It was after school and Gianluca had finished his football practice and was now hanging out with Christian. They were playing billiard in one of the recreation time home rooms at the Irish school.

Gianluca asked as he took aim at his target with his billiard stick "So... My sister agreed to join your astronomy club today? That's good. I prefer the astronomy club to that dull club she was dedicating herself to before."

Christian said "Well yes. She did. So now you tell me what's happening at your school. Anything interesting has happened today?"

Gianluca stood up after his took his shot and relocated to the other side of the table "Nothing much... Well actually maybe there is something... You know... Luigi and Lena just joined our school today..."

Christian said "Really? Lena in your school. She is your girl... So you get to spend more time with her. Great idea..."

Gianluca said "Well. Today was her first day. I did not really get to see her. She spent all day doing tests and doing the usual stuff they do during induction. But I hope to see more of her from now on..."

Christian said "I see why you want Lena around you in school but why did his brother tag along? Is he part of the package? Couldn't you get rid of him? Get him sent back to his old school. I have no idea how you stand this guy..."

Gianluca stood up and said "Christian. We have been through this."

Christian said "Come on. How can you tolerate him around you?"

Gianluca sighed "Christian. For the last time... Luigi is not interested in going out with Gabriela. Even if he was I would have no problem with it. Gabriela is not interested in him either... Seriously... you need to drop this subject..."

Christian said "The last time I was at your house he was all over her joking around... Other guys don't do that with your sister."

Gianluca explained "Christian. They are just friends. I know you don't like to see guys around my sister. But he is not just any guy. I know he has honour."

Christian said "Luigi does not come close to who I think your sister deserves. Take my advice. Get rid of him...." He then picked up a glass of water and drank from it.

Gianluca said "Firstly Luigi has a girl now..."

Christian choked on his water "What did you say?"

Gianluca said "Luigi has a girl now. Well the girl is almost agreeing to go out with him but she hasn't agreed yet. But I have never seen Luigi so determined to this level about something. He wants to get together with her."

Christian said with disbelief "He actually has a girl? Really?"

Gianluca said "Yes. They met recently."

Christian asked " Anyone we know? Irish or Italian?"

Gianluca said "No. She is neither. She is American. She is the daughter of a chemist in town..."

Christian said "So ... he is actually not interested in your sister."

Gianluca said "No he isn't. I told you many times Christian. Just drop it. I know you want to look out for Gabriela and I appreciate it. But Luigi has a girl. He doesn't look at my sister that way and Gabriela doesn't like him like that either. I live under the same roof as Gabriela and I know my sister. She doesn't like Luigi in that way or any other boy as far as I know. Now it's your turn man. Take a shot."

Christian put his glass of water down and said in a low voice "Well, it changes things a little bit."

Gianluca didn't catch what he said "What?"

Christian said "Nothing. Never mind." He then picked up his billiard stick and took a shot.

After minutes in silence when it was Gianluca's turn Christian said "Do you think your sister will ever marry Irish?"

Gianluca said "I have no idea. I think my parents may have a say about that. If a guy asks Gabriela out then my parents will need to approve and give her permission to date him. If my parents say no then no she can't marry Irish. That much I know."

Christian said "What would you decide if you had a say in this matter?"

Gianluca said "But I don't get to decide. My parents do. I will keep out of it. I guess I would totally do a background check on the guy and question him on his intentions towards my sister but apart from that I do not want to be involved in any decisions about Gabriella's future."

Christian said "So you don't care who your sister marries as long as the guy is committed and you don't find any issues with his background."

Gianluca shrugged. "I guess. Why would I have a problem?"

Christian said "Interesting."

Gianluca did not think much of Christian's words and carried on with billiard.

*****

It was late afternoon and Gianluca was walking back from the Irish school after meeting up with Christian. It was time to go home. He had his football practice. Had played some billiard with Christian and now he was ready to go home. He made his way to the car park. He saw the usual car that picked him up. His sister finished at a different time at times so they did not always ride together.

During the ride he thought back to the day he had. It was so busy. Too bad he had no chance to see Lena after what had happened. He hoped it was all ok with her. He wanted to check with Gabriela when he got home to ask about how Lena was that day.

After he reached home, he walked straight to the kitchen to get a drink. He saw his sister on the way in the corridor towards the kitchen. He asked her about her day and about astronomy club. She said all was fine. He then asked " I know I set you the task to show Lena around today and make her feel at ease. You did not bring up Nick. Right? And you did not tell anyone about what happened I hope... You promised me."

Gabriela said "I did not tell anyone about what happened to her with Nick and his buddies. Come on...I also did not bring him up. I know how to keep secrets..."

Gianluca narrowed his eyes "Oh. I know you can keep secrets alright. You failed to mention Nick to me even though you knew about him..."

Gabriela sighed " I just could not tell you about Lena's secrets. She is my best friend. I thought you might get mad and get Lena into trouble with her parents..." She stopped talking as she noticed his narrowed eyes.. She said quickly "But at the end I did tell you... Didn't I? I know I told you only after everything was sorted... But better late than never... Right?... Ok... I am sorry..."

Gianluca said "I would never do anything to put Lena in danger or get her into trouble. I would have protected her."

Gabriela said "Ok. Next time I will convince Lena to tell you her secrets if something like this happens again."

Gianluca said "Alright. You better not hide anything as big as this from me again... Anyways... I wanted to ask you... How did Lena get on with school today..."

Gabriela said "It was fine. She liked it..."

Gianluca said "Really? So you are telling me she had no problems with our school system. She just blended in..."

Gabriela shrugged "Well. Yes... You can ask her yourself if you want. She is in the TV room."

Gianluca was surprised "Lena is here?"

Gabriela said "Yes... She is... Her father arrived back from his trip early today. He needs to meet up with our father tonight about business. So father invited him and his family for dinner tonight so they can discuss business afterwards here. Our father offered Mr Alessandrini that his kids could straight come here tonight with us sharing a car... I was leaving school the same time as Lena and Luigi so I came with them... Luigi is right now in our library checking out our comic book collection. Lena is watching TV now if you want to go catch up with her. Keep her company, will you? I have to go find call Ciara and talk to her about our Maths club... I gotta go." She then walked away in a hurry.

Gianluca walked to the TV room and saw Lena sitting down watching TV.

Lena noticed a presence at the door. She turned. She expected to see Gabriela. Was she back so soon though from speaking to Ciara? She froze when she saw Gianluca. She was no longer going to try to avoid Gianluca. In that moment, she could have tried to run out of the room with an excuse. She could have. But she did not. Lena had always avoided him as much as she could... She never really wanted to really know him... And what had happened had opened her eyes... She had realised she had never given Gianluca a chance to show him who he was... But how he had handled her situation yesterday had just showed her who he really was... Someone who lived with honour. She just now was interested in knowing him better. She knew it was not going to be easy. Because his presence still intimidated her.

She nervously said "Hi Gianluca."

Gianluca nodded "Hi." He then walked slowly towards her and took a seat next to her on the other side of the three seater sofa at the far end.

Gianluca said "Gabriela told me you are staying for dinner tonight. That's nice... I was hoping to talk to you alone... How are you?"

Lena looked down in her lap. "I am fine... Thanks to you Gianluca." She said honestly

Gianluca said "I don't follow. What do you mean thanks to me..."

Lena shyly turned and looked up at him. She said "I just feel like I have another chance at life. You saved my life. If it was not for you I would have been killed... I owe you my life"

Gianluca said "Lena you sound like your brother. You or him do not owe me..."

Lena said as she looked back into her lap "But I do... I feel responsible... It is all my fault... I caused so much trouble for everyone. I would have gotten myself killed if it was not for you."

Gianluca said in a gentle tone "What happened was not your fault... What happened was not orchestrated by you... You did not cause any trouble for anyone..."

Lena said as she looked down again "I just want you to know that... I will never forget what you did for me... Ever..."

Gianluca seemed unphased and unaffected by Lena's words by the sounds of it. he downplayed the situation "I handled the situation like any other man would have... A real man protects his woman... It's a man's job to protect his woman. That is all I did Lena... I did my duty."

Lena was touched by his words. All Lena wanted to say in that moment was this. "I am sorry for how I have treated you ... and how I have thought about you all my life... I am sorry for trying to avoid you when you are the one who protected me when I trusted the wrong person and I needed help the most. I am sorry for judging you without knowing you. I want to get to know you more. I need to. I will try." She was too shy to say it. She could only promise these vows to herself.

Just as Gianluca was about to say something Luigi walked in. Then the boys started chatting and soon it was dinner time when Lothario and Lidia Alessandrini came along. After dinner. The ladies with the girls went for tea to a different room. Lothario Alessandrini and Gerardo went to have a business meeting. The boys were left at the table finishing their deserts. They had second helpings when it came to desert always. They were football players and needed the energy.

As they were eating in silence, Gianluca looked up and said "Luigi..."

Luigi looked up "Yes..."

Gianluca said "How did you find the football training and your new team mates today?"

Luigi said "It wasn't a disaster but it was close to one."

The banter was always hot between the boys. Nothing had changed. The tensions were always there between the two of them when it came to football.

Gianluca said "How do you mean?"

Luigi said "Your team is out of shape. You call yourself a captain?"

Gianluca said "My team is fitter than the marine recruits...."

Luigi said "Really?"

Luigi said "Prove it..."

Gianluca said "Prove what? That my team are fitter than the marines?"

Luigi said "Yes. Book a training this weekend with training marines go through."

Gianluca said "No. The team can rest over the weekend. I do not schedule weekend training."

Luigi said "I always did."

Gianluca said "I am not you. Am I?"

Luigi said "No, you are not. You focus on being a popular captain rather than a descent captain. It is not a popularity contest you know."

Gianluca said "If you want to test how far you can go with your strict marine weekend doctrine, why don't you take over from me as caption and see how long you will last."

Luigi narrowed his eyes "No thank you. I do not want your position. captains are selected by voting democratically amongst the team members. I am new here. No one will vote for me.

Gianluca said "Ok. Fine then... I offer you the non-democratic position of vice captain then. Vice captain is chosen by captain and not by votes..."

Luigi said "And... I can arrange the weekend training this way?"

Gianluca shook his head "No. There is going to be no weekend training. I do not want to risk burn out with the team. But if you have other ideas that do not clash with mine, be my guest and put them into action. I think we can work together in putting a plan for improving the team. Deal?"

Luigi said "No deal."

Gianluca said "Why not? Why don't you want to be vice captain here... We need your strategic mind... Not your training ideas. We are good with fitness here mostly."

Luigi said "I want an office..."

Gianluca said "Office? Why can't you use mine?"

Luigi said "Take it or leave it."

Gianluca said "Fine. I take it. Deal."

****

Christian was sitting behind his desk studying as he was eating from a large tub of ice cream. He heard a knock on the door. He quickly hid the tub and the spoon in it under the desk. Christian called "Enter."

It was Connor MacKenna. A friend. Connor entered and closed the door. He said "Hi."

Christian said "Hello. Have all the people arrived or your people have come early?" He then put back the tub on the desk and put a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.

Connor walked closer to the desk and sat opposite Christian on a sofa facing his desk. He crossed his legs and leaned back against the back of the sofa. "My people have arrived so have everyone else... Oh... You are having ice cream? Before dinner." He laughed. "Does your grandpa know Christian?"

Christian said "No. He doesn't know."

Connor shook his head "Come on. Your grandpa does not have many rules for you. He takes this one seriously though. No eating deserts and big snacks before dinner. He cares for your health. He says you are a teenager playing baseball most days so you need to eat proper meals. This rule he has set for you is reasonable. How are you going to finish your meal today? That tub is huge."

Christian shrugged "He won't notice if I don't eat much today. I will eat dinner slowly."

Connor said "Good luck with that."

Christian said "Thanks." Christian put another spoonful into his mouth.

Connor sighed "I think you should not push your luck with the rules. You only have a few rules to follow. Why don't you just follow the rules?"

Christian said "You make it sound like I break the rules every day. I only break the rules some days... when I feel like it. Today I felt like having ice cream. I just did. So I am going to have it.... So...Do you want to play darts before we go down for dinner?" Christian put another spoon of ice cream into his mouth.

Connor said "No. Your grandfather said dinner will be served in ten minutes for everyone. He said you have been studying hard in your room since your returned from school today and that is why you couldn't come down earlier to welcome the guests. By the looks of it you are studying hard aren't you? ..." He said sarcastically.

Christian was now playing with his ice cream in the tub. He said "I was studying when you came up here but I was having some ice cream too."

Connor said "If you say so... Anyways. Your grandfather told me to come up here and tell you to come down in the next ten minutes for dinner."

Christian said "I am almost finished with this tub." He then took a spoonful of his ice cream "This is so good..."

Connor said "You could have some ice cream after dinner instead. Why do you want to anger your grandpa for not following his rules?"

Christian said "Oh I am planning to have some of this stuff after dinner too. Do not worry about that... I will not eat much at dinner to make room for dessert... As for my grandpa... Well, he won't know..." He then took one last spoonful of ice cream, then put away the spoon. He then walked to the fire place and threw the empty paper tub into the fire place.

Connor laughed "Destroying the evidence. Are you?"

Christian shrugged "Why not? I try not to leave any evidence behind whenever possible when I break my grandpa's rules." He then walked to the mirror and fixed his tie. "Let's go."

Connor shook his head. Connor could not believe Christian and his rebellious ways. Christian's grandfather was Christopher Kavannagh. He was one of the longest serving and most powerful mob bosses who's name could bring fear to the hearts of the toughest men. Yet Christian tried his patience and showed no fear of facing his wrath. His grandpa was quite lenient with Christian and did allow him to do anything he wanted mostly but if Christian broke his rules, then Christian had to answer to his grandpa and face a reprimanding of his life.

The two boys made their way to the big dining hall. There were a number of tables set up nicely and all the Irish American guests were seated already. Connor went to a different table. Christian went up to his grandpa's table. His grandpa looked at him "Take a seat Christian."

Christian sat down next to his grandpa. His grandpa reached his hand to his grandson's face and stroked his jaw gently. Christian reminded him so much of his eldest son who was no longer alive. His grandson was the mirror image of his eldest son who had looked exactly like Christian when he was sixteen. Christian not only had inherited his father's looks but he had also inherited his stubborn and rebellious personality which Christopher Kavanaugh adored.

Christopher Kavannagh stopped stroking his grandson's jaw and pulled his hand away. He then said "How was school today?"

Christian smiled brightly "Today was actually great, grandpa." He was thinking back to his encounter with Gabriela and her joining his club.

Nothing made Christopher Kavannagh happier than seeing his grandson content and smiling. He said "Wonderful. I am pleased to hear that."

Christian's grandfather cared so much for him. The heart of Christopher Kavannagh had a place only for his grandson and no one else. As much as Christopher Kavannagh liked to see his grandson content he also hated to see him hurt too. No one could hide from the wrath of Christopher Kavanagh if they hurt his grandson in any way.