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“I was lucky and had good friends. But you’re right, they don’t replace my loss,” Roger said. Then he turned to Gia and covered her hand with his. “She’s lucky to have you guys.”
Claudia said, “No. We’re the lucky ones. Gia is so . . . different from us. We’ve always been laid back. Change never was something we were good at. But Gia has always embraced it. If there was a challenge, she faced it head-on. That’s why, when she decided to move to Boston, we knew she’d do okay. And now with you in her life, we don’t have to worry so much. She’s not alone.” Claudia reached over and patted his hand and added, “Andrew and I are going to celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary next month. It seems like just yesterday.”
Andrew leaned over and kissed Claudia. “I’d do it all over again.” But her father always had to end things with a joke. “But maybe I’d have sent you to cooking classes first.”
Claudia slapped him playfully. “Andrew it wasn’t my cooking, it was your taste buds, and you know it.”
“That’s true. After a year of marriage, I didn’t have any left.”
Claudia shook her head. “Roger, don’t listen to my husband. He doesn’t have a serious bone in his body.”
“I sure as hell do. Mess with my pickup truck and all hell breaks loose.”
Roger laughed. “I hear you. Don’t come between a man and his truck.”
“I knew I’d like you, young man,” Andrew said.
Gia sat back, and for the first time in more years than she could remember, this house felt like home again. Was it the fact that her father had almost died and the petty little differences didn’t matter any longer? Or had she changed enough that she found a way to appreciate not just where her future was heading, but her past as well. As she looked at her parents, she realized, her strength had come from them. And my wit from my Dad.
Her phone rang and Gia saw it was Allyson. She somehow had forgotten all about the family reunion. “Hello, Allyson.”
“Hi. I know I said I’d let you sleep in, but I spoke to the others last night, and no one could wait. We want to start planning right away. Did you have time to meet us for lunch?”
“Lunch? Today?” Gia asked.
“If you’re free,” Allyson said.
Claudia nodded. “Don’t you sit around here. Your father and I are dying for some quiet time. He’s going to do his crosswords and I’m finishing a book.”
Gia looked at Roger. “You volunteered yourself for this.”
Gia covered the phone, “I think you have a problem with your short-term memory. I’m positive it was you.”
Andrew laughed, “You sound just like your mother.”
Claudia huffed. “Gia, you’re exactly like your father, and you know it.”
Gia rolled her eyes and returned to her phone call. “Lunch will be fine. Just text me the place and time.”
“Perfect. My sisters-in-law can’t wait to meet you.” Allyson ended the call, leaving Gia wondering why they needed her if they were all pitching in. Maybe at lunch she could convince them she’d really be in the way. Without Roger around to throw me under the bus, I might be able to weasel out of this.
She slipped her phone into her purse and said, “I guess we better head back to Boston.”
They got up, and her mother walked over and gave Roger a huge hug. “I hope we see you again soon.”
“I’m sure you will,” Roger replied.
Then her father said, “The door’s always open, just stop on by. And feel free to bring dessert anytime you want.”
“Dad, you know what the doctor said,” Gia warned.
He nodded and whispered, “Don’t get caught.”
Gia reached for Rogers hand and said, “We better leave these two alone to discuss this.” Roger grinned as he took hold of her hand.
Even before they were out the door she heard her mother yapping at her father.
“Andrew, I can’t believe you are trying to get that nice man in trouble.”
