Why I Hated The Guy From The FBI Ch. 11

Tony replied, "From her reaction, your eminence, I think that is a safe bet. How do you know it is a boy?"

"I can only be wrong half the time, Anthony, but when I am right, it makes me look good."

Rose did not hear that part of the conversation. She was too busy taking care of her pregnant daughter to worry about it being a boy or a girl, at this point in a pregnancy.

"Eminence, will we be able to use the cathedral for the wedding this afternoon?"

"Anthony, if it were in ruins, her wedding would take place in God's Holy Cathedral on this day."

"Thank you very much, your eminence. We will meet again at three o'clock."

Antonia was awake, looking up at three people, wondering what had happened to her. Then, she popped up onto her feet kissed the bishop, and said, "Really?"

"I went to confession today, Antonia. It would bad form for me to lie just afterwards, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, it would. Thank you eminence; I cannot wait to tell Frank. He will be so pleased; I think?"

Tony asked her what she meant she thought he would be pleased.

"Dad, I promised him I would never tie him down, married or not; children or no children. If he wanted to walk away from me, he could without any remorse or regrets. It is part of our deal."

"Craziest deal I have ever heard of, I will tell you."

"Dad, you know how I was. If I was that bad all the time would you want to be tied down to me?"

Tony thought for a long moment and said, "Honestly, no, I would not, I would have killed myself, first."

Rose smacked him and the bishop reminded him that it would be a mortal sin.

"Eminence, sometime living in hell for eternity is not as bad as thinking of a lifetime of living with my daughter."

Bishop Delphini said, "Anthony, by the New Year, you will eat those words one hundred times."

"Eminence, I would pray that it will go from your lips to God's ears."

"Anthony you have not been listening. The Lord has already answered my prayers. I have to leave you now. I have other business to attend to before this afternoon. Take care of her, and may the peace of the Lord be with you."

"...and with you Bishop."

Antonia looked at the bishop, as he walked away from them, and asked, "How could he possibly know I was pregnant?"

Rose asked her what she might have said to the bishop in confidence that might have led him to that conclusion.

"Nothing mom, honestly, I did not say anything at all. I yelled, bitched, cursed, and screamed, but I never mentioned a thing about wanting to be pregnant."

"When was the last time you had your period, Antonia?"

Tony said, "I love these intimate female conversations."

Rose and Antonia barked, "Shut up Anthony/Dad!"

"Who the hell keeps track mom? It comes every 28 days, and it leaves 3 days later. It is a minor inconvenience for me, but Frank makes a big deal about it because he cannot get laid."

Rose said to her daughter, "You should ask Frank when his last dry spell was, in that case, Antonia. It will tell you approximately how far along you are."

"I will call him from the hotel and tell him he is going to be a father. Then I will ask him if he wants to go through with the wedding this afternoon. I am afraid of what his answer will be, however either way, I swear mom I will be fine."

"Frank is going to surprise you with his answer, baby. You have nothing to worry about. He loves more than his own life. Look what he has already given up for you. Look how he has protected you from harm."

"He was being well paid to do that mom. Now, I will find out if he really wants to be with me."

Tony answered his cell phone, had a quick conversation, and hung up.

He looked at Rose and said, "You acting lessons worked out fine. The four boxes have arrived, and are in safe storage."

"What acting lessons mom?"

"That is a story for another day. We are now running short on time and long on a list of things to do. We have to back to the hotel. You want to call Frank. You have to get your hair and nails done, and so do I. Then we have to get you dressed and get back here before three o'clock or the bishop will start without you. Let's get moving."

Charlie answered the phone in Frank's suite, when Antonia called. She asked him what they were doing, and he told her they were playing cards. She said, "Charlie let me talk to him, please."

He replied, "Antonia, a bride and groom are not allowed to communicate on their wedding day, before they are at the church."

"Charlie, do not make me hurt you again. Put Frank on the telephone, before I put your hands into casts."

"Everyone was thinking you had turned over a new leaf, Antonia. I am happy to see that some of the old you is still inside."

"Hello baby, what is so important that you had to call before the wedding?"

"Frank, you had better sit down. I have something to say, and I do not want you to fall down and hurt yourself."

"Okay, I am sitting, what is the problem Antonia. I am sure we can fix it, before this afternoon."

"Frank remember I promise I would never tie you down; you could walk away anytime you wanted to, whether we were married or not, whether we had children or not. I told you I would be fine, and I will. I promise you I will be just fine. I love you, but if you want to walk away you can. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Yes I understand, Antonia, but you have not told me what you had to tell me yet?"

"Frank, I am pregnant."

There was not a sound from the other end of the phone. Antonia started to cry.

Suddenly, Philips voice was on the phone yelling at her, "What the fuck did you just do to him? He is out cold."

Antonia started to giggle betwixt her tears. She said, "Philip, he had the same reaction I had, when Bishop Delphini told me I was pregnant."

Philip laughed, "I have never seen a 6'2" tree fall that far and that fast, in my life."

"I told him to sit down, and he told me he was, Philip."

"He lied to you, Toni. He fell like a stone. Charlie just threw some water on him, he is awake now. He wants to talk to you; do you have any more surprises for him, or should we let him up?"

"No Philip that was the biggie."

"You should have warned me that was coming babe. I was not expecting it."

"Idiot, I am the one that is expecting. Now the decision is yours. I tricked you into proposing to me. However, I meant what I said before. I will be at the church at Three o'clock. I will understand if you are not there. Good bye, Frank." She hung up the hotel phone, and left the room to go for her hair appointment before it started to ring, and ring, and ring.

The operator said to Frank, "I am sorry sir, but she is not answering the phone. Would you like to leave her a message?"

"Yes, please! Tell my bride to be, when she gets to the church, I am going to wring her neck!"

The operator thought to herself, "Oh my, is this another lovers quarrel, or should I call the police?"

Five women sat in chairs in the salon, being primp and polished for the afternoon's festivities. Three of the four were happy. Rose was worried about her daughter's conversation with Frank, and Antonia looked like she was on the verge of tears. The three happy women ignored Antonia, believing she was having pre-wedding jitters. Only two knew she was pregnant, and neither of them were talking about it, at the moment. Rose wanted to speak to Antonia, but could not because of the proximity of the other women. At times like this she wished she was a telepath, like that women on Star Trek; she needed to know what was going on in her daughter' heads desperately, so she could help her.

Frank was nearly uncontrollable, after he threw the phone up against the wall. "I would kill that little bitch, if she was not pregnant. Hasn't she figured out yet that I love her? How dare she tell me that I can just walk away now if I feel like it? If I were in my right mind, I would not show up just to teach her a lesson she would never forget."

Charlie looked at Philip and winked. "Let's go to a strip joint and get wasted. Fuck her, Frank. If she thinks you don't love her, maybe she does not love you enough to trust you? I hate penguin suits anyway. I propose jeans, tee shirts, and hard liquor."

Philip said, "I second the motion, Frank. Something is wrong with her. She does not trust you enough to marry you. She wants you to leave before the wedding. She does not want you to raise your child with her."

"Are you two guys out of your fucking minds? I love that tiny tart to death. I love her enough for both of us. She is just having pre-wedding jitters and doesn't know what to do with herself. She will be fine, after she sees me by the altar railing."

"Bullshit Frank, she just used you to get her pregnant. Now she wants you gone."

"How would either of you two know; neither of you are married."

Philip and Charlie could not go on any longer. They both burst out laughing.

When Frank realized what they had done to him, he said, "I am taking both of you to the shooting range, and using you for targets."

Charlie replied, "That is fine with me, I know we will be safe there. Anything past ten feet, you could not hit with a bulldozer."

Frank charged at both his friends, who split up, and went in opposite directions. He yelled to them, "You will both be next to me at the altar. I will get you there, you conniving bastards."

"You deserved every word of it, Frank."

At 2P.M. Celeste made a call to insure all the photographers were in place. They were, because they knew better than not to upset her.

At 2:10, the bridesmaids assembled in the main ballroom for pictures.

At 2:20, Celeste, Rose, Antonia, and several of her aunts arrived in the ballroom. Antonia's aunts released the bridal gown, from around Antonia's body, to a chorus of breaths being lost because of its beauty.

Even the jaded photographers, who had seen and taken pictures of hundreds and thousands of gowns and dresses, were taken aback. They started taking pictures from every angle imaginable.

Celeste had to warn them of the time constraints they were under.

The group pictures were taken hurriedly. The bridesmaids went to their waiting limousines. The gown was resealed in its protective coating, and everyone went to remaining limousines, for the ride to the cathedral.

"Mom, I do not think he is going to be there. I told him he did not have to be. I told him I was pregnant, and if he wanted he could leave and I would be fine."

"Honey, he will be there, in front of the church, waiting for you. He loves you to pieces. He will never let you go, ever."

Celeste said, "You cockroach, you did not tell me you were pregnant."

Antonia smiled. "Bishop Delphini told me this morning."

"How the hell did he know?"

"You will have to ask him, because I do not have a clue."

When they arrived at the cathedral, photographers and people were everywhere. A groomsman opened the door for them. Celeste exited first; followed by Rose.

Her aunt's huddle around the opened door as Antonia exited the limousine. The gown was unwrapped, into its full glory. When they stepped aside and Antonia was in full view, there were gasps everywhere in the crowd. Her gown was exquisite, and everyone who saw it, wanted one just like it. 'A Star Was Born!'

Anthony Caruso walked up to his daughter and kissed her on both cheeks. He joked with her, "The FBI has finally found us."

Antonia laughed and asked, "Where?"

Tony pointed to them and Antonia pointed to one of them and signaled him to come over to them.

The agent looked confused, until she gave him an angry look, and did it, again.

"What can I do for you Miss Caruso?"

"You cannot mess up my wedding day. I want all of you, and I mean every one of you, in the church, watching my wedding, and my father. Tonight, I want all of you at the reception, enjoying the festivities, and watching my father. You know what happened in Brooklyn. Heads are going to roll for that incident. If you do not do what I am telling you to do; heads are going to roll here, also. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes Miss Caruso, I will pass the word along. All of us will follow your request to the letter."

"One more thing, tell Mister Cross, that due to previous commitments, we had to delay our news conferences until Monday. I have postponed my honeymoon, just so Frank and I could be there."

"I will pass that information along also, Miss Caruso."

"Dad, I think it is time to see if Frank has shown up."

Tony lowered her Bridal Vail, took her arm, and began the long walk up the steps up the steps into the cathedral.

The music began, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen walked down the aisle and separated at the altar. Then the organist played Richard Wagner's traditional wedding march. The assembled guests and FBI agents rose, and watched as Anthony Caruso walked his daughter down the aisle, in the most magnificent wedding gown they had ever seen. It was being recorded on video, digitally, and on classic film.

Antonia's eyes became misty, when she saw Frank standing at the front rail, waiting for her. She almost ran to him, but she restrained herself, because Bishop Delphini had arrived, and was standing by the altar, ready to begin the Nuptial Mass.

When Tony gave Antonia's hand to Frank, he said to him, "Good luck, my son, God knows you are going to need it!"

Frank replied, "I request permission to kill her, after she gives birth to the baby."

"If she does not kill you first, granted."

Antonia said, "God or I will get you both for that. More than likely it will be me, with the bishop's permission, that is."

The two men laughed, and Tony went and sat by Rose.

"Should I ask what the laughing was about, or do I not want to know?"

"Sometimes Rose, ignorance is bliss. This is one of those times."

Rose elbowed him in his ribs, so hard; he would be black and blue in the morning.

The mass, the wedding ceremony, the pictures in the cathedral, and the reception line leading out of the church, took two hours.

The guests went to the hotel for finger food and drinks, while the wedding party posed in another room for the formal photos, which took another hour. Dinner was to begin at 8P.M.; however, Antonia was exhausted and needed to rest.

Frank looked at her and said, "Okay Mrs. Gennaro, your room or mine?"

"There are no pockets in this dress Frank, so guess what room we are going to use?"

"Your mother gave me the key card to your room, so we are going there."

"Let's go Frank, I have to get out of these heels; they are killing my feet."

"I thought you looked taller today. I thought it was because of the baby."

"Very funny Frank, you are finally developing a sense of humor."

When they were in the room, Antonia asked Frank to take off her shoes because she could not see them.

"Is your belly that big already?"

"Frank, do not start with me; I cannot see my shoes because of the dress and you know it. If you ever want to get close to my pussy again, you had better be nice, or there will be a closed sign on it. I am pregnant; you have done you job well, so be nice."

"Antonia, what has happened to you? Normally you would have been at my throat trying to rip it out of my body. You are not acting like yourself anymore."

"Are you complaining, Frank?"

"I am not complaining. I just do not know when the next explosion is going to come."

"There are not going to be anymore explosions, Frank. I had a long talk with the bishop, and he made me make some promises that I have to keep for a lifetime. It is going to be hard for me to change a lifetime of habits, overnight, but I am trying; I am trying very hard."

"Since you are trying very hard, let's try this one on for size. How dare you, on our wedding day, call me and tell me to leave, if I want to. Then you tell me you are pregnant, with my baby, and tell me you will be just fine without me in your life. If I could have crawled through the telephone lines, I would have smacked you silly, before I strangled you to death. Do you understand how much you mean to me? Do you understand the lengths I would go to just to keep you safe? Do you even trust me enough to help you raise our child together?"

"Yes, I do."

Frank was about to blow a gasket. "Yes you do; what?"

"I know all those things Frank. I also promised you your freedom, if you wanted it. I needed to be sure you wanted me more."

"You little bitch; I want you more than air."

"I want to get laid."

"What about your dress?

"Fuck the dress, I am already married."

The two of them were a little late for the start of dinner.

The End