Page 77 of Hail Marry
Iam. I feel kind of weird inside, and I’m not sure why.
“Is it Jack and Troy? They’re a lot, I know. I promise I tried to persuade them not to come, but they always have to be involved. And you saw Jack constantly trying to one-up Troy with the number of boxes he carried. Troy’s been working out hardcore over the past couple years, and Jack can’t handle being outdone. And then Troy likes to tease Jack that even though Jack and Siena got married first, it’s Eden who’ll be ruling the grandkids, and?—”
“You’re really lucky.”
Tori looks at me for a second. “That I’ve got a weirdly competitive family?”
“That you’vegota family.” I try to keep my voice casual and my eyes on the road ahead. “Not a lot of people have one who’d show up to spend the day helping them move. Much less helping a near-stranger move.” I check my blind spot and change lanes for something to do because I can feel her eyes on me.
“You’re not a near-stranger,” she says. “You’re part of the family.”
I glance at her, and it hits me. That’s why I’m feeling weird.
Today feels a lot like the night of the draft. The Sheppards treated me like I belonged. They didn’t hold me at arms’ length.
Some of how I’m feeling is probably guilt over our deception, but most of it, I think, is not knowing how to function in this environment. I’ve never had a proper family with brothers and sisters and a mom and dad who like each other. I didn’t even know that type of family existed. It always seemed like a creation of Hollywood or prime-time TV.
But it does exist. The Sheppards are proof, and they’re claiming me as one of them.
It almost hurts how much I want that, how much I want to be part of them. Not as part of some ploy to get my green card.
For real.
“You’re right, though,” Tori says. “I tend to take them for granted. I just wasn’t really planning to pack up my stuff and pretend to move. And now I have to figure out how to explain why I’m coming back to L.A. with them instead of staying in San Diego to help you settle in. But anyway, enough about that. I want to hear all about the team now that you’ve met them. Please tell me not everyone is like Louie.”
I’m not one to talk for long periods of time without encouragement, but Toriisthe type to ask questions, so we pass the rest of the ride talking about the team and how OTAs are going. She doesn’t know much about football, but she’s determined to learn it. All on this car ride.
As for me? I’m just trying not to fall more in love with her every minute.
I’m pretty sure she’s having more success than I am.
18
TORI
We moveLuca’s furniture into the house, but it barely puts a dent in the space available.
“Why didn’t we move any ofyourfurniture?” Jack asks me as he sets another box in Luca’s room.Ourroom, according to Jack and Troy.
“It doesn’t really match,” I say. “Luca’s particular about that sort of thing.”
I can feel Luca’s eyes on me, but I avoid them. My place is a mishmash of whatever stuff I’ve accumulated over the years, soIcan’t really claim to be a stickler about interior design.
We take a quick break for lunch, which is when Jack and Troy find out Luca skipped his graduation ceremony. They insist on hosting our own. Because they’re my family, and they’re weird.
They put two towels over Luca’s shoulders as a makeshift robe and a cooking pot on his head for a cap. The receipt for the food he ordered for us acts as his diploma, which Jack hands to him with a lot of ridiculous fanfare and a bunch of made-up middle names since he doesn’t know Luca’s real one—which he doesn’t have.
I take a picture of Luca and Jack while they shake hands, and Jack sends it to the family text thread, which erupts with congratulations. My familyispretty great, even if they’re weird and a bit much sometimes. I never would’ve expected Luca to fit in, but somehow, he does. Watching him laugh with my brother and brother-in-law makes me feel something completely new inside.
I assume I’ll get used to what Luca’s smile does to me at some point. I’ve got to believe that because otherwise, I’m in so much trouble.
Once we’re done with lunch, I head out to Luca’s car and push aside a couple of the heavier boxes in the trunk. He comes up beside me and picks them up with ease. All three of the men have shed their shirts at this point, and I’m keeping my eyes focused on the boxes. Troy and Jack aren’t exactly Shaggy fromScooby-Doowhen it comes to physique, but they almost look it next to Luca.
I stare into the trunk at the purple pregnancy pillow and the pink one behind it. “You havetwo?” I glance over my shoulder at Luca, whose back is a canvas of beautiful muscle.
“The pink one is for you,” he says without looking back.
I look at the pillows again, not even trying to fight my smile. He bought me one.
