The Twelve Zenati Pt. 07

"Sounds great, but I would like to just call past the clinic. I told Olivia I would be her friend, and I don't want her to think that I won't be there for her the day after I made the offer of friendship instead of being her doctor," Vivienne said thoughtfully.

"Well, why don't you do that this morning while I organise a car, and you can call me when you're ready to go. I might even call Sera and see if she is free for lunch with us today," Marcella replied and smiled. She had her own agenda but it didn't hurt to have friends, and she needed information that she wasn't so sure she would get from Noah without awkward questions. Sera was the next best thing, she hoped.

"You know that the Zenati would probably lend you a car," Vivienne pointed out.

"I guess that I have been so independent for so long that asking for things like that don't even occur to me. None of my friends would be in that kind of position, where they had a fleet of cars available for visitors. I'll call Noah, though I was hoping to just play hooky from the whole family and clinic and everything, and just enjoy the day," she sighed.

"You can. I have to call Gideon anyway, and now that I think about it, I wouldn't mind a little independence too, especially the type of independence a car could bring," she said thoughtfully. She would like to go and see Madrina again, by herself next time. She had so many questions about Gideon and his family, and she wanted to talk to the woman about the beautiful clothes she produced.

"Oh, good. You're corruptible then," Marcella grinned and laughed wickedly. "Gideon doesn't have you totally bewitched yet, is what I meant. He's a man in love. I'm not sure how you are so strong in the face of it and keeping him at arm's length."

"I'm not! He says that too but honestly, I'm not. It's just that..." She felt a small blush creep up her face. "It doesn't matter." She shook her head, embarrassed at her lack of experience with dating. Being the object of someone's desire was so foreign to her. She just didn't know how to react. She knew what the books said and what she would advise her clients and patients, but it was so different now that she was the one being bombarded with hormones and the adrenaline of falling in love, or at least lust.

"Of course, it matters," Marcella gasped, seeing that she had struck a nerve with her new friend and grimacing. "Tell me what's going on. I'm your best friend now, remember, and we can tell each other anything, knowing it won't go any further than just us," she promised.

"I just don't have much experience with men like Gideon," Vivienne sighed. "Scratch that. I just don't have that much experience with men in general. I mean, look at me. Men like Gideon Zenati do not fall for women like me."

"I think Gideon is so into you that it's almost too much to watch. That guy couldn't be more in love. Why would you even question that? Are you totally blind?" Marcella asked.

"It just doesn't seem real, you know? I keep waiting for that Carrie moment where everyone turns around and starts laughing at the big dumb idiot I have been, and I go all psycho on them." She gave a lop-sided smile. "If it weren't for the fact that he is close friends with my brother Leighton, I wouldn't be taking him seriously at all. But Leighton would never do anything to hurt me, not even as a joke. I'm closer to him than anyone else on the planet."

"Leighton Papillo? The Chair of your Table?" Marcella asked, shuffling the information in her mind to grasp the name.

"Yeah, I'm a Table Princess," Vivienne sighed. "I just don't look like one," she said sadly.

"Did you even look in a mirror last night?" Marcella asked incredulously. "You weren't a princess, you were a fucking queen! I was so underdressed. I am going to need some retail therapy just to keep up with you if we go to dinner together again."

"That was a once-off thing. Gideon's Madrina made it. She's an incredible woman. Eccentric but incredible," Vivienne laughed. "You should meet her. She would have something that suited you too, I am sure of it."

"Madrina?" Marcella questioned.

"Godmother. Apparently the three boys lived with her during high school because their parents' property is so remote. I can't even begin to describe her or her house. It's just something you have to see and experience to believe." Vivienne's voice held an air of wonder to it.

"Better put that on the list of things for us to do this week then," Marcella laughed. "I'm looking forward to meeting her now.

"A list! What a great idea!" Vivienne enthused and pulled a notepad from her handbag along with a stylish silver pen. Lists she could deal with, men like Gideon and the feelings that came with that, she couldn't.

*****

"Val," Gideon greeted his cousin as he strode into the newly-purposed suite in the clinic. The suite was across the hall from the one that Genesis occupied with Olivia and now housed a communications hub and a table large enough for the younger men of the Zenati who would make up the next generation Table to meet, while being sensitive to Genesis' needs as Olivia healed. Although he knew that Olivia possibly held the keys to finding the Suebi who had gone underground, after the first of the raids on their illegal businesses.

"Hey, the girls were great, and they're all set with the cars they wanted," Val chuckled.

"Great. At least with the cars from our lot we can keep track of them. Vivienne said Marcella had been planning on just getting a rental from Hertz," he grimaced.

"That crushing feeling in your chest doesn't get any better until she commits," Val said pointedly, looking at the hand Gideon had been rubbing his chest with. "Try and remember not to smother her though. It will just make her run away faster."

"I'm doing something worse," Gideon admitted.

"Worse than smothering her?" Val frowned.

"Valdemaro, you of all people should know that when I want something badly enough there are no holds barred," he smirked.

"You told your mother?" Val said with wide eyes.

"Papa would have anyway. Besides, in this case, I think it's the only thing that's going to make a difference. Especially after Madrina's little chat with her," Gideon said, unconcerned by the look of disbelief that his cousin gave him.

"Geez, you're a brave man. Zia Tatiana is a formidable woman. I wouldn't want to be the girl in her sights, curse or no curse," Val grimaced. "What if she doesn't approve of the match?"

"Not much Mama can do but love her. Especially because I am having angina every fucking day over the stubborn woman," Gideon grumbled and rubbed his chest again. "She'll say yes. I know she will. I just wish she'd hurry up and do it already."

"Patience was never your forte," Val chuckled and moved to the table to take a seat with his brothers and cousins once Genesis had arrived.

"Firstly, let's make this more of an open discussion than a formal meeting where I direct the proceedings. I have a few agenda items, but you are all welcome to weigh in for good or bad," Xavier began. "The devil's advocate sometimes has more merit than the man who follows directives. After we have dealt with these, you can bring up whatever else has come up in the last few weeks that we, as the next generation, need to address. Each generation of the Table has improved on the one before it and we, no doubt, will have our own ideas on that. Which brings me to my first point of business," he looked around at the group, seeing that he had their full attention.

"I'll get them," Dominic stood. went to the door to the master bedroom in the suite and led out six more Zenati men who pulled up chairs to the lower end of the long table.

"During the recent crisis we learned two important lessons from the Vitali," Xavier began to speak again. "Three, if you consider that I have grown out of the nickname X-man," he chuckled and saw a few of his brothers grinning. He knew that he would never fully get rid of that nickname, but he had to try.

"Get on with it, Eks," his oldest brother chortled. "Fewer words, more talking." He used his father's line, which meant get to the point.

"During the recent crisis, the four leaders of the Vitali were drawn out of Melbourne, leaving the table to coordinate their lockdown and protection of their family. Of the two who had stepped up at the time, one did phenomenally well. The other found that some positions couldn't be shared. The Watchman is needed at his post and informs the leaders so that they can take in everything and disseminate it. So, another stepped up to fill the void without being nominated to do so, such was the nature of the crisis and the needs that arose, and one of the others who had been shadowing him took his usual place. The Vitali had started their new Table with a shadow table, who warmed the bench and attended official meetings but, in general, just did the job they would do anyway, with slightly more responsibility. I think the idea has merit, and I believe we could all use some help occasionally," he finished, looking around the table as if expecting a challenge.

"Alright, I'll be the devil for this one," Tullo, one of the cousins, said in a voice loud enough to carry. He was young and brash and didn't particularly care about being liked by one and all. "I don't particularly mind being Genesis's shadow, especially because he has clearly lost his mind at the moment." He gave Genesis an amused look as the older man raised an eyebrow at him. "Let's just say I do a far better job than him during his prolonged dip into insanity. Why should I have to step back down when he comes out of it?"

"There is no stepping up or down, it's more of a sideways thing. If you think you have the skills to match him, I doubt that he would stand in your way of doing what you do best," Dominic said diplomatically.

"Nah, we'd have to duel for it. I'd choose pistols at forty paces because I have a flair for that sort of drama and it always sounds pretty noble," Genesis said, with a perfectly straight face. "Shit." He ran a hand through his hair. "Guns are illegal, how are you with a sword?" He looked directly at his cousin. He wasn't offended and could see that Tullo was teasing him to make a point.

"A bit old-fashioned for me," Tullo grimaced. "How do you feel about a cage fight to the death?"

"There's no poetry or grace in cage fighting!" Genesis looked aghast. "And you expect me to work with this uncouth monster? He who has no depth to his soul!" He turned a long-suffering look on Xavier and Dominic.

"He's the devil here, ergo he doesn't have a soul. So just work with what you're given, Gen" Xavier said and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, all right," Genesis shrugged, settled back in his chair and smirked at Tullo. They had a good relationship and working with him would be entertaining if nothing else.

There was chatter amongst the Table as the shadows were aligned with their mentors. Only the two leaders and Gideon were not assigned shadows. Hector's shadow would be Helena, in lieu of any other doctors in their generation, but she would not sit at the Table gatherings. Having a woman on the Table would probably be one step too far for the older generation to accept. Gideon, too, would have a female counterpart, who managed the family bank, but only he would deal with the Table business.

"You said there was a second lesson learned?" Orlando asked. He had a fairly good idea what it was, but he was happy to hear Xavier's explanation of events.

"As most of you know, the early warning system that allowed us to foil the attack on Mama and Emma didn't come through the usual channels. When I was about twelve, I started spending half of my summer with a specially-selected group of boys at various locations. That group was formed by our fathers and included at least one boy from each of the Tables, the Donatis sent twins, Dante and Leo. We formed bonds of friendship that tied us all together, some more than others, but the bonds were real none-the-less. You all know that I went overseas earlier in the year on family business. I met with that group there," he explained.

"Each man in that group is now either an Oracle or Chair of their Family. It was to that group that Ricco Vitali sent his warning, hoping that they would believe him and raise the alarm immediately. He knew the watchmen would take time to investigate the warning, rather than just hit the alarm button, so he went with his gut. I didn't hesitate once I realised who it was from and who he had sent it to, such is the trust I have in his brother Matteo and the rest of that circle of friends," Xavier admitted. "That bond and the trust I have in it saved the hearts of our Table, and I think it bears closer scrutiny about what we could do, if we each chose to connect with our counterparts on the new Tables. All of the Tables have selected their new generation, and many like ours have not taken control of the Table yet. So, we have a unique opportunity here to reach out to each other in a way the Tables haven't in the past. Even to those that we may not always agree with."

"I have to say that if Xavier had hesitated, it might not have been such a successful day for us. We were given a window of minutes to act, and the man who took the time to alert every Table was, at the time, battling to keep his mother and the woman he loved alive. You all know the Vitalis' story and why Theresa now lies in one of our own hospital beds," Orlando added to the story. He was a little in awe of Ricco Vitali's cool calmness in the crisis that he was embroiled in. His vision had saved all but one of the mothers of the Tables, and that family had been part of the crisis assailing the Tables.

The discussion was all positive, and the men could all see the merits of what Xavier was proposing. The option of video conferencing made the idea far more appealing for the men who stayed close to home, especially after finding their soulmate. They also knew that any threat to Xavier's wife Emma, real or imagined, would have made him react far more rapidly than an alert to the watchmen would have, for the same reason. The bond of the curse made the Zenati men overprotective and, at times, overbearing and controlling, where their wives were concerned.

"New business." Xavier ended the discussion to move on with the hunt for several Suebi pods and their leaders that had gone to ground and couldn't be located as yet. The federal police were working with the family, as well as the Tatar psychics, but they were continually hitting dead ends.

"The only person with the information to help us is in no fit state to do so yet, but we have hope," Dominic said and looked directly at Genesis. "How is Olivia doing now?" he asked.

"Better, but I doubt that she knows much. Remington kept her separate from that side of his business, for the most part," he said. "Give me a few more days, and we can get the Tatar to speak to her and see what they can sense. I doubt that she could handle a real interrogation of any sort," he said, barely controlling the dark emotion that he felt at having to put Olivia through that.

"Let us know, but the sooner, the better," Xavier suggested meaningfully.

"Sure," Genesis said. "With the command centre being set up here for us, I'm sure that I can get some investigations done quicker and more cleanly than I would have otherwise."

"This place hardly gets used now that we have the facility out at Coollinminmin. It was on the verge of being closed down anyway. We could look at setting up something more permanent for our Table here if you want, Eks," Hector suggested. "Unless you're in love with that stuffy old library that your father uses."

"Not a bad idea. It's pretty central to us all. Gideon, can you look into it for us? Get Rico and Zanto in on it too. See what we would need to do to convert and work up some numbers for us. Assuming you mean to house a server here, as well as offices for the financial arm of the family business," Xavier continued as he considered the proposal. "Maybe even a permanent media hub, if Gen is setting up a temporary one anyway."

The discussion began around the various needs of each member and their shadow. When Genesis finally looked at his watch again, he was shocked at the amount of time that he had been in the room with his brothers and cousins and came to his feet.

"I'm just going to check on Olivia. Keep me informed or come to grab me if anything else comes up, but I am not needed for this," he said and walked toward the door.

"Wait, there's something I haven't told you." Gideon stopped him with his hand on the doorknob.

"What's up?" Genesis turned to look at his oldest brother, realising that there was a small hint of anxiety in his voice as he asked him to wait.

"Mama is on her way to the city today," Gideon said so quietly that Genesis wasn't sure if he had heard right until Noah let out an expletive.

"Fuck! Even Papa wasn't dumb enough to tell her," Noah said and narrowed his eyes on Gideon.

"I didn't say anything about Olivia, just Viv. I'm just giving you the heads-up in case," Gideon replied, trying to justify why he had called their eccentric mother back to the city. "Besides, Madrina misses her terribly."

"Shit!" Genesis spat and stalked from the room.

*****

Vivienne and Marcella had enjoyed their morning with Valdemaro Zenati, and after dropping Vivienne's car back at the apartment building, they had gone into the city to do a little shopping before meeting Sera for lunch. They were laughing at the fact that Valdemaro had also given them a list of stores where the Zenati held accounts that they could use, saying that Gideon had organised charge cards for them if they wanted anything to make their stay in Darwin more enjoyable.

Thanking of her dwindling savings, Marcella had jumped at the opportunity, while Vivienne had been more reluctant to take advantage of his kindness. It had made Marcella more aware than ever that she and her new friend had grown up in completely different worlds, but there was no way she was going to turn down the free loan of a practically brand-new car and access to several charge cards while she was here. She knew that, just like every Table, the Zenati could afford to be generous, and she was intending to help Genesis by helping Olivia, so he owed her in a way.

They walked into the upmarket restaurant and asked for the table booked under the name of Zenati. They were led to the bar where two women rather than one waited for their arrival. Knowing how nervous Vivienne was to meet what would possibly be her future sister-in-law, Marcella stepped forward and held out her hand.

"You must be Sera. I have been really looking forward to meeting you," she said with a wide smile.

"You must be Marcella, and you," she turned her gaze on Vivienne, "must be the lovely woman who has turned my big brother's brain to mush," she giggled, holding out her hand. "It's so lovely to meet you, Vivienne. Let me introduce you to Tatianna Zenati, Gideon's mother and mine." She grinned again as her mother stared at Vivienne's outstretched hand, not moving to take it for several long moments, then taking it in a limp hold for a second before letting go again.

"My goodness, you look like a cross between Wonder Woman and Geena Davis. I'll get a stiff neck looking up at you like this. Please sit down, Vivienne," she said and looked at the second woman to arrive. "Hello Marcella, I was so sorry to hear about your sister's plight. It must be devastating,"

"Thank you," Marcella said, stunned by the larger-than-life version of Sophia Loren that she was confronted with. She was offended on Vivienne's behalf by the woman's rudeness, but her friend didn't seem affected as she took a seat.

"Shall we go get our table?" Sera asked. Vivienne only nodded and swallowed, but Marcella smiled, trying to break the tension as they rose and followed the two Zenati women back to the restaurant hostess to be seated. She took Vivienne's hand, showing her support, and saw the gratitude in her new friend's eyes as she turned to face her.