family meeting

Posted on Sat Aug 15th, 2020 @ 2:08am by Level 3 Carmine Mannarino & Blank Lupe Mannarino

Mission: It's... A Bus Station
Location: Mannarino's The Bronx Little Italy
Timeline: May 3rd 2020

Bella Mannarino didn’t hang out with her siblings much. Truthfully speaking, she didn’t hang out with many people. Too many people were jerks to her so she stayed with her few friends. Like her mother’s brother, she had a disability. And that painted a huge target on her in high school.

Her phone rang. She pulled it out of her bag and looked at the screen. It was her Father. “Papi?” She asked in Spanish. She was worried. He almost never called when she was in school. *

“Bella, ya mama's talkin ta ya siblings. We’re eatin out tonight. Where you wanna go. Family meeting. Mom and I will be there, as will be Great grandpa and great grandma Mannarino.”

Bella smiled. She had been thinking about dinner since breakfast. Mostly she had been wondering if they ever went out, where she would want to eat. “Mannarino’s on Arthur ave. Oh oh oh! And Uncle Louie G for ice cream!” Both were near the family's apartment. Plus Mannarino's was owned by an aunt of hers. So that made it better.

Carmine hesitated for a moment, then he said. “We’ll see bout da ice cream. Study hard. See ya tonight.” In the background she could hear talking and the chatter from the ghostbusters station.

“Bye Papi.” Bella hung up her phone and continued on to her class.

----

Carmine and Lupe were on the couch in the apartment his grandparents owned one block away from Arthur ave. It also wasn't too far from the Ghostbusters station. This was still the heart of what people called Little Italy. He had been in this area all his life. In fact the only time he left it was for two day rides to upstate New York with his wife and family.

As the kids came home from school, they all rushed inside, stopping when they saw their parents on the couch. the younger three and his two elder girls all rushed him, but Bella seemed to the most energetic of the group.

“Papi!” Bella called out as she started the rush for their father. Sure they saw him several days in a week. But not nearly as much as they saw their mother.

“All right. Let’s go.” Carmine said. His younger three were already sitting across from him.

“Can we change first?” His eldest son asked. “Where we going?”

“Mannarino’s was the vote.”

After twenty minutes of waiting, the kids stepped out of their rooms. “Ready.”

Carmine had to walk slowly for his grandfather. Taking the car would have been stupid, as the restraint was just one block away.

“Padre! Madre!” A voice called out as the head of the Mannarino family stepped inside the restaurant. Carmine had held hte door for his Grandparents, then his kids held hte door for him and his wife. He smiled as he turned to face a shorter, chubby Italian grandma lady. After hugging him, she moved to greet the rest of the family. “Carmine! Lupe!” His aunt began greeting each of his kids as they headed for a back room where two tables were pushed together. One of his male cousins was waiting back there for them. **

“Sedersi, sedersi.” She said to him in Italian. But he waited to sit, as did his children, until his grandfather and grandmother were seated. His aunt scurried off to grab a handful of menus. His cousin was quick to place two baskets of bread sticks down for them. ***

A thin, older man came from the back kitchen. His mustache and hair were done up in a net. He smiled when he got closer. “Padre! Madre!” He hugged Grandma Mannarino and kissed the cheeks of Grandpa Mannarino. Then he saw Carmine and Lupe. “Carmine! Nipote! Lupe!” ****

After the appetizers were ordered, Carmine waited for Lupe to start the conversation. “We’ll make an order in a bit. But for now, we talk. Kids, we have some news from dad’s work.”

“Ghosts all gave up and busted themselves?” His eldest son asked. Of all his kids, his son, Enzo, was skeptical one. He had seen a ghost, but had tried to explain it rationally for years.

“No chance on that.” Lupe said with a chuckle.

“So da ting is, day wants me to move.”

“Your father was offered a chance to get better at his job. But it’s in North Carolina." Lupe told them. "If he moves, I'll move. But we wanted to let you six make your own choices. "Will you stay here or what?"

“But we outta school soon.” Their elder son, Enzo replied.

“You have to end the school year here. Too close to the end to move you.” Lupe pointed out.

Out of habit, when the doorbell rang, Carmine turned his head slightly and watched a trio of guys in expensive suits come in. They looked around the place and then headed towards the back where they were at. He watched as one seemed to get pissed off while he stared at him.

“Hey, these tables are taken.” He growled at Carmine. “Move.”

“Make me.” Carmine said to them.

“Young man, my family and I have never been spoken to in such a manner and I don’t think we’ll be starting that today.” Carmine’s grandfather said to them. While older and not as strong, one word to his numerous friends and these men could be in a world of hurt.

“Santino! What a pleasant surprise!” A man said as he pushed past the three thugs. Each of them seemed to withdraw, ever so slightly. He kissed Carmine’s grandfather’s cheek.

“Enzo, Fratello mio, come stai?” Carmine’s grandfather, Santino said with a smile. *****

"Good." The man named Enzo looked at Carmine's Grandmother. “Carmella. Still looking as lovely and as radiant as ever.”

“Enzo.” She hugged him, after he kissed her hand. “Still have that way with words.”

“I only speak the truth.” He smiled at them, then looked over the table. “Carmine!” Enzo, walked around the table as Carmine stood. The older man kissed both of his cheeks. “It’s been so long.”

“Hello sir.” Carmine said to him.

“Lupe. Still as pretty as a priceless painting.”

“Thank you Uncle Enzo.” Lupe blushed.

“Children.” Enzo said to the kids. He wasn’t a clean man, legally speaking. While he did have a lot of legitimate businesses, he also ran illegal work. And had been the man who Carmine worked for before he went to the Ghostbusters. He was also the Godparent of all six of the children. “Boys, these people are the restaurant owners' family. This is their nephew. A man who has my upmost respect. He has saved my life several times over.” Enzo Vozzella told his armed bodyguards. “This is his grandfather, head of the Manniarino family that my family has done business with for years. I am also the godparent to each of these kids. Don’t soil my name by acting like common thugs to people I consider close family.”

“Mr Vozzella, is it just you tonight?” Carmine’s cousin asked. “We have a smaller table in a quiet room you can have.”

“Sadly, yes. My wife is out of town.” He said, shaking his head.

“We have room for you here.” Carmine’s grandfather said, gesturing to the table. Carmine offered his seat at the other head of the table, where he had sat opposite his grandfather, gesturing to his children to move slightly to the side.

“I don’t wish to intrude, Santino.” The man with shady business deals said. He held up a hand in the stop position.

“senza senso. Sei Uns famiglia” Grandpa Santino said to him. He began to gesture for him to sit down. “Sedersi” ******

“I thank you for the offer.” Enzo said as he took Carmine’s seat. As Carmine’s former boss took a seat, Carmine grabbed another chair. “This looks to be a serious family discussion. I hope you all don’t mind.”

“We’re just discussing Carmine and Lupe’s new jobs, before we order.” Santino Mannarino said.

“You left Ghostbusters?”

“No, sir. ‘Dey sending me to North Carolina.” Carmine stated.

“New posting?” Enzo asked

“Yeah.” Carmine replied.

“Uncle Enzo, They think Carmine can help train a bunch of raw recruits. Things have been getting busier for us and they want to get ahead of the problems.” Lupe said to him.

Enzo thought about it for a quick moment. “That’s big. About time you moved up in the company. Tell me though. What about living space? They have a place?”

Lupe shrugged. “We’re not sure. But I’m thinking of a house in the downtown area. We may have to bunk at their station for a while.

“And the kids?” Enzo asked.

“Not sure. About to get to that.” Lupe said with a smile.

“You sure you don’t mind me at the table?” Enzo asked.

“Sir, in a way, you’re responsible for me having this job. Kinda fittin’” Carmine said to him.

“You are the children’s godparent.” Lupe said to him.

“True. I’ll offer ideas, should I feel they are needed.”

Lupe thanked him, then looked at her children. “So do you older three want to move? What about college?”

Ezno, Carmine's son, spoke up first. “I got approved for college in the upstate. Going for football and baseball, but looking at sports medicine.”

“You go pro, you go Yankees.” Carmine said to him.

“That’s right.” Enzo said to the boy who was his namesake. He had been a Yankee’s fan all his life. “Or the Jets.”

“You betcha.” The boy Enzo replied.

“Cinana, wot ‘bout you?” Carmine asked his daughter.

“I put in for my community college and I’m already trying for university.” Cinana said in a soft, shy way.

“Where?” Carmine asked her.

“Alamance Community college. I sent in the paperwork like nine months ago. I got approved too” Cinana stated.

“Where is that?” Lupe asked.

“Dat Upstate New York?” Carmine inquired.

Cinana shook her head. “Actually, North Carolina. I’ll put in for the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. I want to go into medicine. They are the top medical school in the nation right now”

“Good places. Heard a lot about their med program.” Enzo replied. They were about to talk more, but Carmine’s cousin showed up and took their orders.

As the cousin left, the parents continued. “Bella, what about you? I know you’re not done with school yet. But would you want to move to a new school.” Lupe asked her daughter. She was sure she knew the answer. Bella was their miracle child. Before the triplets were born, the doctors noticed something was different with one. When she had been born, they found she had Downs syndrome. Though one could call her slow, Bella was determined and tried to always keep a chin up.

“Please. I hate it here. The kids in the school are mean.”

“At the end of the school year, you come to stay permanent. “

“Do you three want to follow us?” Lupe asked her younger three.

“You can stay, if you want. We have the room.” Great grandfather Santino stated.

"Can we stay to the end of the year?" Carmine's kids Gino asked.

"Do we have to go? I mean what if you're busy?" Anthony, his other son asked.

"We may be busy, but we'll try to bet there once a day and at least twice a week." Lupe told them.

The kids began talking between themselves for a quick moment. Then the elder three joined in, until Gino asked. "Can we see this town first, before we decide?"

Carmine nodded to his wife and said. "It would be best. So you see if you'd like moving out of a real town."


----

* Father
** Father Mother
*** Sit
**** Nephew
***** My brother how are you
****** Nonsense You're family