An Infatuation by Cosentino Joe

Author:Cosentino, Joe [Cosentino, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2015-02-04T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE/20 YEARS AGO

ONE SPRING Saturday after a long day at the fruit market, I came home to find Mario’s little brother, Vincenzo, sitting on the sofa in our living room. He resembled a pubescent Mario, surrounded by baby fat. Afraid to leave Vincenzo with his father, Mario had brought him over on a number of our past tutoring sessions. While I tutored Mario, in the good old days, his brother would read one of my old books or play one of my old games. His little brother was so quiet that Mario and I often forgot he was there. That Saturday my mother had let Vincenzo in to wait for me before she left for her breathing and chanting class. She had evidently given him a piece of chocolate cake and a glass of milk before she left, the remnants of which adorned his chubby cheeks. As I stood over Mario’s brother, I also noticed a purple mark between his right eye and cheekbone.

“Is Mario okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, he’s fine. I thought he might be here.” He looked out the bay window.

“He’s not. What happened to your face?”

He continued to avert his eyes. “I got into a fight.”

“With who?”

“Some kid.”

I sat next to him on the sofa. “Vinnie….”

“Mario’s the only one who calls me that.”

“Sorry.”

He smiled for the first time and unveiled two adorable dimples. “No, I like it.”

I returned the smile. “Okay. Vinnie, why are you looking for Mario?”

He looked down at his worn sneakers. “I can’t go home right now.”

“Why not?”

“It’s complicated.”

I sat at the edge of the sofa, feeling like a therapist. “Vinnie, Mario told me about the… problems at home… with your father.”

“I figured.”

“Did your father hit you?”

Vinnie looked out the window again, and a tear fell down his pudgy cheek.

“Is your mother home?”

He nodded.

“Can’t she help?”

He shook his head, and the tear landed on his sweatshirt.

I felt a connection with this kid. Perhaps it was because I’m also a younger brother, or maybe it was because he shares Mario’s genes. “Vinnie, you know it’s not right for your father to hit you?”

He nodded.

“And you know you should tell your mother.”

“She knows. She don’t care.”

Italian tempers and bad grammar must run in the family.

“What about your brother?”

“He takes care of me, but he ain’t around so much no more.”

I put a hand on his shoulder. “Vinnie, Mario’s not coming here tonight. We don’t study together anymore. He’s probably at Barbara’s.”

His lower lip doubled in size. “I hate that bitch. She treats me… and Mario like shit.”

He’s obviously smarter than his brother.

“Do you want me to call Mario at Barbara’s house?”

He shook his head vehemently. “She won’t let him come home.”

“Is there somebody else I can call? A relative, a teacher, a friend?”

“I ain’t got nobody else.” Another tear appeared. “I didn’t even do nothin’.”

Let’s fit in a grammar lesson while you’re here.

He looked at me sadly. “I don’t get why he hates me.”

Your father is a real piece of work, kid. “Vinnie, sometimes the people we love can hurt us the most.

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