gathering to Cat, who tried to stifle her laughter as Dante related all of the mishaps that happened to poor Josh as he pursued Peri at the beginning of their relationship. Including the first time he had met her as a dark and bitter man, and the laughter she brought to his life that day.

Cat wondered how the trio had been formed from those two very different beginnings, because they were all very much in love and happy now. She knew exactly how she wanted to draw this family, and she hoped she could get Peri to trust in her creative vision. It seemed much later than it actually was, possibly because she was tired from her lack of sleep the night before.

"I hate to be the party pooper, but if Matteo doesn't take me home soon you'll have to find me a room," Cat laughed, slipping her sketchbook back into her bag.

"You're more than welcome to stay the night," Peri said easily. "We have heaps of room, and I know Josh still wants to talk to Matteo about the Vitali HQ building."

"It's lovely, I visited a few times to get an idea of its proportions and space," Cat said. "I did some of the artwork for the interior design firm working on it." She turned to Matteo, "I don't mind staying if it's easier for you," she assured him.

"I'd rather drive back, I have some things to do in the city tomorrow," he said. Matteo was surprised that she had toured his building. He hadn't put two and two together where her working for Vanessa had been concerned. He wondered which pieces of art were hers and which had come from galleries.

"It's been fun to get to know you all better, I think I have some good ideas already about the flavour of the piece I'd like to do for you," she said enthusiastically.

"Would you mind if I stopped by sometime? I'm totally fascinated by the process, and I love your sketches of Dom," Finola asked.

"Sure, anytime, and once I'm finished you can have those doodles," Cat offered, grateful that Finola hadn't looked beyond the single page of Dom's sketches.

*****

The drive home was mostly quiet, interspersed with her impressions of the family and questions about the Vitali family and whether they were as close as the Donatis'. Matteo admitted that their family had been fractured by the death of his oldest brother, as well as the addition of his stepmother and half-siblings. He explained that they were still close, but his stepmother had to fill a role that had been someone else's and it had caused some disharmony and adjustment that the family had never seemed to recover from entirely.

Like the Donatis' there were eight brothers, one of whom had died, so the table, when it changed to the next generation, would be supplemented by first cousins. It was unusual to have so many brothers in one family, but there had been two different mothers' in his family, and the second significantly younger than the first. That, in itself, would make it difficult for his father's generation to retire, in that half of the heirs to the table would be deemed too young to ascend to their chairs. It could be done as a shadow table until they were ready to take on their roles, but the substantial roles would need to be taken up soon, which was why the older of three brothers were expected to settle down into the roles of family men. Even if they didn't lead the table, leaving the way open for the younger men, they would be expected to step up into the roles best suited to them sooner rather than later as the older members of the table dwindled in number, putting extra pressure on those remaining.

"Who decides the roles best suited?" Cat had asked. "I can see that each of the roles of the Donati table fit the men perfectly, but what if that isn't the case?"

"It's decided by the current table, and there is always jockeying for position, I guess," he shrugged. "I imagine, due to the nature of my business, I would be the engineer, like Carlo. Jacobi believes he will lead and has convinced Ricco that he will be the oracle, and that the three of them will rule like Josh and Dante do with Peri," he said carefully, knowing that she would realise that this was the commitment Ricco had made and that he had chosen his brother and Maryanne over her.

"Does he love her?" Cat was stunned at the thought of it. She had the impression that, while they were friends, Ricco had no desire to be intimate with Maryanne. Or maybe it had just been assumed because she was dating him at the time.

"Love isn't necessary to a commitment like that. I think for Ricco it is enough that Jacobi loves her. Not everyone is as lucky as Dante, most find solace in Mistresses that we call the Kept," Matteo wanted to be honest with her. "They are specially trained for the role, and many of the men and women, for that matter these days, have them. They are sanctioned and know their place, which is why in hundreds of years there has never been a scandal involving one."