She combined the relish tray and the vegetable tray and then spent several minutes chasing, trapping, washing, and eating the green olives and grape tomatoes that rolled across the counter and bounced on the floor. It’s a wonder she hadn’t dropped everything as she waited for what would happen next. Her phone had been eerily quiet all day without the expected rampage from her mom and dad, and Rocky hadn’t given any indication of how his news was received. He kept assuring her his parents were laid-back and easygoing and had enough faith in him to easily accept whatever he’d done. She didn’t even have a word for what to expect from her parents. She didn’t know.
The distant ring of the doorbell sang over the splash of water in the sink and seeped into her consciousness. She twisted the dishtowel and waited as a heavy knock quickly followed.
She skidded to a stop and stretched to look through the peep hole.
Rocky’s parents!
She recognized them from pictures in his house. His mother’s shoulder-length bob, his father’s large frame, shaggy black hair and neatly trimmed goatee... Their visit wasn’t completely unexpected, but it was scarier than she imagined.
A Scripture popped into her head.
Be strong and courageous...
“Sure, Lord, why not?” She mumbled to herself as she released the deadbolt. “How bad could it be? There are many worse things than marrying a good man who is crazy about me. His parents might hate me, but, hey...”
“Hi,” she said and smiled as big as was possible for the size of her cheeks.
The man straightened, looked her up and down, and then put his hands on his hips. “What the heck’s going on here?”
“Nick!” The woman placed her hand on his arm.
Gia stepped back, suddenly aware of her bare feet as she stood tall and tried to look confident. “Come in. Rocky should be here any minute.”
The woman made her way to the couch and tossed her sunglasses and purse aside as she straightened her brightly patterned blouse over her white capris and dropped into the cushions. Her husband remained standing and hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans.
“Have a seat, Nick,” the woman told him. “I’m sure we’ll all have a very informative talk when Rock gets here.”
Gia stood with her hands clasped in front of her, carefully concealing her ring finger.
Rocky’s mom was an attractive woman with a sweet round face. Straight, light brown hair gently framed her plump cheeks, with one shock of gray making a dramatic statement down one side.
“I’m Bev,” she said and smiled. “And this is Nick.” Her large silver bangles clanked together as she gestured toward her husband and then patted the couch. “Come and sit,” she said again.
His gaze narrowed and his eyes twinkled a bit as he continued to study her. It was as if he’d backed away from surprise and irritation and settled instead on curiosity. “I’d rather stand,” he said. “Been sitting all day.”
“Suit yourself.”
“I’m Gia.” She considered offering her hand, but realized it would be beyond awkward if they refused it. “Can I get you a bottle of water or something?”
“No, thank you,” Bev replied at the end of a breathy sigh.
Nick simply shook his head and looked down at the tips of his snakeskin boots.
“If you’ll excuse me a minute, I have rolls in the oven. I haven’t heard the timer. I better check.”
“That timer doesn’t work,” Bev said. “I mean, it works, but it isn’t loud. You have to be standing right beside it to hear it and then what’s the point?”
Gia smiled and slipped into the kitchen. Sure enough, the buzzer was crowing like a weak and wounded rooster.
Her guests mumbled in the next room. She heard the frantic tone of the voices, but not the words. Mercifully, she also heard Rocky’s key in the lock.
“Gia,” he called out, “you should really keep this door locked when you’re here alo—”
She dropped the baking sheet on the counter and raced to the living area with her oven mitt still on.
He’d clearly come to a stop while untucking and unbuttoning his sweaty white dress shirt. The tie had already come off—probably hours ago—and was hanging off the back of his chair. “Mom. Dad.” He started to re-button. “I didn’t notice your car.”
Bev rushed to hug him. “Relax, honey. Go ahead and get a fresh shirt. It’s miserably hot.”
“I’ll get you one,” Gia offered and then nearly bit through the inside of her lip. She didn’t know where to find one but walked toward his room as if she did.
“Grab that beige polo on the closet floor,” he said. “It’s clean.”
“The car is on the other side of the cul-de-sac,” Bev continued. “Your dad was so distracted he missed the driveway.”
“I didn’t miss the driveway. There was some kid out there bouncing a basketball off the side of the neighbor’s house. Didn’t want him to dent the car. Anyway, good to see you, Rock. Can you please tell us what the heck’s goin’ on?”
“Nick!” His mother went back to the couch.
Gia returned with the shirt.
“Thanks,” he said and pulled it over his head. “I don’t need the oven mitt.”
He winked and she wanted to punch him in his granite bicep. How dare he be enjoying this.
She ripped the glove off her hand and took his shirt. “I’ll put this in the laundry.” Again, she had no idea where he piled his dirty clothes so she dropped it on top of the washer when she went to return the oven mitt.
“Something smells good,” Rocky called after her.
“It’s nothing fancy. It’s store-bought rolls to go with the leftovers.”
“Still smells good.” He took her hand when she returned and nudged her toward the recliner.
Nick finally sat down by Bev—and the four of them stared at each other for about thirty seconds before Gia squeezed Rocky’s hand.
“Mom, Dad, this is my wife, Giavanna. She prefers to be called Gia. Gia, this is my mom, Bev, and my dad, Nick.”
“That much we already know,” his dad said and leaned forward. “What we don’t know is how and when all this happened. When I saw you two weeks ago, Rock, you never mentioned you had a girlfriend. Now you have a wife?”
Rocky opened his mouth, but his mother didn’t let him get one word out.
“Where did you two meet? How long have you known each other? You couldn’t have told somebody you wanted to get married? As your parents, it would have been nice to be involved.”
Gia’s stomach did a sickly flop. They should have been involved. They’d never accept her now, especially being three strikes in the hole for robbing them of their son’s wedding.
She tried to squeak out an apology but nothing happened.
“Gia and I met at that summer camp where I was asked to speak,” Rocky explained. “She worked there. We went out. One thing led to another and there was no reason to wait. We did the impulsive and romantic thing and eloped.”
She’d have to compliment her clever husband later. Pretty crafty how he chose words that were completely true and fairytale-like while leaving out the real ugliness they were trying to quash.
“What do you mean
eloped
? You didn’t run off to Vegas. You told your dad your friend Max’s uncle married you.”
“He did. He’s a retired judge.”
Nick bristled and clenched his fists. “You should have been married in the church, Rock. This family is Greek Orthodox. You are Greek Orthodox.”
“With respect, Dad, I am not. And again, with respect, you have not been on the inside of a church since your own wedding and a few funerals over the years. I know mom converted to keep the peace, but I’ve never really been a part of that church.”
“Oh, enough about the Greek church,” his mother said. “It’s the whole idea of the thing we’ve missed. No celebration, no family photos... I didn’t get to be mother of the groom.”
Her cool gaze settled on Gia.
“Whoa, that was my decision, mom. Gia’s parents didn’t know either, so I decided if it couldn’t be all parents it would be none at all.”
“I see,” Bev said with a note of sarcasm. “You wanted to be fair. Who actually did get to come to my son’s wedding?”
“My band from church was there. We were expecting only Max, but the rest of the band came. They brought snacks and a cake and there are pictures, but honestly, mom, we didn’t plan any of that.”
“I see,” she said again. “Friends but no family.”
Gia prepared to get up and hold the door. Now that his parents were thoroughly insulted, hurt, angry, and totally disgusted with them both—especially her—she expected them to leave in a huff. She was amazed when they didn’t move. Her parents always left in the middle. Nothing was ever resolved.
“Mom, Dad, I’m sorry about the wedding, but I’m not sorry about getting married. There’s no reason we can’t still have a family reception or something. Happens all the time. Couples save money on weddings and have a big party instead. Go nuts. Do whatever you want, we’ll be there.”
To Gia’s surprise, Bev grabbed her purse and pulled out a planner. She turned a page or two and conferred with her husband. She took the pen from its slot in the cover and scribbled a few notes.
“Fine,” she said. “The Fourth of July is right around the corner. We’ll do it then. We already have an annual cookout. We’ll turn it into a wedding reception. I’ll do a quick updated invitation. I’m going to need one of the photos as soon as possible.”
“Of course, Mrs. Lionakis,” Gia said. “I’ll check with our friend Candi and e-mail it to you tonight.”
“Call me Bev.” She put the book back in her bag.
Nick scrubbed his hands across his jeans. “You know, Rock,” he said and pinned them both with a probing gaze, “your mother and I have talked about this all day and, after seeing you together, we know there’s something else going on here. Don’t know what it is, but we’ll figure it out eventually. I hope you know what you’re doing. Marriage is serious business.” He paused and then turned his inquisitive brown stare straight to Gia. “And you haven’t said much.”
“I’m sorry, sir. I meant no disrespect. I assumed you wanted to hear from your son.”
“Call me Nick.”
“Why did you
marry
our son?” Bev asked. “I mean, we know what a catch he is, but it’s not like you’re living in a mansion here, and I don’t think Rocky has won the Powerball Jackpot—”
“Mom! Geeze, what are you suggesting?” He turned to Gia. “You don’t have to answer that. My mom’s being uncharacteristically tacky. And Mom, if you know what a great catch I am, why is that a question?”
Bev lifted her hands to complete an exaggerated shrug. She finished by glancing at Gia’s left hand. “It’s a question. I’m curious.”
But Bev’s attempt at rattling her wasn’t convincing. There was no way this woman was a meanie by nature.
“I’ll answer,” Gia said. “Let me get something from the kitchen first.” She retrieved the newspaper clipping from under a magnet on the refrigerator door and returned to her seat. “There are many reasons I married Rocky, but I’ll share this one that’s a very special memory to me. We were on a date at a festival. Everyone was leaving but Rocky was giving me a ride so we headed down a different street that was less crowded. We thought we were alone, but this guy with a camera came out of nowhere and started snapping pictures without our permission. The very first thing that happened—before I could even start a rant about how our privacy had been invaded—was what Rocky did. He instinctively wrapped his arm around me and pulled me toward him as if to protect me. That guy was basically harmless, but it was dark and we didn’t know that at first. He could have just as easily had a gun and planned to rob us, but it didn’t matter. Your son was prepared to do battle. I felt safe, and that’s a very big deal to me because I haven’t felt very protected by the men in my life. And that includes my father.” She passed the clipping to his parents. “So, like I said, I could give you a lot of reasons. But that is the night I knew he was something special. That is the night I... Well, I knew.”
Bev teared up as she passed the paper along to Nick.
He might have been a little emotional, too.
Rocky seemed a bit moved himself as he took her hand and brought it to his lips for a passing kiss.
“You can understand why we’re so concerned,” Bev said. “This happened very fast. All we want is Rocky’s happiness.”
“We’re happy,” Rocky said. “But there is another part to this story.”
“I knew it,” his dad said. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. It’s good news, but it’s for immediate family only, understand? No blabbing about this, especially at the party. Not yet.”
“Oh, Rocky, please,” Bev said. “Are you trying to send my heart into arrhythmia?”
“Out with it, son.”
“Gia and I are expecting a baby around the middle of January. That’s the other reason we moved so fast. I don’t care what people think, but it was the right thing to do to get married as soon as possible. So there you have it.”
Bev clutched her chest.
Nick clutched his wife.
Otherwise, they appeared simply stone-cold stupefied.
“You OK, Mom?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “How long did you say you’ve known each other?”
“A while,” Rocky said.
Gia nodded in agreement. It was not a lie. Any period of time could be perceived as a while.
His dad cleared his throat and rested his fist against his mouth for a moment as if deep in thought. “You’re forgetting,” he finally said, “we know the details of your SCI, Rock. We know fatherhood is not likely to happen for you. Even with lengthy medical intervention the odds are against you.”
“Then that makes us more blessed than most,” he answered. “And I haven’t forgotten anything, Dad. I remember better than anyone what’s going on with my body. The details are between me and Gia anyway. This is my wife,” he said and pointed her way. “And that is my baby—your grandbaby. I think we should eat now. We have leftovers from yesterday and it would be great if you’d join us.”
Bev stood. After a couple wobbly steps, she flung her arms around Rocky. “Congratulations, honey,” she said and started to cry. “You’ll make a wonderful father, but I need a minute to get used to the idea.”
Gia got up and accepted Bev’s hug. Nick followed with his own congratulations. It was awkward, but sincere. Rocky was right again. Despite his parents’ surprise and apprehension, they seemed to genuinely accept her and trust his judgment—even if they both knew he’d married a woman who was carrying another man’s child.