oOo

     As Antonio Russo stood in the field of wild and robust children playing soccer, he let a genuine smile play across his face never mind the hordes of photographers hired by his mother snapping his every move on the sidelines. He watched as one child took off down the green grass, dribbling the soccer ball between her feet the best way she knew how.

   "That'a girl!" He called out encouragement as small voices shouted from every direction. When she made it past her opponent and scored a corner shot, the crowd cheered vivaciously. Laughing, Antonio raised his hands above his hand and clapped as he cheered along.

   Running towards his team, he ripped off his orange mesh vest just as the kids had seen all of the soccer players in movies do as he slide in to their jumping crowd.

   "We did it Coach Russo!" They were beyond ecstatic about playing their first soccer game since the team had been formed. They were no older than five and six years old, so even though this was the first time they managed to actually score in the correct goal, Antonio was as happy for them as any other coach.

   "A win like that deserves some snacks. Why don't you go check out the refreshment table?" he patted their backs as each one passed by for a congratulatory high five. Squinting, he watched from a far as they bombarded the volunteers who handed out drinks and food left and right.

   "I think you did enough work out there to deserve a reward to, Coach Russo." A french manicured hand gripped his warm shoulder where the sun beat down over him in the park.

   "Why thank you team manager." With a grin, Antonio removed the cold water bottle offered to him as he turned to face the woman behind him.

   She was a petit woman of 5'3, with shoulder length blonde hair pulled back into a low bun underneath her all-encompassing sun hat. Leaning down, he pressed a sloppy kiss on her cheek for good measure as he heard the clicking of the cameras that surrounded the park.

  "Let's get out of here as soon as possible before I lose my shit." He whispered into her ear.

   "Don't look now, but Mister Mayor just arrived."The sound of Stefan Russo congratulating the crowd of children behind Antonio made him wince.

   "I came to see the winners today! Who are they?" Stefan held out his arms as the children jumped up and down, clamoring for his attention. Just like any Mayor who was hoping to get back on the good side of the parents of Chicago after being caught saying less than glamorous words about inner city public schools, he grinned so hard that Antonio was sure he would break his jaw. The only relief his father's presence brought was the shift of attention to gather the Kodak moments he attempted to make.

    It had only been months into his first year of his second term as mayor, and Antonio had to admit that by the way he was going, his public school shaming scandal would blow over soon as the pictures of a family oriented child loving mayor who wanted to see nothing but success for every little Chicogoan in the city.

  "Shit." Antonio placed his hands on his hips as he watched his father stand and dust off his khaki pants. As he looked around, his eyes landed on the sight of his son and long term girlfriend in the distance. Breaking out into a light jog, he approached them.

   "Tony, Lillian, how are you guys?" Drawing the younger version of himself in for a hug and kiss on the cheek, Stefan let out a boisterous laugh, and did the same to Lillian.

   "How are you Stefan?" She said in response as he squeezed her tightly.

   "I'm just wonderful, thank you for inquiring about this old man." If only Stefan knew that his more than obvious flirtations would never work on Lillian, he wouldn't have to embarrass himself and them each time some cheesy remark left his mouth.

    If he knew that her preferences were much more in the ball park of someone like his wife, he would lay off.

   Antonio laughed internally at the cringe worthy smile on Lillian's face. They had grown up as next door neighbors, even having dated for a few years in high school. They had the perfect little romance story to the outside world.

   The young and beautiful couple who group up together from the time they were in diapers to the time they first discovered their feelings for one another. Everyone seemed to have this highly romanticized version of their tale, and was completely off mark.

   They had hated each other until Lillian sprouted breasts, and Antonio got his first pubic hair.

    They began dating freshman year of high school because they figured that was how things were supposed to go. They had been each other's first chocolate milk flavored kiss in the fifth grade, but had never had any budding crush towards each other.

   Antonio couldn't find himself to think of her as more than a best friend, and Lillian couldn't help but to write her name alongside his older sister's inside her pillowcase as a kid.

   Their senior year of high school, Antonio had walked in on Lillian and another girl who had supposedly only gone to the bathroom together for safety reasons in the crowded drug filled house party.  He never questioned or confronted her about what he had seen; he only let her go on living the way she wanted just the way he did.

  "So are you guys still stopping by for dinner? You can't miss family night." Stefan slapped Antonio against his shoulder.

   "We're still coming dad, just as planned." He had already told his father that they would be attending the mandatory dinner a hundred times before. As he heard the scratching of pens on notepads, he instantly understood the reiteration.

  "Maybe one day you two will have some grand kids to join us like your sister." He said not so non chalantly.

   Resisting the urge to voice his disgust, Antonio decided to excuse himself.

  "You know what, I think I need to go get cleaned up then. I have a few things to take care of before dinner."

   Turning his back to the cameras, he held Lillian by the waist and warned her," You're going to make it there before I do. Hang in there."

  She was less concerned about holding in her sigh. Watching Antonio run past the group of kids one last time, Lillian turned back to the older Russo with whom she was left alone with.

  "Alright, I think you've got enough. Shut those things off." Waving his hand at the confused photographers, he took a step closer to Lillian.

   "You heard me. Get out of here." The octave change of Stefan's voice left no room for second thought as they all lowered their cameras and began to walk away from the mayor.

   "Lillian, you're looking gorgeous as ever." Draping a veiny arm around her shoulders, he led her away towards a park bench as he tugged a baseball cap from his back belt loop and scooped it onto his head. Motioning for her to have a seat, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a cigarette, lighting and taking a draw.

  Scooting away from him, Lillian couldn't believe he had the balls to light one up in this heat after his whole mantra of being against cigarettes and tobacco during his last campaign.

   "You look well yourself Stefan, at least from the outside. I'm not so sure of what those lungs are looking like."Chuckling, Stefan let his eyes rove over her exposed legs with no shame. Lillian couldn't decide if she was more bothered from his actions because he was a known sleaze ball, or because he had known her since the time it was socially acceptable for her to shit her pants.

  " I'm excited to have you guys over tonight. It's been a while since the two of you have joined us."

  And Lillian had been glad for that.

  She had spent her time enjoying and living the kind of life she had repressed for over ten years now rather than play into the Russo ploy of a picture perfect family where she had a shadowed position as the future daughter in law. She swore that whenever she sat around their kitchen table she could hear, New player has joined the game! In her ears.

"Well, I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had a prior engagement arranged. See you later?" Scurrying away before he could reach out to stop her, Lillian raced to her car, leaving the older man to quickly finish off his cigarette, and rub it into the ground completely forgoing the designated trashcan for such things.

oOo

  Antonio parked his car outside of his parent's gated home. Sticking his keys into his pockets, he looked up towards the mansion before him. There had been new renovations in the past few years, and yet it still held no resemblance to a home shared by people who loved each other.

   As he pulled open the glass front doors, his nose was met with the smell of cooking. He could hear the light sound of music, and followed it to the backyard, saying hello to the house servants as he passed them by.  Some had been there all of his life, and to them he gave heartfelt hugs. The others were young, and looked like Stefan had a hand in picking them.

   He liked them young, plump in the right places, with little English speaking capabilities that exceeded "No Sir" and "Yes Sir."

   As he emerged onto the back patio, he wasn't surprised to find an entire table lined with catered food from one of the best restaurants in the city. Servers stood with their hands clasped, just as they were told.

   Family dinners didn't count if the home cooked meal arrived in portable dishes from a gourmet kitchen.

  "My baby!" Mary Russo rushed to her youngest child, wrapping the arm that didn't hold a glass of wine around his middle.

   "I was starting to think you weren't going to come tonight as well." She looked up at her son with motherly love and longing.

  "I promised you this time Ma, of course I would be here." He kissed her forehead, and bent his arm for her to slip her hand in as he led her down the steps. Their backyard was manicured by the finest landscaper in the country. Not a blade was out of place, or a flower wilting to the ground.

   "I got your favorite tonight! I know how much you love Chinese."

   He looked up to see the perfect dishes displayed to his side. Patting her small hand, he thanked her.

   Mary had never had a motherly touch when it came to cooking or cleaning. She wasn't the domesticated kind of wife of a Mayor. She had a strong will and presence that was put to use as her position as the city's Economic Development Director. Her being in charge of that job had raised many more questions for the authenticity of Antonio's success, but that would mean no one knew Mary.

   She drew a hard line when it came to her children outside of the home, but inside she melted like putty in their hands.

   Mary especially adored her baby boy and it showed the most as she downed her wine and let loose.

  "Look who decided to show up." Called Stefan, he sat with his legs crossed on an outdoor couch, beer in hand as he tried to start conversation with Lillian. Hearing the announcement of Antonio's arrival, she jumped down from the bar and tried her best to not run to his side like an idiot.

  "If you made me wait anymore, I was surely going to be on your mom's level." She spoke through clenched teeth as she eyed the woman who went to find a glass that was filled with wine instead of the empty one she now had.

   "All I want is a nice dinner with my family, Stefan. Our son is here, Lillian, even  Natalia came. Please don't ruin this for me." Mary spoke with a killer smile which never left her face as she stared off with her husband.

   "Natalia? Is here?" Antonio looked at his mother with a quizzical look. Maybe she had surpassed her usual level of relaxation tonight.

   "Yes, it is I baby brother. Aren't you going to say hello?" A tall woman emerged from the kitchen doors, making the evening even brighter as she strolled towards her family. Her blue eyes pierced her brother's as she walked past him.

   Any other siblings would have grabbed each other for joy if it had been nearly five years since seeing each other.

   "What are you doing here?" He questioned with little emotion other than skepticism.

   "That was not what I was looking for." Sitting beside their father, Natalia raised her own glass to her lips as she giggled to herself. They were two years apart, and rather than having a close relationship, they had ended up being very distant.

   "Where are my niece and nephew?"

   "God, what's with all the questions Tony? " She sighed loudly, almost putting a halt in the jazz music that played in the background.

   "They're with their father, he took them to visit his family this summer." Mary cut in. She didn't want her mood to be brought down by any sudden outbursts that Natalia was prone to.

  "Yes, I left the little darlings up to their father, God knows he's probably pulling his hair out not knowing what to do with them."

  "I wouldn't say that like you have much to add Natalia."

   "Bite me Tony."

   "Let's eat dinner!" Throwing back her drink, Mary stood to her feet taking control of the atmosphere that began to turn sour.

  Remaining in his seat, Stefan chuckled to himself as he finished off his beer.

  "Stefan, dear, do you care to join us? " Mary called out.

  "I'd be delighted to Mary Sue..."

   Antonio's mother darted her eyes at the insulting nickname.

  He could remember back to his days as a kid when his mother would hiss at his father for his insulting nickname. When he had found out the meaning of it, he understood his mother's anger towards being called a dull and unimportant woman.

   Pulling out her seat and Lillian's, Antonio thought it would only be polite to do the same for Natalia. However, she slammed down in the seat before he could lay a hand on it.

  She made a smooching noise at him as he tightened his jaw and made his way to his own seat.

  "Something serious must be going on for Natalia to make a visit." He began the conversation as plates were filled with perfectly proportioned food. While they were growing up, they had been trained to wait for Stefan to take the first bite before they began any meal. It was a habit that Antonio found himself falling into voluntarily, but as he heard his mother's fork meet her plate before anyone else's he grinned.

  At that point, he could see that Mary barely gave a care anymore.

  Her husband watched her from across the table, tilting his head to the side as he pulled a servant to the side, asking for liquor to go along with his meal.

   "With dinner, sweetheart?" Mary spoke from across the table.

   "I only thought it would be fair, seeing as how that's not wine made by Jesus himself in that cup you have, honey."

   Lifting her glass towards him, Mary took a sip.

   "Jesus made wine so that I could look at your god awful face."

   "Hence why a more potent liquor exists for me-"

   "Can we move on now? You two bitching at each other isn't what I took a week off of work to come back here for." Natalia slammed down her fork as she glared at both of her parents.

   Antonio raised an eyebrow hearing the length of her stay.

  "Why the hell would you do that?" He asked, taking a sip from his water. His eyes met Lillian's from the corner as she too became curious.

   "Oh, Tony. You didn't think I would miss the big 3-5, did you? I'm here to plan it with mom. Of course that was all supposed to be a surprise, but I think we're all a little too old for that kind of thing."

   Mary's eyes landed on her daughter upset that she had ruined the shock of celebrating her son's birthday .

  "Well since it won't have as much of a shock value anymore...Antonio I know how much you hate these kind of things-"

  "They've never really fallen through in the past... He murmured,

  "-but I think that this is a special one. When I was 35, why I-"

  "Had an ass that didn't sag yet."

  "Damn you, Stefan!" Mary slammed her hands on the table and stood in her seat as the argument she had been avoiding with her husband began to unfold.

   They shouted back and forth, and no matter how many times Antonio called for them to knock it off, they continued on, their volume growing. He watched Natalia sit back in her seat, laughing as she placed a piece of orange glazed chicken into her mouth.

   "Oh. My God." Lillian breathed as she waited for foam to form around the corners of Mary's vicious mouth.

   "I'm done. I'm leaving, and if you do to, I don't blame you." Throwing his napkin into the plate he hadn't even touched, Antonio tuned his back on the scene, and took the steps by two. At the kitchen door, the workers inside had gathered around, peeping out the commotion, and when he stormed through they all jumped back embarrassed.

   "I hope you all enjoy the show." He called behind him.

Getting into his car, he shook his head at yet another failed attempt to be in the same room as his family.

oOo

    Flipping through the hotel brochure she had picked up in the gift shop area of the airport, Aubrey wondered which she should stay at.

  "Do you know of any good places around here?" Leaning over to the driver in the front seat, Aubrey sucked on the sucker she twirled around with her tongue.

  "How much are you willing to pay? I can point you out to a good hotel." His eyes watched the way her lips formed a pop as she pulled the candy from her mouth.

   "Take me to the best." Aubrey had never stayed in anything better that a Motel 8, and she wanted to try her luck here and see what she could score.

"Yes ma'am."

oOo

  The sound of squeaking shoes on the waxed lobby floors drew the front desk woman's eyes to their owner. Her fingers stopped against the keyboard as she watched a young teenage girl enter. She wondered how the child could have gotten lost in this area.

   "May I help you?"

   Aubrey took her eyes off of the high rise ceilings at the sound of someone speaking to her. She felt a familiar dislike towards the tone, it was one she had heard all too often at school. In fact, looking at the woman before her, she was nothing more than an older version of the girls who held their nose up to her in class.

  "Hi." She said, drawing a smile from her lips. When she saw that the expression on the other woman's face never changed, she cleared her throat.

   "I was wondering how much one of your rooms cost per night?"

  "I'm afraid we are all booked."

   "Really? Do you mind checking for me?"

   "We're full."

   "Sure, but why don't you just-"

   "Young lady I'm more than certain that our price wouldn't be befitting for you. Might I give a suggestion, such as Best Western?"

   Aubrey's head snapped to the side at the backhanded remark.

   "No. You. May. Not. I would greatly appreciate it if you would check for any available rooms for I would like to stay in one. Of. Them. Please."

   An older man who had been watching the exchange stepped forward.

  "Stephanie, is there a problem here with our guest?" The young woman's face showed surprise as she looked to her manager. A smile came to her face immediately, one much different than the scowl she had worn while speaking with Aubrey.

  "Sir-"

   "Why, I'm glad you asked. I was curious about renting a room here, but it seems that your employee of the month there has a photographic memory which apparently tells her that there are no available rooms. At least, for me." Smiling, Aubrey gave a huge Texas grin, showcasing her dimples for added charm.

  "Well, maybe we can check again to see what we have open." The man wore a grin just as big as he began to type away at the computer screen before him. He too didn't understand how the young girl could expect to stay in even one of their cheapest rooms.

   "You're from down south, I can tell by that lovely accent of yours. " He clicked through the screens, and looked to her." How long do you plan to stay with us?"

   "Six nights please."

  He looked at her from behind his thick rimmed glasses. " We have a one room available-"

  "Great!"

  "-for $500."

  "I'll take that."

  "That's a night." He said.

  Looking up from her bag, Aubrey looked at the man with smiling eyes, unperturbed by how much it would all add up by the time the week ended.

   "I heard you the first time." Across the counter she slid a fake id that listed her as being 18. She had been one of the smarter kids, not looking to put too many years on their false age when she had it made at 16.

  The two adults still didn't look too convinced, but that was until she began to dig through her wallet. They saw a flash of the numerous bills she had on her, and she pulled out a credit card she had found in her mother's stash of documents.

   It was in her name, and she wondered what her mother had planned for it in the future. She would never know, but for now it would serve a purpose.

   Reluctantly, she was given a room key.

  "Enjoy your stay with us, Ms. Taliaferro."

oOo

   The cab driver held his pen in his mouth, chewing on the cap as he looked for his next move in his Sudoku puzzle. He heard someone bang on the trunk, and found the girl he had been chauffeuring around in his rear view mirror.

  "Have you found what you're looking for?" He called out in a thick accent. He turned down his radio as he called out of the window.

   Aubrey pulled out her bags, and closed the trunk.

   "Money can get you a lot in life." Leaning down to the window, she gave him a two hundred dollar bills.

   "Amen." Tipping his hat to the young lady, he crumbled the case into his hand with a toothy grin.

   Aubrey had always imagined that once she had money, she would be a stickler with it. Unwilling to give it out to just anyone.

  Even with the small amount she possessed now, she saw that maybe she wouldn't be so tight with it. She found herself easily handing out money, and watching it all dwindle down.

   As she boarded the elevator, and then slid her key into the lock, she thought of how much she and her mother had lived on before.

   "This is nothing." Standing in the doorway, Aubrey dropped her bags and started off into a run jump, landing on the white sheets of the hotel bed.

  "Nothing at all."