Why I Hated The Guy From The FBI Ch. 16

"Very good, Antonio, when you are ready, your attorneys will contact ours and we will work out the details of our arrangement."

Philip and Frank were given permission to fly home to Milan, when they promised to return, at their own expense, if the man or men responsible for the murder of John Campi were found.

Phil said, "If you find the murdering bastards, I will save you the trouble of their trials and executions. John was my friend, and they killed him, in cold blood, while he was with me. I do not take that from any man."

Antonio, Philip, and Frank got off to the Delta airlines flight in Milan and ran into a wall of family, as they entered the main terminal building. Antonio was surrounded by love and affection, because he was the head of the family.

Philip was greeted by a pregnant wife, who asked him, "What the fuck took you so long. Anthony and Rose have been back for more than a week."

Antonia stared at Frank and did not have to say one word.

He asked, "How much shit, am I in?"

"I saved every diaper, since you have been gone, so I could throw you in with them and forget you ever existed."

"Honey, I told you I was going to be a few days late. I did not want to leave my father alone. There was no telling what trouble he could get into by himself."

Antonia replied, "Now you are going to blame your father, for your being late. You should be ashamed of yourself, Frank; lying to get yourself out of a messy situation."

"Didn't anyone tell you what happened, while we were there?"

Antonia turned away, caring her son in her arms. "Philip, do not grow up to be like your father. He will lie and do anything to save himself from a beating. He heard the Bishop say I could smack him, and he has turned into Jell-O, again. Stick with me, kid, I will make a man out of you."

"Antonia, honey, you are not being fair. You will not even listen to my side of the story. Let my father explain to you what happened to us, while we were in New York. You can even call the police if you want."

"What happened Frank, were you arrested, while you will with a hooker?"

"You know I would never do that to you, Antonia. Why would you even suggest such a thing?"

"When the wife is away, the man will play. I called, and you were not with Donna and Vincent. You were not with Angelina Mancuso. You were not where you were supposed to be Frank. What girlfriend were you with; what book, what page, and what line should I look for her on?"

"I was with my father all the time, Antonia. Please ask him."

"You are going to be his alibi and he is going to be yours; is that the way you are going to play it Frank?"

"You are killing me, Antonia, because that is the truth."

"Bull shit Frank, I can tell when you are lying, and this one is as big as you are. Go live with your father; that is if he has any place to live, when Gloria gets finished with him."

Frank looked over his shoulder, and saw his father and mother walking towards him. His father was attempting to explain the same thing to his mother that he was trying to explain to his wife. They were both getting nowhere fast.

Gloria stopped next to Antonia and asked, "Is he giving you a divorce?"

"I have not asked for one yet, but I am getting close."

Gloria responded, "I have to make sure I can get all his retirement from the union, and then I will ask for a divorce from him."

Frank looked at his father, and said, "Dad, we did not do anything wrong. We did not touch any women, while we were there. We did not touch alcohol. We did not do anything out of the ordinary that concerns our wives. If this is the way they are going to act, and they want to ruin our lives, I say "Fuck them." Let's go home, pack a suitcase and leave. Antonia has always told me I am a free agent. I have never seen mom act like this before. I think the money has gone to her head. Let them have it. Let's just go. We can always make a living, while bumming around."

Philip caught the glint in his son's eyes and realized what he was doing. He said, "Son, the $5 million Tony gave me is still underneath the guest bed. Let's take that, and go on our way. I'm tired of the shit."

Gloria and Antonia watched as their men walked away. They looked at each other and then at their husbands' backs, as they continued walking towards the baggage area. They thought playing the aggrieved wives would work to their advantage. Now, they realized they had overplayed their hands, and had to apologize, quickly, in order to defuse the situation.

Gloria started to run and yelled, "Philip, wait for me."

Antonia yelled, "Frank, I am sorry. Don't leave me. Please stop. Philip needs you," as she ran after Frank.

The two men heard their wives entreaty, but continued to walk straight ahead.

When the women finally caught up to their husbands, grabbed their arms, and begged them to stop.

Frank asked, "Why should I stop? You just listed a litany of things that I have done wrong. What woman would want a man that is as terrible as me? Ask any woman here why you would want to put up with such a terrible person. I don't deserve to be near you, or my child. I am going to leave you and him, because you will be better off without me. You just said so, and now I believe that you are right."

"Frank, we were trying to make you feel bad for leaving us behind. We were joking with you. We didn't mean it. We are both very sorry we did it. Please don't leave me. Do not live without your son. He will only be half the man he is supposed to be without you."

"You are the one that made that decision, Antonia, not me. You made a fool of me and my father in front of hundreds of people, people I know and care about. What are they going to think of me, now? They are going to think I am the biggest piece of shit alive. I don't find what you did funny. I do not think it was funny at all. I will not leave you, but I will not live with you. I will sleep in a separate bedroom. I will help take care of the house. I will help take care of Philip. If you need to do something I will arrange my schedule around it. I expect you to do the same for me. That is the way our life will be, from this point forward. I hope you enjoy it."

When he finished talking, Frank pick up his bag and waited for Antonia to show him the way to the car.

"Frank, you cannot mean that. It was a mistake. I will make it up to you. We can have another baby right away, if you want. I will do anything you want to make this right."

"No, Antonia, I do not want another baby with you. Be happy with PA, because he is the only child, you and I will have together. If you want another one, ask for a divorce. I want to go home; 'Now.'"

Philip had done the same thing to Gloria, until Gloria started to cry. He asked her, "How does it feel, Gloria? How does it feel to be on the other end of the mistreatment, when you know you did not do anything wrong and your spouse accuses you of damaging, or destroying your relationship. It is no fun at all, is it? The real damage is what other people heard, and what they will think of me, and Frank now. How do you control that damage, Gloria? It is like throwing a bunch of feathers in the air, during the hurricane and then trying to get them all back. It is not possible to do. Some people will never get the message that we are really good people, who were the object of a joke. They will always think of us as less than who we really are."

He picked up his bag and walked over to stand by his son.

As they were waiting together, by the curb, Phil looked up at his son, and said, "Frank, do you think we have tormented them enough?"

"Dad, if I keep this up much longer, when I get home, she is going to put knives through me."

As it slowly sunk in, Gloria's head came up, and looked at Philip. She looked him in the eye as he grinned at her.

Philip asked, "Are we even now?"

Gloria responded, "I guess so. Just watch out for the poison in your food."

Antonia was fuming, while Frank had the biggest grin on his face she had ever seen. "When did you get so good at this, Frank? You are not supposed to beat me at my own game. When we get home, I am going to beat the shit out of you."

"Baby, what we do at home is fine. How you act in public is different. Do you understand?"

"Dammit, Frank, you are trying to ruin all my fun."

"Do you want me to continue to have fun at your expense?"

"No, Frank, I received your message loud and clear. Like your mother said, watch out for the poison in your food."

"You have to remember Antonia; I never did finish putting you into the washing machine!"

The End

Chapter 16