Chapter 3

Late September, 2038


Everyone was getting into the routine of classes, homework, study groups; Helene even had a recital for her first "exam" in her majors classes. This would be the first opportunity for Jaime and Rina to see her dance. Helene was rehearsing long into the night with the four other dancers in her study group, and often came in after the other girls had retired for the evening.

A couple of weeks earlier, they discussed what to do with the room in their suite that was not being used. Helene suggested that it be turned into a rehearsal space, but Rina and Jaime disagreed, with Jaime saying that Helene's late hours would keep the others awake. Helene could see Jaime's point and backed down. Rina, however, wanted to leave the room as is, in case they had overnight visitors.

"Rina, as freshmen, we're not allowed to have visitors in our suite," Helene said; "Especially us because we're still under age."

"Universities in Europe do this all the time, Helene," Rina argued; "And in Italy at least, girls our age aren't restricted from anything; we can drink, make our own decisions without consulting our parents...even enter into marriage contracts. That's unheard of here in America."

"That's because our laws say that you have to 18 to be considered an adult and 21 to drink," Helene said; "Jaime and I both needed to be declared independant of our parents in order to even come here. The University required it of us. That's why we needed to get jobs to support ourselves. Our families put us on budgets to watch our spending."

"That doesn't answer the question as to why we can't have overnight visitors," Rina said; "Jaime, if your sister wanted to come visit, she'd have to stay in a hotel?"

"Yes," said Jaime; "and depending on which sister came to visit would dictate whether they could stay overnight. If it were Rachel, she'd be accompanied by my mother or one of our aunts because she's only twelve. She'd probably go home the same day because my family doesn't really live that far from here.

"If it were Miri, she could stay overnight in a hotel, but not in our suite because those are the rules they set down here. Even though Miri is an alumna now, they're not going to bend the rules for her, nor would she want them to."

"Then do what you want with the room, I don't care!" Rina said angrily and huffed off to her room, slammed the door, and locked it.

Jaime looked over at Helene. She looked like she was going to cry.

"I didn't want to get into a big argument with her, Jaime," Helene said; "I just wanted her to see that the laws here aren't as relaxed as they are where she's from."

"Leenie, it's going to be okay," Jaime said reassuringly; "We had our first big disagreement. It's to be expected. Rina will cool off and then we can all talk calmly and make a better decision about the room. Let's just leave it alone for a while."

"We were getting along so well..." Helene said. "I didn't want to alienate her."

Jaime put her arm around Helene's shoulders, saying, "We're going to be okay here. When we're all calmed down we can talk more."

"I hope you're right, Jaime," Helene said.


===


Rina sat on the bed and tried to calm down. All she could think of was that she was experiencing her first real taste of culture shock, something she didn't experience at boarding school because she kept herself isolated from most of her schoolmates.

She really liked Jaime and Helene, and she was afraid that they wouldn't like her now because she had to open her big mouth about how things were done "at home". This was home now, and she had to face the fact that there are different laws here, the customs were different here, and she'd have to accept it if she wanted to be accepted here as an American.

I don't want to go home and prove Mamma right about Americans, Rina thought. She's wrong about them, and I don't want to be like her because of a couple of bad experiences.

Rina knew that she had to apologize to both Helene and Jaime for her behavior. She knew they not only did their school stuff, but they both worked at the flower shop part time to earn extra money. She wanted to do that, too, but she'd need a different visa in able to do so, and she'd had enough of dealing with visa problems. Maybe I'll talk to the people in the International Student Office about that when I decide that's what I want to do.

"I just want to be a regular American girl just like my friends," Rina said to herself. "I want to do everything they do."

She lay on the bed and cried herself to sleep.

===


The phone rang next to Christian and Kathryn's bed. It was an hour later there than it was at Northwestern. The DeWitts were reading in bed, and Christian answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Dad, it's Helene," his oldest daughter said; "Is Mom there?"

"She's right here, Helene," Christian said; "everything okay there?"

"Can I talk to her?"

Christian handed the phone over to Kathryn, who then said, "Hello Helene, how are things at school?"

"Classes are fine, Mom," Helene said; "I just need some advice."

"Okay. About what?"

Helene told her mother about the argument she and her roommates had, that she was afraid she'd offended Rina, that Jaime was trying to be neutral...and needed advice on what to do next.

Kathryn was happy to make some suggestions about possible solutions for Helene's dilemma.

After talking to her daughter for about an hour, Kathryn said her goodbyes and handed the phone back to Christian to replace in the cradle.

"First big disagreement for the residents of Suite 313, I take it," he said.

"Yeah. Helene was a little upset about it."

"You gave her good advice, Kathryn," Christian said. "Those years of therapy have done a lot of good for you, and now you're passing on your knowledge to Helene. I hope the girls can get over this hurdle and move on from it."

"We'll see if two girls come for fall break, or all three," Kathryn said.

"They're all college girls now," Christian said; "They'll work it out like the strong, confident and intelligent young women they are."

Just then, there was a cry from down the hall near Eric's bedroom. The little boy tended to have nightmares, so one of his sisters would try to comfort him. This night, however, Eric was having none of Erin's or Lili's presence. He wanted Daddy, and he wanted him now!

"Dad," Erin said as she stood in the doorway of her parents bedroom, "Eric doesn't want anyone but you."

Christian got out of bed and put on his robe; "Tell Eric I'll be right there, Erin."

Erin then left and Christian followed her down the hall to Eric's room. As he entered, he asked, "What's the problem, champ?"


===

Helene returned to the suite after she told Jaime that she was going to take a walk so she could think. Jaime was still awake.

"I thought you'd be in bed, James," Helene said.

"I was worried about you," Jaime said; "You don't usually go on walks."

"I only made it as far as the lobby," Helene said; "I decided to call my mom and ask her for advice."

"It's pretty late there, isn't it?"

"An hour ahead of us," Helene said; "My parents were in bed, reading or talking. Dad picked up the bedroom phone."

"What if they were in the middle of, well, making love or something?" asked Jaime.

"They wouldn't have answered then," Helene said; "But they did. Mom and I had a good talk, and I feel much better. I even got some ideas to get over all this, um, resentment, if there is any."

"I don't think there's much of that, to be honest," Jaime said; "I went to Rina's room after you left, and I heard her crying. She's just as upset by this as you are."

"We should talk in the morning before you go to work, Jaime," Helene said. "What time do you have to be in the shop?"

"At noon," Jaime said. "Maybe we should wait until I get home. You have rehearsal from 11 to five for your dance exam, and Rina has that Saturday class. After that, we can all talk."

"That sounds like a good idea," Helene said; "We should let Rina know in the morning."

"What ideas did your mom give you?" asked Jaime.

"You'll find out tomorrow afternoon," Helene said with a mischievious grin.

"Oh," Jaime said laughing, "I see how you are! Fine, I'll wait til tomorrow. I'm heading to bed. See you in the morning."

"Good night, Jaime," Helene said.

Jaime went to her room, leaving Helene out in the common room (which the girls had taken to calling the living room) alone. She sat on the sofa and sighed.

If this is what Dad meant by growing up, Helene thought, he was right. It's not as easy as it seems from the outside.

She then got up and went to bed.


===

Mother has been impossible since she returned from the States, Vittorio d'Alessandro thought as he got ready to go back to his apartment in Rome; I am so tired of her catting around for men. It's embarrassing at her age.

"Vito, darling," Caterina said as he got ready to leave, "do you have to go back to Rome tonight? Couldn't you stay overnight?"

"No, Mother, I cannot," Vito  said; "I have business that I have to attend to in the morning."

Vito saw that his mother was sulking like a small child, and he was tired of that, too. It didn't make him want to stay at the villa any longer than he wanted to. She didn't have Audrina to bitch at, he thought, so she's trying to get me to take her place.

"What business do you have, Vito?" his mother asked.

"It's personal, and if all works out, I'll be heading to America after the first of the year."

He knew that would not make his mother happy.

He was tired of his mother's behavior, of her temper tantrums, of her "lovers"--men not much older than he was at almost 19 years old.

Vito knew that was how his parents got together; Charles DeWitt was a 17 year old American student, and Caterina fancied him something fierce.

She was almost ten years older than him, but looked younger. She had told him she was twenty, when she was actually closer to thirty. By the time he realized she had lied to him, she was claiming she was expecting his child and demanded he marry her.

Vito was that child.

After he was born, Caterina refused to allow the boy to carry his father's surname. He was christened Vittorio d'Alessandro, and that was that. Just over two years later, his sister Audrina arrived.

Caterina treated Charles like trash, except when she wanted sex. She didn't want to be a mother, so she hired a series of governesses and tutors to tend to the children. Charles was more of a father to Vito and Audrina.

Vito knew that his father's family in America was wealthy, but one of the things that Charles was good at was making money. That was the business that Vito had in Rome; to take the company to America and change its name from CRD Enterprises to Vit-Rina Enterprises, after him and his sister. The industry was computer related, and Audrina's computer skills would come in handy.

But in the United States, Audrina had to be a legal adult. She was only 16, and by law could not own a business with such vast financial holdings.

And while he was in the States, Vito would enroll in college. Specifically, Harvard University's School of Business. His father went there, and it was the happiest four years of Vito's life, living in Boston.

It's a shame Audrina was too young to remember, Vito often thought.

Now, his father was supposedly dead (something he never really believed), so there were no more father-son trips, no more long talks, no more Papa to bounce ideas off of.

And his mother was seemingly happy about this.

As he drove off towards Rome, Vito decided that he would stay in America permanently, or at least until his mother was dead.

He could no longer stand being in the same country with the woman who trapped his beloved Papa in to a loveless marriage, and probably drove him to his death.

If he was, indeed, dead.


===

He was having some seriously weird and very unpleasant dreams.

About his mother.

The last few nights, he awoke in a cold sweat and feeling sick to his stomach.

How could a mother to that to her own child? Was that why he was the way he was? Because an adult took advantage of him?

He'd have the nightmares from time to time, usually when he was stressed about someone possibly finding out his sick secrets. His mother had her own sick secrets; she was obssessed with her younger son, and not in a motherly way.

He remembered the very first time. He couldn't have been more than five or six years old. She came into his room. She smelled of alcohol. She could barely stand up, so she collapsed on his bed. He pretended to be asleep.

Then, he felt her hand in his pajamas. In his underpants. Still he pretended to be sleeping. Then he heard her moaning. It was scary and he knew that his father or brother wouldn't believe him.

Soon, she had left his room, but didn't realize she'd scarred him for life. And it would only get worse before he had the courage to tell her to stop.

It was the reason he hated being called "Charlie".

She called him that when she was in his room.

As in, "Charlie, show Mama a little lovin'."

He knew exactly what she wanted; if he didn't give it to her, she'd hit him hard enough to leave marks. Then she'd demand he lie to his father about what happened.

When his parents divorced, he was relieved. Maybe he'd get to stay with his father and brother.

The court decided that his father got custody of both boys. But she made up some bullshit story about how he was being abused by his father, and she was given custody of just him.

More bullshit stories followed, and he believed her.

It was only after he had children of his own that he figured it out. It was his mother, and not his father, who was having affairs.

By that time, his mother had long since died.

He made sure of it.


===

All three girls were up early the next morning, and Helene told them that they were going to have a talk about what happened the night before.

"I feel bad about what happened, and I want us all to get along," said Helene; "so when Jaime gets back from the shop and I'm back from rehearsals, the three of us are going to have a talk. I want to clear the air about things that will make our living together easier."

"Okay," Rina said. "I will be here, because what happened last night upset me, too."

"I'm in," Jaime said.

"So," Helene said, taking a deep breath, "is 7pm okay with you guys?"

"I'll be back from class by 6," Rina said. "So I will be here."

"And I'll be back from the florist about the same time," Jaime said; "I have to help close."

Helene looked at both of her suitemates. We'll get this all straightened out, then talk about plans for fall break, she thought.

"Okay, then," she said aloud, "we'll order in and have a nice long talk. Think about what you want to order. I want enchiladas from that place near the florist shop! I love those things, and I don't get to have them often."

"I like those too," Rina said; "especially the cheesy ones!"

"I'll place the order when I get to work," Jaime said, "and arrange to have them delivered. I'll pay for them and you two can pay me back later. Is that cool with everyone?"

"Cool," said Rina.


===


Helene was actually more nervous about the meeting with her suitemates than she was about the upcoming recital in which she would receive her midterm grade. She was allowed to invite three people, so she invited her suitemates. Neither had seen her dance, and Helene was excited to show them what she could do.

The rehearsal went well, and Helene and the other four dancers in her group were confident their performance would earn them a high grade.

Since Helene was doing well in her other classes, she wasn't too worried about her grades. Her teachers back home did well by her, and she had attended a public school until high school, where she was admitted to the local magnet school for those pursuing the arts. Erin was there now, and doing very well.

One of her dance group noticed that Helene was off her game, because she asked, "You seem so preoccupied today, Helene; is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Leah," Helene said; "just having a chat with my suitemates after rehearsal."

"Roommate problems?" asked Leah.

"No, not really," Helene said, "we had a misunderstanding, and feelings were hurt. We're going to clear the air, apologize, and have enchiladas."

"You're lucky you and your suitemates get along," Leah said; "I've heard stories about one who don't. It can be bad."

"My sister had a roommate her first year here," Helene said, "who behaved in such a way that it made people think that Kelly was the same way, and she wasn't. The roommate left after the fall semester to go to school somewhere else. Her roommate the following year is now one of her best friends."

"That's cool," Leah said.

Later, Helene walked back to Mathison Hall and went to her suite. She saw that neither Jaime nor Rina were there. They weren't due back before 6pm, so Helene had a couple hours to herself.

She decided to take a nap.

After she wrote out some talking points for later on.

Tears would be shed, secrets revealed, and harmony achieved between the three of them. Helene felt herself becoming close to these girls, and didn't want any bad feelings between them.

Almost like sisters.

That would come in handy years down the road, when they were faced with a situation that would have a shocking outcome. They'd only have each other to rely on.

But at 16, none of them knew it yet. Someone did, but to them, it was just a series of dreams that they didn't understand the meaning of, but got more and more bizarre the older they got.

And she would be the most lethal of assassins.

But presently, she was only 12 years old.


===