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Again, Viv was not going to argue with Nonna, there was no point.
The drive to Nonna’s house was short and as they pulled up into the driveway Viv wondered how this was going to go. She saw that her sister Grace’s SUV was already there.
Grace and her fiancé Easton had renovated the house for Nonna and now Grace, who was also a real estate agent had taken care of listing and selling the property.
Viv felt herself getting a little emotional but tried to hold back her tears. She’d not only spent countless hours watching bad reality TV with Nonna here, she’d also been with her every step of the way during the renovation. Nonna had asked her advice on everything from flooring, lighting fixtures, siding, cabinets, backsplash, and appliances. Basically, Viv had designed her dream home that someone else was going to live in.
“You ready?” Viv turned toward Nonna and saw she was already climbing out of the Jeep.
Viv hopped out and rushed around to help her. After making sure she was steady Viv leaned in to grab the cane as she was thinking of something she could say to honor the significance of this moment, but when she stood back up she saw Nonna was already a few steps up the walkway. Apparently, there would be no walk down memory lane. It appeared this was going to be more of a rip the Band-Aid off situation.
Viv hurried to catch up with her and Grace opened the door as the duo stepped onto the porch. She put her hand under Nonna’s elbow to give her both moral and actual support as they walked inside.
The place looked like it could be featured in a magazine, if Viv did say so herself. There was wide plank white oak flooring throughout. The kitchen and both bathrooms had two tone cabinets, white on top and dark gray on the bottom with marble countertops. There was a Spanish tile backsplash that was carried into both the master and guest bath. And the real showstopper, accordion doors that led out to the wood deck in the backyard.
Viv’s eyes bounced from Grace to Nonna waiting for one of them to say something, but neither spoke. Since she was only there for support, she tried to remain quiet. But Viv had never done well with awkward silences so after what felt like an hour but was probably only a minute or two, she asked, “So are the new owners coming soon…or…”
Grace and Nonna exchanged a look. It was the same sort of look that Nonna and Viv exchanged when they’d been planning and plotting Project Valentine to get Audrey and Josh together.
“What’s going on?”
Grace looked back at Nonna.
“You tell her.” Nonna motioned to Grace before she sniffed and wiped a tear that had fallen down her cheek.
Seeing that single droplet of evidence of Nonna’s emotions caused every protective instinct to roar to life in Viv. “What happened? Did they back out?” She looked to her sister for the answer but in true Grace form, her expression revealed nothing. She was sure that trait had served her well in her lawyer days. “That’s fine. Fuck them. We can find a better offer.”
Questions spun in Viv’s mind. Why in the hell did her sister have them come here if the owners had flaked? She thought this was a done deal. Why would she put Nonna through that roller coaster of emotions?
Nonna nodded her head at Grace.
As if receiving some sort of silent message, Grace told Viv, “The owner is here.”
Viv stared at her sister as confusion swam in her head. If the owners were there, why were they being weird? “Oh, okay. Are they in the backhouse?”
Nonna had a one bedroom back house that her husband had built as an in-law suite for his parents who had moved in with Nonna and Salvador in the late sixties. Grace referred to it as an ADU, which stood for additional dwelling unit.
Nonna did the mafia head nod thing again and this time Grace handed Viv the keys.
“Do you want me to go give these to them?”
Grace sighed as she turned toward Nonna. “She’s not getting it.”
“Dio Mio!” Nonna’s hands flew in the air. “It is you! You are new owner.”
Viv shook her head, thinking this had to be some sort of joke. “No, I’m not. I could never afford this…”
“No afford! I gift to you! My Vivi!”
“What? No!” Viv tried to hand the keys back to Nonna and then to her sister, both women refused to take them so she set them on the counter. “No! I can’t accept this! This is crazy!”
Grace smiled calmly. During Viv’s teen years she’d had quite a few emotional outbursts and Grace had always been unfazed by them.
“The paperwork is done. The deed is in your name. I’ll let you two talk.”
Viv was in shock. “You knew about this?”
Grace looked over at Nonna and they both said, “Operation Home Sweet Home.”
