Page 38 of Ciao, Amore

“My grandson is here,” Nonno proclaimed proudly to Giuseppe.

“We’re all your grandsons, Nonno,” Tommy said through a tight grin.

Angelo grabbed Nico by the shoulders and shoved him into the chair next to his. “This guy. The sun shines when Nico enters a room.” He was only kidding. Nico knew his brothers and his absent sister loved him as much as he loved them.

What would he do without them if he lived here? He tried to imagine them and the children growing older, still visiting each other’s houses for dinners and holidays, Christmas tree lighting at Ma and Pop’s, and racquetball in the park on good weather days. All the while he’d be in the fields staring into the sun, growing weathered and white-haired like Nonno. He’d only see them maybe once a year. He’d miss out on everything.

“Hey, what’s up? Why do you have your dirty money on the table?” Tino scooped up his money, but Nico grabbed at it and then him. “You guys were playing cards without me because you know I’d beat all of you?”

“Get off your little brother, what’s the matter with you?” Patrick shoved Nico back into his chair with a hand right to the chest like he was Bruce Lee.

“Hey, Pop. You remember that time you were playing Briscola at the park back home and that guy got pissed off at you? I was like four or five. What was his name?” Angelo asked, squinting while trying to remember.

“Billy Boy,” Patrick answered. “I always hated that guy but even so, I couldn’t believe he’d pull a knife on me just for losin’ a bet over cards.”

“What was the bet for again?” Tino asked.

Patrick shook his head, his arms folded. “He bet me his wife’s car. We’d been playing all day and he kept losing. So I says to him, I says, ‘Billy, maybe it’s time for you to stop and go home.’ But he didn’t want to stop. Next thing you know, I’m about to walk away with those keys and he pulls a knife. I says, ‘Billy, you got ten seconds to put that down or else.’ And he hides his hand behind his back with this real funny look on his face, and he says, ‘What knife?’ I look over my shoulder. His wife is standing there with murder in her eyes. She sees I’ve got her car keys and me and him both take off running. Man, she was fast. I barely made it home alive.”

Even though they’d heard this story before, they never grew tired of hearing it. Everybody laughed, except for Nonno who looked as though he’d bitten into something sour.

Turning to Nico, Patrick asked, “Daniela’s at the beach with the girls?”

Nico twisted his lips and quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah. Hopefully, still alive by the time I see her later. It looked a little rough, but I think she can handle herself.”

“I’ll bet.” Patrick knew he was referring to Lina; quiet and yielding on the surface but with a determination strong as stone. “She’s a beautiful girl, that Daniela. Your grandfather says she knows ten languages. That true?”

“So, she’s like, real smart? Yeah, I could tell,” Tino said, shrugging his shoulders in a weirdly victorious dance. Only Nico knew what was behind Tino’s behavior.

Narrowing his eyes at his brother in an attempt to get him to cut that shit out, Nico replied, “I think five, if she becomes fluent in Italian.”

“Well, that’s a good thing,” Nonno said in Italian amid their rapid English. He pressed on, despite knowing that most of his own family members couldn’t respond as fluently as he would have liked, except for Nico. “Daniela will have a much easier time adjusting if she’s fluent.” Nico looked at him, and Nonno shrugged. “When you move here, she will come too, of course. Say the word, and I’ll help you get her what she needs to stay legally.”

Patrick frowned while Angelo glanced at Nico, knowing very well that Nico was wrestling with Nonno’s request and still didn’t have an answer. While Tommy had dropped remarks that Nonno had never considered him or Tino for his heir, Angelo didn’t care. He wanted Nico to be happy either way, even though he was not-so-secretly rooting for Nico to stay with them in New York.

“They just met a few months ago. That would be a little fast,” Tommy said. His sky-blue eyes were serious.

“Don’t talk nonsense, Tomasino,” Nonno chided, deciding to switch to English. “It took three weeks for me to know I wanted to marry your nonni. Where the heart leads, you follow. None of you would be here right now if I hadn’t followed my path to her. Except for you,” Nonno said, casting a rueful side-eye at Patrick.

“Yeah, Tommy. You and Merelys got married after, what, six months? And look at you, three beautiful kids, a beautiful home. You got it made, bro,” Angelo chimed in.

“Yup, everything turned outgreat,” Tommy said with a derisive laugh.

Nico shot him a look but was distracted when Angelo grabbed him around the neck and shook him.

“Yeah, so what’s up with her? You guys havin’ a good time? ’Cause,marone, that’s a whole lotta woman right there. You’re gonna have some tall kids, man.” Angelo laughed, staring at the redness that was flooding Nico’s face. He continued, “Look at the smile on your face. You’re, like, sixteen. Oh, shit.”

They all laughed at the hot flush spreading down his neck.

“Alright, alright, calm down, ya filthy animals,” Nico said, but he couldn’t help the grin that pulled at his mouth when they laughed again. “Never mind tall kids. Where’s my calamari? Did you order for me?”

As the aromatic food started arriving on huge steaming platters, along with a fantastic bottle of Lacryma Christi Rosso that Giuseppe knew he loved, Angelo leaned in while everyone talked. This was their first chance to speak alone since the few minutes after Nico had arrived.

In a quieter voice, Nico asked, “How was the trip over? Everything went okay?”

He directed a quick glance at Tommy, who’d drained his full glass of wine and was pouring another. Angelo exhaled with a small shrug.

“You know how it is. There was a thing with a flight attendant, but I took care of it before all our asses got kicked off the plane.”

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