“You lost weight?” I don’t have time to answer. “She’s wasting away.” Her eyes shift to my father. “Right, honey?”
“Your mom is right, baby girl,” Daddy says. “Is Riley working you too hard? Maybe you’re losing weight because of dehydration. It’s pretty hot down there.”
“Stop it, you two. Before I know it, Mom will have a feast ready and Nonna Ludovica will come rushing in with some extra food. I eat well, and no, Riley isn’t working me too hard. And it’s no hotter there than it is up here in the summer. Maybe I lost a little weight because of my new lifestyle. I’m sure it has to do with the fresh air.”And because Rhett has been keeping me quite busy.
“Mmm.” They hum at the same time, nodding in perfect synchronization.
Drama averted.
“What are you doing here so early?” Mom frowns. “I thought you were going to pop by the restaurant to work the lunch rush.”
I decided to approach this like an army sergeant. My photo shoot with Rhett is tomorrow, which means I’m free all day today. After a lot of thought, I feel broaching the subject of, ‘Guess who’s coming to dinner?’ is easier in the intimacy of our home than at the restaurant.
“I figured we could spend some time together and head to the restaurant a little later,” I say. “I stopped by Hot Bagels and got us a dozen freshly baked Jewish bagels, lox, dill cream cheese, and all the trimmings.”
My brothers have paired up to manage the restaurants, but my parents and both nonnas drop by the one in the Financial District to help out with the lunch rush because it’s usually ridiculously busy there.
“It’s only going to be you and Mom,” my father says. “I have to run. There was a cancellation and I was able to get a booking to see the doctor.”
Doctor?“What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, baby girl.”
I shoot him a dubious side gaze.
“You know how it is when you work standing all day and you keep adding candles on your birthday cake.”
“Your knee?”
He nods. “It’s acting up again. I have an eight forty-five appointment, so I need to run.”
He puts my mind at ease.
“I should be back within an hour and a half.”
“I’ll be here.”
“We’ll catch up when I return.” He kisses me on the cheek.
“Sounds good. See you soon, Daddy.”
“You won’t even have time to miss me.” He smiles. He turns to Mom. “I’ll see you later, sweetheart.” He kisses her on the lips.
With that, he grabs his keys and he’s out the door.
“Come into the kitchen,” Mom says, pulling me forward. “You have to explain to me––to my face––why you couldn’t sleep at your own parents’ house and decided to sleep in a hotel bed where eight million people have slept before.”
Here we go.
“You have no idea how well the sheets were washed. Are they even bleached? At least here, you know I value supreme cleanliness?—”
“Mom, let’s have breakfast first.”
She arches a brow and studies me for a long beat.
I offer a warm smile.
She nods. “Fair enough.”
