Page 47 of About Last Night

Greta shrugs one shoulder. “I haven’t been around enough to have much of an opinion. I’m sure when Toni has kids I’ll love them, or at least tolerate them.”

“Since when am I having kids?” Toni asks.

“Since your sister volunteered you to give us grandkids,” Ingrid says.

“It was our Christmas present this year,” Piero says.

Toni laughs. When her family’s sincere expressions don’t change, her laughter dies. “No way. It’s the straight daughter’s job to give grandchildren, not the lesbian daughter.”

“I called it first,” Greta says.

“Antonia, you know you would be a much better mother than your sister,” Ingrid says.

“Ouch,” Willa says around a laugh.

“Hey!” Greta replies. “What does that mean?”

“You did just say you don’t like kids, Greta,” Willa says.

“OK, enough talking about kids that aren’t going to happen,” Toni says. “I need an elf.” She looks at me expectantly.

“You want me to do it?” I ask.

Toni nods.

“Sure. That’ll be fun.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“You have to wear my Buddy the Elf costume,” Toni says.

“Now I want to do it,” Willa says.

“Not on your life, Rudolph,” I say. “I’m sure Greta can find something for you to do.”

“Absolutely. Come with me.”

“You better be leading me to the bar,” Willa says.

Greta shakes her head, but there’s a hint of a smile behind it. “There is no bar.”

“Before we get distracted,” Ingrid says, “we want to invite you two to spend Christmas with us in Aspen.”

Willa and I stare at the Giordanis in surprise, then at each other. Christmas with the Giordanis? Our clients?

“What did you have in mind? For us to drive down for a couple of hours on Christmas Day?” I ask. Surely not. Traffic on I-40 west of Denver will be a nightmare. I can’t imagine anyone asking someone to do that. I don’t want to do that. How in the world can we turn this down, though?

“Oh, no. We would like for you to come for a few days. Say Monday through Boxing Day?” Piero says.

“Oh, we couldn’t impose like that,” I say.

“It’s not an imposition, trust me,” Ingrid says.

“We’ve been talking about it for a couple of weeks,” Greta says. “But didn’t mention it because Mom wanted the invitation to come from her.”

“It’s harder to turn her down in person,” Toni says.

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