A Man of Honor Ch. 01

"This life of ours, this is a wonderful life. If you can get through life like this and get away with it, hey, that's great. But its very, very unpredictable. There are so many ways you can screw it up." - John Castellano*

It wasn't the end of the world, but it was possibly the end of mine. I was going through the most significant test of my life as a man. Straight to the point. My wife was cheating on me. How did I find out? My father-in-law informed me. I was lost for a bit, my father-n-law brought me back to reality.

I learned what it was to be a man by my father-in-law's example of justice.

What I learned from him brought me peace of mind and understanding. My father-n-law was the greatest man I would ever meet.

My name is Anthony Campania. My wife is Nina. Her maiden name was Nina Salerno. We were introduced by mutual friend's almost 12 years ago and had been married for nearly 10. We have two daughters (7 & 5) who are my angels.

To begin with...

Honestly, I knew her father was connected. I just didn't know he was 'that' connected. No... connected was not the correct word. In reality, her father was a 'boss' who had a hardcore design to be a 'boss of bosses'. But there was another reason for my ignorance.

The reason for that ignorance was simple. 99% of Italian Americans were hard working, solid citizens who lived a life like other ethnic Americans immigrants. Simple folk who would work for someone or run a business, go to church, put their kids through school, marry them off, and play with their grandchildren. That was the final payoff. Time with the grandchildren. Living the dream. But there was something else...

Since I was a kid, I'd heard stories, but no one I knew was involved in organized crime. And these stories were like folktales in Italian American communities. My parents warned me of any involvement with these, gangster 'businessmen' types. Involvement with these type of businessmen would lead to a life of ruin. Guess what? There were rules...

The number one rule? Never, ever, ask a favor. Why? Because that favor could never be repaid in full. You would owe those good fellas until the day you...well...you get the idea.

Believe it or not, these Italian story's of organized crime worked their way into the subconscious of non-Italian in New Jersey. Mostly with movies. Sure there was the news but go figure... stupid gangster folklore (that's what we believed) to keep the kids on the straight and narrow. We found it funny these well-educated kids, kids with parents who had enough money to send them through any University of choice, were so ignorant and believed that all American Italians had a 'mafia' connection nonsense.

Being the comedian I was, I began making jokes to mess with the heads of non-Italian kids at High School. I'd tell them, everyone was connected and if any bad came our way, our fathers would seek revenge on their fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. Everyone would be killed.

Seemed like a joke then. Like monsters under the bed thing. Not reality. Ghost stories. Who knew monsters under the bed would come to be a real thing. But the real deal? That was just movie stuff. That was until I met Nina's father. Nina's father was a real monster under the bed.

Nina's father, Vittorio Salerno, was a standup guy who respected by his peers. Vito Salerno was a man who had risen through the ranks by making his, "bones" (completing an assigned hit successfully) been an enforcer/soldier (soldato), and a de facto street boss, later became an underboss (sotto capo) in an area of Jersey where my family lived. Not where Nina or Salerno family lived. An area of New Jersey where my family lived.

Nina's father had done it all and was rumored to be involved in compulsory prostitution (never arr), arrested for attempted murder (never convicted), charge and arrested for murder (never convicted), racketeering (never convicted), and drug trafficking (never arrested). Vittorio Salerno would put his had in the fire and never break his loyalty.

Vittorio Salerno was known among his peers as, "A Man of Honor."

Nina's family lived in a very fancy little city called, "Upper Saddle River", New Jersey.

The home of the late inventor Vincent Lamberti. The guy who made the world a cleaner place as the father of Dove Soap, Wisk, All and Aim.

Bottom line, Upper Saddle River, was number 1 in the top 10 wealthiest cities in New Jersey. You lived there; you had money.

I had met the families of other young women I had dated before and felt somewhat on a level playing field. We were all from the same neighborhood. But not here. Nina's family home was a mansion. When I entered the drive I knew I didn't belong here. This place was awesome and but was out of my class.

Sort of sicking really. It's not a very good feeling walking up to the door of the woman you have feelings for knowing you were beneath her family's status. Financially anyway.

Nina and her mother met me at the door. Nina was dressed modestly as she always did. For me that was sexy. Never underestimate the attractiveness a woman dressed modestly. She must have learned that from her mother as her mother was dressed the same. A woman in a nice summer dress with flats can be quite alluring.

Nina got her looks for her mother, Angelina Salerno. And her mother was beautiful in a natural way. Her eyes, lips, nose, chin, and cheekbones displayed her strong Italian background. She was an amazing looking beautiful woman. And Nina? Nina was her mothers younger self.

Nina's mother was easy to be with and talked a bit making up most of the conversation as we all stood in the foyer. I was just following the flow when a man appeared, "Mrs. Salerno, your husband is ready to meet your daughters'..." pausing for the right words,..."friend here." With no words spoken, he nodded his head in the direction of another room that was closed with double doors. These double doors led to the private office of her husband, Vittorio Salerno.

Nina's mother turned and smiled gently as to prepare me, "Anthony, Mr. Selareno would like to meet you if that's ok?"

Like I had a choice? No kidding. Do you want to date an Italian girl? You gonna have to have a word with her Father. Her father speaking, and you listening. It was the same speech every time. Hurt my daughter and you're dead. The end. But it was just talking, right?

As far as I was concerned, no big deal. A father laying down the law when it came to his daughter? Hey, that's Italian. That I understood. But this was something else.

That night, another whole different world became reality.

When I was first introduced to Nina's father, "Vito" was sitting behind his desk and studied me. Observing me, he allowed his daughter to do the introductions. I tried to be friendly, walked over to her father desk, slightly bent and extended my hand. He took it, but just as a courtesy. It was like I was busting his balls to be in the same room as him.

He allowed Nina's mother to carry the conversation and Q and A session that followed that evening. Small talk about my family, my father, and mother, what they did as a livelihood., etc. He just kept the same straight face-silent treatment never taking his eyes off me throughout Nina's mother interrogation of my background, how Nina and I met, and so on. When Nina's mother finished her questions, she simply turned to her husband and said so. "Vittorio, I don't have any other questions. Would you like to spend some time alone with Anthony?"

Vitto Salerno offered the smallest of smiles to cross his face, "Angelina thank you for reminding me." Then turning to me Vito smiled to me, "Anthony, would it be ok to you and me... to speak some. Alone, man to man." At that, both women stood, smiled at us, and got up to leave the room.

When Nina and her mother opened the double doors to leave, then as if on cue, two men entered the room and closed the double doors that led to the large study. I had no idea who these other men were but I didn't feel well being alone in the same room as them. Then her father begins to speak.

"Anthony, I don't know you, but we, you and I, have found ourselves in a situation where must have an understanding."

"Yes sir, Mr. Salerno."

"Anthony, do you know who I am?"

"Mr. Salerno, please forgive my ignorance. I know you are a man of importance and you are Nina's father. But please, I want to assure you all my intentions are completely honorable towards your daughter."

"Anthony, that's a very nice thing to hear."

The looking up at two other men, "Christopher...Angelo, isn't that a nice thing to hear?"

Both men, Christopher Lombardo and Angelo Castellanos, never taking their eyes off me, nodded and replied together but not quite in unison, "Yes, Mr. Salerno, that a nice thing to hear."

The silence that followed was maybe 10 seconds but felt like 10 minutes. This wasn't the 'father addressing the young man dating his daughter' talk I expected. This conversation was loaded with heat and flat out intimidating. Honestly, no woman was worth this. I wanted to get out of that house as soon as possible. My stomach was in knots.

Finally, the old man spoke up, "Anthony, look me in the face because this is very, very important."

Really? Since I had been alone with Mr. Salerno, I had not taken my undivided attention off of his face. Now I leaned forward and was screwing up my face to show him he had even more of my undivided attention.

Measuring his words carefully, " I love my daughter very much. She is the pride and the joy of my wife and I. Do you understand that Anthony?"

Swallowing hard, "Yes sir, Mr. Salerno, I understand completely."

"That's good Anthony. That's really good. Now, if I ever hear of anything, how you say, not nice from my Nina, about you while you two are seeing each other, it would not be a good thing for you. Do you understand this Anthony?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Salerno. I would never do anything to upset your daughter. I promise."

More silence. Then, "That's all Anthony. Christopher, would you escort Anthony to the front door?"

I was dismissed, and that was that.

I stood up, and instinctively, I bowed slightly to Mr. Salerno and thanked him for having this time to meet with him. Fuck this. All I wanted to do was get away. Nina and Mrs. Salerno were waiting in the foyer with these very sweet, charming faces. Nina looked at mine and laughed, "Did you have a nice chat with my father?"

She had no clue. I was feeling sick to my stomach. Looking up to Christopher, "Yes, I had a very nice time. Your father is a very nice man." Returning to speak to the women of the house, "Look...ahem...Mrs. Salerno...Nina, it's getting late, and I've got to get going."

Nina saw my face, change in demeanor and was suddenly very concerned. It was 7:30 in the evening but so what; stick me with a fork, I was done. Mrs. Salerno saw the looks going between us and smiled gently as she spoke softly, "Anthony, don't let Mr. Salerno scare you. That's just his way. From what Nina has spoken about you, meeting you myself, I am very pleased a nice young like yourself is dating my daughter. I'll talk with my Vittorio. Don't mind Mr. Salerno."

Better said than done. Nina was a beautiful young woman. Any man would fall for her. Why she had eyes for me, I couldn't figure out, but I wasn't stupid. Her father and his "friends" were dangerous men. I knew right then I would walk away from this thing between us no matter how much I wanted to be with Nina.

Her family was old school. These were 'those men' from those 'gangster stories' we would joke about growing up. These were those men you never got involved with or asked favors from. These were not men of words. These were men of action. These were "made" men.

I could see Nina was a bit upset and wanted to go out with me, maybe just to walk but after looking up at Christopher, I merely told her I would see her tomorrow. I wanted nothing more to do with this family.

Frankly, I was scared shitless. I humbly express my thanks to Mrs. Salerno for her and her husband's hospitality, turned and extended my hand to shake Nina's. Nina looked at my extended hand like I was crazy and developed an even more concerned expression.

That's when I saw it. Hurt. She knew I was not going to ask her out again. She looked at Christopher and gave him that same look but threw in a bit of anger. Now Mrs. Salerno was looking at how unhappy Nina was and frowned. It was quite the different mood as when I had first arrived. Like leaving a funeral home mood. I gave Nina the most apologetic expression and turned to Christopher and slightly bowed, "With most respect, it was nice meeting you too Mr. Lombardo." And with that, I left.

All the way home, I debated the pro's and con's. I knew I would never find a woman like Nina Salerno again. When we would meet up, my heart felt like it was about to burst. I thought she was the most perfect woman I had ever met. I certainly knew I was going to miss her terribly, but it was better to end this now. I figured I would talk to Nina tomorrow at University and make up some stuff. You know, let her down gently and walk away.

That was the plan. But while making that plan I learned something about myself that night I didn't like very much. Every man likes to think he's a tough guy, but I wasn't that tough. Was I a coward? For sure. Any coward can say, "I love you," but I wasn't brave enough to prove it to Nina. Brave enough by continuing to see the daughter of Vittorio Salerno.

With this new found knowledge and acceptance of my cowardness, I simply texted Nina to break it off. That was the most fucked up thing I ever did to a woman in my life. She returned my text with several calls of her own. Then, after the 5 or 6th texted from her to my phone, I deleted them all without reading them and then blocked her number.

As a new found member of the coward club, I was free. Being a coward allowed me all kinds of freedom. The freedom to convinced myself the reason for breaking it off with Nina was is I never cared about her in the first place. You don't hurt people you care about. That would be my story. Anyway, Nina Salerno didn't need me. She was a beautiful young woman who could get any guy she wanted. She needed a man more in line with her family. Her families business stuff and such...anyway...

I did a lot of introspection for a couple of days. By the time I was finished doing a detailed personality inventory, I was pretty down on myself, but I believed I had done Nina a favor. I was sure going to miss her, but she could do a lot better than me. So life went on.

Two days later while walking down a street with my head down thinking of Nina, a black limousine suddenly pulled up on the sidewalk blocking my way. The front door passenger side opened and out walk Christopher. He approached me so fast, grabbed my right arm, pulled me over to the rear door passenger side and said, "Get in Anthony." Flat with no emotion.

I wanted to run, but in New Jersey, there would be nowhere for me to hide. With the same non-threating tone, "Anthony, please get inside." Looking up at Christopher everything was clear. I was fucked. Thoughts of my family came to mind. My mother and father. My brother and sister. Whatever they wanted from me they would get. All I could do was surrender and accept my fate.

When I entered the limousine, who was in the back seat but the "boss" himself, Vittorio Salerno. Mr. Salerno nodded his head toward the seat beside him, and I sat. Christopher was already in front seat closing his door while Angelo was looking over his shoulder, backing the car into the road and suddenly we were on our way.

We drove for a few blocks in silence before Mr. Salerno turned to me, sort of frowned and then spoke, "Anthony, did my daughter do something to offend you? I thought we had an understanding before you left my home the other day."

"Mr. Salerno, your daughter Nina, is a beautiful, intelligent young woman who could have any man she wanted. She comes from an honorable and well-respected family sir. I say this with the most respect."

Vito looked down at the young man his daughter was "in love" with and for the first time in his life found he was in a situation that was beyond his scope of experiences. The kid came from a decent Italian family and had never been in trouble. And this kid was about to graduate from law school. That was something. Still...

"So, you're saying my Nina is all that. Ok. Why are you not returning her calls? And you texted her... on the phone... to break up? Seriously Anthony, what kind of nonsense is that? Texting a woman you're breaking up with her. Where did you learn that? That's not a way a man breaks up with a woman. That's something you do face to face. It's a sign of respect. And this other crap you texted, "you didn't think you were a proper match"? Why is that Anthony?"

"Mr. Salerno, please sir. I told you the other night. My father works at his bakery, and my mother works as a cook in a school cafeteria. My family is simple, but we get by. You know I'm studying to be a lawyer, but I also work part-time to help my family in the father's bakery. Your daughter could do so much better than me. I've seen your home and how well Nina is taking care of. Sir, I can't ever see being able to take care of your daughter in the same manner. I would never be good enough provider for your daughter. I would never be good enough for your daughter who deserves the same lifestyle she has been accustomed to sir."

Vito let out a sigh. This kid was going to mak

"Angelo...Christopher did you hear that. Anthony here says he is not good enough for my Nina."

Both replied in the affirmative.

"Anthony, let me explain a fact of life to you. No father feels the man her daughter sees is good enough to be with her. But by not returning my Nina's calls, she became upset. When Nina gets upset she goes to her mother and then Mrs. Salerno comes to me. For the past couple days, Mrs. Salerno had been upset with me. She feels I did not treat you with respect the other day while you were visiting. Did I somehow show you disrespect Anthony?"

"Mr. Salerno, I can say with 'complete honesty' you treated me with the greatest of respect and that had nothing to do with anything between Nina and myself."

" 'Complete honesty'? I like that. Honesty is a very important thing, Anthony. Honestly between us must always be complete. The only thing is, I don't think you are being completely honest with me. So, let's start again. Why are you not interested in seeing my Nina?"

There it was. Whatever they were going to do to me, they were going to do. So, I spoke the truth in my heart.

"Mr. Salerno, with the most respect, you scare me, sir."

While looking down at Anthony, a small smile came across Vittorio Salerno's face,

"Anthony, you make that sound like a bad thing. "

More silence. Vito looked out his window a moment. This kid was an innocent. This was not easy for Vito but he had to make things good with his wife. To do that he had to make things good with his daughter. But to do that he needed the truth.

Turning back to Anthony, "So why are you afraid of me?"

"Mr. Salerno, I know you are a man of honor. When you mentioned if you ever heard anything bad from Nina about me, well, I mean couples don't always get along. Even the best couple have disagreements about things. And well, I would always want to able to speak my mind freely to the woman I married sir."

For the first time, Anthony had said something that touched Vitto in a way no man ever had. This was turning into a conversation a father would have with a potential son-n-law. Anthony suddenly had Vitto's full attention, "Whoa, back up Anthony, you want to marry my Nina?"

"Mr. Salerno, your daughter Nina is the most perfect woman I have ever met. She's sweet, kind, considerate, beautiful, and I believe she would be a wonderful mother. No man can ask more than that in this world."