“I’m retired from that life, Giuseppe.” I mean it to come out light-hearted but it sounds more like a plea. Please don’t call me that… I’m trying to not be that person any more. I can feel it coming. How easy it would be to slip back into that role, to know exactly what to say to get who I want. Giuseppe pushes the saucer closer to me, waving his hands in nonchalance. “Kings can’t retire. They can only die.” “That hardly seems fair,” I say, looking down at the drink, feeling hollow. “Nothing ever is. Now try my fucking cappuccino.”
