My Sexy Saturday #12: A Special Christmas

Happy Saturday everyone! I'm back with some more Sexy Saturday goodness! This week my seven sentences comes from my latest release, A Special Christmas, which was just released by Torquere Press. Set during the Prohibition era, it's the story of two young men, one Italian,  one Greek, who meet in a speakeasy in Romeoville and let nature take its course. To find the rest of this blog hop, go here.

Enjoy!

Nick didn't know just how it came about, but he felt his hand nestled inside of Florian's, both hands resting lightly on the table between them. Florian didn't seem to think anything wrong with that; how could Nick snatch his hand back? He couldn't. And he didn't really want to. No one was taking notice of them. It was dark. They were among strangers. All sorts of excuses flowed through his head. 

Six Sentence Sunday #3

Last week, I gave you something from my Halloween tale, Leonardo di Caprio is a Vampire. This week, I'm going with more of a Christmas theme. It's hard to believe it's only two months away!  The name of my story is A Special Christmas, and it takes place in Prohibition era Illinois, in the Chicago area. Florian is Italian by birth. He works in his family's dry cleaning business, and he has met Al Capone. Nick is a Greek immigrant who lives with his aunt and uncle and cousin, and works with his cousin in his uncle's pharmacy. Chance brings them both to the same speakeasy in Romeoville on Christmas Eve.

His eyes were fixed on Florian's beautiful mouth, even as he wondered what he would taste like. Like the drink they'd shared? Or something more?

But before he could find out, the lights of the speakeasy began to unaccountably flash, blinking off and on in rapid succession. He heard a voice behind them cry out, "Cheese it, the cops!"

Then bedlam ensued.

Blurb:  Christmas is coming to Prohibition era Chicago, and two young immigrants are about to have their world rocked.  When Florian and Nick meet by chance in a speakeasy in Romeoville, their worlds will never be the same.  Is it Chance, or has Destiny brought them together?

Excerpt: Florian Donati could charm any woman with a single glance. One flutter of his fabulous baby blues was enough to induce cardiac arrest among the strongest females. One warm glance could halt all traffic within a thirty yard radius, never mind that disarming smile. His lips alone could make a nun regret her vows of chastity. Black wavy hair, free from artificial intervention, and a dimpled chin completed the perfection that was the twenty-year old Florian.

Florian remained blissfully unaware of his charms, for he was possessed of an almost child-like innocence, set within the body of a god. He was graced with a sweet and generous disposition, and the patience of a saint. As well as an undying love for the greatest singer who'd ever lived — the late Enrico Caruso.

When Caruso died, in August of 1921, the sixteen-year-old Florian had been devastated. He'd wanted to attend the funeral, in order to pay his respects. But that was logistically impossible, as services had been held in Naples, in the old country, home to his family for many generations. So Florian had to content himself with holding a private memorial service at the dry cleaners which his family owned and where he worked, in Cicero, Illinois. The only other person in attendance also worked there — his co-worker and friend, Loria.

The Donati family were long-time friends of Johnny Torrio — and in Cicero, that meant a great deal. The crime lord had been instrumental in their being in the dry cleaning business. He had brought them from New York with him where he had given them the funds for their first store —Donati's Dry Cleaning Emporium, on South Whicker— and they were very grateful to him. He helped them to buy the store in Cicero, and recommended the establishment to all of his colleagues. When circumstances forced Torrio into taking early retirement in 1925 (after nearly being killed by a would-be assassin, he decided that Florida possessed a certain charm), his business interests became the domain of his associate, the amiable and well-dressed Alphonse Capone. And just as Capone inherited Torrio's territory, so did the Donatis inherit Capone's dry cleaning.

The silver bell attached to the shop door tinkled whenever it was opened, signaling the advent of a customer. During the summer, the front door, as well as the back, remained open, mostly due to the heat from the equipment in the back room where the actual cleaning and pressing was done. This heat would build up until it virtually flooded every nook and cranny of the emporium with an intense warmth that was almost infernal. But during the winter, the store provided a welcome respite from the fierce Midwestern cold without.

Florian did not work the equipment, although he'd been around it all of his life. That was Loria's job. She also waited on the customers who came into the store, took their clothes and tagged them, checking them carefully for rips and tears, loose buttons that might otherwise meet an untimely end if not taken care of, and she supervised the dry cleaning that was actually going on in the back. She retrieved the clean clothes for returning customers, and she took their money. Florian's job was to keep the floor swept and the windows clean, keep fresh flowers upon the counter, and to help Loria with heavy lifting should she require his assistance. But his primary duty was to radiate sunshine, to make the customers feel at home — and to sing. Although he was no Caruso, and he had no desire to follow in his idol's illustrious footsteps, he had a sweet untrained voice, somewhere in the baritone range, and he was the delight of everyone that stepped foot inside Donati's.

Loria had been bugging him all morning about his singing. Not that she disliked it, far from it. She loved to hear her friend sing, she would listen to him twenty-four hours a day if she could. No, it was nothing against his ability to carry a tune; it was his choice of material. For here it was, almost Christmas, and he refused to sing any Christmas carols, preferring instead to favor her either with selections from his favorite operas, or with the Italian melodies he had grown up with.

"Uccello," she protested, leaning against the counter, watching him sweep the already immaculate floor. He was such a perfectionist. Uccello was the nickname he had acquired as a young child, when first he began to sing. Uccello canterino bello. Pretty songbird. "Uccello, just a little something for Christmas, for me?" The thirty-something blonde reached out as he came within reach and punched his shoulder lightly, in her typical Loria manner.

Florian was an accommodating guy, but he also had a bit of a mischievous streak in him. In fact, he was a very playful fellow. Pausing in his work, he wound his arms about the broom, as if it were a lover, and began to serenade her in his native tongue.

"Sul mare luccica, l'astro d'argento," he crooned, his beautiful blue eyes so expressive that Loria seemed about to cry. He sang to her of the sea, and the wind, and a silver star. By the time he got to the chorus, his heartfelt "Santa Lucia" did indeed bring tears to her eyes. She wiped at them unabashedly with the corner of her work apron. This was the nature of their relationship — nothing romantic, simple friendship. At times, Loria was like a second mother to Florian, having known him since he was just a boy.

The shop bell tinkled, but Florian continued to sing. He was used to an audience, and most of the customers were used to his singing, never interrupting his arias for something so crass as business. They invariably preferred that he finish before they proceeded. This customer was no exception.

Only when the last note was reverberating through the cozy shop, did he turn to find himself the object of admiration of a swarthy, elegantly dressed man. This man was flanked by two others in dark suits, obviously subordinates. Their professional glance never stopped moving about the shop, as if they were anticipating an ambush. The jagged scar, which cut diagonally across the first man's cheek, made his identity a surety.

Link:  https://silverpublishing.info/product_book_info/glbt-historical-c-53_55/a-special-christmas-p-138

Now go see what else is going on for Six Sentence Sunday!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Lawless Review

Lawless  

Director/Studio/Author: John Hillcoat/Pie Films, Inc./Nick Cave

American release date: August 29, 2012

Format, Genre and length: Theatre/Historical Action/115 minutes

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: R

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

The Bondurant brothers—Forrest (Tom Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke), and Jack (Shia LaBeouf)—are getting along as best they can in depression-era Virginia. They run a little diner and gas station in Franklin, but they have a more lucrative source of income that involves running moonshine. They don’t have to worry about the law—not only is the local constabulary in the know, but they’re also customers.

Synopsis:

Legend has it that the Bondurants are invincible, and sometimes the boys believe that story themselves. Forrest is short on words, but what he does say carries a punch. Jack is still young, but he’s eager to learn and he hates the way that they often blow him off. He plots and schemes with his best friend, a crippled young man named Cricket who’s a mechanical genius, experimenting with making his own brand of white lightning. When he first spies Bertha Minnix (Mia Wasikowska), he is smitten with the young girl. Unfortunately for him, she’s the daughter of a very protective minister, and when Jack shows up unexpectedly at one of their services, he’s not prepared to have his feet washed by Bertha, and bolts from the premises as though a fire was lit under him.

Bad news arrives in Franklin in the form of a new special agent, Charlie Brakes (Guy Pearce), who’s determined to do things his way, and to have everybody in the county knuckle under to his rule. He is a nasty piece of work, and right away he and the Bondurants butt heads.

A young woman named Maggie (Jessica Chastain) shows up one day looking for work, and Forrest hires her when she tells him she’s tired of life in the big city, she’s looking for something easier.

One day Jack witnesses a remarkable sight. He spies a man with a Tommy gun shoot up a man in cold blood. He knows who the killer is—the infamous Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman). He makes eye contact with Banner and the killer winks at him before he drives away. Later, when due to circumstances their paths cross again, that first meeting will stand Jack in good stead.

When the rest of Franklin gives in to Brakes and his bullying tactics, the Bondurants refuse to cave and find themselves standing alone. Jack is determined to pull his weight, so that he can be worthy of courting Bertha, even if he does run when he sees her preacher father heading in his direction. He gets his chance to shine when Forrest unexpectedly ends up in the hospital, showing that he is true Bondurant material. The brothers are doing well for themselves, but how long can that affluence last when Brakes is bound and determined that they will knuckle under to his authority?

Commentary:

Based on a true story, this is a tale of three brothers and their struggle to survive during hard times. The tagline for this film is: When the law became corrupt, outlaws became heroes. I read a criticism of the film, before I saw it, and one of the comments involved Tom Hardy’s accent, claiming it was thick, and hard to understand, and not well done, but I didn’t find that to be the case at all. I had no problem understanding him, and I thought his portrayal of Forrest Bondurant was well done. In fact, my daughter, who watched the movie with me, said she thought he could have used a little more of an accent, not less. I recently saw Tom in Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and that character and this were totally worlds apart. He has a rather chameleon-like quality, similar to another actor in TTSS, who also plays in Lawless, veteran actor Gary Oldman. Of Mr. Oldman’s performance, all I can say is I wish he’d had more scenes; he lights up the screen every time he’s on it. I liked Jason Clarke as the often volatile Howard. I used to watch him in Brotherhood, and before that I saw him in the film Rabbit Proof Fence. You wouldn’t know he’s Australian; he does accents very well indeed. Shie LaBoeuf is great as the young, up and coming Jack Bondurant. I loved his scenes with his friend Cricket, as well as his wooing of the young religious girl, played by Mia Wasikowska, whom I saw in Jane Eyre and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

I enjoyed the plot and the writing, and there are some rather stunning visuals in this film. I grew to like and root for the Bondurants, and I prayed that they would not come to a bad end. If you want to know whether they do or not, you’ll have to see the film. Lawless is a violent film, so I wouldn’t recommend it for young children, but teenagers and up should be fine.  I rate this film 4 stars.