Chapter 36 twenty four

Early morning lemon-colored sunlight filled Michael's bedroom.When he awoke, he rubbed his warm skin against Apolloniki's smooth body to wake her up.Although after several months of complete possession, he is still not satisfied, he still wants to admire her beauty and cherish her affection. She left the bedroom and went downstairs to the bathroom to shower and get dressed.Michael, still naked and refreshed by the morning sun, lit a cigarette and lay easily on the bed.This was the last morning they both spent in this house, in this villa.Don Tommasino had arranged for his transfer to the south coast of Sicily.Apollonia happened to be in her first month of pregnancy and wanted to go back to her mother's house for a few weeks before reuniting with him in her new secret sanctuary.

Don Tommasino and Michael had been talking in the garden the night before, after Apollonia had gone to bed.The old man was sad and listless, and frankly he was concerned for Michael's safety. "You're married and you're out in public," he said to Michael. "I'm surprised your dad didn't arrange for you to hide somewhere else. The problem is that I'm currently working with The careerists from Palermo New Voices are at odds. I offered some fair and reasonable arrangement so they could get more money out of it than they deserved. But the gang of hooligans are greedy and take every inch of it , they have played some tricks and set some traps, but it is not so easy to kill me as a person. They must understand that I am not easy to mess with, and it is not so easy to subdue me. Young people have this nascent Calves are not afraid of tigers. They are unreasonable and want to seize all the water in the public well for themselves.

Don Tommasino then told Michael that Fabrizio and Gallo were going to ride with him in "Little Romeo" and be his bodyguards.Don Tomasino will see him off tonight, because he has to leave for Palermo early tomorrow morning.Michael did not tell Dr. Tacha about this move, because the doctor was going to Palermo to spend the night that night, and he was afraid that he would leak the news by talking nonsense. Michael also knew that Don Tomasino was in trouble.Armed guards patrol the walls of the villa all night, and several loyal herdsmen with muskets guard the house day and night.Don Tommasino himself was fully armed, and he was accompanied by a bodyguard at all times.

The morning sun is too hot.Michael stubbed out his cigarette and put on work pants, a work shirt, and a cap of the kind that most Sicilian men wear.Leaning out the window, still barefoot, he saw Fabrigi sitting on a chair in the garden.He was idly combing his thick black hair, and his musket lay carelessly slanted on the table in the garden.Michael whistled once and Fabrizio looked up at Michael's window. "Get the car ready," Michael called down to him. "I'm leaving in five minutes. Where's Gallo?" Fabrizio stood up.The front of his shirt was open, revealing the tattoos of blue and red lines on his chest.

"Gallo went to the kitchen to drink coffee," Fabrizio said. "Does your wife intend to go with you?" Michael squinted at him, and Twilight felt that Fabrizio's eyes had been fixed on Apollonia too much in recent weeks.Michael said coldly, "I won't go now. She will go back to her mother's house for a few days first, and see you later." He watched as Fabrizio hurried into the hut where "Little Romeo" was parked. Michael went downstairs to take a shower.Apelonia was no longer in the bathroom.She was probably in the kitchen.She wanted to alleviate her guilt by cooking him breakfast with her own hands.She felt guilty because she had to let him live a bachelor's life because she wanted to go back to her mother's house before going to the Sicilian backwoods.Don Tommasino would be in charge of arranging her transfer to where Michael was going.

Downstairs in the kitchen the old woman, Filopina, brought him coffee and wished him a safe journey. "I'll pass on your regards to my dad in the future," Michael said. She nodded. Gallo came to the kitchen and said to Michael: "The car is waiting outside, do you want me to get your purse? "No, I'll take it myself," Michael said. "Where did Apollo go? Gallo smiled. "She's sitting in the cab trying to drive. She's thinking about it. She's going to be a real American lady before she gets back to America." In Sicily, a rural woman wants to drive a car. This is a strange story that has never been heard before.However, Michael sometimes let Apollonicki drive "little Romeo", and circled around the villa wall, but every time he sat next to her, because she sometimes stepped on the brakes and stepped on the gas pedal in a hurry up.

Michael said to Gallo, "Get Fabrizio quickly, he'll be waiting for me in the car." He walked out of the kitchen and ran upstairs to the bedroom.Before reaching his bag, which had already been packed, he looked out the window and saw that the car was parked under the porch steps instead of at the kitchen door.Apollonia sat in the car, moving her hands on the steering wheel like a child at play.Gallo was filling the lunch basket in the back seat.Then, Michael saw Fabrizio coming out of the gate of the villa.Why on earth is he going out?He also saw Fashiligio look back, with a bewildered and sneaky look on his face.He had to teach that damn shepherd a lesson.Michael came down the stairs and decided to stop by the kitchen to see Filopina again and say goodbye to her one last time.He asked the old woman, "Is Doctor Tacha still sleeping?

Filopina smiled and said, "The old rooster can't call the dawn, can't cheer the sun. The doctor went to Palermo last night." Michael laughed out loud.As he walked out the kitchen door, the scent of lemon blossoms filled his nostrils, even though his sinuses were congested.He saw Apollonia waving to him from the car ten paces away in the driveway.He understood at once that she meant him to stay there, that she wanted to drive the car over to him.Gallo stood beside the car, grinning bared teeth, swinging the musket by the sling in one hand.But there was still no sign of Fabrizio, and at this moment, without any reasoning, he suddenly realized, and shouted to his wife: "Don't drive! Don't drive!" When he was on fire, there was only a loud bang, and his shouts had long been drowned out by the strong explosion.The kitchen door was also blown to pieces; Michael was thrown ten paces by the blast.A stone from the roof of the villa fell on his shoulder, a stone grazed his skull, and he fell to the ground.Just before he passed out, he saw that "little Romeo" had only four wheels and the steel axle beams connecting the wheels, and everything else was gone.

He awoke to find himself sleeping in a very dark room, and he also heard human voices, very low, chirping rather than talking.Instinctively, he tried his best to pretend he was still unconscious.But the sound stopped, and the man in the chair turned sideways, next to his bed. "Well, he finally agrees with us." A lamp came on, and the light shone like white flames on his eyes.Michael turned his head, very heavy and numb.Then he could see the face of Dr. Tatcha who had thrown himself on top of his bed. "Let me see you and turn off the lights in a minute," Dr. Tacha said softly.He shone a flashlight as small as a pencil into Michael's eyes. "You'll be well soon," said Dr. Tacha, turning to the other person in the room, "you can talk to him now.

That other man was Don Tomasino, and he was sitting in a chair near Michael's bed.Michael could see him clearly now.Don Tomasino asked him, "Michael, Michael, can I talk to you? Do you want to rest?" It was easier to make a gesture, so Michael made one.So Don Tomasino said: "Did Fabrizio drive the car out of the garage that day?" Michael didn't know if he had pulled the car out of the garage, but he just smiled.His smile was a creepy sneer, a sneer that expressed acquiescence.Don Tommasino said: "Fabrigio slipped away. Listen, Michael, you've been in a coma for almost a week, do you understand?Everyone thinks you are dead long ago, so you are safe now, and no one will ask you anymore.I have sent word to your father, and he has brought the order.At present, it seems that you can go back to the United States in a short time. While waiting to return to the United States, you can rest here quietly.You are safe in the mountains, in the special housing on my own farm.Those guys in Palermo also made peace with me because people think you're dead.From this point of view, it was you who were always trying to kill people.You were the one they wanted to kill, but they played tricks to make people think they wanted to kill me.You should know this, as for everything else, you don't care, I will take care of it.You just take a good breath and rest with peace of mind. "

At this moment, Michael thought back to everything at that time.He knew that his wife was dead, and so was Gallo.He thought of the old woman who was in the kitchen.Whether she saw him out, he could not remember.He asked in a low voice, "How is Filopina?" Old man Tomasino said calmly, "She wasn't hurt, but she got a nosebleed at the time. Don't worry about her." Michael said, "Fabrigio. Get your shepherds to think that the guy who recommends Fabrigio to me is going to get the best ranch in Sicily." Both of them breathed a sigh of relief.Don Tommasino lifted the glass from the table and drank the amber wine in it.After drinking this wine, he immediately felt dizzy.Sitting on the edge of the bed, Dr. Tatcha said almost casually: "You know, you are now a widower. Widowers are very rare in Sicily." Judging from the tone of Dr. Tatcha's speech, it seems to point out that this special status can comfort him. Michael gestured to Don Tomasino to move closer to him.The old man sat on the edge of the bed, leaning forward. "Tell my daddy to get me home," Michael said, "Tell my daddy I'd love to be his son. However, it took another month for Michael to recover.Then, another two months passed before all the necessary paperwork and arrangements were ready.He then flew from Palermo to Rome and from Rome back to New York.Throughout this time, Fabrizio was nowhere to be seen.