The Capo’s Daughter Needs No Permission Chapter 42
The following spring, I moved into my own apartment.
The lease, the locks, and the visitor list all contained only the information I approved.
The property manager asked me to fill out an emergency contact form.
I still wrote down Elena Albright.
The second contact line remained blank for a long time.
In the end, I didn’t put my mother’s name there.
We had eaten together twice more since that first time.
Each time, she asked in advance what time worked for me and never brought gifts.
My father no longer talked about what the Family needed from me, either.
But a change in a relationship doesn’t erase the past.
Trust isn’t restored by one shellfish-free lunch.
I turned in the form.
The second contact line stayed blank.
That evening, Marco called.
He rarely contacted me directly.
“Dad is getting ready to fully step down from managing the Newark crew.”
“He asked me if I wanted the training signet ring back.”
I said nothing.
Marco continued, “I said no.”
“The job at the transportation company is one I found myself. I don’t want my father’s position to decide who I am anymore.”
“Did you call just to ask for my support?”
“No.”
He paused.
“I just wanted to tell you.”
“Okay.”
Before he hung up, he asked, “Romy, does this mean I finally understand you?”
I leaned against the window where I had just hung new curtains.
“Starting to take responsibility for your own choices doesn’t mean you’ve suffered what I suffered.”
“I know.”
His voice was soft.
“And I won’t ask you to be responsible for forgiveness, either.”
After the call ended, I set down my phone.
My mother sent me a photo of my father handing over his regional seal.
She wrote only:
*He retired today.*
I replied:
*I know.*
She didn’t try to trade my father’s lost position for comfort from me.
And she didn’t ask me to come back for any farewell dinner.
That house in Newark was still there.
But it was no longer a door waiting for me to come back through.
It was only an address that had once been connected to me.