Chapter 4

Two weeks after his meeting with the cosche bosses, Joe stood once again in the same conference room. This time he was addressing members of Phil's cosca. Ostensibly, as far as the outside world knew, Phil's family was holding a reunion in the space so generously donated by his good friend, Joe Fanelli.

In all, there were thirty-two adults to transport to the primitive colony, including boys fourteen or older. The three women between fifteen and twenty, and the seven children under fourteen, all of whom were to go to Catania, had already said their goodbyes and been transported to the waiting ship.

Joe looked the crowd over, particularly Phil's oldest son, Raul. Raul was unhappy, mostly about the fact that he'd not been allowed to pack in his sidearm.

Speaking to the crowd, Joe said, "I believe that Phil has told each of you what to expect..." He paused to see them acknowledge it, before continuing, "In that case there is little to be gained by postponing our business." Several of his men moved in among the prospective passengers, handing out large Ziploc bags and markers.

"You know that you are to make the trip in hibernation. There is nothing to be afraid of. We have moved literally hundreds of people this way, and have never lost a single person. What it amounts to is a fairly long state of general anesthesia. At the same time, you body temperature is lowered in order to slow down your metabolism. You consume less oxygen and take up less space, which allows us to transport you all at the same time.

"In order for this to work, you have to give up some modesty, at least on a temporary basis. Please remove all of your clothing and place it in the bag you were just given. Use the marker to write your name on the bag. It will be stowed with your other goods and returned to you when you are delivered to your new world and revived."

"Why do we have to go naked and drugged?" one of the men demanded, amid a lot of unhappy grumbling.

"That has already been explained," Joe answered. "The transport ships are not Darjee colony transports. They are cargo transports built by humans. There isn't enough space available to have extra people walking around. The ship can't carry enough extra oxygen, or water, or food, for that; nor is it equipped to recycle them fast enough to keep so many people alive and fully-functional for the duration of the voyage.

"Remember, you're going to be aboard the ship for the equivalent of about thirty days, but it'll feel like you just woke up from a short nap when you get there. Believe me, it's better this way. You can't wear clothes in hibernation - it interferes with our ability to keep you alive and healthy. Be respectful of each other, and the nudity won't be a problem.

"Your goods are delivered first, in a cleared area far enough away from other people to prevent them being pilfered, then you are revived one at a time, and sent to the same location. We will have people waiting there to help you. You'll be given your clothes bags and a meal, then the access code to the transport module containing your goods will be delivered to your leader. Our people will transport out, and the terminus will self-destruct.

"Now if you'll just queue up over here, we'll begin loading..."

It took some time to complete the transfers, because processing for hibernation had to be done concurrently. There just wasn't enough room aboard ship to move everyone aboard first. In the end, Joe was unsurprised that Phil refused to join the rest of his family on the journey to their new home.

"Raul knows what to do," he said. "I wouldn't likely survive hibernation, in my condition, and if I did, I'd only be a burden to the group, even with this wheelchair. I expect to die any day now. I want you to take Luisa back with you now, as your wife. It would do no good for her to watch me die."

"You know I can't do that, Phil. While you live, she is your wife!"

"Then kill me now and she will be my widow!" he demanded, hotly. "It would end my body's pain, and ease my mind to know that she is safe..."

"Not going to happen!" Joe asserted grimly. "She will stay with you as long as possible. When the time comes, I'll come back for her. Maria has already decided that we will wed. Whether she ever shares my bed is another matter, but regardless, she will be cared for. Now, do not further dishonor her love for you, and do not dishonor me!"

Luisa, who had been standing behind Phil, came around in front and sank to her knees while holding his hand. Looking into his eyes, she declared, "I will not abandon you while you live!"

Phil looked down at her with a pained smile.

"My love, I watched my Rita die. That is not something I wish to put you through. At the point where I become less than human, I will not know you, even though the heart still beats, the blood still flows, and the eyes still see. I will not be the man you love then. Before that happens, you must move on!"

Turning to Joe, she asked "Will you let me decide when I will go with you?" He nodded his assent. Turning back to Phil, she said, "Then for now, I stay. When I see that you are no longer in that body, I will go with Joe."

Phil let go a deep sigh. It had turned out better than he had expected. If she was honest with him, and with herself, she wouldn't have to see him drool or wait while an orderly changed his diaper. Perhaps he could die with some dignity. He nodded his acceptance, and permitted her to embrace him, as well as the chair would allow.

Joe provided them with transportation to their home. En route, he contacted Jim, the only other boss with whom he felt any kind of kinship, and asked him to take over management of Phil's territories on a temporary basis. Phil agreed that it was the best course of action, and necessary to prevent chaos.

Joe left Phil and Luisa in the care of their housekeeping staff, and set about taking care of other business.

Phil stayed at home for less than a week, before moving into hospice care. He died thirty-two hours after that. Joe arranged for his funeral, and he, Maria and their children, stood with the distraught Luisa and her son, as family. Following the funeral, they all returned to the ship.

Nicholas returned to the ship quite shaken by his latest meeting with the Pope. His Holiness had not been pleased with progress in implementing certain portions of the plan. He had, in fact, told Nicholas that he would be expected to make another progress report in no more than three months, and that during that visit, he expected to be introduced to the new Mrs. O'Donnell.

He indicated that if Nicholas couldn't handle the assignment to find and wed a suitable woman, he would feel obliged to select one for him. His last comment on the subject was a reminder that he expected to priesthood to set a good example for the people, and for each priest to take, and have progeny with, the maximum possible number of wives, up to the established limit.

His Holiness wasn't far off the mark. Nicholas had no clue how to go about finding a bride. Meeting women as supplicants, in his capacity as a priest, had not prepared him for the social interaction required of a man on the make. I don't even know how to go on the make, he thought. Maybe Joe or one of the Lentini boys could help me...

After dinner with the Fanelli clan, he sat staring into the brandy snifter, trying to decide how to phrase what he wanted, no, needed to say. He looked around the room at his companions. There was Joe, Frank, and Marco, of course, and a new recruit sent by the Vatican, Father Federico "Fred" DeAngelo.

The ladies, Maria and Luisa were conspicuous by their absence. That was not entirely accidental. Earlier, he'd given a brief synopsis of his problem to Joe, and Joe had in turn explained that if Maria got wind of it, she would without fail make it a personal mission to solve it for him. As much as he liked Maria, Nicholas didn't want her managing his life at that level of granularity. It was more than enough to have the Pope involved.

He took a deep breath and began his description of the problem, which to him was that very involvement. He was willing to seek a bride, but felt that His Holiness was pushing things too fast. He preferred to sneak up on the issue, rather than run headlong into it.

Frank and Marco could hardly contain themselves, their laughter drawing a look of mild disgust from Joe. When it became clear that they weren't going to take the matter seriously, he began drumming his fingers on the table next to him. That was a signal that even the Lentini cousins could recognize, that he was getting irritated. They really didn't want Joe irritated, so they quieted down.

He hadn't spoken yet, but when he did, he addressed them together.

"You know, I just realized that you two are nearly thirty years old, and you're still single. Why is that?"

The boys blanched. Having enjoyed their bachelorhood immensely, they hadn't given marriage much - actually, any - thought. They couldn't think of an appropriate response, so they didn't' make one, hoping that it was just a rhetorical question. It wasn't...

"Okay, guys," Joe said smoothly, "I'm making you the same offer that the Pope made to Father Nicholas here. I just brought home a whole shipload of nice Catholic Italian girls. I want to meet your brides, or at least serious fiancées, before he has to go talk to the Holy Father. If you find you can't make a selection by that time, I'll do it for you. How about that?"

"Shithead!" Marco said, looking at Frank. "You just had to start laughing, didn't you? Now look what you got us into!"

"Asshat!" Frank snapped back, "You laughed just as hard. It's as much your fault as mine!"

"Boys, boys!" Joe chided them. "No fighting between you. You need to work together. You've known this was coming for a long time. You've just been ignoring it. So get with the program!

"But first, let's help Father Nicholas. I've been out of the dating scene for too long to have any useful advice to give, and I seriously doubt that Father Fred could do any better, but I know you two hellions have cut a pretty wide swath through the single girls you've met. What can you tell him about approaching ladies?"

Marco took a deep breath. "I guess the most important thing is to be yourself."

Frank nodded his agreement, and added, "Then the next thing, is to find out what's important to the lady..."

Over the next two hours or so, the cousins gave a discourse on which approaches that they had found worked best in different social situations. You might say it was "Dating 101: How to get the first date." They pretty much stopped at that, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of telling a priest how to get a girl naked and willing to have sex.

"So how did you two learn so much about women?" Joe asked.

"Maria," Frank said. "She told us pretty much everything you did, when you were courting her - up to a point. Knowing her rep with guys, we figured if it worked for you, it had to be good!"

"Yeah," Marco added, "she was a real Ice Queen! You had to be hot stuff if you got her to melt..."

"Enough of that!" Joe grumped. Turning back to Nicholas and Fred, he continued "As the boys said, the main thing is to make first contact. That's when you find out whether she has any interest in you, as well as whether you can be interested in her, as a person.

"Everything that follows is a test, intended to answer questions like 'Can I be comfortable spending a great deal of time with this person? Can we avoid getting bored, or constantly irritated with each other? Can we actually enjoy each other's company on a long term basis?'

"To get the answers, you go places and do things together. Spend time talking about what's important to you, and what's important to her. You need common interests and goals. If you don't find much overlap there, then the relationship is probably not a good idea. It's the same thing with personal habits. If she's constantly wriggling her foot, and it bothers you, it's going to be a problem, eventually.

"The bottom line is, you are trying to find out if you should be together. Like nearly all the time. It's not just about who you have sex or sleep with, but who you can stand, who you want to be around, for that much of your life. If you find the right person, having sex becomes making love, and it's important to make love, because babies should be born of love, not just intercourse."

Turning back to the cousins, he spoke to them. "That's where you boys have missed the boat. You've been successful at getting sex, because you've refined the art of approach and romance, but you never had any motivation toward finding love.

"That's why your mothers stay pissed at you all the time. They want you to get serious about finding love, and make some grandkids for them, and raise those kids up in a loving, nurturing home. I'm telling you now, and you know it's true, that you are too old to play those games anymore. Capisci?"

"Yes, sir!" the boys answered in unison.

He looked hard at Frank. "Your dad died how long ago?"