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Right now, the kitchen is complete chaos. Platters cover the breakfast table, with stacks of plastic cups and plates crammed in between. All five burners on the stove are going and the oven is on, making the room at least twice as warm as the rest of the house. My mother holds court at the counter, putting together a gigantic salad, and my aunts and older cousins hover around, chatting loudly as they cook.
“Wow,” Penny says, flattening herself against the wall as Aunt Carmela passes by with a platter of hot dogs. “How many more people are coming over?”
“Girls, there you are!” Mom wipes her hands on a dishcloth before hurrying around to hug us, never mind the fact we already said hello when I introduced her to Sebastian earlier. I couldn’t tell if she was more surprised about the fact I came home with a date in tow, or my stupid pink dress. The last family gathering I attended, I wore jeans and a Metallica t-shirt, and she told me I looked disgraceful, so I figured I’d borrow a dress from Izzy’s closet this time.
“We could use some more sets of hands in here, the neighbors are still arriving,” Nana says.
“Don’t forget about Rick’s friend, Paul,” my cousin Raquel says. “Step back, I need to open the oven. I think the stuffed shells should be done.”
“Paul and his girlfriend,” Aunt Dottie says, making a face. “Have you seen the way she dresses?”
Mom cups my cheek, studying me with those sharp eyes that miss nothing. I’ve tried to get a lot of things by her over the years, but she has an uncanny ability to sniff out bullshit. “Are you eating enough?”
I’m not sure when she went from telling me not to eat too much to worrying I eat too little, but I just shrug. “I’m fine.”
“You look tired.” She turns my head from side to side, then fusses with my sweater. “Tell us more about Sebastian, honey. He seems like such a good young man. Very polite.”
“Um—”
“And thank goodness he’s a young man,” she interrupts, voice low, as she continues to fuss with my outfit. “It makes the whole thing so much easier.”
I resist the urge to jerk away. Penny throws me a look, eyes wide, but I ignore her.
This afternoon is going to be torturous.
“That boy is so handsome,” Aunt Carmela says as she walks back into the kitchen. “And an athlete, too?”
“No wonder he has so many muscles,” Raquel says as she waggles her eyebrows, sending half the kitchen into a fit of laughter. Even Nana, sitting on a counter stool as she very carefully arranges a plate of antipasti, chuckles.
“He plays baseball,” Giana says. She’s at the sink, scrubbing a gigantic pot. “Right, Mia?”
“He doesn’t just play it,” Penny says, bumping her hip against mine subtly. “It’s going to be his career.”
I’m glad she’s here, even if part of me wishes I just came to the party myself—no Penny and Cooper, no Sebastian. If Giana goes through with her threat to tell Mom the truth about how I’ve been spending my time at college, the fallout will be nuclear. I tried to talk to her when we first arrived, but she brushed me off.
“Yep,” I say. As far as I know, Sebastian hasn’t told anyone else about his decision, and it’s his news to share, not mine. “The draft is soon.”
Mom clasps her hands. “He’s perfect. I’m so glad you finally came to your senses and found yourself a nice boy, Maria.”
The rest of my aunts and cousins voice their approval. I’m not usually the one who earns this kind of reaction—I’ve always gotten the exasperated looks, the reprimands—and it feels weird. I’m not doing anything to earn it; it’s not like I’m dating Sebastian because he plays baseball. I force myself to keep smiling.
“A professional baseball player,” Aunt Carmela says. “You’ll be set.”
“You might not even need to teach at all,” Mom teases. “Come help take all of this outside.”
I follow her into the yard with the salad bowl in hand. When I look at the grill, I relax slightly. Sebastian’s talking to my father and one of my uncles. Giana is closer to both of our parents than I am, but still, it means a lot to me that he’s taking the time to get to know Dad.
The reactions to Sebastian haven’t surprised me in the slightest. He’s charming and handsome, golden through and through. Who wouldn’t love him? I thought part of me would find satisfaction in that, but instead, I feel like I’m balancing on a ledge, and one false move will send me plummeting.
When we’re back in the kitchen, Mom smooths back my hair the way she did when I was little.
“This is wonderful, Maria,” she says, her voice low enough my aunts and cousins can’t listen in. “I hope you realize what it means to be with a man with that kind of career. You need to be prepared to support him. If you’re going to keep him, you need to make sure he’s happy and taken care of.”
For a moment, I just stare. She’s spoken to Sebastian exactly once and is already thinking about ways I could fuck things up.
“Right,” I say. “He’s—well, we’re happy.”
“Your aunt is right,” she says. “It’s not every day that someone has the opportunity to be with someone so successful. He’ll have attention no matter where he goes, so it’ll be up to you to keep it.”
