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“She’s Cole’s number one fan,” Maggie explained.
“You jealous?” Cole teased Aria, and Aria’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. In truth, all she could think of now was a future Cole holding their child. She couldn’t shake the image from her mind for a long time.
Janine’s fiancé, Henry, who worked as a documentary filmmaker, was at the grill, asking everyone what kind of burgers they wanted. Aria opted for a veggie burger, which Henry placed on the grill with a smile as Cole passed Lucy back to Maggie. Maggie kissed Lucy on the cheek, then spoke directly to Aria.
“Have you met my boyfriend, David?”
Maggie placed her hand around the bicep of a handsome, bespectacled man beside her with curly and wild hair. According to what Cole had told her, David was a rather new person in Maggie’s life, as she was in the midst of getting divorced.
“Hi, David! I’m Aria.”
“Hi!” David looked slightly nervous, and he had a small sunburn on his arms. “Are you used to big family parties?”
“No,” Aria said. “Well, not ones where everyone is nice, anyway.”
David laughed.
“You’re a writer, aren’t you?” Aria remembered.
“Yes,” David said. “I met Maggie when she came to the city to convince me to visit my mother here in the Vineyard.”
“Quite a story,” Aria said.
“My mother sure thinks so,” David joked. “She’s around here somewhere, telling everyone just how happy she is to be a grandmother.”
David pointed out his mother, Heidi, who sat with Carmella and Cody on the other side of the porch. As they chatted, Carmella raised a hand to wave to Aria, and Aria waved back. It felt miraculous to be a part of such a tremendous family.
“How long have you and Cole been together?” David asked.
“Oh! Um. We’re not really, um.” Aria shrugged.
“Okay. I’m sorry if I overstepped,” David said with a smile.
“Hey!” Cole appeared beside Aria with a plate upon which he’d already put together her veggie burger, remembering all the toppings and condiments she liked.
“Wow,” Aria said. “You even remembered how much I love pickles!”
“I would never forget something so weird,” Cole said.
“Cole? Yours is ready, too!” Henry called, and Cole disappeared for a moment to prep his burger. As Aria waited, she scanned the porch, taking in the vision of so many people coming together to celebrate the new babies, Elsa’s move with Bruce Holland, and the first day of summer, which was just in a little more than a week. For the first time in a while, Aria considered what her family was up to, whether or not they’d had any family dinners lately, and how big Roger had gotten since she’d last seen him.
Cole and Aria grabbed seats on the porch to eat their burgers as they watched the waves roll onto the beach. Elsa and Bruce sat near them and squabbled gently about what color to paint the downstairs bathroom of their new place, which made Cole lean down to Aria’s ear and whisper, “It makes me happy to hear my mom have such normal arguments with Bruce. After my dad died, I wasn’t sure she would ever find a way to be normal again, you know?”
Aria nodded, her heart ballooning at Cole’s tremendous love for his family.
Not long after Aria ate, Cole went inside to chat with some of the men in the family, and Aria remained on the porch with her lemonade. Carmella spotted her and beelined for her, greeting her with a squeeze to the elbow.
“How are you doing? I hope the party isn’t too overwhelming.”
Aria shook her head. “It’s lovely. Is baby Georgia around here somewhere?”
“She’s asleep upstairs,” Carmella said, showing off the baby monitor in her left hand.
“She’s such a sweetie,” Aria said, remembering the gentle and lovely way Georgia kicked her feet and smiled up at Aria.
“Yes.” Carmella eyed Elsa, who passed them by without saying hello. As Elsa gathered several glasses, Janine and Nancy followed her inside, and Aria and Carmella were suddenly the only people on the porch.
Suddenly, Carmella’s tone dropped an octave. “Elsa is very upset right now.”
