Chapter 16 - Eighteen Months
Salvatore received a fourteen-month sentence after full cooperation.
Leo thought it was cruel.
The judge called it mercy.
Both were probably right.
The morning Salvatore surrendered, hundreds of reporters waited outside.
Leo remained inside the car.
“You don’t have to come.”
“Yes, I do.”
Salvatore looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because nobody should go somewhere scary alone.”
Elena used to say that.
Salvatore almost lost composure.
He hugged Leo.
“Listen to Carmine.”
“No.”
“Leo.”
“I’ll listen to Nora.”
“Reasonable.”
“Write every week.”
“Every day.”
“That’s too much.”
Salvatore smiled.
“Then every week.”
Leo stepped away.
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Come home.”
Salvatore nodded.
“I will.”
Prison changed him.
Not because it frightened him.
Because for the first time in thirty years, nobody needed him to be powerful.
He read.
He wrote letters.
He attended counseling.
Carmine mocked him for that until Salvatore threatened to assign him mandatory therapy too.
Leo sent drawings.
School complaints.
Photos of Titan sleeping on furniture.
One letter said:
I got an A in history. I still hate history. Nora says you were terrible at math. Please confirm.
Salvatore wrote back:
False. I was excellent at math. I merely disagreed with several teachers about answers.
Leo replied:
That means you were bad at math.
Fourteen months passed.
On release day, no cameras were permitted near the private exit.
Salvatore walked through the gate carrying one bag.
A boy stood beside a black car.
Taller.
Healthier.
No bruises.
No torn shoes.
Leo tried to remain serious.
He failed.
He ran.
Salvatore dropped the bag.
They collided.
“Dad.”
“I’m here.”
“You look old.”
“You’re grounded.”
“You can’t ground me in the parking lot.”
“I’m learning.”
Titan barked from inside the vehicle.
Carmine leaned against the hood.
“Welcome home.”
May you like
Salvatore looked toward the city.
For the first time, home meant something different.
