When we’re all seated around the table, we begin passing the food around family style, scooping hearty helpings of Italian entrees onto our plates.
Everyone is oddly quiet. The only sounds are from the soft music playing over the sound system and the clinking of dishes.
“So, Raina.” Sully breaks the silence a few bites into his meal. “Any travel plans coming up?”
“Um, no?” That was random, even for him. “Why do you ask?”
He looks down at his watch, then clears his throat. “Just curious.”
“Have you guys thought of any more baby names?” Cecilia asks Vinnie and Sly from across the table in an obvious, and appreciated, attempt to take the attention off me. But evenherquestion feels off. She knows the answer—we just talked about it last night. Unless something’s changed in less than twenty-four hours.
What is going on? The vibe feels weird tonight, and I can’t figure out if it’s because ofsomeone’sabsence, or because clearly no one wants to bring him up in front of me.
“We have a few in mind.” Sly brings Vinnie’s hand up to kiss. “But we haven’t settled on anything yet. We were considering keeping it a secret until her birth.”
“You’re going to make us wait?” I complain, sending a pointed look at my best friend before I crack a smile and put a heaping pile of Caesar salad onto my plate. “That’s not what you said at dinner last night! You said the second you two narrowed it down, we’d get to know.”
“Sly wants to keep it a secret, I don’t!” Vinnie laughs, nudging him in the arm. “Iwant to refer to her by her name the second we decide.”
“What if you pop that baby out and she doesn’t look anything like her name?” Sully raises his eyebrows practically to his hairline, then takes a bite of pasta.
“That actually happened to my cousin,” Nixon says nonchalantly, adding some butter to his bread. “Had a baby name all picked out and even got shit embroidered with it. Then she had him and immediately changed his name. Our grandma waspissed.” He chuckles at the memory.
“I suppose that could happen.” Vinnie scrunches her nose. “But I doubt it would. Once I pick something definitive, like a name, it’s set. I’m confident when we decide, it’ll be the one she’s meant to have.”
“All I’m saying is don’t expect new baby blankets if you pull a bait and switch.” Nixon grins, then returns to eating his chicken parmesan.
“Noted, amico.” Sly nods, then I notice him glance at his watch, too.
Another semi-awkward silence falls over the table, and for a few moments, we all just eat, but finally I can’t take it anymore.The conversation has been surface-level and flat all evening, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m missing something.
I feel like an outsider looking in.
“Okay, what is going on?” I dab at my mouth with the napkin, then toss it onto the table next to my plate. “Everyone’s acting super weird, and obviously Luciano isn’t here, so does someone want to cue me in on what’s going on? Or are you going to make me pry it out of all of you?”
One by one, my friends look at each other, communicating amongst themselves without a single spoken word.
And it just adds to my frustration.
“Luciano is running late,” Sully blurts, tossing his own napkin down on the table. “My jet got delayed.”
My head whips in his direction. “Okay? Good for him—he went somewhere. What does it have to do with the elephant in the room here? Why are you all acting like I might crumble at any second?”
But as I say that, inwardly I do. My mind spirals—where would he have taken Sully’s jet to? I didn’t peg him as a man who would run away from his problems. Then again, I didn’t think he would avoid calling me either. Could he be with another woman? Is that why they’re all acting strangely toward me?
Luciano is full of surprises lately, and I can’t say they’re good ones.
Sully sighs dramatically and rubs the back of his neck. “We’re not supposed to say.”
My heart doesn’t just fall to my stomach, it plummets at the speed of a crashing comet.
Nixon jabs his elbow into Sully’s arm. “You are literally the worst at keeping secrets.”
“I thought we established there are no secrets among friends,” Enzo mocks under his breath.
“Well, what am I supposed to do? She’s right, this is awkward as fuck.” Sully shrugs. “She’s going to find out soon, anyway.”
“Find what out?” I grit, pushing back tears. It feels like my worst fears are coming true, but logically I know Luciano isn’t that type of man. I look at Vinny expectantly, knowing she’ll tell me the truth, even if it hurts. “Where’s your brother?”
