The bowls are going around the table. I close my eyes and breathe in deep. It smells like home. With the laughter and loud voices of my uncle and father talking over one another, it sounds like home.
And then my Ma opens her mouth and ruins it, “Dom, when are you going to bring home a nice girl for dinner?” The room goes silent except for a few chuckles from my uncle and Jack.
“Come on Ma, why don’t you pick on Vince for a while?”
“Cause he’s my baby,” and shoots him a smile and he snorts a laugh in return, but I can tell he’s embarrassed too. Good, if she’s gonna go after me, she should be digging at him too.
“Ma, as soon as I find a keeper I’ll bring her home, alright?” As soon as the words come out of my mouth, my beautiful doll pops into mind. She’s got something about her I think my Ma would like. Innocent yet confident, I can’t tell exactly what it is.
Ma starts to respond with one brow cocked, but I’m saved by little Gino, “Mammie!” The little tyke squeals as he runs in with his little knit hat and thick jacket that bubbles around him. How can he even move in that thing?
“Gino, bambino!” My Ma loves that little man.
I grin at Jimmy and nod my head as he walks around the table to take a seat. He’s a good looking guy, tall broad shoulders, pretty boy face. “Dom, who am I betting on this week?” I chuckle at him and shake my head.
“You read that book I gave you?” I ask knowing he didn’t.
He snorts and looks at me like I’m crazy. “Fuck no.”
“Then my guess is that you’ll be betting like all the rest of em’.”
The room laughs and I just sit back in my seat until the meatballs come my way. Ma fries them and covers them with her sauce. They’re so good, but so fucking bad for you.
“C’mon Dom, give me something.”
“Don’t ever bet against me.” I answer as I pile up the meatballs. “There’s something for you Jimmy. You wanna win bets, you stay on my side.”
“Dude, just tell me this, New York or Dallas over/under 45.5?” I shake my head at this fool.
“Giants, over.” I lick my lips and slice my meatball, “how’s construction going?”
“It’s alright. Same old, same old. Wish I had a fun job, like you.” It’s important that we have someone in the construction business. Now that we have the vet, it’s not quite as important, but it’s still good for book keeping and all.
“It wasn’t fun today.” Johnny shakes his head and grabs another piece of garlic bread.
I don’t respond; we don’t talk about shit at the table. I stare at my food and shovel down another bite. I never wanna get dinner over with, but I’ve got two conversations that need to happen. One about De Luca and one about my doll. I’ll get De Luca dealt with first. But now is not the time.
“What happened today,” Clara asks and the room goes silent. She knows better. I stare down at her, but all I see is the back of her head as she looks to Johnny for an answer.
“No game today; they’re on break.” Johnny answers with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. He’s real fucking good at playing it off. She should still know not to ask questions. He should know not to bring that shit up. And they should both know not to be eye fucking each other like that. I look to Pops, who looks exactly how I feel.
“I wanna play game!” Gino shouts from his seat next to my Ma. Jimmy pulled a chair up from the corner so he could sit as close to Ma as possible. Just the way both of them like it. The little tyke gets the good mood going and all’s well for now, but if some shit is going on between Johnny and Clara they better square that up fast. I take a peek at my Pops and see he seems to have gotten over it.
But I know he didn’t forget.
Becca
“Four,” I hold up my fingers for Jax to see, “little lady bugs sitting on a tree.” He giggles and holds up his four fingers. I love his toothy grin. We’re on his rocket ship bed with his Mickey space themed bedding reading a story to settle him down for bed. “Along came a frog and then there were…” I try to turn the page but he shuts the book on my fingers.
“Little man-” I stop my scolding as he yawns. He’s so tuckered out. He almost fell asleep in the bath and that never happens. He freaking loves splashing in the tub. Especially if he can soak me. It’s his favorite past time. He yawns again and rubs his eyes with his little fists. A soft smile plays at my lips and I put the book on the little night stand next to his bed. His cup of water is there, but I really should take it; I don’t want him to have an accident. I lean down and give him a kiss on the forehead. “I love you baby boy; have sweet dreams.”