Keturah's Opinion
When they sat down to dinner, Keturah was still shooting Orlando nasty barbs, refusing to call him anything but Florida and asking him to taste her food to make sure it wasn’t poisoned before she ate off her plate.
Zorah and Shay couldn’t stop giggling over it and Dane and Chester were taking quite a bit of delight in Orlando’s misery.
“Keturah, have you checked in at home at all?” Zorah asked over a plate of burger and fries, which she’d asked specifically for dinner. Chester barbequed for her, and it was delicious.
“No. I know they are likely busy, but it seems nobody even noticed I wasn’t around.” Keturah picked a fry up from her plate and bit it. She grimaced and waved the fry, “my parents really only see me as something to marry off. It’s very frustrating, Zorah. Icaro did tell my folks I wasn’t marrying into the Giarre family, and they argued with him, but he put his foot down. Do you know what they did? They started asking around in other families. When Icaro said I was going to New York with you both, they started looking in New York. I do not want to marry one of those damn Jersey Shore boys. I do not want to be hitched to a man who uses more hair product than I do.”
“Wait,” Orlando held his hand up in confusion, “your parents are trying to arrange your marriage?”
“Yes. Icaro has my back and said it will not happen unless it is what I want. If I want to marry someone for love, I can, and he will make sure it happens. Unlike the men in my family, the women do not get the Lucchesi blessing so there is no immediate recognition of love at first sight. I was there when one of my cousins first met his one.” She sighed dramatically, “Zorah, you don’t know how lucky you are. I know you’re annoyed with Icaro because he’s a giant ass ninety percent of the time but at least you know he’ll never cheat or beat you. The last guy I dated kept two women on the side. The guy before him thought it would be fun when we were drinking to hit me.” She gave a sneer, “I fed him to the pigs on my uncle’s farm with his blessing.”
Zorah and Shay exchanged long looks before Zorah spoke gently, “I agree with Icaro. We’ll make sure you marry for love and not because your parents want a good match.”
“I know,” she sighed dramatically. “I wish the women in our family were gifted the way the men are.”
“You know it’s not all fun for the other party,” Zorah refuted Keturah’s belief being chosen was the best thing to happen. “Seriously. I was taken from my life without any knowledge of what was going on.”
“Okay, but” Keturah argued with her, “hear me out. You were one of the rare occasions where it wasn’t managed correctly. Let’s be real. Icaro fucks up every other day. He should have been allowed to be part of your life from the time you were small. Not for sexual purposes,” she waved off Orlando’s leaning forward posture belying his argument. “I mean for friendship and companionship and to learn about one another. Most of the couples in our family go through a period of being wooed, courted and taken care of. A Lucchesi groom never cheats or abuses their brides. If you were introduced to Icaro when you were sixteen, seventeen or eighteen as you were supposed to and then gradually over the next five years been permitted to make a relationship with him. Imagine if for five years ahead of your marriage you would have dated Icaro. Imagine how he would have spoiled you and treated you.” Keturah huffed, “I see the way my cousin loves you Zorah and I’m not saying you should accept him. I think you got screwed over because your family back in Providence tried to keep you for themselves and in doing so, harmed your relationship. They shoved you at him as a last resort and it was unfair to everyone involved.”
“You would want to be married to someone like this?” Shay asked suddenly curious. “A man who thinks he’s in love with you from nothing more than glance?”
“Shay, the Lucchesi family is full of brutal bastards who kill without remorse. We’re all trained assassins in one way or another but, and I say this with as much honesty as I can give you, the brides in our family are revered. The daughters are also loved, don’t get me wrong. My parents love me to bits, and they want what is best for me but their version of best and mine are at opposite ends of the spectrum but my aunts and my cousins who are brides,” she sighed dramatically, “I would love to have such devotion.”
Chester cleared his throat, “it can’t be so great for the women.”
“Why not?” Keturah argued. “It absolutely can be. My mom’s family were dirt poor. I mean literally their floors in their home were dirt. My dad saw her selling vegetables at the family stall and immediately he fell in love. He wooed her for two years. He improved her parents’ home. He paid for my mom to go to school. He literally waited to marry her until she got her degree because it was what she wanted. He paid for my mom’s two sisters to also go to school. My maternal grandparents have live-in nurses because my grandfather suffered a stroke a couple of years ago. If it wasn’t for my dad’s wealth this care wouldn’t have happened. My dad waited until their wedding night to consummate their marriage and,” she smirked, “mom said she was more experienced than he did on their wedding night. He was a virgin, she was not. He doesn’t even care. He just loves her. I want someone to love me like my dad loves my mom. Instead, I’ll never have a Lucchesi husband because you know, incest, but a girl can dream.”
Orlando cleared his throat, “you believe men can’t love a woman without this blessing?”
“Sure, they can.” Keturah shrugged, “but wouldn’t it be nice to have a guarantee of fidelity and loyalty?” She waved another fry at Zorah, “I promise Icaro is not betraying you right now.”
“What happens if they cheat?” Shay asked.
“It’s never happened.” Keturah gave Zorah a smile, “we can trace our families back to Binita and since her, there is not one story of adultery. Not even because it would be hidden either because people love a good scandal. People love to gossip, especially in small towns. It would spread like wildfire.”
“I’m still skeptical,” Orlando leaned back in his chair.
“You should come spend a few weeks on the farms,” Keturah shrugged. “Your mind would change.”
“Maybe I will.’
“I’ll set it up.”
“I feel like I’m watching the beginning of one of those movies Mom likes,” Shay nudged Chester sending Zorah into fits of giggles once again.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
