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Night began to slowly fall around the compound, the hazy heat of the day melting away into a balmy dusk; paper lanterns had been lit around the edges of the garden, leading the guests from the house and into the main area where the band continued to play next to a smouldering bonfire, their melody changing from high intensity dance music to slow, classical ambience.
Kay placed her wine glass down on the table, wiping bleary eyes as she looked around, a smile tugging at her lips as she watched small children dart between the tables and chairs, where dozing, drunken old men lazed in secretive corners, their tones low as they drank and ate in the orange glow of the garden.
She jumped a little as she felt a warm hand on her shoulder- looking up she smiled as Michael affectionately rubbed his thumb against the material of her dress as he sat down, relaxing into the chair with a tired smile.
'Having a nice time?' He asked, before pulling a bowl of olives towards him and taking a couple, popping them into his mouth as he looked around at the guests.
Kay nodded, refilling both their glasses with wine and sitting back, looking around once more. 'I like people watching,' she said after a while, eyes flicking from table to table. 'These men, they fascinate me.' She added.
'Well don't go around doing too much staring,' Michael replied, a playful smile at his lips. 'You never know what these guys are thinking- you stare too much and they'll wonder why, and they're not the asking question types.'
Kay shot him an expression that told him she didn't believe him. Shrugging, he took a sip of wine, smiling to himself as Kay averted her eyes as one of his Father's associates walked past, nodding his head towards the youngest Corleone brother as he did so.
They sat in a companionable silence as they took in the night; the squeals of children and the raucous laughter of the guests mixing in with the crackling of the bonfire and the chirping of crickets in the bushes.
'I haven't been back here in so long that it all seems strangely new to me.' Michael confided, looking past the people towards the building itself. The brickwork was getting worn, the white paint on the windows cracked in the summer heat. It had been a couple of years since he had last been here, wandering among the gardens and the cool hallways of the house he grew up in.
'You wanna come see my bedroom?' He asked, eyes crinkled in humour as Kay gaped at him, before choking out a laugh. 'Sure.' She said, the two of them smiling like naughty school children as Michael took her by the hand and led her away into the cool confines of the house.
No sooner had they entered the kitchen Michael's lips were on hers, strong and wanting. Kay obliged for a few seconds before pulling back. 'But your parents-'
'Outside with Connie…' Michael murmured, kissing her cheek before pushing back a strand of hair. 'We won't be missed, I guarantee it.' He added, before kissing her again, deeper.
'You look so beautiful today I could hardly stand it,' he confessed when they came up for air, his hands at her hips as he drew her in closer. They smiled at each other, before Kay ran a hand through Michael's hair, her hand resting at the nape of his neck.
'You said something about your bedroom?' She said quietly, smiling demurely.
'It's just out the b-' Michael's voice was suddenly drowned out by a cacophony of larges fizzes and bangs, puncturing the relative silence of the night like gunfire.
Kay hardly had time to smile with delight at the beginning firework display before Michael bodily shoved her down behind the kitchen counter, a strangled cry escaping his lips as he yelled 'GET DOWN!' as he dove down next to her, covering her body with his own.
'Michael, what the hell?!' She yelped over the continuing fireworks, the rockets never ending as they flew into the air. She tried to pull her arm free, to get off from the kitchen floor, but Michael had her arm in a death grip, his hand almost white as he clasped her forearm with all his might as he continued to shield her. 'They're fireworks, Michael!' She cried, casting frightened eyes to her boyfriend, who didn't seem to have heard a word she said. 'They won't hurt you!'
'I need to get out of here, I need to-' Michael gabbled, his hands shaking as he finally let go of Kay and stumbled to his feet. His legs felt like jelly; his thoughts jumbled into one as more rockets went up, cascading into the sky in flashes of gold and silver, the noise deafening in the kitchen. He turned and started to run, hearing only vaguely as Kay shouted something at his back. He couldn't stay here, he had to get away from the noise, from the sounds, from the shouting…. Faces flashed in his mind as the room was illuminated by a flash of red light; images of broken, bloodied bodies floated back into his thoughts from the depths he normally only reached at night.
As he stepped into a near pitch black hallway he gasped as he was suddenly gripped by the shoulders by a large shadow.
'Mikey, you ok?' He recognised Tom's voice, almost drowned out by the fireworks.
'I just need to get away from the noise….' He told him, wrenching his arms away and continuing to walk.
'Hey Michael, Mikey?' A different voice now called after him, but Michael didn't stop. He pushed on into the house, to where the noise was lessened by the walls. He knew he wouldn't be free of this until the fireworks had stopped, but he couldn't leave, he couldn't make a scene, if anyone saw him he couldn't take it- he finally pushed his way to the main bathroom of the house,the room furthest from the garden, closing the bespoke thick oak door behind him and sinking into the tiled floor as his legs finally gave way. Pushing his knees up into his chest he put his head in his hands, the ringing in his ears almost as deafening as the fireworks outside.
He had been back from the Marines only a few months, and apart from the odd night of people partying by the College Campus he had not really had anything trigger the memories of his time in the Pacific. Nothing like this.
The cheers of the guests turned into the dying shrieks and cries of his comrades. The red light splashes of blood in his face, the white light muzzle flash during midnight raids on Japanese hideouts in the jungles. His breathing came out in garbled, sucked-in gulps, his skin prickling with adrenaline as memories coursed through his mind...
He tensed as someone knocked softly on the door. It was probably Kay; he cursed himself for reacting the way he did, for hurting her. He didn't know what he was doing, how to react.
His eyes widened in surprise as Sonny's voice filtered through the door. 'Hey, boyo it's me, open the door.' He said. 'I told the fireworks guys to stop- they're paid for a full hour and Connie complained too much about me sending em away without a reason, so they're gonna run for another couple minutes or so, but at least they'll stop soon. Tom found your girl in the kitchen, scared out her mind. We figured out the rest.'
Swallowing, Michael stood up, his knees still shaking, and opened the heavy door. Sonny peered back through the darkness, his eyes full of concern as he looked his younger brother up and down; took in his ghost white face, the dark circles under his eyes, and his shaking body.
After a few minutes silence Sonny cleared his throat. 'So, uh, can I come in?' He said, a ghost of a smile on his face.
Michael wordlessly stepped back, letting his big brother into the bathroom, where he closed the door behind him.
'Jesus Kid, you look like shit.' He said, shaking his head as he got a better look at him, at his pale face, the dark circles under his eyes; he was a shadow of the man he was before the war. He had looked ok in the bright afternoon sun, or so he had thought.
'Thanks.' Michael shrugged, eyes to the floor. He couldn't think of anything else to say.
'Jesus Christ, come here…' Sonny muttered, clasping his brother into a bear hug, shaking his head again as he felt Michael all but sink into the embrace, his arms tightening around him; he felt ribs where once there was fat- he wondered when his brother had last had a good meal.
'See I told you it would do you no good going to war for strangers.' He whispered into his hair, before hugging him tighter for a few seconds before releasing him.
'I guess the fireworks were a bad idea?' He asked, a hand on his brother's shoulder.
'I didn't know they would affect me like this, I-'
'Mikey, you don't have to justify or explain anything. I'm your brother, I-' The two men looked up as the fireworks started up again; this time a Catherine wheel squealing into the night.
Sonny looked to his brother as Michael tensed, his eyes wide as his fight or flight mode kicked in again.
'Sonofabitch, I'll tell them to turn it off right now, I-' Sonny fumed, moving to turn to the door. He stopped as Michael put a hand on his shoulder, surprising both of them.
'No, Sonny, I….' Michael looked almost embarrassed, but he couldn't stay here alone with this noise. 'Don't leave me please. Just stay here until the fireworks stop, please?' He had never had to ask his brother for anything before, but now he had to.
Sonny looked across as his brother's shaking form, and an image of his little brother scratching up his knee on his bike when he was ten years old filled his mind. He had a duty to protect his family, and he wasn't going to stop just cause his brother was older.
'Sure kid, sure…' he nodded, cursing the fireworks as they continued to ricochet outside. They sat down on the tiled floor, with Sonny putting a comforting, grounding hand on Michael's shoulder.
Several weighted seconds passed.
'I'm sorry Sonny, you should be out enjoying the party, not sitting in a bathroom with me...' Michael muttered, voice trailing off.
'Don't ever apologise to me, ok? You know better than that. I've seen the news. I read the papers- I knew that even if you came back with all four limbs you would still come back damaged somehow. I saw how the war affected the soldiers- they did a news bulletin on it, gave Mama nightmares for days, thinking of what was happening out there, what might be happening to you.
I saw the men come back on the ships. Wheelchairs, crutches, faces covered in bandages.' Sonny trailed off as emotion rose in his throat.
'The amount of days I watched for the mailman, just to check if he had a damn telegram in his hands… we never wanted this for you.'
'I know. I had to.' Michael muttered, staring straight ahead at the tiled wall next to the bath tub.
'That argument has long passed. You did, you came back, that's what matters most.' Sonny shrugged, leaning back onto the tiled wall as fireworks continued to ricochet outside.
Both men jumped, startled, as a loud knocking came from the door.
'Mike, you in there?' A familiar voice called.
'It's ok Tom, he's ok,' Sonny called back, relaxing back on the wall.
'Sonny?'
'It's ok, I'm here with him, go back and enjoy the party- we're alright.'
'Mama and Pop noticed you were gone, what should I tell them?'
Sonny looked across to Mike, he looked down, shame filling his stomach. 'They can't know about this. Mama will worry and I'll never hear the end of it from Pop if he knew…' he muttered to the floor.
'Uh, just tell them that Mikey and I took a walk, just talking about the old times, and not to worry.' Sonny called, before putting a hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezing lightly.
'Ok Sonny, will do.' Tom's voice filtered through, before they heard his footsteps retreat back down the hall and into the main part of the house.
After a while the fireworks stopped entirely, and the band started playing once more. The two brothers got up from the bathroom floor, wiping down their trouser legs- Sonny smiled as Mikey gave him a furtive look, a sheepish smile on his face as he stretched, his muscles sore from the shaking.
'Hey- no one is going to hear about this from me, ok?' Sonny assured him, nodding at his little brother. 'No one.'
'Thanks Sonny,' Mike nodded, 'appreciate it.'
'Don't worry about it- hey, and if you need to talk or if you need someone to, I don't know, help when you're in a, uh, situation or something….' Sonny trailed off, trying to find the right words. 'You know where I am.' He finished.
Mike smiled across at his big brother and nodded. 'Thanks.'
Sonny smiled back, before clearing his throat. 'Come on, we better be getting back, people will really be starting to talk,' he chuckled, before grasping Mike once last time in a hug before they both walked out, shuttling the door behind them.