Piotr’s question knocks me back, “You coming to Zosia’s birthday tomorrow?”
My fork stops mid-air. “What?”
He blinks. “Please tell me you didn’t forget.”
“No, I didn’t forget,” I lie, already pulling out my phone. Sure enough, there it is: a text from Dominik from three days ago.
please come for Zosia’s birthday. whatever is between us she would like her auntie there
Guilt flares. “Of course I’ll be there,” I say quickly.
“Good,” Piotr says. “Mama and Tata offered to host this year. Bigger space, easier with the whole neighborhood coming. You know how it gets.”
I nod, trying to smile. “Perfect, the more chaos the better.”
Except I already know who’s going to need warning. I pull my phone back out under the table and text Rafe.
Something came up. Can’t meet up until later on Saturday.
The reply comes almost instantly.
what happened?
everything okay?
Zosia’s birthday party, I almost forgot. They’ve all asked and I can’t let her down.
why don’t I join you?
I stare at the message, panic rising. Absolutely not. He’d be eaten alive by the neighborhood gossip before the cake’s even cut. Dominik would be there and on top of it all, meeting my parents? He didn't even hesitate, maybe he's had a brain injury since the last time I saw him. This will be a total mess, there's no way. Across the table, Piotr’s watching me, smirking.
“What are you up to?” he asks. “You've got that same face. The one you had when you hid your skinny boyfriend in my closet. Best deal I ever made, a whole month of doing my laundry." He laughs but I ignore him, pretending he's hallucinating, my face a picture of calm denial. Then he leans in, and tilts his chin towards me. "Come on, siostra. Who are you texting?"
I freeze. “What? Piotr! No one.”
“Uh-huh.” He leans closer, stage-whispering to the table. “Kasia’s got a secret, so easy to read.”
Mama immediately turns. “What secret? What face?”
“Nothing!” I protest, standing so fast the chair legs squeal. I lean over the table and swat Piotr’s arm. “Shut up before I go spilling allyourteenage secrets.” He chuckles, dodging me easily.
When he settles back once I’ve stopped my onslaught, he grins. “You’rehidingsomething.”
I drop back into my seat with a sigh, realizing there’s no escape. “Fine. It’s Rafe.Obelus. He's here, in Seattle. We've been…dating. He wanted to go out tomorrow, and I told him about the birthday. Now he wants to come.”
The room erupts.
“Obelus?! Dating?!” Natalia squeals. “He wants to come to our house?”
“Nasz dom?! (Our home?!)”Mama gasps, crossing herself. “The singer man? With all that metal in his face?”
Tata looks bewildered. “Is it safe for the children? Zosia might get confused! He can't show up in all that paint and face covering, Kasia.”
“Oh. My. God,” I mutter.
Mama’s already fretting. “But what will he eat? Does he eat normal food? Cabbage?Bigos?”
Natalia’s halfway to the hallway already. “I need to plan my outfit. Hair mask, serum, lashes.”
