Chapter 68

• “Why isn’t she here?”
• Dante wondered again and again as he stood under the orange tree and watched the people moving about, chatting with each other. Everything was all good now. He had defended himself before these people and they believed him and wanted him to stay, yet he was not satisfied. Ugo was the reason for his restlessness and why he was not satisfied. Though she had laid her voice in support of the town giving him a chance to prove himself, he had not had the opportunity to speak directly to her. Once the town accepted him, Ben’s family had welcomed him into their bosom, inviting him and some of the villagers back to the house for a meal.
• It was in his honor, to thank him for his part in bringing Ben and Kenny together, and in giving them the wedding. Kenny fused over him, hovering, wanting to please him. She was subdued, and Dante saw the side of her he hadn’t seen. She was relaxed, mixing with everyone, smiling and making sure that everyone was feeling good. The perfect hostess and once again, he affirmed that she would have made a good wife for him if what he wanted in a wife hadn’t changed. Before coming to Waterside, all he wanted in his wife was woman who would easily host any gathering that might be required of her as the wife of Dante Henchman. A woman who could stand with the upper echelons of Ultra City and still be the loving mother his future children deserved.