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Because I'm going to be away in France I'm posting two chapters, see you guys in a couple of weeks.
Life's Illusions - Book Four - Chapter 34
They'd been in Torremolinas for a little over two weeks and Vinny's plan seemed to be working.
A week earlier he'd convinced Paulette to go for a walk on the promenade, they'd only been out for an hour, but it had proved to be the turning point for her, after that, each day they did something different, a walk, a shopping trip, a drive out, lunch, even dinner at SPECTRUM.
And then, out of the blue, Vinny found her in her room sobbing uncontrollably.
He'd scooped her into a hug, asking what was wrong.
Neither of them was aware of Josef standing in the doorway behind them.
"I'm pregnant Vinny".
He'd been shocked, about to answer, to tell her not to worry they'd figure it out, but he didn't get the chance, he was bodily dragged backwards by Josef who was shouting as he started punching Vinny.
"You dirty little bastard, I'll kill you for this, you were supposed to be helping, not taking advantage of her".
Josef had Vinny pinned on his back across a dressing table punching him repeatedly.
Paulette was screaming and clawing at her Poppa to stop, but it was Milo who ended it.
Alerted by Paulette's screams the whole family ran to her room.
Seeing what Josef was doing to his son, Milo picked up a large lamp, smashing it over Josef's head, sending him crashing to the floor, rendering him dazed, unable to get up.
Milo's priority was then his son, Vinny was unconscious, he pulled out his cell.
"Guardian Control, this is Guardian Aus One, I need urgent medical assistance at 'The Nest' a sixteen year old male, Australian visitor, involved in a domestic dispute, unconscious, possible head trauma".
Cutting the call he said to Carry.
"Call down to the concierge, tell them there's an ambulance coming".
The Paramedics were relatively quick, Vinny was in the ambulance minutes after they arrived.
Milo went with him, Piers followed in a taxi cab with the children.
At the hospital Vinny regained consciousness briefly, he was totally disoriented, had no recollection of what happened.
When Piers got there with the other children they found Milo pacing back and forth in a waiting room.
"They've taken him for a scan, he woke up briefly but they've sedated him".
Piers was visibly upset, as were Vinny's brothers and sister, and they were angry, Baz voiced it.
"Why did Uncle Jo do it, I don't understand?".
Milo hugged him.
"I don't know son, but we'll get to the bottom of it once we know Vinny's alright".
At 'The Nest' Carry was nursing a sore headed Josef when Paulette challenged him.
"Why Poppa, why did you do it, you hurt him so much, I don't understand?".
Josef was still angry, Carry was oblivious to what he'd heard, she was totally confused.
"You have to ask that when he's got you pregnant, I want to kill him".
Carry was in shock, now she understood Josef's behaviour.
But neither was prepared for what Paulette said next.
"He's never touched me Poppa, Vasco raped me, the night you rescued me, Vinny's helped me so much, he's listened to me, he knows what happened, without him I think I might have killed myself, I felt so dirty, so bad, and this is how you repay him, I'm going to the hospital, I need to see him".
Josef tried to get up.
"Wait, I'll come with you".
Paulette's reply really stung him.
"No Poppa, you won't, you've done enough".
Carry offered to go with her but Paulette had nothing nice to say to her Momma either.
"Why Momma, you've hardly said a civil word to him since he got here, aren't you secretly pleased that Poppa hurt him so badly?, I don't want either of you with me".
As she was about to leave Juan and Ralph arrived in a panic, with Juan demanding to know what had happened.
"I got an alert that a sixteen year old Australian male had been injured in a domestic dispute, please tell me that's not Vinny, what the hell happened?".
Paulette answered him with Josef and Carry looking shamefaced.
"I was raped by Vasco, I'm pregnant, Poppa thought Vinny was the father, so he beat him almost to death, if Milo hadn't stopped him Vinny would be dead now, a nice way to treat someone who cares so much he came all this way to help me, don't you agree?".
Juan groaned, but he said.
"Come on sweetie, we'll take you to the hospital, we need to know Vinny's alright".
Turning to his brother he said.
"You're going to be doing some serious grovelling to sort this mess, I'm guessing Milo and Piers will be baying for blood".
When Juan, Ralph, and Paulette walked into Vinny's hospital room Paulette started crying immediately at the sight of him.
Surprisingly, it was Piers who stood and hugged her.
"Now then, calm down, he's going to be alright, he has a broken nose and cheekbone which they're going to reset tomorrow, a bad concussion, but the rest is just really bad bruising, come and sit beside him, I think you'll be the one who cheers him up the most when he wakes up".
As Paulette sat and took Vinny's hand, Juan scooped Piers into a hug, indicating to Milo that he needed to speak to them both in private.
They left Ralph with the children in Vinny's room and went out into the corridor.
Milo was aggressive as soon as the room door closed.
"I know he's your brother but I swear if he comes within twenty feet of any of us I'll kill him, why the hell would he do this to our boy?".
Juan held his hand up, telling Milo to let him explain.
"I'll start from the beginning as I know it, don't interrupt, then maybe you'll have a different view".
Milo nodded.
"Paulette was raped the night we rescued her, only Vinny knew, he coaxed it out of her sometime over these last few weeks, he knew how low she was, he's worked hard to rebuild her confidence, that's what a wonderful man your son is, but today she found out she was pregnant, Jo overheard her telling Vinny, he jumped to a totally wrong conclusion, and saw red, he thought Vinny had taken advantage of Paulette, I'm not defending him, I'm just asking you to put yourselves in his shoes".
He expected Milo to respond, but it was Piers.
"And I'm asking you to put yourself in our shoes, if that were Junior, or Berto in there, would you give Jo a pass because he got it wrong?".
Juan struggled with an answer before admitting honestly.
"No, I wouldn't, but I'm worried, I don't want to lose you guys, so promise me, you won't be quick to judge, and don't lump me in with any fallout, please?".
Milo threw an arm around Piers, then with his other arm he dragged Juan into the joint hug, saying.
"I don't know what we're going to do, Vinny will be the one who influences our decision, you don't, and won't, figure in any plans for retribution, but mark my words, there will be a price to pay for this".
Three days after being admitted, Vinny was discharged.
Milo arranged private medical staff to travel with him, they went straight to their plane at Malaga Airport.
Josef and Carry had wavered back and forth since it happened, wanting desperately to go to the hospital, but Juan had warned them to give Milo and Piers some time to cool down, so they'd held off.
Carry was surprised when Paulette arrived home clearly upset around lunchtime on the third day.
"What is it sweetie?, your Poppa and I are going to visit Vinny this afternoon, we know there will be some problems, but we need to apologise to him, will you come with us?".
Paulette's reply surprised Carry, and explained why she'd arrived home in an emotional state.
"You're too late Momma, he was discharged this morning, he'll be in the air by now, he's gone".
Josef and Carry hadn't seen, or heard from any of the Australian family since they'd left the apartment after the incident.
Piers had rented hotel rooms close to the hospital, and Juan had collected their belongings from 'The Nest'.
When Juan and Ralph arrived back Josef had asked.
"You knew they were leaving and didn't tell me, I wanted a chance to apologise, I can't make it right, but I could have apologised, why did you deliberately deny me that opportunity?".
Juan's reply was matter of fact.
"Because Milo and Piers were explicit, they did not want to see or hear from you or Carry, and I didn't want them antagonised further".
Josef was shaking his head, so Juan continued.
"I think we're riding on a knife edge right now, if I had to predict what they will do as soon as they arrive home, it will be too tender their joint resignations, my, our, only hope is Vinny, he's the one who could possibly make them change their minds, and if you'd tried to meet them before they left, it would have wrecked that pretty slim possibility".
Josef started to understand.
"You spoke with Vinny?".
Juan shook his head.
"Not me, Ralph did, without my knowledge I might add, and Vinny assured him, he is not seeking any retribution, surprisingly, he understands why you did what you did, and he doesn't bare you any malice, so you see, we have to wait, but I think you should write, or email, give them your apology, that can't hurt, and try to make peace with Paulette, explain why you did it, but don't try to get her to influence anything coming out of Sydney, that would be a mistake, the one really positive note is that Vinny and Paulette have remained strong, their bond hasn't been damaged".
Josef and Carry wrote letters of apology, jointly to Milo and Piers, but each wrote separately to Vinny.
Milo and Piers were relaxing in the shade, they'd arrived home in Sydney tired from traveling.
Gracie was on the sofa next to Piers fast asleep, Vinny was on a lounger next to Milo, he'd been ordered to rest by his brothers.
Baz, Jez, and Pil were cooking.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to speak with Vinny in relative privacy, Piers opened the conversation.
"Vinny, we haven't really talked much about what happened, and what we should do in response, but your Poppa and I are thinking of resigning our positions at Guardian".
Vinny could hear the uncertainty in his Poppas voice, when he answered it was almost an off the cuff, vague reply.
"Why?".
Piers was surprised, and a little rattled.
"I would have thought that was obvious".
Vinny now eased himself up in the lounger as he replied.
"No, sorry, I should have said more, it came across wrong, what I meant was, why resign your positions with Guardian?, what happened had nothing to do with Guardian".
Milo wasn't participating, but he was listening intently as Vinny carried on.
"I understand you have anger because someone hurt me, but I don't, I understand why it happened, and I don't believe you would have acted differently in the same situation, take Poppa for instance, who apparently didn't have any trouble with stoving in Jo's head to defend me, it's a primal instinct, I love Paulette, so I don't see any wrong in her Poppa protecting her".
Piers was almost bursting with pride listening to his son, but he had to ask.
"So what do you want, how do you see this being settled?".
Vinny was clear in his reply.
"I want an apology, and I know I'll get it, we all know he's an honourable man, after that we put all of this behind us".
Piers turned to Milo.
"You're quiet, what are your thoughts, do you agree with Vinny?".
Milo smiled.
"I do, and I'd say, looking at your beaming face, we are both incredibly proud of you Vinny, for being so magnanimous, it takes a real man to turn the other cheek and not demand that pound of flesh in retribution".
When Vinny looked at his cell as the they waited on the food coming, he saw two emails, one each from Josef and Carry.
The first he read was from Josef, it was a heartfelt apology which almost reduced him to tears.
The second actually made him giggle, it was a sort of sideswipe apology, where Carry apologised for not affording him the common courtesy any guest in their home should have expected however, she didn't regret expressing her displeasure at his failure to warn them their daughter was in danger, nor would she now, but she did tell him she would be eternally grateful that he had been prepared to travel so far, and work so hard, to bring their sweet child back from the brink, for that she would love him, and be in his debt, forever.
When Milo asked what he was laughing at he said.
"I got my apology, well actually I got two, but the one from Carry is an apology with a slap around the head, for not telling them Paulette was in danger, so I'm good, Josef said he'd written to you separately, I think you need to go read whatever he's said".
When they came back Vinny didn't ask what Josef had said to them, he only asked.
"Are you good with whatever he said.
Milo looked thoughtful, but he nodded.
"Yes, I think we're good, are we good Piers?".
Piers looked as thoughtful as Milo had, and it took him a few moments to answer.
"Yes, I agree, we're good".
Then Vinny shocked them.
"Well that's a relief, because I didn't want my wedding day to be a battle ground, I've asked Paulette to marry me, and she said yes, I'm guessing she's telling her Momma and Poppa about now".
Piers screamed, Milo grabbed Vinny into a hug, the boys came running to see what the fuss was about, and Gracie woke up grumpy because of all the noise, and then they celebrated.
Vinny would comment later to Paulette, how neither of his Poppas had referred to the fact he was taking on another mans child, he put it down to the fact that, for them, like for him, parenting meant loving, nurturing, and protecting the young life in your charge, it had nothing to do with who planted the seed.
The only family members who new the true facts about Paulette's pregnancy were Josef, Carry, Juan, Ralph, Milo, and Piers, even Vinny's brothers and sister didn't know, and Vinny made it perfectly clear to all six, he would exact a heavy penalty from anyone who changed that status.
Arrangements were suddenly in progress, the wider family were informed, and at Vinny's insistence, informed in such a way they would all chuckle and say, 'Shotgun Wedding', he wanted everyone to know there was an urgency to this wedding date, and at the same time remove the question of an early birth.
Their wedding was to be in Torremolinas, the reception at SPECTRUM, with Carry compensating anyone already booked in on that date, by offering to foot the bill for a rearranged date and a further date fully paid.
Josef, Carry, and Paulette had flown out to Sydney in the week following Vinny's revelation.
When the estate gatehouse security had rung through to advise of their arrival, the whole family had braved the heat, standing out on the front driveway to welcome them.
As they went inside, Carry commented.
"You shouldn't have stood out in that heat to greet us".
Milo had earned a slap on the head from Carry with his giggling reply.
"We wanted to remind you what a real family welcome looks like".
She'd treated his reply exactly as it was intended, slapping his head, whilst laughing, and saying.
"Twat".
As the others made their way into the shaded lounge and outdoor room, Josef hung back with Vinny.
When they were finally far enough back not to be heard Josef put an arm around Vinny, saying.
"I'll never be able to say sorry enough times to wipe out the memory of what I did to you, it was unforgivable, and yet you forgave me, that makes you more of a man than most I know, and it gives me confidence in placing the welfare of my daughter into your hands, but remember Vinny, it's a sign of strength not weakness to recognise when it's right to ask for help, I'll always be there if you need me".
Finding them all relaxing with cool drinks Vinny asked a question that had been bothering him.
"As you're all here together, I want to ask a favour, it's about my apprenticeship, is there any chance that you would consider amending the location setups?".
Josef looked baffled, as did the others, but he was the one who replied.
"Amending in what way, what are you actually wanting?".
Vinny took a deep breath, because he hadn't discussed this with anyone, not even Paulette.
"I have four months left of my first year in Sydney, then I'm due to move to Christchurch NZ for a year, I'm asking if I could do my second year in Torremolinas instead of Christchurch, it means Paulette would be close to her Momma at a pretty scary time, and it would give me peace of mind to know she's not alone while I'm working, I know it's a big ask, but I really do think it's important".
Josef replied immediately, without taking any time to consider.
"Vinny, before I answer that, I don't think you understand exactly how good you are, Juan, Rick, and I were talking about you only two days ago, it had been our intention to reduce your apprenticeship program by a year anyway, you outshine and outperform every other candidate, you've excelled in every field presented to you, some where your fellow candidates couldn't even participate, it was beyond them, and yet you just ate it up".
As he paused he could see his daughter squeezing Vinny's hand proudly.
"So, in a nutshell, you can choose whatever suits you, we had in mind only six months in Christchurch, then six months with Rick in Torremolinas, I'd like you to have a basic working knowledge of Christchurch, so I'm proposing you do just three more months here in Sydney, rather than the four you were expecting, do one month of intensive system familiarisation in Christchurch, then six months in Torremolinas, and I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but, at the end of that six months you will be offered Ricks role, which can be based wherever you want".
Vinny was so surprised he felt almost lightheaded, he didn't answer, he was just staring.
"But ... But ... Why ...... I... How ... Oh ...Wow ... I need to sit down".
That brought laughter from all of them, with his brothers slapping his back in congratulations.
Later Vinny asked Josef.
"I wasn't dreaming was I, you did say I'd take over from Rick, but why, he's not leaving is he?".
Josef laughed.
"No Vinny, you weren't dreaming, and I wasn't bulling you when I said how good you are, if Rick had his way you would have finished your course before now, he thinks we're holding you back, he's eager for you to start experiencing real time situations, and yes I was serious, if everything works out, and there's no reason it shouldn't, you'll take over from Rick as soon as he signs you off as competent".
Vinny still didn't understand why Rick was leaving and he said so.
Josef smiled again.
"He's not leaving, he's setting up a new Guardian division called Data Safe, in fact he's already working on it".
Vinny suddenly became really animated.
"Oh wow, I've heard about that, you store a mirror image of a company in real time".
Josef nodded.
"It's a monumentally complicated project to set up, but once it's operating it will generate huge profits for very little cost, and it guarantees our clients no loss of data and operational continuity if they suffered a catastrophic event, so you see, Rick needs you up and running as soon as possible".
Josef thought of something else.
"One other thing Vinny, it's bound to crop up, some jealous idiot will say it's nepotism, a job for family, you need to understand, we don't practice nepotism, never have, and never will, ask your Poppas, you either cut it, or you don't, and those who don't we let go, you are truly remarkable, one of the best things your Poppas ever came up with is the apprenticeship program, but by far, their most important find is you, so don't ever doubt how, or why, you advanced so quickly, your Paternal Poppa would be so very proud of you".
Three days later they all flew back to Malaga, and travelled to Torremolinas.
Vinny and Paulette's wedding was on the Saturday after they arrived back in Torremolinas, Gracie was a bridesmaid, along with Fleur, Roslyn, and Cecile.
Vinny was in turmoil, he had to pick a best man from his brothers, and he didn't see how he could do it without offending at least two of them.
Finally he decided, it would be Baz, when he asked Baz and apologised to Jez and Pil, they made him laugh as Jez said to his brothers.
"Pay up guys, I told you, you wouldn't believe me".
Baz looked at Vinny, rolling his eyes.
"He said you wanted to ask me, but you were afraid they'd be upset, that was why it was taking you so long to ask, and he bet us ten dollars he was right, so cheers for being so predictable Bro".
Vinny burst out laughing.
"He was right, but Jez and Pil, I want you both as Groomsmen, directing guests to their seats in the church, and at the reception, so get a copy of the seating chart from Carry for the reception at SPECTRUM".
Vinny appeared to become sombre, Baz could see it and asked what was the matter.
"I don't know if you've thought about this but, in three months I'll be leaving, and I'm not sure how I'll cope with that, leaving you guys, you have to promise me you'll keep your grades up, look after each other, and look out for Gracie".
Then he shocked them as tears started to fall.
They were all over him in seconds, with Baz saying.
"Don't be upset Vin, it's your time now, you haven't really had your own life since Daddy died, you've always put us first, we'll miss you, but we won't let you down, be happy Bro".
With the number of family that arrived from around the world, Carry had to scavenge for every bit of hotel and apartment accommodation she could lay her hands on, but by the day before the wedding, everyone was accommodated.
Paulette looked an absolute vision in white, Vinny's heart was practically bursting as he heard the wedding march start, knowing in less than an hour, they'd be man and wife.
Baz had embarrassed him good naturedly several times in his absolutely hysterical Best Man speech, but he'd also faltered, close to tears, describing how Vinny had stepped up to the plate when they'd lost their dear Daddy and found themselves to be orphans, he thanked his brother on behalf of all of his siblings, for being the fantastic big brother he was.
Josef had done much the same, he couldn't refer to the recent rift but he eluded to Vinny proving to be more of a man than many he knew, and raised a glass to the man I have complete trust will honourably safeguard our daughter.
It had been a truly wonderful day, they didn't finally leave SPECTRUM until nearly two the following morning.
When Vinny and Paulette were finally alone he could see she was nervous.
Taking her into his arms he said.
"I know you're nervous, but guess what?, so am I, I've never done it before, and your only experience was horrible for you, but we've got a lifetime to find our way, so, for a start let's relax, I love you Paulette Grant-Alonso-Bowles-Cruz, and I always will, so come to bed with me and let's see if we can figure out how this jigsaw works".
They completed the jigsaw as Vinny called it, several times that night.
Vinny was floating on cloud nine, but Paulette was somewhere up in the stratosphere, she couldn't believe how stupid she'd been, Vinny took her to places she had never imagined could exist, why had she not had faith and waited for him, but he'd seen the look of sadness and realised what had caused it.
"Hey Mrs me, we will have no regrets, this is our life together, nothing bad is allowed to interfere, I forbid bad thoughts, unless they involve jigsaw training, seriously my love, we're here, we're together, and we always will be, now about that jigsaw training, I think we should have regular practice sessions".
It was exactly what Paulette had needed, a booster to remind her how much he loved her.
TBC Allan
Comments are welcome to cfgw2000@aol.com.
Thank you for giving me your time, enjoy.