Authors: Chelle Bliss
“I know you’ve seen some shit. I can’t even begin to imagine, but you’re back and that’s all that matters.”
Everyone took their spots, and an extra chair was pulled to the table for me. I had lost my table presence, but I hadn’t expected it to be left open with the two newest additions to the family.
“I’m so hungry I could eat a darn horse,” Suzy said, placing her napkin across her lap before she picked up a fork.
“You’re eating for two, sugar. Have as much as you want,” Joe leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
Her face turned red as she mouthed, “I love you,” to him and they nuzzled. What the fuck had happened? I chuckled, trying to evoke the memory of my brother from times past. He was a badass and people were scared of him, but Suzy wasn’t. They were the yin to the other’s yang.
“For fuck’s sake. She’d eat everything if you let her. The woman is like a machine,” Anthony whined, taking a sip of the water that had been placed on the table before we’d sat down.
Izzy, Mia, and Ma walked in the room each holding giant dishes of food that let off steam. Izzy and Mia each set their bowls perfectly spaced down the table.
“I made lasagna, chicken parm, and sausage and peppers,” Ma said as she placed the lasagna in front of my father.
My mouth watered from the smell. All the memories of my childhood and every Sunday dinner came flooding back. There wasn’t a cook in the world who could rival her. No one. I rubbed my hands together and couldn’t wait to dive in and taste all the deliciousness.
“Lasagna!” Suzy squealed, dropping her fork before she clapped her hands. “I’m eating every last drop of that, baby. It’s my faaaavorite!” She practically bounced in her chair and rubbed her belly with excitement.
Ma smiled, touching Suzy’s shoulder and staring down at her belly. “Sweetie, you eat as much as you want. You’re feeding my grandbaby. There’s plenty of food for everyone else. Would you like the first piece?”
“Yes!” Suzy yelled, her eyes and smile growing wide.
“I hate that baby,” Anthony grumbled under his breath, and shook his head.
“What did you say?” Joe asked, glaring at Anthony.
“Nothing. I’m starving and it smells so damn good.”
“You’re always starving. Ladies and kids first! Don’t be a greedy asshole,” Joe barked, reaching behind Suzy and slapping Anthony in the head.
James burst out laughing. I was sure that, over the last few months, he’d been welcomed in and made to feel at home. Someday, he’d get the full Gallo treatment. I knew their asses didn’t behave with him around. No one knew what that word even meant in my family.
Watching everyone chat and laugh made me feel warm, and a calm settled over me. This was where I belonged, but I didn’t know what was happening in each of their lives. They spent each day with each other at work, but I was totally out of touch. I plastered a fake smile on my face, trying not to think of all the moments I’d missed, as I watched my ma dole out the food.
“When’s the baby due, bro?”
“Early September.” He smiled, grabbing the plate Ma had put in front of him.
“I can’t believe I’m going to be an uncle and I missed it all.”
“Don’t be silly,” Suzy said, her voice garbled by a mouthful of lasagna. “You’ll be here for the birth and that’s all that matters. She’s going to have four cool uncles and two killer aunts.”
“Four uncles?” Mike interrupted before I could ask the same damn question.
“Yes. You, Thomas, Anthony, and James.”
That was interesting. Suzy had already integrated James into the family. I turned to him, seeing his face break out into a giant smile as Izzy almost fell off her chair.
“Hold up,” Izzy blurted out, facing Suzy with her hand up and her palm flat. “James is not a Gallo. He’s here, but not a Gallo.”
“Yet,” James retorted, pushing down Izzy’s arm.
She turned and glared at him, her eyes growing wide and saying a million fucking things. I knew that look well, having been on the receiving end a million times when I was growing up. The girl never made shit easy. When she couldn’t speak, she’d let you know exactly how you felt.
“See? Four,” Suzy said with a giggle. “What baby could be so lucky?”
“Sugar, what about your sister?” Joe asked, turning in his chair and titling his head.
“Baby, she’s not a part of this family. I barely see her and she’s kind of a bitch.” She stabbed her lasagna and didn’t look at Joe as she replied.
The entire table burst into laughter. What the hell was I missing?
“What the hell is so funny?” I asked before placing a sliver of the piping-hot lasagna in my mouth.
Fuck, it’s better than I remembered.
I let it sit on my tongue, closing my eyes while the cheese slowly oozed across my tongue. It was like heaven. There’s nothing like home cooking. The food at the club had been mediocre at best. The cook wasn’t a chef, but he knew how to reheat shit when we got hungry. The dive bars we’d spent our nights at didn’t provide a gourmet sampling. It was shitty bar food that left a funky oil aftertaste in my mouth.
“Suzy doesn’t swear very much,” Joe answered, because everyone else was either laughing or eating.
I still had my eyes closed, savoring the taste of my ma’s cooking. Opening them slowly, I looked at him and smiled. Then I swallowed it, ready to dive into another chunk, and asked, “How the hell did she end up with you?”
We all swore. It must be genetic. I swear Izzy’s first word was
fuck
. I thought having four older brothers who used it like common language didn’t help. I also thought it served my ma right for having had us keep our eyes on her when we were little. Joe often had the dirtiest mouth.
“Pure luck. She swears when it’s necessary.” He smiled at Suzy, winking as her cheeks turned red.
“When would that be?” Anthony asked, putting his fork down and looking at Suzy, waiting for an answer.
“Eat your fuckin’ food and don’t worry about when that would be, jerkoff.” Joe was usually easygoing, but he seemed on edge.
“You PMSing or something, man?” Anthony asked before picking up his fork and shoveling in a chunk of sausage.
“My leg has been killing me. The goddamn rain always gets me. I just wish the shit was fully healed.”
“It’ll go away, Joe. Give it time. Take some Naproxen and you should feel better. It won’t always be like this,” Mia offered.
“Yeah. It’ll get worse,” Mike chimed in, chuckling. “Your ass is getting old, and you’re going to be chasing around a baby soon.”
“I don’t see you getting any younger, fluff ’n’ stuff,” Joe teased, laughing at his own joke. “When are you getting married and making an honest woman out of Mia?”
The veins on the side of Mike’s neck bulged out. He’d never liked the terms “soft” or “fluffy.” He was all about being hardcore and tough as an ox. Plus, from what I could tell, he didn’t like being put on the spot about his future with Mia.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked down and then stared straight at Joe. “Mia and I are taking things slow.”
“Bullshit,” Mia coughed, hiding a smile behind her hand. “Excuse me.”
“That’s my girl,” Izzy chimed in.
The house had shifted. It was no longer ruled by cocks and jocks, but by babes. We were all truly fucked at this point. There was no going back. Maybe it was my absence that had led everything astray. Or maybe it was bound to happen in time. The family would inevitably change once we’d decided to settle down.
“Marry the poor girl already,” Ma blurted out.
“It’s a huge step, people,” Mike whined, his shoulders tensing as he tried to hide his discomfort with the topic.
I kept eating forkful after forkful as they discussed marriage. Joe and Suzy were happily married, along with my parents, but half of the single people at the table didn’t think it was all it was cracked up to be.
“Do you ever want to get married?” Mia asked, turning to Mike and staring at him with crinkles in her forehead. “Like, ever?”
“Well, yeah. Eventually. We’re young, doc. I want to enjoy life a little bit.”
“Um, I’m not asking you to have a baby, you big pansy. Marriage doesn’t equal a fun killer,” she hissed, pushing back from the table and storming off.
Everyone was totally stunned and in shock.
“This shit happen a lot?” I asked, looking around and wondering if the estrogen was a little too much in the room.
“No,” Mike answered, scratching his head. “I don’t know what the hell has gotten into her lately.”
“You’re such a dumbass,” Izzy groaned, and rolled her eyes. “Really? She loves you and you love her. What’s your issue with marriage?”
“Hey, pot. Meet kettle,” James muttered before a hearty laugh burst from his lips.
I laughed, knowing that the man was going to have his balls handed to him later for that little comment.
She looked at him, moving in close enough that their noses were touching. “You watch it, Jimmy,” she hissed.
Before she could continue, James’s hand wrapped around the back of her neck. Then he pulled her face to his and planted an enormous kiss on her lips. She groaned, pushing him away as he gave her a deeper kiss, holding her body to his. When they separated, a popping sound filled the room. Everyone had been quiet while watching James
handle
Izzy.
“As I was saying,” she said, wiping the corner of her lips like nothing had happened. “The woman wants to be your wife. We want her to be our sister. What the hell are you waiting for?”
“I don’t know,” Mike replied, and shrugged.
“Brother, we don’t know how long we have in this world,” Joey said. “My accident taught me that shit. I didn’t waste another minute without making Suzy my wife. Don’t fuck this up.” He shook his head. “You’re not good enough for her anyway. She deserves better.”
“Fuck you, Joe. I’m the only man for her. I’d give my life for Mia. I quit fighting for her and the clinic. I couldn’t imagine being apart from her.”
“Um, again, what the hell are you waiting for?” Izzy said, throwing a piece of bread at Mike.
“Fuck,” he growled, pushing back from the table and leaving to go after Mia—hopefully.
“I see that the drama around here has died down,” I said, and immediately smiled as I looked around the table.
“Boobs: they’re always the problem,” Anthony piped in, still shoveling forkfuls of food in his mouth.
I didn’t know how the guy stayed so damn thin with the amount of food he consumed. Since we’d been little, he could eat us all under the table, yet he was the thinnest of us all. I didn’t even think the fucker worked out.
“I see your grumpy ass is the same. What’s got your willy in knots?” I asked, glancing at Ma to make sure I wasn’t overstepping my bounds.
She smiled, hiding a laugh behind her napkin.
“Women are a pain in the ass, Tommy,” Anthony said. “When they aren’t breaking your heart, they’re mixing up your head. Nothing but trouble, in my opinion.”
“What, or shall I say who, have you been hiding, Anth?” Suzy asked, touching his hand.
He quickly jerked it away like her hand was fire. “No one. I’m just saying. It’s best if I just steer clear of relationships.”
“You doth protest too much,” Suzy said in her best British accent, which was terrible. “You’re hiding something. I feel it in my bones.”
“Don’t start with your pregnancy ESP nonsense again, Suzy.”
She smiled, making a
tsk tsk
sound with her tongue before diving back into the giant hunk of lasagna my mother had placed on her plate when she’d finished first.
“Damn, we forgot the champagne. Hand me the bottles, Izzy darling,” Pop said, beckoning them down to his end.
“Let me run and grab glasses,” Ma replied, hurrying from the table and quickly returning with both hands filled with flutes.
“We should wait for Mike and Mia,” I interrupted as Pop released the first cork and it bounced off the ceiling.
“They could be a while,” James replied with a small grin.
While Pop handed each glass down the table as he filled them, I stared at him. He hadn’t aged much in the time I’d been gone. Not as much as my mother, anyway. He still looked the same, happier than ever. This was his thing—family dinners and bullshitting. He had his boys all under one roof, but we all knew his favorite was Izzy. She’d always be daddy’s little girl.
My pop stood, holding up his glass. “I’d like to propose a toast.” He paused until all of our champagne glasses were high in the air. “To my family. This house is filled with more love than your ma and I could’ve ever imagined. You kids—”
With those words, we all blanched, hating the sound of it, and he laughed.
“You have made us proud. We hope the family expands someday. More babies and more wives would be nice. It’s great to have Tommy back and in his rightful spot. To love and family.
Salute
.”
“Hear, hear,” we echoed, clinking glasses with the people closest to us. Then we sipped champagne, talking quietly until we couldn’t eat anymore.
After putting my napkin over my plate, I leaned back and rubbed my stomach. Somehow, Suzy was still eating. I watched forkful after forkful in astonishment.
“She’s growing a Gallo in there,” Joe said, rubbing her belly.
“So, what about you, Thomas? Were you seeing anyone?” James asked, throwing me for a loop.
“Oh, tell us,” Izzy begged, resting her head in her hand and batting her eyelashes.
Fuck.
I made a mental note to punch James in the face or the junk.
I sighed, raking my hand through my hair and then dragging it down across my face.
I want to kill him with my own bare hands.
“Well, it’s complicated.” I turned to James and mouthed, “Fucker,” to which he smiled.
“Isn’t love always?” Anthony groaned before taking another sip of champagne.
“Shush it,” Izzy hissed, throwing another piece of bread at him.
Ma quickly reached across the table and grabbed the remaining bread from Izzy’s plate, her mouth set in a straight line. “Continue, baby.”
“I did meet someone. She’s amazing.” I bit my lip, not sure how much of the story I should divulge.
“Where is she now?” Pop asked, placing his napkin on the table and resting on his elbows.