Page 116 of My Infatuation with Isabella

“Giorgio, that’s better than great,” my mother says, placing her hand over her heart as if she’s relieved. “This is confirmation that at least we didn’t raise two dweebs. Dana at least hassomelevel of charm.”

Dana giggles at that. “Mom, how can you say that? Dylan is a player! Sheets aren’t even cold after the divorce and he’s already knocking boots with the next one.”

I roll my eyes but say nothing.

“Players...play,” Mom argues. “Your brother is already in another committed relationship. Chances are he’ll probably end up marrying Isabella, too.”

“That’s exactly what I plan on doing,” I reply with a firm nod.

My mother is just about to hit me with another line when Dana gasps. “Shit, Dylan, that’s what it means.” Her eyes are wide as if she uncovered the secrets of the universe. “The prophecy by the fortuneteller. Remember, she said she saw not one, but two rings and we could never figure out what that meant. If you get married to Isabella...that’s two rings. So, everything in the prophecy was true.”

“Holy crap! You’re right.” Both of us sit there stunned, trying to absorb this.

“What are you guys talking about?” Dad asks.

“Do you remember when we were younger?” I begin. “You guys took us to that carnival once. Dana and I went to a fortune teller, and when she was reading the cards, I got the Queen of Spades and she predicted that this would be the woman who’d break my heart.”

My mother’s lips quirk up. “And you believed that?”

“Yes! Every part of it came true.”

“Oh, sweetie, I slipped her a twenty and told her to tell you guys all that. How do you think she knew what Dana would get for her birthday? I made the rest up.”

“What!” Dana and I shout in unison, but my father is highly amused and covers his mouth to hide a laugh.

“No, Mom.” I shake my head. “There’s no way you made it up. That prophecy was so on point. How would you know all that?”

She lets out a sigh. “Dylan, you were at an age when you were starting to notice girls and I just didn’t want you to – you know – get caught up with thewrongtype of girl. So, I was trying to just steer you away from the...wild ones, the pretty ones who would show you exciting things, you know the type of things where you could’ve ended up being a teenage father. You were so sweet and naïve. You would’ve fallen for that so easily, so I needed you to stay away fromthosegirls.”

“It rhymed, though,” Dana says as if rhyming is the universal way of telling if a prophecy is valid or not.

“Honey, I got it off a fortune cookie note and just changed some of the words to suit my cause.”

My dad is killing it now. “Lorraine, you’re awful.”

I don’t know why I’m having so much trouble believing this. Thinking about it in my head now, the words have an entirely different meaning and context, but there’s still one bit I don’t understand. “Okay, then, what about the part of the two rings? That part doesn’t make sense.”

She shrugs. “I was referring to piercings. I didn’t want you bringing home a girl who had a bunch of piercings – a lip ring or a nose ring or an eyebrow ring or a?”

“Or a tongue ring,” I fill in.

“Exactly. I would’ve been fine with one...maybe, but two is a hard no.”

My father is still chuckling, but Dana and I simply glower at her because it feels like she just shattered a mystical part of our childhood. Like when a magician reveals how he does a trick, it just leaves you feeling underwhelmed and flat once all the mystery is sucked out of it.

“So, what you’re saying is that Isabella is one piercing short of being exactly the type of girl you wanted me to stay away from.”

The smile she gives is a tad sheepish. “It’s possible I may have been too judgy. But...we live and learn, right?”

Dad curls his arm around her and kisses her cheek. “Lorraine, I don’t know why that made me love you more, but it did.”

My dad starts bringing up all the tricks my mom used to play on us when we were kids and we continue this discussion of how awful she is until Dana has to go back to the shelter. After she leaves, my parents tell me that the parole board rejected Alan’s case. I know this may not be a permanent thing and could very well change in the future, but for now, it feels like everything is falling into place and I can finally breathe easy.

* * * * *

“DYL, I WANT YOU TOknow that I could’ve been naked in bed with a hot woman right now, but instead, it’s Friday night and I’m here with your lame ass. I don’t even know if what you have planned is going to be worth the sacrifice.”

“It’s worth it to me,” I reply simply. “C’mon, let’s go.”

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