Pipe Burst Guest novel · Chapter 24 of 24

Chapter 24: Sunday Table

The Brancato family ate on Sundays at the Arden, in the dining room with the long windows over the river.

A year had passed since the day of the petition, and the table had changed.

It was round now.

I had bought it myself, in the spring, and had the old rectangle carted away.

I wanted no man at either end of anything.

I sat where I chose, and the captains sat where they liked.

The old captain was on my left, and his grandson sat next to him, eating bread and not listening.

The nervous captain's sons had brought wives.

The heavy man with the rings passed the platter of lamb to the man beside him without being asked.

"The dock count came in," the old captain said, over the clatter of forks.

"The river docks are up eleven percent since the winter."

"Because of the new lease," said the captain beside him.

"Because of the Donna's books," the old man said firmly. "Every one of us knows what he's owed."

Aurelio sat at the far curve, in a clean cardigan with the buttons done up right.

He had put on weight, and his glasses were new.

"Cesare's lawyer called on Friday," he said to me. "He'll take the plea. Twenty-five years."

The table stopped chewing for a moment.

I put down my fork.

"And Ines?"

"Eight years, with a recommendation for treatment." He cleared his throat. "She wrote to you again."

"Put it with the others."

"There are a lot of others."

"I'll read them when I'm ready," I said, and he nodded.

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