Surnames

“Mr. Verona,” I looked up from under my eyelashes—it was a move that drove the women crazy. Even now, this flight attendant was not expecting it. Her smile was instant even before I applied my smile. “The captain has informed me that there will be some turbulence. Please buckle your seatbelt,” she said.

I nodded, “Thanks,” she nodded—stunned—and then walked back to her seat in the back. I was glad I took my jet instead of the public planes, this was way more comfortable, and I didn’t have to pretend to be pleasant if I didn’t want to. It was strange to be going back to my home town. Although I loved Colonia and everything that it was, the memories of my mother still haunted me. I was young when she died and couldn’t remember a lot, but it still felt nostalgic coming home. As expected, I couldn’t see anything but clouds through the plane window, but I knew Colonia was just below those thick rain clouds. My father had forced me back, had promised that I could take Emily from this place, and to me… that was everything. Emily was my precious little sister and I refused to let her stay hear underneath and eternal blanket of drearier clouds when there was a whole world to see.

I suppose my sisters also had a good reason for calling me out from my flat in Italy. They were worried about my dad and his recent engagement to some doe-eyed gold-digger who thought she could get away with not signing a prenup. There was no way I was losing my hard-earned money to some bimbo with a butterfly tattoo on her lower-back. Still, I knew I’d be here for a few months—hopefully less—the point was that I needed to find some way to distract myself or I was sure I’d go insane.

The jet shook, making me grin. Turbulence was a sure sign that we were going to land soon. “We are beginning our dissent.”

It wasn’t a surprise that it was raining outside. My guards immediately covered me with umbrellas. My old driver picked me up. His mustache was familiar, but his name escaped me, “Welcome back, Master Verona.” He said while slightly bowing.

I smiled, “Nice to see you.” He opened the door for me and I slid in—my guards slid in after me. “Driver, how is my father?”

“Well. He’s very happy with his engagement,”

“I’m sure any geezer would be happy with a 29-year-old on his arm.” My guards grinned a little but they tried not to let me see. “But I would like the dirt. What have you heard around? What are the maids saying?” I asked knowing well that the maids were always entuned to the gossip.

He sighed, knowing he couldn’t deny me the truth, “I think you already know, Sr.” he chuckled.

I nodded, disapprovingly, but kept typing away at my laptop. Just because I was forced to be in a situation I didn’t want to be didn’t mean I had to slack on my work.

My dad’s house never changed. It was still a massive mansion with it’s own lake and it was still heavily guarded. My sisters all waited inside for me—all dressed in dresses and clothes I disapproved of, but I learned long ago that there was no use in saying anything.

“Little brother!” they all shrieked. Hugging me tightly and touching my face and hair. I hadn’t seen them in three years and so they looked at me curiously.

“Idiot, where have you been?” Norma—the oldest of my sisters—smiled at me, hugging me tightly.

“Running the business, remotely.” I bragged.

Gabriella snorted, “Yeah right, you’re only running the legit business,” she was the sister before me.

Jemma smiled, “That’s no fun.”

Alex simply nodded—she was always a woman of little to no words. My sisters were all blond with light brown eyes—half sisters. My dad was a bit of a horn-dog but he was no dead-beat. When he cheated on their mom, with my mom, he immediately took care of us, even when their mom pushed my mom to suicide. To us, it wasn’t our concern, parents were parents, no better fit to be parents than us, so we acted like normal brothers and sisters and this kept things peaceful. I was especially grateful to my sisters to take Emily in—she was the youngest and only girl my mother had before she died.

“Where’s Em?” I asked, excitedly. She had visited me this past summer but I was already missing her.

“She’s still in piano lessons, you’re going to have to wait,” Gabriella said.

I nodded, “She plays the piano?”

They all chuckled, catching me up on what was going on. Things hadn’t changed all that much, except for the idiot my father decided to marry.

“This is Alma,” Gabriella introduced her, “She’s the whore that’s been after dad,”

Alma glared at Gabriella but looked to me and tried to smile, “You his son?” her voice was irritating, and the obnoxious; the chewing of her gum was driving me crazy. My sisters didn’t need to inform me about anything, I had done my own research and knew what kind of a woman she was… and I did not approve.

“That’s me. Malcom Verona,” I tried to keep myself calm; to build a different perspective of the woman before me… but it was difficult.

“Where you be? I ain’t seen you at the engagement party,” she said. She was decently tall, lightly tanned skin, white trash with a splash of Latino to keep things interesting. I could not believe the decrease in value my father had gone from. My sister’s mother was a beautiful Russian lady with long blond hair; my mother was a beautiful Spanish woman from Madrid… both of them with manners; what the hell was my father thinking? Was he losing his mind, taste or sight?

“With any hope, you won’t see me at the wedding either,” I assured her, turning on my heels and leaving her in her place. I went up the stairs, “I assume I still have my same room?”

“Of course, Hun,” Gabriella said, “Everything is how you left it. Make sure you come to dinner.”

I smiled, “I’ll think about it.” My room was the one at the end of the hall with the view of the lake. My motorcycle was still in the center of my room, on top of its platform, and everything was the way I had left it with the exception that everything was clean.

I walked to my bed, feeling tired after the flight, and then I passed out.

I did go to dinner, but not to witness the circus of my father’s life, to get to see Em. “Malcom!” she chuckled and leaped into my arms. Her little eyes reminded me of mom so much, I hugged her tightly, making her grunt and giggle.

“Emily, I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Malcom!” she kissed my cheek and ignored the spot where her maid asked her to sit. She wanted to sit by me. Em told me about her day, her time at school, and her new dog named Jamie. I loved her so much that I paid attention to every little thing she was saying like if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

“Eat, Em, I’m not going anywhere for a while,” she smiled and ate her dinner.

“She’s gotten straight A’s since the last time she visited over the summer. She’s very smart.” Gabriela informed.

Em just smiled up at me. “That’s good, because I did bring gifts for good little girls,” I grinned, “And for the big, naughty ones too,”

My sisters chuckled, but dad’s voice filled the dining room, “I was told that my son has returned!” I turned to see him walking with Alma by his side. I glanced at her and then looked at my father and smiled.

“Father,” he hugged me tightly in his arms. He wasn’t able to reach my shoulders, but he was able to make me feel like a little boy again.

He caught up with me, completely ignoring Alma and paying attention to me. I could tell he wasn’t truly in love with her… perhaps he was only thinking with his dick as he did from time to time.

“Dad, what about your wedding, tell me about that.”

He chuckled, “Ah, my wedding,” he finally reached for her hand and kissed it. She gave him a fake smile, “I met Alma and fell in love. We are getting married in four months,”

“And the prenup?”

My sisters grinned, they always loved how blunt I could be. Alma looked nervous but was good at concealing it, “Not necessary, Malcom. She’s a keeper,”

I chuckled, “I suppose so, especially when you hardly own anything after you die.”

He smiled, “She’s not interested in any of that,” he looked at her and she gave him a smile, “she loves me for me.”

I nodded, “I still want a prenup, dad.” I gave him the look, the one that reminded him of mom and allowed me to get away with anything.

He sighed, patting my neck and then chuckling, “We can talk about it later.” He assured me, “I want to know about women now. Tell me Malcom, is there anyone special in your life?”

I coughed; accidentally dropping water on my lap. “Uh, dad, that’s a bit personal, don’t you think?”

My sisters laughed, “This from the man who isn’t afraid to go back and forth with a team of lawyers. You get all crazy at the thought of a relationship,” Alex finally talked.

I nodded while smiling, “No dad, I don’t have anyone special, but I do have a lot of women back home. Monogamy is not my thing.”

He laughed, “You’re so much like me when I was your age.” Yes, I really was. It was because of this reason alone that I did not want to be heartbroken the way he had been after my mother's death. I refused to fall in love, especially since the only prospects in my life were closely similar to the dear Alma.