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Aunt Nadia’s eyes went wide, Uncle Tomasz choking on his spit.
Grandma cleared her throat and spoke in Polish. “Do you have a — girlfriend, Dragan?”
“No, no girlfriend,” Dragan responded in kind. Grandma threw up her hands, laying out a rant Dragan only understood half of. Tomasz chuckled, his wife nudging his arm with hers. Adrianna responded to her mom in Polish, the sharpness in her tone pushing Grandma to shake her head and cluck her tongue.
“See, D? Even GMa wants you to get laid.” Alice swept the fallen crumbs from the counter, going to the cabinet and returning with bowls. She popped out a hip and crossed her arms, looking him up and down. “Guess it makes sense you can’t land a woman with that shitty face.”
“No svearing.” His mom glared at her daughter. “Alice, stop teasing your brother.”
His sister rolled her eyes. “Right, don’t want to provoke the dragon.”
The references to his Polish name’s meaning and the legendary temper he’d inherited from their dad’s side fanned the flames building in him.
“Would you just shut up, Alice?”
“Dragan, chill. She wants a reaction,” Leon sighed. “And she’s probably right. Go get laid.”
Dragan pushed away from the table, the feet of the chair scraping against the linoleum. His body was burning, itching with the need to punch something. But he’d seen firsthand what that did, and in their family, there could only be one unstable person with a temper.
And he wasn’t it.
“This is bullshit, I’m out. I’ll catch you guys later.”
Lucas laughed. “Dude, relax. Jesus.”
“All of you, stop it!” their mom said, slamming the soup spoon on the counter. “Dragan, sit down and eat vith us. It’s been very long time.”
Adrianna turned back to the soup while the siblings settled down, Dragan grumbling as he retook his seat and took some deep breaths not looking at anyone around the table. His mom was right.
“So,” Nadia cleared her throat, throwing Dragan a small smile. “Do you have a special lady friend?”
Cas cleared his throat, knowing he’d test Dragan’s resolve by jumping on the bandwagon. “Yeah, is there a girl, Dragan? Cuz if so, you might want to introduce her to everyone.”
“I’d love to meet whatever girl would put up with you,” Leon added.
“No, there isn’t.” Dragan’s face heated and he shot daggers at his brother, eliciting a cocky grin. “Besides, I think it’s a bit late for me. Shouldn’t one of you guys be bringing people around?”
“It’s never too late,” Uncle Tomasz laughed. “I met Nadia when we were in our late twenties, and Zofia has had a few special friends over the years since Gramps passed.” Nadia translated to his grandma and Tomasz threw a wink at her before turning back to Dragan. “It’d be nice to see some of your life while we’re here, you know?”
“Yeah, I get that,” Dragan sighed. He understood, but that didn’t mean he had an answer.
He listened as each of his siblings pitched in on why couldn’t bring over their special friends. “Fine, fine. I get it. We’re all too busy to have relationships. How’s college going?” Nadia had skipped relaying the bulk of their previous conversation, but she started translating this one. Their grandma was particularly insistent on wanting them to build a good life in the land of opportunity.
“The community college classes are helping me figure out what I like,” Leon said, giving Dragan a small smile.
Cas bit his lower lip. “I’m on track to graduate next year.”
Music to his ears.
“Alice? Lucas?”
They simultaneously shrugged and avoided eye contact with everyone in the room. Dragan clenched his jaw. At least two of the four other kids were working towards something. Their cousins had already completed that milestone — Kasia was in school to be a doctor, and Michael was working on his Masters in some math field. Dragan felt the weight on his shoulders, especially when he saw the pride in his aunt and uncle versus how hunched his mom was. How much she’d disappeared in the span of even a couple weeks, since he last saw her.
If he could just get the app sold, he could fix everything.
His mom placed full bowls ofzupa grzybowa —mushroom soup — before everyone else before sitting with her own.
As much as they drove him crazy, Dragan loved his family. Since moving out, he’d stayed clear of the house — mainly to avoid his dad — but he missed these moments. The ribbing, the laughing, the subtle concerned check-ins everyone did. His mom’s quiet, insistent talking, even if it was annoying how she talked in circles and half his siblings rolled their eyes.
