And just like that, as quickly as they’d come into the room, they left it, shouting, “Thanks, Grandpa,” as they ran.
“Don’t forget to thank Grandma!” he shouted back.
Once everyone arrived and dinner was ready, we all gathered around the table and you could tell how happy we all were to have our parents back. As I looked around, I pictured Whitney sitting next to me at the table. I could see it. Her laughing at something my brother said, passing the bread to my sister, and my ma gazing down at us both proudly. And, suddenly, I wished she was actually there. Reservations or not, I knew she’d fit in perfectly.
“We have a surprise for all of you,” my dad began as he piled pasta onto his plate.
“Yeah?” Vanni asked, looking back and forth between our parents.
“You aren’t leaving again, are you?” Charlotte asked, her tone playful, but her expression tired and serious.
“No, not exactly, but I’ll let your mother tell you.”
We all looked expectantly at our mother.
She paused for effect, before saying, “Your father and I bought a house in Italy.”
There was a moment of shocked silence before the room erupted as everyone began talking at once.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re moving to Italy?”
“Are you serious?”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
The last was from my sister-in-law, Sara, who obviously didn’t read the room.
“Silence,” our father said, his voice low but his tone brokering no argument. “Go on, sweetheart.”
“We are not moving to Italy, at least, not now,” she explained. “We toured an olive grove and found out that the property was for sale. The house is gorgeous, and the olive grove is fully manned and producing, so we wouldn’t need to be on site in order for it to continue. We would, however, go at least once, maybe twice a year to check in on everything and vacation. It will be a family home, so you can all go whenever you’d like, but I’d really love it if we could all vacation there in the summers, as a family.”
The tone of the room completely changed.
“Oh my God, a family home?”
“We’re going to Italy!”
“Our own olive grove?”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
The rest of the dinner was lively with excited conversation and everyone making plans about when we could all go to Italy and check it out.
By the time I left, we were all locked into going to see it and spend our first family vacation together at the new place in July. It was surreal, but I could see how happy my parents were, hell, how happy we all were, and all I could think about was how hard they’d always worked and how much they deserved this.
My mind was still reeling as I got off the elevator on my floor.
Instead of going straight to my door, I bypassed and walked down the hall to knock on Mr. B’s door.
As usual, it opened immediately, like he’d been waiting on the other side.
“Hey, Mr. B, I got some food for you,” I said, holding up the Tupperware of leftovers my ma had put together for him.
“Any cake?” he asked as he took it out of my hand.
“Cannoli,” I told him.
“Nice. You wanna come in for a drink?” he asked, like he always did.
“You bet,” I replied.
It was our usual ritual, at least on the days I made it to my parents for Sunday dinner.
“How was their trip to Italy?” Mr. B asked as I followed him inside.
“You’re not going to believe it…”
Nineteen
Whitney
“I hope you don’t mind, I invited Luca to stop by for dessert and a drink. We have decided to see each other exclusively, and in an effort to include him more in my life, I’m introducing him to people who are important to me. First you guys … and then my kids.”
“Wow, things are getting serious,” Margo said, her eyebrows going up in surprise.
“Aww, we’re important to you?” Summer cooed, locking on to a different point than Margo.
I grinned at Summer and said, “Of course you are. It’s funny, we’ve only known each other a couple months, but I feel closer to you two than I did with any of the women I associated with while I was married. The couples who we golfed with and had playdates with. The ones who acted like we’d gotten divorced along with my husband.”
“Sound like a bunch of bitches,” Margo muttered.
I chuckled as I thought of the women who talked behind each other’s backs, snuck vodka in their water bottles, and were generally unhappy with their lives.
“Not all of them. I’d say for the most part they’re simply miserable. Waking up every day to live the same life … do the exact same things. I’ve been there, so now I just feel sorry for them. It’s hard for them to relate to me now, because I got out, and they’re still stuck doing the same things.”
“Well, I think you’re better off,” Summer said sunnily. “You’ve got great friends who have your back, a hot boyfriend, and two great kids. Plus, a job you love. Looks to me like that divorce was the best thing that ever happened to you.”
I’d had them over to my house a couple times now and they got along wonderfully with my kids. Stella thought Margo was amazing and I was pretty sure Silas had a crush on Summer.
“Agreed,” Margo said, lifting her glass in a toast before downing the contents.
We were at a Thai place, so we’d all opted for draft beers to accompany the food, which we’d all ordered to be made spicy.
“Ohmygrrrr,” I moaned after I took a bite of my panang curry. It was creamy and seasoned perfectly with a light coconut flavor. Absolutely delicious.
“I know, right … I love this place,” Summer said as she twirled her fork in her pad Thai noodles.
“Hey, didn’t you say you were going on a couple dates last weekend?” Margo asked Summer in between bites.
Summer scrunched up her nose.
“Uh-oh, that good, huh?” I asked.
Summer sighed and put down her fork.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she groaned. “These guys aren’t terrible or anything. Well, I mean, not all of them are terrible. A couple of them have been sweet and funny, but for some reason there’s just no connection there.”
Summer looked between us, her green eyes wide and a little glossy, as if she was tearing up.
“I was so excited to get back out there, you know? Once I met Jared, I thought I was done with first kisses. And I love kissing, so the thought of meeting new men, dating again, and having first kisses was one of the only positive aspects of starting over. But, out of all the guys I’ve met, there hasn’t been one I’ve wanted to kiss. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Nothing’s wrong with you,” Margo said forcefully. “You’re amazing. A light in an otherwise cloudy day. And if you don’t feel chemistry with someone, you can’t force it, and you don’t need to. There’s no rush. Take your time, enjoy yourself, and don’t feel like you have to kiss any frogs. Frogs are disgusting, vile creatures, and don’t deserve your attention.”