As I made my way over to the huge barbecue pit it was hard for me to decide on what I wanted.  I made up my mind to have one of those magnificent looking spareribs, added the barbecue sauce and a little pasta salad.  I saw a seat empty at the bar and went and sat there.  As I was contemplating what to drink I notice a familiar looking glass jug.   I turned to the bartender and asked.

By anyway is that some ole fashion moonshine you have there as I pointed to the jug.  He shook his head yes and poured me a glass.  The taste took me back to the days my brother and I used to sneak and drink my Father’s.  The warmth in the stomach made me realize I had better eat.  Moonshine and an empty stomach do not mix. 

“Luca!  Luccaa!!  Are you ready yet?  I don’t want to be late.”

Violetta frowned slightly as the time grew closer to the party.  She had the most dreadful week, and when she answered the phone this afternoon it was a pleasant surprise to hear from Morte_Rossa.  Vi adored her friend, and couldn’t wait to attend the party.  No sooner than she hung the phone up, she went to choose the perfect evening gown.

Violetta wandered into her bedroom then headed straight for the closet.  She kept everything arranged with an organizing skill that drove her husband crazy sometimes, but damnit she liked knowing where stuff was when she needed it.  Already her mind focused on the specific dress Vi bought three weeks ago.  The beautiful, silver rhinestone bodice was paired with the orange-peach rayon fabric flowing to her ankles.  The silky feel of the fabric was heavenly to touch, and gorgeous when she walked.  It was like she was floating on air.

She searched through the designer bags, unzipping a few until she found it.  The Madeleine Vionnet style dress was very elegant and sexy.  The bias cut in back made the dress suitable for special occasions such as this.  Violetta took the dress from the bag, placing the hanger on the closet hook.

“Luca I swear if you aren’t getting ready, I will go on without you!”

Shaking her head knowing LucaDiSalvo was probably going to be late, Violetta began to search for the sparkling silver Aris Allen party shoes. Finding them still in the box, she removed them then took the shoes to the bed.  She had taken a luxurious bath earlier to relax, so now she only needed to pamper herself beginning with taming her curls.

Vi arranged the hair clip to hold as many curls as possible then just gave up, and poked the clip in the back as rebellious curls dangled around her cheeks.  Within twenty minutes she was ready to go, but Luca was being a slowpoke for some reason this evening.  She told him to meet her there since he had the address.  

Violetta collected her Whiting & Davis Silver Mesh clutch, and her keys then headed out the door.  The party was a half hour away, and Vi looked at the time with a sigh.  Her shoes echoed a rhythmic tune as she hastily went to her car.  

The traffic wasn’t overly dreadful, so within 27 minutes, Violetta arrived at the party.  She had to park her car a little ways from the designated area, but she was close enough to see the lights and hear the music.  Locking the car door, Vi smiled as she headed towards the party.

Violetta was impressed with the decorations, lighting and music.  The party was already in full swing by the time she spotted her hostess.  Waving to Morte_Rossa, Vi headed towards the table to say hello.

“Morte!  You did an amazing job!  Look at this place!  You always know how to put together a fantastic party.”

Morte laughed when Freddy cursed to himself, and said, "It's no big deal. I don't mind a bit of redneck. Shin dig is a good word for party so it's fitting! And I'm glad you made it! You're more than welcome to come sit with all of us at that table over there! I can only take so much standing in heels! Plus, you can maybe make some new friends in New York! It's a win win! You get to sit and relax, talk, drink and enjoy the music and the wonderful scenery."

Just as she finished talking, VictoriaStone took a seat at the bar with a plate of tasty looking food, which made Morte realize she was famished! So, she excused herself from her conversation with Freddy, saying she'd be back in a few minutes with food, and that he was more than welcome to grab some food as well, which he did promptly.

She quickly made her way over to the food booth as well where there was ribs, steak, burgers, pastas, salads, desserts and anything else you could think of. She said to her friend Sam, "Wow! You did a great job with all this food! I'm sure it tastes as amazing as it looks and I can't wait to find out!"

She grabbed one of everything and took her plate back over to the bar where she sat down in the stool next to Victoria. She dug into her food, listening to the band singing in the background, while everyone else talked and laughed and enjoyed the evening.

When she finished eating, she cleaned up the area where she had sat and threw away her disposable plate and fork. She grabbed a kerchief out of her clutch and proceeded to wipe her mouth, and then her hands, then placed it back in her clutch, folded properly so the food mess didn't touch anything that was inside her clutch.

When she looked up, she saw the magnificent-looking ViolettaDiSalvo walking towards her with a huge smile on her face. She almost jumped with joy because she felt like she had waited all night for her to show up! She rushed over and gave Violetta a hug, then thanked her for the compliments about the party.

"Thank you thank you! I'm so glad you could make it!" She said excitedly to her. "I really do love throwing parties. I'm glad you like it all! There's so many people here now and I've had quite a bit to drink. I'm considering starting up the dancing portion of the evening! Care to join?"

Returning the hug, Violetta smiles even more.

“I’ve always enjoyed attending your parties, but you truly outdid yourself this time.”
Hearing about dancing made Vi glad she chose the party shoes instead of heels.

“Dancing sounds wonderful, but maybe when Luca gets here.  Right now I am famished, and in need of a drink.  This week has been hell.”

The aromas of food floated through the air, igniting her hunger even more.  People walked by with plates stocked with food.  Violetta’s slender features rivaled her very healthy appetite shocking people at how much she actually could eat.

Noticing more people behind Morte at the table, Vi shook her head at the lack of hospitality she was displaying.  She moved to speak to the group, and introduced herself.  Violetta recognized Don Senza over near the bar, but never had met the other young lady seated at the table in person. She heard the name Nessa mentioned as she was walking over to the table, so Vi guessed the young lady had to be her.  

“Good evening.  I am Violetta Di Salvo.  I don’t think we have ever met before, but I have heard good things about you.”

Just as Violetta extended a delicate hand in greeting, a gentleman sat down with his plate of food.  She smiled in greeting to him as well.

After a flight from Chicago it was about that time. Sereno had been over once before on business, and although this started out specifically to attend Morte_Rossa's party he spent the first hour attending to yet more business. He couldn't help himself. On the flight over all he could think about was how to better his current operation and being a man of action he immediately put those ideas into physicality.

Upon arriving at the event, Sereno and two of his men made their way over to greet the host. On the short walk, Sereno eyed the environment and took it all in. He noticed some familiar faces, and some newer ones he hadn't yet met. He noticed the tables in the street, the caterer and of course where he could get a nice stiff drink.

Sereno also took some time whilst walking over to see if his fellow family members were here, hoping to spot Anton_giovanni, Scratchy, KL, Tom_Shelby, Matteo_Beccaria, Seeyara, CloverLuxille, Koehler, JoeyOlbose, TC, Arakis and even kept an eye out for three of their newest recruits in Chopper, Goonsquad and Harry_Mendez. He informed the family of the party and since the two cities were allied he felt it would be a good chance for them to mingle and strengthen their relationships.

After finally standing in the presence of Morte_Rossa, Sereno waited till their eyes locked and she had a free moment. He then approached her and leant in to embrace her with a hug, whilst his two companions made their way toward the drink server.

The new recruit ,who went by the name Goonsquad, had arrived at the event a few hours before Sereno and of course made himself feel at home. He had never seen so much booze before in his life. The young thug who had grownup in the slums of Chicago was lucky to even see a drop of label-scotch, let alone bottles upon bottles of it sitting on a bar shelf. In just two hours he had spent his entire profits of slinging dope for the past 2 days. 

Once he saw Sereno rock up, he knew it was time to slow down. The thug fixed the tie around his Brioni suit, spit polished his spats and wiped the spilt scotch off unkept stubble around the left side of his chin. He got up out of the seat he had been sitting in for the past 4 hours and walked over to Sereno. He thought he remembered something about Sereno needing a hand with business within the event, but the highly intoxicated thug couldn't remember exactly what. Goonsquad put forward his hand and addressed Sereno like he would any family member. 

"Fancy seeing you here at this time, boss." he said while shaking Sereno's right hand. "I remember you telling me about something to do with bu-b-business out the front of Koehler's property before we left. It wasn't something to do with all that free scotch o-over there at the bar was it?"

The highly intoxicated new recruit swayed from side to side and lost his grounding before pulling up a seat and waited for Sereno's reply. He put his right elbow on the table and sat with a lean, puffing on his $220 Cuban cigar trying to look cool for a young lass he seen out of the corner of his eye. 

Nessa had lit up her cigarette as another woman whom Morte addressed as Victoria appeared. She set her cigarette down and stood up to accept the hug, "Its lovely to meet you as well." she told the woman with a smile. 

After a few more people showed up Morte excused herself to get some food, which Nessa completely understood and waved her away. "I'm sure I'll find you later to talk to!" she told the woman with a laugh, as she finished off her wine. As her new friend wandered off Nessa realized she was alone at the table. She waved a waiter over and ordered another glass of wine while she settled in to do some good old fashioned people watching. 

Seeing the time had slipped by way to fast Freddy gets up from his chair and give his hostess a quick hug.

I must leave my dear my plane is waiting for me, have a wonderful day and enjoy the east coast winter while I bask in the sun of the desert  all winter long.

You must come a visit even if it is just for a while my dear. He says good-bye to a few more people around the table and heads for the door.

Morte agreed with ViolettaDiSalvo that the dancing could wait until LucaDiSalvo got there, saying it would give her time to mingle with everyone. She said, "Go ahead and get something to eat Vi! It's better than watching everyone eat and not allowing yourself to!"

She laughed and went back to the table to talk to Nessa, who was alone and waiting for company it seemed. No sooner had she started to sit, she locked eyes from a ways away with Sereno. She smiled big and stood back up to walk over to him. She gave him a big hug back and said, "I'm so happy you could make it! By now, I'm a little drunk but hey, you're here! That's all that matters! I see some of your companions found their way to the bar. That one, not sure of his name, but he can barely stand! I'm sure he's enjoying the free alcohol over there! I'll go introduce myself to him in a bit but for now, how have you been?

She quickly pulled Sereno over to the table where Nessa was seated so she had some people sitting with her again, and so they could chat and get caught up.

Morte accepted the hug from FastFingersFreddy, who was taking his leave from the party. She said, "I agree! It's gotten late in the evening faster than I thought it would! Hun, I hope you have a good flight home and I thank you so much for spending the evening here at my party! It wouldn't have been the same without you! I will try to enjoy the snow. You enjoy the sun burns!"

She laughed and gave him another hug before saying, "I'll see you soon in Vegas! Bye!" and he said goodbye to a few more people before turning to walk towards his vehicle.

She smiled at Morte and the gentleman she was with. "Hello there, please, feel free to take a seat." she told them both. "I appreciate the company!" she told them before taking another sip of her wine. "Morte, I have to admit this party has really taken off!" she told the woman. "I'm going to have to eventually go and mingle, but may need a few more drinks before I'm feeling brave enough to go talk to complete strangers." she said with a laugh. 

Morte looked at Nessa through her blurry vision and listened closely as she spoke. She laughed when Nessa said that she'd need a few more drinks before she could talk to complete strangers then said, "Well you talked to me before you had ANYTHING to drink, and I was a stranger. You should be completely okay but I understand! Sorry for leaving you here by yourself by the way!"

She excused herself to go get a drink, and quickly returned to the table with another glass of Wine, another drink for Sereno and another glass of wine for Nessa.

"After this drink, I think I'll finally be ready to start that dancing around all over the place!" She laughed and continued,  "Who wants to join me?"

Nessa chuckled, "This is very true. But it was either introduce myself or stand all alone in a corner like a creepy person." she said with a shake of her head. "And don't worry about leaving me alone, I understand you're going to have to mingle, since this is your party and all." she said. She then accepted the glass of wine, "Thank you!" she said with a smile, "I think I may just have to join you with that dancing." She told her just as the Band started playing another song. Her foot was already tapping along to the beat under the table. 

Morte laughed aloud at the thought of Nessa standing alone in the corner, watching everyone and being all creepy. "I can't imagine you standing in the corner! It's too hilarious! But anyways, I'm glad you didn't do that. You're a fun person to sit and chat with!"

She turned towards Sereno, who was zoned out in his own little world keeping an eye on his companions, then she turned back to Nessa and said, "I'll give it about ten minutes then the music wins and we go dance!"

She raised her glass to the woman, "I like the sound of that plan!" she told the woman before throwing her a wink. She glanced at the man sitting with them, "Sorry, I've been rude. My name is Nessa." she introduced herself and reached out to shake his hand. "It's lovely to meet you." she told him. 

"I must excuse myself to use the restroom. I know, too much info, but I will be back soon!" She said to Nessa and Sereno. "You guys mingle with each other and I'll be back soon!"

Sereno returned Morte_Rossa's query with a simple smile, he saw how busy she was attending to the different guests and didn't want to get into how he'd been. He tended to go off on conversations about business and what not, and he was getting more use to communicating with his body language rather than his words.

Noticing Nessa at the table, he gave her a respectful nod that accompanied a smile. He was yet to meet her and was just about to sit down and introduce himself when Goonsquad caught his eye, his outstretched hand was grasped in a firm handshake. Sereno squeezed and made sure to pat his shoulder.

As Morte turned her attention to FFF, Sereno pulled Goonsquad over and motioned for him to sit down at the table. He noticed he was a little liquored up. The new Evolution member was quickly making a name for himself. His work ethic was on the lips of some of the families members. Sereno sat himself at the same table, unbuttoning his suit jacket as he did. His removed his fedora and placed it down on the table.

The music was tasteful and added to the entertaining atmosphere, and amongst it all he overheard Morte and Nessa conversing. He decided to chime in as one of his men brought over a bottle and a glass and placed them down on the table. As he poured himself a glass he addressed Nessa.

"Name's Sereno, nice to meet you too. This is my second time in New York and this has got to be the best looking event I've been too, anywhere. How are you finding it?"

As he finished pouring the glass half full, he looked up at Nessa and held the bottle forward a little, asking her if she'd like a drink too.