The Body #1: Santo and Fiorella

Chapter 3 (Fiorella): Time To Wake Up

Santo straightened from me and turned to his mistress.

"You were not invited to dinner."

His tone was formal, a tone I'd heard him use with new business associates.

"But your note said to be ready to go to dinner at six."

"I never sent you a note."

"It was in the flowers you sent me."

"I sent my wife the flowers."

"Well, since I'm ready to go and she's not, we may as well go to dinner. Your baby needs food and I'm hungry."

"That won't be happening," he told her calmly. "Order some food if you're hungry."

"A good wife would make your dinner and mine," she said, and her tone was not kind. "I am carrying your baby, so she should be doing everything she can to help me and take care of my needs to make sure nothing bad happens to me or your baby."

"Watch yourself," he said to her, his voice holding a warning, although I had no idea how he could threaten her because...baby. I, however, was wishing I had smashed the vase of flowers on her head earlier today when I'd had the chance.

Bang! The door to my new bedroom shut. Sharply. Good. Maybe he and Tanya had left me in peace. But it seemed more like pieces. 

I heard footsteps and then, from the corner of my eye, I saw Santo hunker down beside me. "Fiorella, I know you're upset, but I won't let you move out of our room. That's not how we're going to be." His voice was understanding but firm. Unyielding.

He took one of my hands in his, but instead of yanking it away like I wanted to, I let it rest limply in his. Santo rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand, trying to get me to hold his hand back, but he'd be waiting a long time for that.

Go hold her hand if you want someone's hand to hold.

Then, when I didn't give him any response, he pressed his lips to the back of my hand and rubbed his cheek against it.

"We need to talk about this situation," he was saying. He smoothed my hair away from my face, and I couldn't help tensing, but at least I didn't flinch away. I just kept my eyes down.

Go ahead. Talk all you want. There might still be tiny pieces of my heart in my chest that survived the first  explosion that you could stomp into dust.

"Look at me," he demanded, but I didn't. Just kept my eyes downcast. 

This is the wife you created so don't act surprised.

"You'll get used to it," he said insistently, and it sounded like a command.

Command all you want. I may be forced to remain as your wife, but you can't force me to accept this whole miserable situation with a happy face.

"You know that this sometimes happens," he said, and his voice was still firm but not unkind. I had a feeling before this was over, it would become decidedly unkind. 

I knew it happened. Of course I knew it. It was a difficult, awkward conversation a girl's mother had with her right before her wedding.

You need to know that your husband will take a mistress most likely. There are special women  chosen to be mistresses in the Body. You must accept it if it happens, Fiorella. You must continue to be a good  wife to your husband, and for the time she is there, or any others are brought into the house, you must be good to the...mistress. This is not about you but about his need to solidify his place in the Body, and a mistress is a way to prove he has control of his wife and his home. She will come to live with you, and you must make her feel welcome.