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Mom starts to feed Lucia, who babbles and refused to eat. Her hair is a mess, and she has dark spots under her eyes. I feel slightly bad that Mom went to all this effort for me, and I’ve been acting like a total asshole.
When she announced she was pregnant with Lucia and Luca, everyone was shocked. She stated she and Dad had been intimate before he passed away, but it seemed a little strange to me. Dad had been sick for months before he died. I doubt he was up to get it on with his wife.
My eyes flit over to Franco, who’s chewing on a piece of bacon in a way that makes me want to punch him. Ever since he moved in with us, the day of my father’s funeral, he’s been making eyes at my mom. You’d have to be blind to miss it. I can’t help but wonder if the twins are his, but I’ve never said anything. It’s my mom’s drama to deal with, not mine.
Antonio and Cecilla come bounding into the kitchen, poking and teasing each other. “You look like a llama,” Antonio says, the pendant around his neck swaying. It’s our family’s symbol, a wolf. He got it on the day of our father’s funeral since it used to belong to Dad.
“No, you look like a llama,” Cecillia fires back. And on and on it goes with them. You’d think now that Antonio is fourteen and Cecillia twelve that they’d do something other than this song and dance, but nope. They do it practically every morning.
With their light blond hair, they look like twins. My own blonde hair is darker, making me look like the less pure version of my siblings, though that’s nothing compared to Francesca and Mia’s dark hair. They got our father’s genes while my other siblings and I got our mother’s.
Looking at the twins, I wonder who they’ll look like more. Mom or Dad … or Franco? Neither has much hair yet, so it’s hard to tell.
Mia finally comes in, probably after realizing no one would coddle her after she tripped on the stairs. And just like that, the entire family is here.
Well, except one.
I miss Emilia every day. She was the one I could turn to for help. Now, it’s up to me to help everyone. It freaking sucks.
“Could you pass the salt?” Francesca whispers to Mom, who doesn’t even look at her as she feeds Luca. “Mom?”
I sigh. “Mom!”
She blinks, looking over at me. “Yes?”
“Francesca needs the salt.”
“Oh. Right.” She hands the white container over to Francesca. “You know, you really need to speak up, honey.”
Francesca flushes as she keeps her head down and pours salt onto her food. She’s sixteen and so shy. I want to shake her and tell her she needs to grow out of it, but I think that would only make Francesca revert further into herself.
“You need to stop letting Mom ignore you,” I murmur to her.
“I don’t need advice from you, Gemma,” she responds in her soft voice.
I bristle. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
“No, tell me.”
Francesca sighs as she pokes at her food with her fork. “I just think you’re not the best person to come to for advice. You’re always fighting with Mom.”
“At least she notices me.” I know it’s a low blow the moment I say it.
Francesca just gets up and takes her plate to the sink before leaving the room. No one else seems to notice.
“Finish up eating,” Mom tells me as she pushes a spoon into Lucia’s mouth. Luca chucks food at his sister, making them both laugh in that cute way only babies can laugh. Mom looks like she might be on the verge of tears. “We need to get your dress. Everyone is coming with.”
Antonio drops his fork. “Do I have to?”
Mom smiles gently at him. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Antonio.” Her eyes flit to Franco and back. “But it would be nice to go out as a family.”
“The boy can stay here with me.” Franco’s deep voice is almost booming. He slaps Antonio on the back, making Antonio jump.
“Why does Antonio get to make his own decisions and I don’t?” I ask, crossing my arms.
“Enough with this, Gemma,” Mom snaps, setting the spoon down. Lucia babbles louder, making Luca laugh harder. “We’re going to buy you a dress. End of story. And you’re going to find a man to marry and be done with it. I will be damned if you make a mockery of this family. Emilia did right by marrying well. And so will you.”
