The Godmother Part 24

Part 24

The scene opens in New York's St Paulie's Cathedral. A ceremony is underway honoring the Godmother. Archbishop Anthony Pedofilia is speaking:

"Dearly beloved, we are here today to honor our Godmother. On this special occasion, the Archdiocese of St Paulie's is proud to present this check of $600 million dollars to the Godmother Foundation. This money will be used to benefit the poor people of Haiti by starting a gold mine in the hills of that impoverished country under the direction of the Godmother's brother, Tony."  

Archbishop Pedofilia hands a poster-sized cutout of a check to the Godmother.

"Thanks Father," says the Godmother with eyes bulging and beaming. Standing next to her is her daughter and hand-picked successor, Petunia, eyes bulging and beaming. Standing next to her is Petunia's boyfriend, Marco the Manipulator, trying to look insignificant.

After the ceremony, a big black SUV with darkened windows sits in front of the cathedral awaiting the Godmother, men in black suits and sunglasses scanning the surroundings for potential assassins from rival  criminal families. As she tries to step into the rear seat, she falters and slips toward the pavement. She is quickly caught by her bodyguards and shoved into the SUV, which quickly drives away.

"What happened?" asks a reporter.

"Nuttin'," replies a bodyguard.

An hour later, the Godmother appears at a reception, as if nothing had happened eyes bulging and beaming.  Things were going well until some hoods from the rival Sandini family showed up. According to custom, things seemed cordial on the outside as they offered greetings to the Godmother.  Then, Don Bernardo Sandini aka Crazy Bernardo, the leader of the clan, asked for a meeting behind closed doors with the Godmother.

"Fine, but I would like my husband to sit in", the Godmother said. Turning to Marco, she said, "Where's Bill?"

"Upstairs," Marco replied. "I'll go get him."  A few minutes later, Marco returned. "He said he's coming. Just be a minute."




A couple of minutes later, Bill entered the room with a scowl on his face. If there was one person he didn't like, it was Don Bernardo Sandini. They had a a history going way back.

"What's on your mind, Don Bernardo?" asked the Godmother.

"We heard about your gold mine deal in Haiti. We would like a piece of the action."

"I'm afraid that's impossible", said the Godmother.

"What about that $16 million dollar debt you owe us?" replied Sandini.

"Take it off your income tax," Bill said.

The God mother stood up. "Before you go, I think you and Bill should make up. Bill, Bernardo, shake hands."

Bill and Sandini reluctantly approached each other, clasped hands, and leaned toward each other as if to hug.

"Bastardo," Bill whispered in Sandini's ear just before he bit off a piece of it.

"Yeoww!", Sandini screamed as his bodyguards whisked him out the door.

"Bill, you gotta get that temper of yours under control", scolded the Godmother.

At this point, Marco the Manipulator spoke up.

"Godmother, we're going to have to give Don Bernardo something. After all the times we've screwed him over. You owe him big time."

The Godmother sat down and sighed. "You're right. Damn it. Every time I try to get out of this business they drag me right back in."