Realistic or Modern The Roaring Twenties - IC Thread [OPEN]

[Saix]

The Marino Residence​

-Queens, NY-

Isabela Ortiz​

Isabela had been sitting across from Patrick quietly admiring the parlor room before her companion was swiftly scooped into a conversation with a black haired man wearing glasses. She had caught his name to be ‘Paul’ which triggered her memory of numerous conversations that she shared with her chaperone during her training to help run the Marino family bank account, so she now had a face to commit to memory for the Marino family lawyer as she turned her own to give them a semblance of privacy. While she deeply resented her father, he had strictly taught her that women were meant to be seen, not heard, and she often found herself falling back on his lessons as she traversed this new world despite her desire to become the kind of woman he had put so much effort against. Not that the man cared anymore anyway...

From where the young woman sat, she could see into the hallway where they had come from and the gift table where they both had left their tirbutes for the family head. Isabela had brought with her a large bottle of Ron del Barrilito, the best rum produced from her home island of Puerto Rico, which she had carefully placed next to Patrick’s own gift with the hope that it would be appreciated despite having come from a relative stranger. It was an interesting thing, coming to such an intimate event never having met the family or any other of their associates other than the man who served as her replacement father figure. While there were plenty of people who would find being in such a position to be stressful, Isabela instead faced it with a calm curiosity and found entertainment in obeserving the familiar interactions of all who had occupied the beautiful home.

Both Isabela and her mother had taken careful consideration for her outfit as they prepared for her to attend this party and she wore a white dress that hung loosely from her thin frame that stopped just under her knees with the token low waistline that came with women’s fashion of the time. The sleeves along with the plunging v-shaped collar were made of a separate sheer fabric than that which made up the main body of the dress and sported delicate orange-red floral embroidery that her mother spent countless hours adding for a more custom cultural touch. These same flowers were also spread along the waistline but were made to be much smaller than their counterparts along the sleeves and were repeated again onto her ivory colored t-strapped heels. To those with a trained eye, these flowers would be recognized as having belonged to the flamboyan trees that were considered an icon for her homeland. Isabela’s long textured hair had been straightened and pulled up into a loose wavy bun with a few strands pulled out to frame her face. Her makeup was light and natural looking apart from the bold red lipstick she wore that beautifully complemented her skin tone and tied the whole look together. With her legs crossed at the ankles, she stoically observed the comings and goings of those who had brought gifts while paying very little attention to the men's conversation behind her.

Interactions Open

 

[ZarbofftheFirst]

Paul Woertzel​

Inside the Marino Residence
Paul knew that when Salvatore talked about family or business it was never for laughs. Being cramped in the office with Patrick made the situation even more grave. The man with the money and the man with the law degree in the same room usually meant something was going to go down. Paul got to the point quickly, knowing Vito likely left some things out of the full story if Salvatore was coming to him this quickly.

“I have a few feelers out in Great Neck,” Paul said. “The man is Merle Bechener, son of the assistant to the governor Leo Bechener. It wasn’t an up-and-up party. Canadian whiskey, a colored band playing jazz, and some men of indecency about the place. Merle isn’t a fan of Sicilians, and started cursing out Vito. Vito threw a glass and the two started fighting. Vito and his friends figure out which car is Merle’s and take it from him to piss him off.”

Paul waited for Salvatore’s visible frustration to dissipate a little. “Merle isn’t too well known in town, so we can muscle him to keep quiet about Vito, and we’d keep quiet as well about his activities. The elder Bechener seems to be grooming the young man for public service, so it wouldn’t take a lot of convincing to have him silenced. We’ll have to get his car back to him tomorrow afternoon or the next to make it all square.” On paper, Paul Woertzel was a lawyer. In practice, he was more of Salvatore’s legal every-man, often assisting in the dirty work of keeping the Marino family clean. That included knowing the right unsavory characters in polite society, and the perfect people who struggle to keep secrets about anything. Word hadn’t spread out much further than some of the speakeasies in Great Neck, but if Paul could get around town fast enough he could likely tie up most loose ends.

Paul took a moment to remember everything about Salvatore’s will, which had been made confusing because of his four children. “You mentioned the will. At the moment, your will only states that the majority of your owned property and monies will go to Benjamin. And the rest of it would be divided among Frank, Gabriella, and Vittorio. There’s also a clause on Margaret being guaranteed money from the will if she is to be alive when you pass on.” Paul thought for a moment. “Do you need to pencil in a few changes?”

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Vito Marino​

Inside the Marino Residence
Having been released by his father, Vito walked back towards the party. Once inside, he remembered why his coat was so heavy. He reached into his inner pocket and pulled a small wrapped item. Vito’s gift (aka Paul Woertzel’s gift for Salvatore because Vito is a terrible gift giver) was a brand new cigarette case with Salvatore’s initials on them. Vito leaned the cigarette case against a fancy bottle of rum, and turned his head to spot his sometimes partner in crime, Kathryn, and Cassandra. Vito saw his two nieces chatting with his mother Margaret, and decided to wait for the moment when Kathryn was freed up.

(queued up for when Kat neverbackdown is freed up)