"Never mind." I try to change the subject. I know dreaming is dreaming... but when it becomes hoping, then it has the potential to become harmful.
"Mamma! Aunt Sisi!" Claudia greets us when we get back to our room. "You were gone for so long!" She pouts in her usual fashion and I just shake my head.
"We have baking duty at four." I suddenly remember, my head snapping back to Sisi. Her eyes widen for a moment before checking the time.
"One more hour." She sighs in relief, and I follow suit. Mother Superior would never let us hear the end of it if we're late. The only saving grace is that I can take Claudia with me for all the duties, including cooking and baking. It's one of our most fun activities. Tomorrow is Sunday, and we have a special Banquet for a new priest that's coming to Sacre Coeur. Together with Sisi and a few other sisters, we have been assigned to baking duty to ensure that we have some cakes and pastries to greet the priest with.
"ADD A LITTLE MORE FLOUR." I eye the concoction Claudia is mixing. We all went for chocolate chip cookies and corn cupcakes. Mother Superior personally visited to approve our recipes, and in her own words, to make sure we make only the best for the new priest.
"Do you know why they are so excited about this new priest?" I ask Sisi, watching as she's frosting some cupcakes. The other sisters are doing the same, but they are out of hearing distance.
"I have no idea. It's not like we need a new one." She dips her finger in the frosting and brings it to her mouth. I immediately slap her hand, glaring at her.
"You don't want them to see." I adjust my body so that Sisi can't be seen by the other sisters.
She rolls her eyes at me, but swipes her finger in the frosting again, this time bringing it to my mouth. I raise one eyebrow at her, but seeing that no one's watching, I quickly taste it too.
"Not bad." I nod, and Sisi gives me a smile.
"See! You need to be naughty every once in a while." She winks at me.
There aren't a lot of things you can get away with at Sacre Coeur, but Sisi's tried them all. Falling asleep during prayer, shouting expletives out loud, switching ingredients during her cooking duty. If she could get away with a prank, she'd do it. She's mostly grown out of it by now. But of course, Mother Superior blames everything on me, saying it was my devilish influence that turned Sisi from the righteous path. I can't even remember all the times she'd had to remind me I wouldn't be here if not for my family's influence.
"If even a place of God wouldn't take you, what does that say about you?" She'd throw at me. Funny how I'm always such a rotten apple, and yet it's Mother Superior and her army of nuns and novitiates that have engaged in group bullying. All because I got pregnant while unwed. As if that was my fault... I'd tried to shield Claudia from the worst of it, but she'd inadvertently realized that some things were off.
"We should have put salt instead of sugar." I add drily, feeling a little petty. They are putting so much effort in impressing this new priest, and I really want to know why.
"Lina, a rebel. Who would have thought?" Sisi teases, but then her expression changes, and she leans forward. "I don't know how true this is. But I heard the other novitiates talking. Apparently the new priest has high connections. That's why Mother Superior is so bent on everything being perfect."
"Connections?" I frown.
Sisi looks around before coming even closer, her voice dropping slightly.
"The Italian mafia." She whispers and a chuckle escapes me. She leans back and regards me suspiciously before asking. "Did you already know?"
"No, no, of course not. It's just that I can't believe that." I immediately say, not wanting to admit that I was laughing at the irony of the situation. But if the new priest is mafia... then I have to wonder which family he belongs to. I can't say I know a lot about our world either. Most of the things I'd heard had been by eavesdropping. No one would tell me anything otherwise. I'm most familiar with the New York mafia and the five families. Agosti, my family, and then there's Lastra, Sisi's family. There are three others, Marchesi, Guerra and DeVille.
"That's what they were saying." She shrugs.
"I want some too!" I look down to see Claudia pointing at the frosting. She must have seen us earlier. I can't refuse her, so I make sure no one's watching, before sneaking a spoon full of frosting to her.
"It's good." She smiles as she licks the spoon, and I can't help myself. I lean down and kiss the top of her head.
"Are you done with your batter, moppet?"
She nods, and I go over to check the texture. Seeing it's alright, I prepare it for the oven, breaking it up into smaller pieces. Claudia joins me while Sisi continues her own decorating task.
By the end of the day, we have enough batches of cookies and cupcakes for the entire nun population and the special guest. I am a little biased against the man already, if he is indeed mafia. My lips curl in distaste at the thought.
We finish cleaning the kitchen, and then we go back to our room. There are three beds inside now. Until a few years ago, there had been only two, as I'd slept with Claudia on one and Sisi on the other. But with my little troublemaker growing so fast, we'd had to request another bed. It hadn't been the smoothest process, and I'd had to get Enzo to intervene.
Speaking of Enzo... he hadn't visited in a couple of weeks. It's worrying since he sometimes visits weekly. I've been meaning to call him to make sure everything is ok. Maybe I should do that soon...
THE FOLLOWING DAY WE all head together for Sunday service. The sermons go as usual, but towards the end, Mother Superior calls everyone to attention.
"Sacre Coeur is extremely lucky to welcome Father Antonio Guerra, who has studied under the greatest theological minds at Vatican. He's one of the brightest priests of his generation, and he does us great a honor in accepting our invitation."
A young man no older than thirty steps in front of the altar and introduces himself as Father Guerra. His appearance is nondescript, but there is something about him I don't like. It's just a feeling, but as he looks around the church, his gaze seems almost predatory. A shiver runs down my back as his eyes lock in on us. Ever so slightly his mouth curls up, but the next second it's gone. I don't even know if I imagined it... Maybe I did. I tend to either like people immediately, or like in Father Guerra's case, dislike them.
I'd realize later that for once, my intuition was proven right.
Chapter Five
AGE EIGHT,
A NOISE JOLTS ME awake. I take a moment to realize I'm not dreaming and that my eyes are wide open. It doesn't seem like it, though. Maybe because everything around me is enveloped in darkness.
Trapped in this tiny place, my legs are stiff from crouching. I once again attempt to test the strength of the lock with my hands. I push once... twice... it doesn't budge.
I don't know how long I've been here. I've slept a few times, but with no light I can't even tell if it's day or night.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. But memories of how this all started assault me.
It had been during Sunday lunch. For what seemed like the first time in forever, father had demanded we eat together like a family. It had been a tense meal. We had all sat down in silence until mother started with her crazy whispering. Father's head had snapped in her direction, and with a snide smile, he'd watched mother pour holy water on her food, all the while saying prayers.