Winnie had three conditions and exactly zero rehearsal.
Winnie: Okay. Rule one.
Winnie: Tater stays with me. Where I sleep, he sleeps.
Winnie: He's had four homes this year. He's not getting a fifth.
Sivio: He pissed on my rug downstairs.
Winnie: Then he likes you. He never pisses on people he hates.
Sivio: Fine. The dog stays. He shits on my floor, you clean it.
*He said yes. He actually said yes.*
Winnie: Rule two. My rescue. I keep my job.
Winnie: I walk the dogs, I clean the cages, and nobody follows me inside.
Carlo laughed from the doorway. It was a wet, ugly sound.
Carlo: Listen to this shit. The dog bitch thinks she's got terms.
Sivio: Carlo. Out.
He didn't raise his voice. Somehow that was worse than shouting.
Sivio: Sandro drives you. No reporters. You see a cop, you walk the other way.
Winnie: Rule three.
Winnie: No lies. Not even small ones. I've had men in nice suits lie straight to my face.
Sivio: No lies.
Sivio: If I can't answer something, I'll say I can't. I won't make shit up.
*That's the scariest kind thing anyone has ever said to me.*
Winnie: Great. Do we shake on it, or do I sign something in blood?
Sivio: You're funny for someone who almost died tonight.
Sivio: One more thing. Not a condition. A fact.
Winnie: Why do I hate the sound of that?
Sivio: You stay under my roof.
The room went so quiet she could hear Tater snoring in the corner.
Winnie: Excuse me?
Winnie: I said yes to a fake ring, not a cage.
Sivio: It's not a cage. It's a building with men at every door.
Winnie: That's a cage with better furniture, you bastard.
Sivio: Vasari has your face. Your building has a busted lock and a landlord who takes cash.
Sivio: You go home tonight, you're dead by Friday. Then I explain a dead dog rescuer to my aunt.
Her throat did something tight. She thought about her mattress. Her neighbor's TV.
Winnie: Where do I sleep in this palace? The dungeon?
Sivio: Down the hall from me. The door locks from your side.
Winnie: And yours?
Sivio: Doesn't open from yours.
*Why is that the part that made my stomach flip?*
Sivio: Say it. All of it.
Winnie: I'll stay under your roof. All right? Fuck. I'll stay.
Sivio: Good.
Sivio watched her say it. Chin up. Hands still shaking.
*She thinks she's the one who won tonight.*