Married to the Don - A Mafia Romance

because he doesn't understand why. Theo make

't come from my mostly Dominican roots. The shape of his face isn't like mine either. His is sharp-always has been, even when he had a layer of baby fat cove

cool volca

ise, and he sm

next time, you need to as

s, still smiling

pair will last before I need to buy new ones. They fit for now, but he grew out of the

it up to his neck and then kiss his cheek. He pretends to be grossed out, but when I hold my arms out, he wraps his skinny legs around my waist and hugs me, forcing me to carry him out of the bathro

locker rooms. If you do bring a child, you either need to skip your post-workout shower or check them into the in-house gym day care. It costs five dollars per hour, which I can't afford. Plus, Theo needs to bath

against the steamy gym windows. He likes drawing pictures in the condensation, and I spend so much

gs, and she usually runs ten minutes later than the other driver

doors to wait when my path is suddenly blocked. I pull

" the front desk employ

though also looking for a name tag. Except, I don't have one. What I do have, however, is a thin T-shirt cl

human being and pulls one side of his mouth up into a confident smir

embership is cheaper, and the woman who usually mans the desk and scans my card as we enter either hasn't noticed Theo isn't on my plan or she's guessed at our situation and takes

I know. I'm just sayi

in the way he says the words sends a chill down my back like some innate instinct from long ago, warning me of a preda

casual. "Yeah, I've seen yo

n?" he asks, nod

el like my answers are very impor

down my body again. "You look t

e else thinks when they find out I have a four-year-old son. Teen mom, slut, another st

not," I s

but he steps to the side

warn him to keep his distance. "What

im to check that the desk is still empty and his fellow employee hasn't j

r. There is hunger there, and I resist the urge to turn and run in the opposite direction. I stand taller, broadening

ards where Theo is drawing a misshapen snowman. "There are rules ag

ut glancing bac

eth glimmer in the yellow lighting.

ad in the shower this morning returns, and I suddenly k

thought it was just my own self-consciousness at being in the open, b

imes where the locker room door would beep like someone had opened the door, but then no one ever came

row up, and when Ted's eyes assess me again, I know he doesn't need me to take

I glance back towards the doors and see the bus

leeve through his condensation drawing to erase

hen, his face sharpens, and he looks down at me over the long slope of hi

have an