Ginger did the walk of guilt into Gracie Mansion. She expected her family to be rather annoyed with her, but luckily when she arrived a meeting with several high ranking government officials - including her father & eldest brother - was occurring in the living room - meaning some rather important either went down, or was about to go down.
"Ging! Over here!!" she heard her sister call out from the library. So instead of walking into the impromptu conference room, she detoured into the side library room where her sisters, Mateo, Kyle , and her mother sat.
"Oh figlia mia*, I'm so glad you're okay!!" her mother blurted out, as she hopped up from her seat and hugged her tight. The worry in her voice completely befuddled Ginger.
"Gees ma, i'm 22, not four! I think i can manage going out an eating without a chaperone." Ginger responded with a small laugh. But the smile on her face quickly faded as she noticed the seriousness in her mothers expression.
"What's wrong?"
Valentina didn't answer her, and instead stood back a bit and then turned towards her sister, Jenna. "You didn't tell her!?" she asked in disbelieve. Jenna stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, before muttering:
"No. It wasn't something i thought i'd go into over the phone"
"Okay yous guys are scaring me, what happened??"
"There was a creditable threat against Peter and his family, and by default, dads been put on warning, But....something tells me he's fine." Jenna said, before sitting back down.
Peter Lorenzo was the Lt. Governor of New York, and him and his wive had been long time family friends, and political allies, of the Cagglianos. So it was no surprise when Antonio threw his full weight and support behind his long term friend - successfully getting him on the ballot as a running mate.
"Oh wow, where did the threat come from - do they know? And why do you say dads alright Jen?"
Jennas fiance, Kyle, got up so Ginger could sit beside her sister - with her purse beside her feet on the floor.
Jenna would go on to explain how the threat was recorded over a jailhouse phone call between a pair of Russians, with known associations to the mob...which made the threat make sense, since Antonio recently directed the NYPD to conduct a massive raid on known establishments of the Russian and Polish Mob, and a few other establishments that were owned by normal citizens, but were rumored to be conducting business when the Russians or Poles.
"Gees Jen, that only makes me feel like dad is MORE at risk than Peter."
"Well i guess you could be right, but it WAS Peter who led the media blitz after the arrest, so um, i'm thinking their gripe is with him only, at least for now."
Jenna was trying to spin the situation in a semi positive light, but no one was buying it....especially Valentina.
"Mio Dio! "For Now"? That doesn't make any of us feel any better Jenna!!" their mother blurted out, before running her hands through her hair feverishly.
"Calm down mom, i'm sure things will be just fine. Dad has the best protection in the entire state ya know!"
Ginger would say, just as her father entered the room.
"She's right" Antonio said, as an aid and guard quickly shuffled in behind him
He'd share a quick hug with his wife, before continuing;
"Well, the FBI and NYPD have suggested to us to stay in for the next 24 hours, and only go out for events of the utmost importance"
Silence would fill the room after the Governor spoke, as everyone either sighed or rolled their eyes.
The Cagglianos were not strangers to political fueled threats, and although the mob was for more worrisome then a raging letter threatening revenge from a deranged constituent, everyone in that Library knew that Antonio would likely ignore the suggestion of the police officials, since the last thing he, and quite frankly most of the family, would want to do is showcase to the Russians that some jailhouse threat is enough to cause them to run and hide like scared puppies w/ their tails in-between their legs.
No way, no how......not this administration, and not this family.
*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
It was now dark out, and nearly six and half hours had passed since the meeting in the library at 2pm.
Ginger had spent most of her time comforting her mother, and then watching over her young nieces and nephews, but as everyone finally began to heard into their own bedrooms, Ginger decided to do the same. But before she did, she picked her purse up from the corner, threw it over her shoulder, and meandered into her fathers office - where he was leaning back in his chair while taking park in a conference call with Lt. Governor Peter Lorenzo, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and NYPD Chief George Rogers.......all of who he put on hold, when his daughter walked in.
"Ginger, what it is?" he asked, concern showing clearly through the hours of fatigue written all over his face.
She simply smiled at him and walked behind the desk.
"Get some rest dad, you're not a cyborg.....you have to eat, drink, AND sleep."
"I know, i know. Besides, if i wither away, who the hell are the Russians gonna gun for next after Lorenzo, eh?"
Ginger rolled her eyes as her father laughed - not a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Very funny. Shoot for 10pm to call it a wrap, you've worked long enough today."
She'd bend down and kiss her father on the cheek before walking back towards her room.
Once the door was closed, she threw her bag on her California King, and then fell down on the mattress beside it.
"I need a beer." she complained, before laughing at herself.
Ginger would lay there for only a few minutes, before finding her way into a nice warm shower.
Twenty minutes later, her hair was pinned up via a butterfly clip and a towel was all that she wore as she again flounced down on the bed. She turned the TV on to ESPN and began to watch Sportscenter.........but she wouldn't get far into it before she noticed her blackberrys screen flash on and then off, before vibrating, to remind of "New Messages". She had half the mind to ignore it, but for some reason she decided to listen to the four messages.
One was from the reporter she had spoken to in Time Square, and two others were from volunteer coordinators of her fathers GOTV campaign, but the fourth was none other than her lunch date;
"Hi...this...this is Jimmy.
We finally met earlier today uh about that next time you talked about... I... I'd really like that.
There's this little Italian place I know of, nothing special but the food is excellent, down in Little Italy you know.
Anyway I'm sure I'm using up enough of your time so... I'll be at the same place tomorrow, around the same time maybe then I can give you my number huh?"
"He actually called...." she whispered to herself, as she saved the four messages and then went back to Jimmys, and snickered a bit at; "I can give you my number"
"I already have it...." she'd say to herself, before pressing "4" for "message header"
Much to her disappointment though, the number was played back to her as "Unlisted"
"Damn, i guess i don't have it."
She'd hang up her work phone and pull her personal cell out of her bag, before laying back into the pillows.
Ginger had every intention of getting up after a few text and changing into her night clothes.....but instead, within fifteen minutes, she was out like a light.
However, as usual, she wasn't uninterrupted for long, when at 9:45pm, someone began to knock on her door. She ignored them until the person spoke, and mentioned something strange.......a floral delivery, for her.
"Say what?" Ginger asked rather groggily, as she opened the door.
The young officer repeated the fact that there was a floral delivery for her outside - as he tried desperately not to look stare too hard at the barely dressed women in front of him. As nervous as he was about being caught catching a glimpse, Ginger didn't seem to care much, and told him to take the delivery for her since she wasn't dressed at the moment.
"I-I would ma'am, b-but, he wants to make sure it's given to you."
Ginger sighed. "Well fine, bring him to the door."
"I'm sorry ma'am but with the threat, there can be no unauthorized guest. Besides, it's late, state law says-"
She'd cut him off by holding her hand up towards his face.
"Yeah yeah yeah, i know the law. Gimmie a second, okay? And i'm not a Ma'am, i'm in my twenties."
Ginger slammed the door and then dropped her towel, before walking over to her dresser, pulling out her striped strapless nightwear, and putting it on.
Anyone else in her shoes would of sent the florist on his way, and she actually considered it herself, but she wasn't a snob, and figured the man worked rather hard getting the flowers to her, so what was the harm in going down to meet him? Besides, her curiosity was peaked. So ginger slipped into a pair of flip-flops, opened her door, and then followed the officer - named Jordan Mraz - to the end of the driveway, where a group of officers stood around the lone florist.
"Evening officers - Overkill much? This looks like a Bruce Willis flick" she joked....causing a few of the rookies to laugh, before the glares of their group leaders caused them to stop.
"These must be for me......" Ginger said, as she made he way towards the man holding a bouquet of not white, but blue, Calla Lilies.
"Well you've seen me, now care to tell me who sent you? I'm curious - a late night delivery is pretty, well, odd, don't ya think?"
"It's all in the card miss, here ya go." said the young man, as he smirked and held the flowers out towards her.
"Well, okay then...."
Ginger would grab the flowers and then tip the man, before strolling back inside.
Seconds after walking through the main door, she'd wrap one arm around the large bouquet and then use her other hand, and mouth, to open the card - having very little patience when it comes to gifts.
She'd read the short inscription aloud.
"From your walking buddy, a miracle from the saint"
Within seconds of reading it, a smile crept onto her face just as she reached her bedroom door.
She usually hated flowers...."Roses always die" was quote she loved repeating, but Calla Lilies just so happened to be a favorite of hers, especially the Blue and Orange ones. So once she walked back inside her room, she'd pour marbles out of a beautiful clear vase, fill it up with water, and place the Calla Lilies inside of it.
Ginger then placed the vase on the nightstand beside her bed, and only after sliding her purse and its contents onto the floor, did she crawl under the sheets and lay down.
"Something tells me meeting you tomorrow just might be impossible...." she whispered to herself, as she stared up at the beautiful blue flowers.
"But i suppose i should be some extra effort into, he did send me Calla Lilies...and blue ones at that...."
She'd snicker softly before reaching up and turning the light off.
After only a few more minutes of TV, the room was pitch black, and within a minute, she was once again out cold.
*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
Ginger would wake up at 5:45 to the sound of arguing.
It sounded like her fathers usual Sunday morning meeting had started early, and was was going badly.
"Gees" she complained under her breath, as she rolled over towards her nightstand and looked up at the flowers - which looked even more stunning in the stream of sunlight that was creeping in past her closed blinds.
If it was up to her, she would of stayed in bed for a few more hours, but as the arguing got nothing but louder Ginger slipped out from the sheets and into her white 2-inch wedge flip flops.
"Governor, you can't do that!! You're putting not only yourself, but the women and men who protect you, in danger!" Bezzy, her fathers senior aid, said dramatically.
"Then fine, they don't have to come if they're afraid!" Antonio lashed back.
Officer Mraz sighed, "We're not afraid, sir. Just, being cautious."
"About what??" Ginger said through a yawn, as she pulled her hair out of its bun - revealing a long wavy mess.
"Ginger...." her father said, as he suddenly lowered his voice and walked over towards her in the living room door-frame.
"did we wake you? I'm sorry."
"It's fine dad, just don't try to skip over my question. What's going on?"
Before Antonio could answer, Bezzy - who was like a third Grandmother to Ginger and her siblings - butted in. "The news of the threat being supposedly thwarted, is all over the news.....and now all the Sunday morning shows, want your father to do an interview!"
"Well what's wrong with that?"
Antonio grinned ear-to-ear.....but Bezzy just stared at her, mouth open for a bit, before responding.
"But dear, we were told to stay inside for-"
"I thought that 24 hour thing was a suggestion, not an order. Besides, if he went out the back and used a couple decoy limos on the way, everything should be fine."
The foursome would spend several minutes debating the issue, until it became apparent that Antonio had made up his mind. The conversation then turned towards which show......
It was a toss up between The Today Show, GMA, FOX NEWS, and MSNBC.....and as the group began to discuss it, Valentina and Maria made their way into the living room, with coffee cups.
"Screw the Today Show" Ginger said, after rolling her eyes. "Matt Lauer is an incompetent douche."
"Hey! I like that guy, he was really nice when we were on before." said Valentina
"Yeah, that's called the "smile in your face but spit in your cup when your not looking" routine. GMA isn't much better. I say Fox & Friends or Morning Joe."
"Joe's an ass." said Jordan.
"No he's not! He's a cool dude, who actually tries to can the personal stuff and stick to the news - unlike Lauer!! And so is Mika. The rest of the hosts might be twats but they're not ALL that bad. But now that i think about it, they're not even on Sunday, Chris Hayes is."
"Oh god talk about a real douche, who has like 15 viewers." Jordan piped in with, before answering a page on his radio.
Chris Hayes was the one person everyone in the room agreed was a definite "No"
"I like Doocy best!" said Maria, and her their mom nodded her head.
"Doocy's hilarious, and the curvy couch is always a pleasant experience." Antonio add in.
"Well Doocy isn't on F&F on the weekend...."
The group would go on bickering for a few more minutes before deciding on both F&F and GMA. The Governor would appear live towards the end of F&F's 7'oclock block, and then do a call-in interview to GMA at the end of their show, much to the chagrin of his aides and security team.
"Well, now that that's settled i'm gonna have a quick conference call with Peter and the others before heading out." said Antonio. He'd kiss his daughters on the cheeks, and then go into his office with Valentina close on his heels.
"Well, i guess i'll go sit in my cell for the next 12 hours." Ginger joked.
"Yeah right, we all know that's crap." Maria said, as the two girls both stood up "I'm not staying in either, but i'll have my husband, my kids, and JR with me. So please, don't go all half-cock again by yourself....okay? It's just a bad idea, even without the threat."
Ginger smiled warmly, and then hugged her sister. As the two would break from their embrace, the young officer from before would walk up to them.
"U-um, if you need something, or to um, go out.....i can go with you." he suggested.
Ginger went to decline the invitation nicely, but before she could Maria answered for her.
"Oh that's a great idea!! There, we won't worry if ya have a nice young strapping officer beside you. No if ands or buts about it! Now i' gotta go....see ya!"
Slightly annoyed, Ginger watched as her sister fled down the hallway to avoid an argument.
"I, um, do you plan to go anywhere today?" Officer Mraz asked, and she sighed.
"No, probably not."
Without another word, Ginger turned around and began to walk back to her room. Jordan followed.
Once at her door she turned around.
"You know, i think i'm old enough to take my own shower and dress myself, sooooo, i think we'll part here for now kay?" she joked, and Mraz nervously nodded his head.
"Yeah, sure."
By Noon the suppose-to-be full house, was damn near empty. Outside of a small group of officers, and her twin brothers Fernando & Mario plus their tutor, the house was empty. Ginger had just gotten out of the shower minutes ago, and was now dressed in a fitted, & backless, flowery sundress that reached a few inches below mid-thigh - with huge white-rimmed circular sunglasses covering her eyes.
She'd sit on the edge of her bed and text a few old friends from school, before throwing both her phones in a black bag with studded straps, and heading down the hall and towards her brothers rooms.
"Hey, i'm gonna head into the city, you guys want anything?"
"Oh can we come?? This shit is annoying as hell!" Fernando complained, as he dropped his pencil down on his homework.
"HEY! Watch your mouth! You've got at least two more years before you can say that kind of crap."
"What the hell will two years do?" Mario asked with a smirk.
"A whole lot, so deal with it. I can't take you, i um, have a meeting of sorts......i'll bring you back something to eat though if i can, ok? Laters."
Ginger tried to reach the door without being seen, but Jordan was quickly on her tail - now dressed in plain clothes.
"Um, are we ready to go now?"
She'd smile a bit before sighing. "I guess so!"
After the half hour ride, the pair would spend another hour and a half at the GOTV headquarters a couple blocks away from Kimmies and Spinellis..
When it was finally time to leave, Ginger mentioned she wanted to go around the block for something to eat......and began to look repetitively at the clock on her phone.
She saw no way of getting around Jordan being there when she met Jimmy, but what real harm could that do. She could lie and say he was working for their campaign. But the second that thought slipped into her mind she laughed, "Yeah right, that won't work.....he doesn't strike me like some campaign water-boy.....far from it."
Ginger would laugh to herself, before following Officer Mraz around the street corner.
Kimmies was getting closer, and she began to nervously fidget with her hands, not really sure how the whole encounter was going to go down. But thankfully, when Jordan quickly jumped into a hot dog cart line a mile long, an idea popped into her head.
"Hey, i'm gonna go pick up an order in Kimmies, it's right there, i'll be fine - okay?"
"No, Ms. Ca-"
Before Jordan could say her last name, she put her hand up to his mouth and Shhsh him.
"It's right there, besides, the guy tailing us in the car there, can watch from his window and make sure nothing bad happens - okay? It's a stones throw away, i'll survive" she whispered.
Jordan looked a bit shocked when Ginger pointed out the officer that left Gracie Mansion shortly after them as a tail. But after shaking it off, he reluctantly agreed, and signal the officer in the car with a nod of the head, that everything was alright, as Ginger walked in alone.
"I hope he's here, i won't have more than five or ten minutes." she whispered as she walked up to the small bar-area.
The last thing she wanted to do was decline an invitation to Little Italy, a part of town she use to love to visit, but she didn't see any way around it.
Jimmy was nowhere in sight when she entered though, so to kill the time she pulled out her phone and began to check The Wallstreet Journal and New York times, about her father and Peter. However when the waitress from the other day spotted her, she asked about "Jimmy The Saint", which instantly reminded Ginger to google that little Moniker.......the results that came up, were the last thing she expected.
"No way, no fucking way!" she mumbled to herself "And here i went and teased Mateo for being dramatic about Spinellis clientele......but this guy, is actually rumored to converse with Mobsters? Hah! Well gee...i don't know how i feel about that" she said in a whisper barely audible to her own ears, yet alone anyone elses.
But she did know...
In the back of her head she knew even a rumored association with such criminals SHOULD cause her to run, but she couldn't help but find the guy, interesting. And if she was being honest with herself, his rumored ties to wise-guys made him even more intriguing.....and she still wanted to have that chance to actually talk him up, and see what he was all about - uninterrupted.
"Little Italy would actually be quite the place to escape to, and not be interrupted. They'd never think to look for me there first......" she thought to herself with a smile, before hoping up on a stool - hoping he'd show in the next few minutes.
"Ging! Over here!!" she heard her sister call out from the library. So instead of walking into the impromptu conference room, she detoured into the side library room where her sisters, Mateo, Kyle , and her mother sat.
"Oh figlia mia*, I'm so glad you're okay!!" her mother blurted out, as she hopped up from her seat and hugged her tight. The worry in her voice completely befuddled Ginger.
"Gees ma, i'm 22, not four! I think i can manage going out an eating without a chaperone." Ginger responded with a small laugh. But the smile on her face quickly faded as she noticed the seriousness in her mothers expression.
"What's wrong?"
Valentina didn't answer her, and instead stood back a bit and then turned towards her sister, Jenna. "You didn't tell her!?" she asked in disbelieve. Jenna stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, before muttering:
"No. It wasn't something i thought i'd go into over the phone"
"Okay yous guys are scaring me, what happened??"
"There was a creditable threat against Peter and his family, and by default, dads been put on warning, But....something tells me he's fine." Jenna said, before sitting back down.
Peter Lorenzo was the Lt. Governor of New York, and him and his wive had been long time family friends, and political allies, of the Cagglianos. So it was no surprise when Antonio threw his full weight and support behind his long term friend - successfully getting him on the ballot as a running mate.
"Oh wow, where did the threat come from - do they know? And why do you say dads alright Jen?"
Jennas fiance, Kyle, got up so Ginger could sit beside her sister - with her purse beside her feet on the floor.
Jenna would go on to explain how the threat was recorded over a jailhouse phone call between a pair of Russians, with known associations to the mob...which made the threat make sense, since Antonio recently directed the NYPD to conduct a massive raid on known establishments of the Russian and Polish Mob, and a few other establishments that were owned by normal citizens, but were rumored to be conducting business when the Russians or Poles.
"Gees Jen, that only makes me feel like dad is MORE at risk than Peter."
"Well i guess you could be right, but it WAS Peter who led the media blitz after the arrest, so um, i'm thinking their gripe is with him only, at least for now."
Jenna was trying to spin the situation in a semi positive light, but no one was buying it....especially Valentina.
"Mio Dio! "For Now"? That doesn't make any of us feel any better Jenna!!" their mother blurted out, before running her hands through her hair feverishly.
"Calm down mom, i'm sure things will be just fine. Dad has the best protection in the entire state ya know!"
Ginger would say, just as her father entered the room.
"She's right" Antonio said, as an aid and guard quickly shuffled in behind him
He'd share a quick hug with his wife, before continuing;
"Well, the FBI and NYPD have suggested to us to stay in for the next 24 hours, and only go out for events of the utmost importance"
Silence would fill the room after the Governor spoke, as everyone either sighed or rolled their eyes.
The Cagglianos were not strangers to political fueled threats, and although the mob was for more worrisome then a raging letter threatening revenge from a deranged constituent, everyone in that Library knew that Antonio would likely ignore the suggestion of the police officials, since the last thing he, and quite frankly most of the family, would want to do is showcase to the Russians that some jailhouse threat is enough to cause them to run and hide like scared puppies w/ their tails in-between their legs.
No way, no how......not this administration, and not this family.
*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
It was now dark out, and nearly six and half hours had passed since the meeting in the library at 2pm.
Ginger had spent most of her time comforting her mother, and then watching over her young nieces and nephews, but as everyone finally began to heard into their own bedrooms, Ginger decided to do the same. But before she did, she picked her purse up from the corner, threw it over her shoulder, and meandered into her fathers office - where he was leaning back in his chair while taking park in a conference call with Lt. Governor Peter Lorenzo, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and NYPD Chief George Rogers.......all of who he put on hold, when his daughter walked in.
"Ginger, what it is?" he asked, concern showing clearly through the hours of fatigue written all over his face.
She simply smiled at him and walked behind the desk.
"Get some rest dad, you're not a cyborg.....you have to eat, drink, AND sleep."
"I know, i know. Besides, if i wither away, who the hell are the Russians gonna gun for next after Lorenzo, eh?"
Ginger rolled her eyes as her father laughed - not a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Very funny. Shoot for 10pm to call it a wrap, you've worked long enough today."
She'd bend down and kiss her father on the cheek before walking back towards her room.
Once the door was closed, she threw her bag on her California King, and then fell down on the mattress beside it.
"I need a beer." she complained, before laughing at herself.
Ginger would lay there for only a few minutes, before finding her way into a nice warm shower.
Twenty minutes later, her hair was pinned up via a butterfly clip and a towel was all that she wore as she again flounced down on the bed. She turned the TV on to ESPN and began to watch Sportscenter.........but she wouldn't get far into it before she noticed her blackberrys screen flash on and then off, before vibrating, to remind of "New Messages". She had half the mind to ignore it, but for some reason she decided to listen to the four messages.
One was from the reporter she had spoken to in Time Square, and two others were from volunteer coordinators of her fathers GOTV campaign, but the fourth was none other than her lunch date;
"Hi...this...this is Jimmy.
We finally met earlier today uh about that next time you talked about... I... I'd really like that.
There's this little Italian place I know of, nothing special but the food is excellent, down in Little Italy you know.
Anyway I'm sure I'm using up enough of your time so... I'll be at the same place tomorrow, around the same time maybe then I can give you my number huh?"
"He actually called...." she whispered to herself, as she saved the four messages and then went back to Jimmys, and snickered a bit at; "I can give you my number"
"I already have it...." she'd say to herself, before pressing "4" for "message header"
Much to her disappointment though, the number was played back to her as "Unlisted"
"Damn, i guess i don't have it."
She'd hang up her work phone and pull her personal cell out of her bag, before laying back into the pillows.
Ginger had every intention of getting up after a few text and changing into her night clothes.....but instead, within fifteen minutes, she was out like a light.
However, as usual, she wasn't uninterrupted for long, when at 9:45pm, someone began to knock on her door. She ignored them until the person spoke, and mentioned something strange.......a floral delivery, for her.
"Say what?" Ginger asked rather groggily, as she opened the door.
The young officer repeated the fact that there was a floral delivery for her outside - as he tried desperately not to look stare too hard at the barely dressed women in front of him. As nervous as he was about being caught catching a glimpse, Ginger didn't seem to care much, and told him to take the delivery for her since she wasn't dressed at the moment.
"I-I would ma'am, b-but, he wants to make sure it's given to you."
Ginger sighed. "Well fine, bring him to the door."
"I'm sorry ma'am but with the threat, there can be no unauthorized guest. Besides, it's late, state law says-"
She'd cut him off by holding her hand up towards his face.
"Yeah yeah yeah, i know the law. Gimmie a second, okay? And i'm not a Ma'am, i'm in my twenties."
Ginger slammed the door and then dropped her towel, before walking over to her dresser, pulling out her striped strapless nightwear, and putting it on.
Anyone else in her shoes would of sent the florist on his way, and she actually considered it herself, but she wasn't a snob, and figured the man worked rather hard getting the flowers to her, so what was the harm in going down to meet him? Besides, her curiosity was peaked. So ginger slipped into a pair of flip-flops, opened her door, and then followed the officer - named Jordan Mraz - to the end of the driveway, where a group of officers stood around the lone florist.
"Evening officers - Overkill much? This looks like a Bruce Willis flick" she joked....causing a few of the rookies to laugh, before the glares of their group leaders caused them to stop.
"These must be for me......" Ginger said, as she made he way towards the man holding a bouquet of not white, but blue, Calla Lilies.
"Well you've seen me, now care to tell me who sent you? I'm curious - a late night delivery is pretty, well, odd, don't ya think?"
"It's all in the card miss, here ya go." said the young man, as he smirked and held the flowers out towards her.
"Well, okay then...."
Ginger would grab the flowers and then tip the man, before strolling back inside.
Seconds after walking through the main door, she'd wrap one arm around the large bouquet and then use her other hand, and mouth, to open the card - having very little patience when it comes to gifts.
She'd read the short inscription aloud.
"From your walking buddy, a miracle from the saint"
Within seconds of reading it, a smile crept onto her face just as she reached her bedroom door.
She usually hated flowers...."Roses always die" was quote she loved repeating, but Calla Lilies just so happened to be a favorite of hers, especially the Blue and Orange ones. So once she walked back inside her room, she'd pour marbles out of a beautiful clear vase, fill it up with water, and place the Calla Lilies inside of it.
Ginger then placed the vase on the nightstand beside her bed, and only after sliding her purse and its contents onto the floor, did she crawl under the sheets and lay down.
"Something tells me meeting you tomorrow just might be impossible...." she whispered to herself, as she stared up at the beautiful blue flowers.
"But i suppose i should be some extra effort into, he did send me Calla Lilies...and blue ones at that...."
She'd snicker softly before reaching up and turning the light off.
After only a few more minutes of TV, the room was pitch black, and within a minute, she was once again out cold.
*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
Ginger would wake up at 5:45 to the sound of arguing.
It sounded like her fathers usual Sunday morning meeting had started early, and was was going badly.
"Gees" she complained under her breath, as she rolled over towards her nightstand and looked up at the flowers - which looked even more stunning in the stream of sunlight that was creeping in past her closed blinds.
If it was up to her, she would of stayed in bed for a few more hours, but as the arguing got nothing but louder Ginger slipped out from the sheets and into her white 2-inch wedge flip flops.
"Governor, you can't do that!! You're putting not only yourself, but the women and men who protect you, in danger!" Bezzy, her fathers senior aid, said dramatically.
"Then fine, they don't have to come if they're afraid!" Antonio lashed back.
Officer Mraz sighed, "We're not afraid, sir. Just, being cautious."
"About what??" Ginger said through a yawn, as she pulled her hair out of its bun - revealing a long wavy mess.
"Ginger...." her father said, as he suddenly lowered his voice and walked over towards her in the living room door-frame.
"did we wake you? I'm sorry."
"It's fine dad, just don't try to skip over my question. What's going on?"
Before Antonio could answer, Bezzy - who was like a third Grandmother to Ginger and her siblings - butted in. "The news of the threat being supposedly thwarted, is all over the news.....and now all the Sunday morning shows, want your father to do an interview!"
"Well what's wrong with that?"
Antonio grinned ear-to-ear.....but Bezzy just stared at her, mouth open for a bit, before responding.
"But dear, we were told to stay inside for-"
"I thought that 24 hour thing was a suggestion, not an order. Besides, if he went out the back and used a couple decoy limos on the way, everything should be fine."
The foursome would spend several minutes debating the issue, until it became apparent that Antonio had made up his mind. The conversation then turned towards which show......
It was a toss up between The Today Show, GMA, FOX NEWS, and MSNBC.....and as the group began to discuss it, Valentina and Maria made their way into the living room, with coffee cups.
"Screw the Today Show" Ginger said, after rolling her eyes. "Matt Lauer is an incompetent douche."
"Hey! I like that guy, he was really nice when we were on before." said Valentina
"Yeah, that's called the "smile in your face but spit in your cup when your not looking" routine. GMA isn't much better. I say Fox & Friends or Morning Joe."
"Joe's an ass." said Jordan.
"No he's not! He's a cool dude, who actually tries to can the personal stuff and stick to the news - unlike Lauer!! And so is Mika. The rest of the hosts might be twats but they're not ALL that bad. But now that i think about it, they're not even on Sunday, Chris Hayes is."
"Oh god talk about a real douche, who has like 15 viewers." Jordan piped in with, before answering a page on his radio.
Chris Hayes was the one person everyone in the room agreed was a definite "No"
"I like Doocy best!" said Maria, and her their mom nodded her head.
"Doocy's hilarious, and the curvy couch is always a pleasant experience." Antonio add in.
"Well Doocy isn't on F&F on the weekend...."
The group would go on bickering for a few more minutes before deciding on both F&F and GMA. The Governor would appear live towards the end of F&F's 7'oclock block, and then do a call-in interview to GMA at the end of their show, much to the chagrin of his aides and security team.
"Well, now that that's settled i'm gonna have a quick conference call with Peter and the others before heading out." said Antonio. He'd kiss his daughters on the cheeks, and then go into his office with Valentina close on his heels.
"Well, i guess i'll go sit in my cell for the next 12 hours." Ginger joked.
"Yeah right, we all know that's crap." Maria said, as the two girls both stood up "I'm not staying in either, but i'll have my husband, my kids, and JR with me. So please, don't go all half-cock again by yourself....okay? It's just a bad idea, even without the threat."
Ginger smiled warmly, and then hugged her sister. As the two would break from their embrace, the young officer from before would walk up to them.
"U-um, if you need something, or to um, go out.....i can go with you." he suggested.
Ginger went to decline the invitation nicely, but before she could Maria answered for her.
"Oh that's a great idea!! There, we won't worry if ya have a nice young strapping officer beside you. No if ands or buts about it! Now i' gotta go....see ya!"
Slightly annoyed, Ginger watched as her sister fled down the hallway to avoid an argument.
"I, um, do you plan to go anywhere today?" Officer Mraz asked, and she sighed.
"No, probably not."
Without another word, Ginger turned around and began to walk back to her room. Jordan followed.
Once at her door she turned around.
"You know, i think i'm old enough to take my own shower and dress myself, sooooo, i think we'll part here for now kay?" she joked, and Mraz nervously nodded his head.
"Yeah, sure."
By Noon the suppose-to-be full house, was damn near empty. Outside of a small group of officers, and her twin brothers Fernando & Mario plus their tutor, the house was empty. Ginger had just gotten out of the shower minutes ago, and was now dressed in a fitted, & backless, flowery sundress that reached a few inches below mid-thigh - with huge white-rimmed circular sunglasses covering her eyes.
She'd sit on the edge of her bed and text a few old friends from school, before throwing both her phones in a black bag with studded straps, and heading down the hall and towards her brothers rooms.
"Hey, i'm gonna head into the city, you guys want anything?"
"Oh can we come?? This shit is annoying as hell!" Fernando complained, as he dropped his pencil down on his homework.
"HEY! Watch your mouth! You've got at least two more years before you can say that kind of crap."
"What the hell will two years do?" Mario asked with a smirk.
"A whole lot, so deal with it. I can't take you, i um, have a meeting of sorts......i'll bring you back something to eat though if i can, ok? Laters."
Ginger tried to reach the door without being seen, but Jordan was quickly on her tail - now dressed in plain clothes.
"Um, are we ready to go now?"
She'd smile a bit before sighing. "I guess so!"
After the half hour ride, the pair would spend another hour and a half at the GOTV headquarters a couple blocks away from Kimmies and Spinellis..
When it was finally time to leave, Ginger mentioned she wanted to go around the block for something to eat......and began to look repetitively at the clock on her phone.
She saw no way of getting around Jordan being there when she met Jimmy, but what real harm could that do. She could lie and say he was working for their campaign. But the second that thought slipped into her mind she laughed, "Yeah right, that won't work.....he doesn't strike me like some campaign water-boy.....far from it."
Ginger would laugh to herself, before following Officer Mraz around the street corner.
Kimmies was getting closer, and she began to nervously fidget with her hands, not really sure how the whole encounter was going to go down. But thankfully, when Jordan quickly jumped into a hot dog cart line a mile long, an idea popped into her head.
"Hey, i'm gonna go pick up an order in Kimmies, it's right there, i'll be fine - okay?"
"No, Ms. Ca-"
Before Jordan could say her last name, she put her hand up to his mouth and Shhsh him.
"It's right there, besides, the guy tailing us in the car there, can watch from his window and make sure nothing bad happens - okay? It's a stones throw away, i'll survive" she whispered.
Jordan looked a bit shocked when Ginger pointed out the officer that left Gracie Mansion shortly after them as a tail. But after shaking it off, he reluctantly agreed, and signal the officer in the car with a nod of the head, that everything was alright, as Ginger walked in alone.
"I hope he's here, i won't have more than five or ten minutes." she whispered as she walked up to the small bar-area.
The last thing she wanted to do was decline an invitation to Little Italy, a part of town she use to love to visit, but she didn't see any way around it.
Jimmy was nowhere in sight when she entered though, so to kill the time she pulled out her phone and began to check The Wallstreet Journal and New York times, about her father and Peter. However when the waitress from the other day spotted her, she asked about "Jimmy The Saint", which instantly reminded Ginger to google that little Moniker.......the results that came up, were the last thing she expected.
"No way, no fucking way!" she mumbled to herself "And here i went and teased Mateo for being dramatic about Spinellis clientele......but this guy, is actually rumored to converse with Mobsters? Hah! Well gee...i don't know how i feel about that" she said in a whisper barely audible to her own ears, yet alone anyone elses.
But she did know...
In the back of her head she knew even a rumored association with such criminals SHOULD cause her to run, but she couldn't help but find the guy, interesting. And if she was being honest with herself, his rumored ties to wise-guys made him even more intriguing.....and she still wanted to have that chance to actually talk him up, and see what he was all about - uninterrupted.
"Little Italy would actually be quite the place to escape to, and not be interrupted. They'd never think to look for me there first......" she thought to herself with a smile, before hoping up on a stool - hoping he'd show in the next few minutes.
figlia mia = my daughter
mio dio = my god