The Reunion

“Doomed.  You’re so doomed dude!” said the small blond woman driving the blue hybrid a little too fast along with the rest of the traffic in the carpool lane.  They were speeding along leaving Orange County and entering Riverside County.

“Just Stop?!”  The dark haired man in the front passenger seat growled.  Em just couldn't leave Pete alone, never could.  She also couldn't see the laughter in his eyes.  He was five eight 180 pounds of solid muscle.  His hair was dark, as were his eyes, his skin olive toned beneath the tan.  He'd been a football lineman in high school and had worked hard to maintain his tough guy look.  He was expecting her to antagonize him.  She always did, she just couldn’t help herself.  It was their way of communicating.

“Yeah Mom!  Stop picking on him.”  The pre-teen towhead in the backseat laughed.  He was a hair's breadth shorter than the woman, but by the end of the year he'd be inches taller.  She’d already hassled Pete on his carry on being bigger than her trunk and harangued him over leaving the wife and kids at home.  The equally dark man in the back seat continued to laugh.  He was easily six feet tall and wearing a tailor-made black suit, like his brother had dark hair but slightly lighter skin and hazel eyes.  She always did this to poor Pete.

“Stop laughing or I’ll pull over and dump you on the side of the road!”   She chastised her spawn.  That was mother and son's ongoing repartee.  Mike hadn't seen the brothers in months and was excited to see the brothers and the rest of the family.  Even under the circumstances.

“I’m not laughing
at
you.  I’m laughing
with
you.”  The child had a good idea where this was going.

“No we’re laughing at you, Rizzoli.”  She reminded her son.

“Ok, I give up. How am I doomed?” Pete scowled at her.  She never took her eyes off the road.  He knew she was a good driver, hardly an accident, a lot of speeding tickets, but not as many tickets as you would assume.  After all, he'd been one of the ones that taught her to drive.  Knowing that and knowing her love of speed didn't loosen his grip on the seat armrest between them. 

“Irish, Cherokee, AND Sicilian.  Doomed Dude.”

“Very funny.  I should have known better than to let you pick me up from the airport.”  Pete turned around and slapped at his "sort of" nephew's knee.  “Stop that.  You’re only encouraging her.”

“I don’t need his encouragement.  I’ve always loved picking on you.”

“Still, we’re on our way to a funeral.  Don’t you have any respect?”

“Sure.  I have plenty of respect.  I respect LIFE and I respect fun.  I respect laughter and I’m going to miss the hell out of her but damn it she just had the worse year of anyone I’ve ever known.”

“I know.  I saw her a couple of weeks ago too.”  Tommy chimed from the back seat.  “She kicked my ass in poker.”

“Cards.  Any card game.  She was the best.”  Em patted her cousin’s knee.  “I’m sorry Pete.  I know you’ll miss her.  We all will.”  Then the cloud lifted from her expression and Tommy could see her expression change from the backseat.

“Oh no, here it comes.”  Tommy moaned.

“She’d get her Irish up and kick our asses.  Remember the time we hopped the fence and snuck into the drive-in?  Who knew Debbie Does Dallas was showing?”

“He did."  Tommy laughed from the backseat.  "So did I.”

“You’re joking.”

"What's Debbie Does Dallas?"

"Never mind." the three of them answered as one.

“She thought
you
put
us
up to it.”

“Of course I did.  I got the blame for every imaginative idea
any of us
ever had.”

“Sorry Em.”

“Sorry.  SHIT!  Mae was the most fun of any of the relatives.  First bit of good taste Uncle Joe ever showed.” Secretly she knew she was parroting her mother on that.

“Remember when Ty fell over that fence and broke your finger?”  Em held up her hand and popped her right pinkie twice.  “Still pops huh?”

“At least he landed on something soft.”

“We’d all try to land you Em.  It was just part of our growing up.”

“Yeah, who ever heard of tackle frisbee?"  She smiled.  "Mike if you repeat this to anyone you’re going to be boiled in pasta.”

“She’s kidding.”

“No I’m not.  What type of person would I be if everyone knew I was a punching bag for a pack of mafia brats?”

“You weren't much of a punching bag 'cause there's not much to you, you're profiling and we’re not mafia.” Tommy smiled.  This was an ongoing thing with
them
.  Yeah they were Italian and their father was from New Jersey.  Nick and Mae had relocated west before Pete had been born.

“No, Nick was.”  Em tried to sound dead serious.

“Don’t listen to her, Mike.  He worked loading trucks.”  Tommy teased.

“Yeah; like those union guys aren’t mafia.  Good going Thomas Andrew.”

“What’s with the long name shit.  I’ve been Tommy to you since you were twelve.” Tommy whined.

“Pete cover your ears.  Tommy, buddy, you’ve always been my favorite...”  They all started laughing.  They had another 10 minutes of boring highway to get to the cemetery.  They’d be meeting with the family graveside and afterwards.  No point in going to the service.  It wasn’t for them and they were using the flights from New Mexico and Arizona as an excuse.

“Mike, your mom used to come over on the weekends and her and my sisters would terrorize not only us but
entire neighborhoods
.”

“He’s got that backwards.  I never terrorized anyone, and hide that ski mask under the seat, baby.  I don’t want these criminals to get any ideas about knocking over a gas station or convenience store.”  Mike was cracking up.  Em used laughter to defuse tension and was being completely ridiculous.  She’d cried her eyes out after returning from the hospital.  He knew, better than most and more than some, what a soft heart she had.  Em was always a soft touch.  Mike had a million uncles, aunts and cousins.  But it seemed somehow none of them were blood relatives.  She joked that all the fun ones were steps, in-laws or out-laws.  Mike turned questioning eyes to the tall dark man in the back seat.  Tommy was older than his mom but looked younger somehow.  Pete too.  They were all within a few years of each other age wise.  Tommy had a really interesting tattoo on his wrist, which was mostly covered by a watch.

“Ok, kiddo, have Tommy explain it.  From his point of view.”

“Uncle Tommy?”

“Your grandma’s brother Joe and my mother got married.  She’d been married twice before.  Pete and I came from her marriage to Nick Rizzoli and then she married Connor O’Bryan and had Ryan and Stacy.  When she married your Uncle Joe he had four kids, Danny, Denny, David and Debbie from his previous marriages and that gave them eight together.”

“But they never had kids together like Aunt Lavendar.  Lav had two and Gary had two and then they had two together.”

“I think I need my spreadsheet.”  The miniature 'computer-geek-in-progress' liked things in black and white.  "How does Aunt Toni fit into this?"

"Toni was Nick's daughter from his second marriage.  Making her Pete and my half-sister."  Tommy sighed.  "I’d like a copy of that spreadsheet."

“It’s still so complicated.  Remember Mom, when we tried to explain it to my teacher.  He just said to forget your mother’s side and only do your father’s.”  Oops, this wasn't the time or place to go into that.  Mike had done a simplified version of her family tree, as Mike had never known or met his father.  She never spoke of him.  “Why did people have such big families?”

“Too much f…” her hand was across Pete's mouth before he could finish, like only a mother’s could.

“”You’re taking your life in your hands if you finish
that
sentence buddy.”

“Fun.”  Tommy laughed.  “No video games or cable TV.”

“Good save.”  Pete bit her hand playfully.  There looked like there were a hundred cars in the small cemetery.  Somehow she parked between a stretch limo and a minivan.

“Holy SHIT is that Debbie?  My god I haven’t seen her since that trip to the river?”

“Before God was a boy.”  Mike snickered. 

“Don’t be a snot nose kid or I’ll lock you in the trunk.  Go find grandma.”  Mike and Tommy jumped out as soon as she killed the engine.  Pete opened the door then leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“Thanks Em.  Thanks for picking us up.”

“Any time Pete.  You know that.”

“Love you Em.”

“Back at you.”  Em watched as the two men and the boy were absorbed into the crowd of relatives standing in the shade and under a canopy as the sun dipped below the far hills.  It was still like a furnace blast when the doors had opened.  She put her head on the steering wheel and tapped her forehead a couple of times on it to remind herself she was there for her mother, her mother’s dead brother and the family; not for Mae.  Mae and her had said their good-byes.  She was gnawing on her lip and just raising her head when she was yanked physically from the car and pulled into a bone-crushing hug by huge man. 

“DAMN IT Ty!  You’re breaking my ribs!”  He planted kisses on both her cheeks and let her slip to the ground after receiving a kiss in return.  “How the hell are you kid?”

“Terrific!  Is that Connor over there?”

“Of course!”  She tried looking over his shoulder and around him for Tommy and Pete.  “Did they get warned?”

“Ryan snagged them and hauled them off the other direction.”

“Close one.”  She snickered and took Tyler’s arm.

“Mike’s a monster.”  He kissed the top of her head.  Emily Connally wasn’t especially tall, even for this group.  She only came somewhere between Ty's waist and shoulder.  100 pounds of wild cat, a bit of leprechaun and "beach chick," shaken not stirred.  She was somewhere in her mid-thirties but looked like she was in her twenties at first glance.  He saw the stress and lack of sleep in her face.  He knew that face.  “What’d you feeding that runt?  He was the smallest little son of a…”

“Watch it or I’ll sick the Rizzolis on you.”

“They’re not Mafia.”

“Don’t tell them that.”

“You kill me Em.”  Ty squeezed her shoulders as they continued to walk.

“Well I love the shit out of you Ty.  Give us another kiss and find Toni for me, she owes me $10 'cause she was stupid enough to bet me Connor wouldn’t show.”

“No kidding!”  Ty roared out a laugh drawing attention to the two of them and like a wave they were enveloped into the masses.

“I thought I’d find you here.”  Pete said from next to the tree he had been leaning on about five yards from the graveside.  Em had been walking and wanted to stay out of the lights of the reception hall at the far side of the cemetery.  She had walked along the crisscrossing roads for probably half an hour, before circling back.  What was wonderful about this cemetery, if there was such a sick thing to think about, was that there were a lot of large trees, it wasn’t just flat, open nothingness.

“Oh shut up wise guy.  You have a bottle?”

“Of course.”  Pete put his arm over Em’s shoulder and they walked back to his mother’s grave.  He pulled out a couple of small airline whisky bottles. 

“Where’s…”

“Right here.” Tommy interrupted.  He patted her shoulder as Ryan, Stacy, Toni, and Tyler appeared. 

“Mike's with your mom.”  Toni assured her.

“Thanks.”  Em snatched one of the bottles out of Pete’s hand and broke the seal.  “To Mae.  The most precious person I’ve had the pleasure to have known and loved.” She took a tiny sip and poured a drop on the broken sod covering the gravesite.  The headstone wouldn’t be there for days, possibly weeks.  Em knew she wouldn’t be back, most likely.  Cemeteries weren’t her thing, but she hadn't missed a funeral yet.  There had been that time they'd rigged the dummy in the tree trying to scare the guys… another life, another time…

“To my mother.  The most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.” Pete took a tiny sip of the opened bottle and repeated what Em had done and dribbled a drip on the grave.

“Whimps!”  Came a voice from behind them.  Em whipped around and then leapt at the man approaching, giving him a hug and grabbing the bottle out of his hand.

“My HERO!”  She took a big gulp, the fire burned to her toes and she held her breath she wasn’t going to show these kids that she couldn’t drink.  Josh swung her around, put her down then hugged and kissed Stacy, when he reached out for Ryan and he got his arm slapped.

“Weirdo.”  Ryan laughed.   Ryan took the bottle from Em and held it aloft.  “To my dearest mother, friend and co-conspirator.  I’ll miss you more than I can say.  You’ll be in my heart always.”

“OH l
like
that one.”  Em hugged Ryan.  “Tommy you’re up.” He took a belt and poured a little on the grave, repeating the ritual. 

“To our mother, aunt, and friend.  We’ll miss you and remember you every day of our lives.”

“Who the hell started this anyway?”  Toni asked in a conspicuously loud whisper.

“We did when Uncle AJ died in 95.”  Josh told her "You wouldn't have gone to that one, it wouldn't have been right to not drink to the old cuss."

“How many funerals does this make?”

“Ten.  And I’ve had to start over in AA after each one.”  Em had her arms around the tall man.

“Stop it Em.”  Stacy took the small bottle from her half-brother and took a cap full and dribbled it on the grave.  “To the bravest, most compassionate, wonderful mother in the whole world.”  She drank a cap full and handed the bottle to Ty.  It was empty and he put it in his pocket and took the large bottle from Toni.

“Shit he’s wasted already.”  Josh tried to grab the bottle and Ty just smiled.

"Wait your turn son.  I’m up.  God damn it Mae you left us too soon and we’re going to miss the shit out of you.”  Ty played drunk more often than not, you could never really tell with him sometimes.

“That’s poetry Ty.”  Josh chimed in, took the bottle from Ty, took a swig then handed it to Toni. 

“To the bravest, strongest person I’ve had the pleasure to have known.  We’ll miss you Mae.  Go to God.”  Toni took a drink and poured a dollop and Pete hugged her.  “Batter up bubba.”  Toni handed the bottle off to Josh.

“Mae, you’ve always been my special lady and I’m not forgetting the $10 bucks you lost to me in 2000.  I plan on collecting the next time I see you.”  Josh finished up.  Em’s laugh rolled through the dark, then they were all laughing.

“What the hell are you idiots doing out here?”  They turned and Connor O’Bryan came striding up and stood next to his son and daughter, Ryan and Stacy.  Ty, Em, and Josh stepped between him and Pete and Tommy.  “Fuckin' waste of good whisky!”

“Toasts to her spirit you old shithead.”  Josh shoved the bottle at him.  Connor looked at the anxious faces around him then at the faces of the two men standing behind the wall of people. 

“Damn it kid can’t you let it go.  I didn’t mean to break your fucking nose.  I was protestin’ being thrown out of the bar and just swung my fist.”

“Forgive and forget.”  Ty took the bottle away from Connor and took another drink. 

“Which three of you are going to drag Ty out of here when he passes out?”  Em shot a look that would have frozen an Eskimo at Tommy and Pete.  Pete just shrugged and shook his head.  He then went up to Connor and shook his hand.  Tommy followed and they handed the bottle back to Connor. 

“To my beautiful Mae.  God love ya, lass.  The rest of us surely did.”

“Ah Dah.”  Stacy hugged and kissed her father on both cheeks.  She tasted the salt from his tears and they all gathered around him and hugged him.  “Let’s get back to the hall before everyone ends up out here and we run out of whisky.”  They started back for the far side of the cemetery.  Em and Josh hung back.

“Thanks champ.”  She kissed him on the cheek.  “You’re the best.”

“Shut up you tramp or I’ll have to kill you.”

“Mom would never forgive you.” She patted his cheek and they laughed then joined the others. 

Mike watched them as they returned.  He knew his mother’s little rituals.  She did something for every occasion.  New Years it was burning the resolution list.  Easter was the money in the plastic Easter eggs.  At funerals it was a toast to the dearly departed, punch, wine, this time was probably tequila or whisky.  They’d made trips to Mexico with Aunt Mae and Uncle Joe, before he died.  With new babies it was a rainbow of balloons and a teddy bear in some unique outfit that would mean something to the parents.  At weddings it was the angel pins that would mysteriously appear on the bride and groom some time during the ceremony or the reception.  He was only a kid when he was recruited to pin the angel on the back of Uncle Josh’s jacket.  It wasn’t until Josh sat down and the pin stuck him that he realized he was nailed.  Immediately Josh had started checking Aunt Carole out and found where Ty had pinned it on her train.  It was funny.  He figured if they never met another person in the world they’d know more than enough just with family. 

Then there was the troll doll.  She took the damn thing everywhere and took pictures of it.  She printed them and wrote something with every picture in the albums she kept in the bookshelf.  Even if nothing happened or they didn't go anywhere she'd take a picture of it in paperwork or on the computer keyboard or sunning in the yard on its own beach towel.  She said she was marking time.  She'd had to replace the troll several times.  This time she had a picture of him standing on a headstone looking the other way.

Aunt Mae had asked for mom and she had gone two weeks ago.  He had stayed the night with Josh and Carole and their two kids.  The boys were five and seven and even though they were kids, and it wasn’t
cool,
they were fun, plus there were the dogs.  Two huge German shepherds that you could almost ride.  They’d be going home the next day.  After mom was sure she was sober.  He'd be starting school soon and she’d go back to work and he wouldn’t see the cousins or uncles or aunties all together like this until the next wedding or funeral.

“What the hell are you talking about?”  Em was trying to focus, she must be more wasted that she thought.

“A reunion.”  Ty, as usual, wasn’t as drunk as he appeared.  So she figured it must be her.  “Do I need to spell it out??  R E U…”

“Oh shut up.  I know how to spell it."  Someone spelled IT from behind her and making several of them laugh.  "I want to know when, where?”

“Vegas, October or November.”

“Who have you talked to?”  Pete asked and poured himself and Conner two more fingers of whisky.  They eyed each other then slammed them back in unison.  Pete repeated the process never looking at the others at the table only Connor.

“No one.  I was going to talk to you," he indicated everyone at the table with a sweep of his hand, "then bring it up to the aunts.”

“I like it.”  Toni chimed in.  “It’s central and we don’t have to wait for someone to get stupid or dead to see everyone.  We can try for some of the extended family.”

“You just equate reunion with party."  Tommy patted her back.  "Married isn’t
always
stupid.”  Toni turned to her brother and opened her almond shaped eyes wide and blinked at him.  He was stupid.  Especially to stay married.

“The family doesn’t have the best of track records.”  Em laughed.  “Of course there are a few hold outs.”  She shoved her cup toward Pete and Connor.  They looked at her, and decided she was out of her mind.  Then Pete shrugged and poured a round for the three of them.  They slammed them back.  Ryan returned from the buffet table and looked at Pete and his father.  Both were three sheets to the wind.

“Damn it Dah!  Pete!  Stop feeding him booze.  Dah!”  Ryan grabbed his father’s face in both hands and looked at him.  He slapped his cheeks lightly.  “Dah, you’re done for the night.”

“We’re going dumpster racing at nine.  Wanna drive?”

“Shut up Josh.”

“I’ve bean drivin’ long before your snotty arses were borned.”  Connor slurred.  He tilted back in his chair and caught himself on the edge of the table and rocked back and forth like that entertaining himself. 

“Oh god someone get his distributor wire.”  Em signaled Mike to get Uncle Connor’s keys and give them to Uncle Ryan.  "Come to think of it…  Here are mine.  Pete & Tommy didn’t drive.  Get Uncle Josh, Uncle Ty and Aunt Toni’s too.”  She gave her son a big smacking kiss on the cheek.  Mike set off around the table.  Most handed him their keys.

“Who are you young man?”  Uncle Connor fixed his eyes on Mike.  “You can’t be that bitch Emily’s little bast…”  Stacy kicked out and her father's chair went over.  He went flat on his back laughing his arse off.

“That would be
bastard
Uncle Connor.”  Mike looked down at him. Mike held up his hand with Connor's keys and tossed them to Ryan.  He then helped Connor to his feet.  Pete started laughing and Ty stuck his toe under the front of Pete's chair to knock him backwards, but Pete caught the table and shook a finger at Ty.

“I didn’t insult the lady or the kid.”  Pete wagged his finger.  “I love them both.  Ryan, Stacy get this drunken bastard out of here before he starts getting nasty.”

“Can drive me own fuckin' vehicle.”  Connor started to get up and Ryan shook his father's keys over his head.  “How the bloomin’ hell did you get those?”

“A little Mouse gave them to me Dah.  Apologize to Em and we’ll get you poured into bed.”

“Damn it Ryan just get him the hell out of here.”  Tommy slapped his half-brother on the back.  “The old fool’s got Em on the verge of tears.”

“I’m not crying, I'm drunk you idiot.  There’s nothing that bloody fool can say to me that he hasn’t said before and he won’t say again.”  She kissed Mike and sat him on her lap.  Mike was so big now you could barely see her.  Em wrapped her arms around him and whispered something to her son.  He started laughing and kissed his mom then went back to visit with his grandmother and great aunts.

“Josh, give me a hand.  Ty would probably stick him in the dumpster rather than the car at this point.”

“There’s a blue dumpster right…”

“Stop Ty.”  Em put a hand on his arm.  “Reunion.  Let’s do it and get the aunties on it.  They’ll love putting together something like that.  As long as we do most of the work.”

“Worse than the witches in Mac Beth.”  Tommy laughed.  “Who are we staying with this time?”

“Connor.”  Stacy, Em, Ty and Toni answered and they all laughed.