Page 71 of It's Always Sonny

“Of course, man. See you soon.”

I tell Harry the plan, and he sniffles bravely.

“It’s okay to cry, bud.”

“I’m not crying, you are,” Harry says.

I laugh and put my arm around him while he sniffs into me.

At the cornhole grounds, I spot Uncle Bruno and Aunt Helen. They’re at the cornhole boards nearest us. She turns when she hears the cart and immediately rushes to Harry’s side. He folds into her, and the sight tugs at my heart.

“He dropped a paddle and gave himself a bloody nose,” I explain. “He’s been really brave. Daniel will be here in a sec.”

She nods, mouths a thanks, and says to Harry, “It’s okay, sweet boy. Grammy’s got you.”

I leave the cart in case they need to take Harry to get cleaned up, and I walk slowly past the games. My parents are near the end of the row of boards, and I’m heading over when I see Nonna sitting in a chair next to …

A high black ponytail.

Parker’s sitting with Nonna. Nonna’s hand is on Parker’s, squeezing, and they look as thick as thieves.

I shouldn’t go over there and break them up.

And I won’t.

I shouldn’t eavesdrop.

But I will.

I quietly make my way toward them, stopping when I can hear them both clearly enough. If they notice me, I’m just far enough that they won’t think I’m listening in, though I totally am.

And what I hear floors me.

Chapter Twenty

Sonny

Nonna is telling PJ a story.

“Sure, it was hard, but what else was I going to do?” Nonna says to some question of PJ’s. “We were barely surviving on government help, and I knew if my brother got the loan for me, I’d at least have a shot.”

“So you opened a gym?”

“A women only gym. With childcare.”

“You were ahead of your time,” PJ says. She sounds so awestruck, I love her all the more. “It was obviously popular—I’ve heard enough this week to know.”

“You mean you heard my grandson talk about me when you two were dating?”

“I—”

Nonna cackles. “You’re fine, sis. You two are smart enough to figure it out.”

I can almost hear PJ’s blush. “So about that gym … ” she says with a low, dark chuckle. “How long until it was smooth sailing? It took my company a couple of rough years until we were finally solvent.”

“Same for me and Mary. But even once we were making money, it came with plenty of its own problems. Some men didn’t like the idea of a women only gym.”

“Shocker. What did they do?”

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