Chapter 5 - The Little Doctor’s Diagnosis
Antonio looked down at the three-year-old girl peering out at him from the dim hallway of the apartment. She wore the same faded green sweater with the repaired elbows, and her hair was tied in the same messy pigtails.
“Are you home alone, little one?” Antonio asked, his voice dropping into a softer register that even Damen, standing a few paces behind on the landing, had never heard before.
Mia shook her head. “Biscuit is here with me.” She held up the worn stuffed bear for inspection. “Mama went to clean the big windows on Fifth Avenue. She said she’d be back before lunch.”
Antonio felt a sharp pang of uneology. Leaving a three-year-old alone in a Red Hook apartment—even for a few hours—was a desperate gamble born of sheer poverty. “You shouldn't leave the door open for strangers, Mia.”
“You’re not a stranger,” Mia replied simply, pulling the door wider open. “You’re the man who needs a checkup.”
Before Antonio could stop her, Mia turned around, waddled over to the living room couch, and retrieved her red-and-white toy stethoscope from the cushion. She marched right back to the open doorway, grabbed the hem of Antonio’s expensive overcoat, and tugged insistently. “Come in. My office is open.”
Damen coughed awkwardly behind his hand. “Uh, Antonio. We have a meeting with the port authority at noon. We really shouldn't—”
“Wait in the car, Damen,” Antonio commanded quietly.
Damen raised his eyebrows, shook his head in silent disbelief, and retreated down the stairs.
Antonio stepped inside the apartment. It was small, meticulously clean, but undeniably threadbare. A sagging sofa, a small wooden kitchen table with two mismatched chairs, and a window overlooking a brick alleyway. There was no television, but a corner of the room was stacked high with colorful picture books that looked like they had been rescued from thrift store bargain bins.
Mia pointed imperiously at the sofa. “Sit down, Doctor’s orders.”
Antonio obediently sat down on the edge of the worn sofa. Mia clambered up beside him, her small knees pressing against his leg. She lifted the plastic stethoscope, slipped the earpieces into her ears with comical concentration, and pressed the chest-piece firmly against the center of his chest.
She closed her eyes, pretending to listen very hard to the rhythmic thud of his heart. For a long, silent minute, the bustling noise of Red Hook faded away into the background. Antonio looked down at her delicate features, noticing for the first time the faint resemblance she bore to someone he used to know—or perhaps it was just the universal innocence of children that made all lost things look alike.
“Your heart is still beating too fast,” Mia announced with total professional authority. “It’s running like a rabbit.”
“Why do you think it’s running like a rabbit, little doctor?” Antonio asked softly.
“Because you’re lonely,” Mia said without hesitation. “My mom gets that fast heart when she looks at daddy’s picture on the fridge. She cries when she thinks I’m sleeping.”
The words struck Antonio like a physical blow. He felt a sudden, hot tightness behind his eyes—a sensation he hadn't experienced since the day they lowered Julian’s small white casket into the frozen earth. He reached out with a gloved hand and gently touched the top of Mia’s pigtails.
“What if I told you,” Antonio whispered, his voice thick with unexpressed emotion, “that I know what it feels like to lose someone too?”
Mia looked up at him, her innocent brown eyes wide. Before she could answer, the front door rattled violently, and the lock turned with a loud snap.
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Elena burst into the apartment, breathless, holding her canvas cleaning bag, her face drained of all color. When she saw the most feared mafia boss in New York sitting casually on her living room couch with her daughter, she dropped her bag with a heavy thud.
“Mr. Moretti!” Elena screamed, lunging forward to snatch Mia away. “Please! Leave us alone! Do whatever you want to me, but leave my child out of this! I swear to God I won't say anything about your house, I’ll leave the city, just don't hurt her!”
