“You never know. Besides, your sister and her husband could decide to visit from India at any time. I’m sure it wouldn’t be a short stay. The thing is, you should be married and in your own home by now. If you were married, you could forget about that silly competition. I’m sure your husband would support you no matter what happened in life. It’s good to have someone you can count on, and Daddy and I won’t be here forever. The older you get, the more I worry. I was married by the time I was twenty.”
“You were pregnant with Ricky.”
“No I wasn’t. Your brother was born early. And for your information, your father and I had been engaged for two years, so we were ready to settle down. We just waited until he graduated from the tech. You’re nearly twenty-eight! What are you waiting for?”
It was the same old argument. Bliss didn’t know why they continued with the charade. Her brother would have had to be about four months early to make the timeline work. She usually let it go, but maybe if she pursued it, her mother would be the one to shut up and let her get back to work.
“Why did Nonna and Nonno rush the wedding plans?”
“There was no rush. I just wanted a June wedding. If you want to talk about a rush, your grandmother was married at the age of eighteen after a two-week engagement.”
“And look how well that worked out. The two of them bickered each other into early graves.”
Her mother crossed herself and faced Bliss head-on. “That’s just how they communicated. They loved each other dearly. Why do you think they had six children?”
Bliss smirked. “I don’t know… lack of birth control?”
Her mother tossed her hands in the air. “You have an answer for everything. Always did.”
“Speaking of which, I should get back to work. I need to put into words all the things people are too afraid to say.”
“That business of yours is what scares the men away. Honestly, the vicious things you write in those cards… it’s dreadful. And now, because of that stupid TV show, everyone will know about it.”
“Hopefully. My cards are funny and people love them. If I get the kind of exposure I think we’re going to get, I should sell tons.”
“I’ll never understand that. If anyone gave me one of your cards, I’d be very upset.”
You don’t know how close you’ve come to getting one. Her mother would also never know how many snarky cards she’d inspired. There was just too much rich material to ignore. “I really do need to get working.”
As Bliss strolled toward the adjoining dining room, her mother said, “Why don’t you work at the desk in your room? It was always where you did your homework.”
“Because I like my legs at a ninety-degree angle and under the surface I’m working on. If I sat at my old desk, my butt would be below my knees and they’d bump up against the side of the desk. Why are you keeping that old thing anyway?”
“You never know… Maybe I’ll have a grandchild someday after all.”
“Emilio and Ricky are married. Why don’t you bug them about having kids?”
“Who says I haven’t?”
Bliss chuckled. “I love my brothers, but thank God it’s not just me.”
Her mother crossed her arms. “Aren’t you worried about your biological clock?”
Hell no. The alarm isn’t going off and won’t for years. “Ma, I don’t want to marry the wrong man just to have kids.”
“Has it never occurred to you that you might marry the right man? Honestly, you’re such a pessimist.”
“I am not. I just have a pessimistic life.”
“Oh, really? What’s so bad about your life?”
“For one thing, I cannot work in this house, and I have a deadline to meet.”
“Deadline, shmedline… Why are they giving you a deadline? Are there greeting card emergencies?”
“Mom. I’m finally hopeful of landing big contracts. Remember how it was in the beginning? Me helping my big sister take cards to craft fairs and small gift shops? How many did she sell?”
“I have no idea.”
“Not a hell of a lot. If she didn’t have a friend in advertising, she might never have gotten the business off the ground. Now that she’s entrusted it to me, I want to make it an even bigger success.”
“If success was so important to her, then she wouldn’t have left the business and moved to India. I’m sure she’d understand if you wanted to quit and get a real job. Maybe you’d meet someone if you worked in an office.”
Bliss actually bit her tongue and counted to ten.