Free J.M. Griffin - Vinnie Esposito 05 - Season for Murder by J.M Griffin

chuckled when she nodded in agreement. Her eyes took on a sparkle as she rose and opened the old aluminum-covered cake keeper, revealing a scrumptious-looking chocolate cake. With a huge knife, my mother sliced through the center of the chocolate delight. As she lifted half the cake onto a plate to wrap it, I glanced up to see my father’s gaze upon me. He nodded and bagged the container of soup along with half-a-loaf of crusty Italian bread.
    After we had made arrangements for the bake sale and my mother’s shop hours, I left the house laden with supper and dessert. It sat on the floor of the car as I headed home.
    I rang the shop and explained to Angela that my mother would be in to give them a hand. Her smile came across in her voice. She mumbled something to Gianna, and I heard excited babbling in the background.
    With a smile I hung up, figuring something had gone right for a change.
     

Chapter 7
    The cell phone in my pocket jingled the Christmas tune I’d programmed into it. I pulled to the side of the road and answered the call.
    “Hello, Vinnie speaking.”
    “Lavinia, it’sa Nonni. I need you to come see me. I wanta to speaka to you for a minute.” Nonni’s Italian accent wasn’t real thick today, but unmistakable all the same.
    Nonni had come to America from Italy when she was very young. Her parents had spoken fluent Italian at home, and it was Nonni’s first language. She’d been in America for a million years it seemed, but had never lost the accent entirely. I loved her dearly and feared her more than any street thug. When she summoned, nobody, not even my father, refused.
    “As a matter of fact, I’m on my way home from Mom’s and can swing by now, if you’d like.” I could have been in Guam and would have made the trip to her house, no matter what.
    “That’sa good. I’ll have something for you to eat when you get here. I know you don’t eat right,” Nonni said and hung up.
    My nerves tightened a bit over the summons. Why would Nonni want to see me in private? What was the problem? I knew she and my aunt Lena had recently returned from a cruise. Aunt Lena had been married to my late uncle Nate, the ultimate cat burglar. Could this have something to do with Aunt Lena? I hoped not, since I’d had all of Aunt Lena’s problems with the FBI that I could handle. And besides, Aaron wasn’t around to save my sorry ass if I got in trouble.
    A sigh escaped me as I turned down Greene Street and parked in front of her four-room bungalow. The house was sweet and Nonni meticulously cared for the plants that grew in abundance during the warm weather. A tall plastic snowman lit up the front yard like the New York City skyline. I stared aghast at the spectacle, wondering who the heck had decorated the house for her.
    In the wide doorway, my grandmother stood awaiting me. I smiled and climbed the three steps to the porch. She pushed the storm door open and stepped back for me to enter. I slipped my boots off after I walked in.
    A kiss to her cheek and a hug to her squared shoulders, I stepped past Nonni into the warm house. A lovely Christmas tree stood in the bay window, its lights twinkling merrily. Handmade Italian glass ornaments hung from the branches along with tinsel. My grandmother didn’t believe in garland. She preferred long strands of tinsel. She saved it from year to year even though the cost of fresh tinsel was less than a dollar. It was an idiosyncrasy, to be sure.
    As I settled back on the overstuffed sofa, I watched the thin woman who’d been a fixture in my life forever. Her dark eyes held speculation as she stared at me. Then she headed into the kitchen and brought out a tray of food, two goblets, and a bottle of wine.
    Glancing at the oncoming tray, I wondered if she was about to feed me sandwiches similar to those that my aunt Lena had served. The same sandwiches Lena’s son, Angelo, had said were made with cat food filling. I gagged in silence thinking of those