Page 17 of Come Back to Me

“Who wants to be sensible?” I huff around a mouthful of ziti that I quickly swallow. “That’s for boring people like my darling brother. How many nieces do I have now, Tony?”

“All those brain cells and you can’t remember how many children I have?”

“They’re boring.” I hide a smile at his scowl. “Tell me when they talk and I’ll teach them the ways of the world.”

“Theydotalk!”

Nonna snorts. “I always said you should have been born a boy, Tee.”

“Who’d want that? Boys stink.”

“Hey!”

It’s an old argument, so Tony and I both grin at one another, and the conversation is submerged beneath the other myriad matters that families tend to discuss after one of them returns to the fold.

It’s good to be home though. I can’t deny that.

Unlike Zee who never missed the creek of Pigeon, I did. More than I realized.

Tony leaves early for his afternoon shift once the convo turns romantic. Nonna is dating his boss’s dad, Ravenly Sr., and Mom is entirely against the relationship. I don’t blame Tony for making an escape, but Mom helps him out the door once she loads him up with enough leftovers to feed ten kids despite him and Raquel only having two.

Yeah, I know how many nieces I have.

He thinks the worst of me.

That means Nonna and I are all alone in the kitchen that’s seen more drama than an episode ofTheYoung and the Famous.

Still taking thimble-sized sips of coffee to make her daily ration last, she studies me, and because I get my brains from her, I keep my mouth shut.

I can feel her analyzing me like she’s an MRI scanner.

“You come back to us with hurt in your eyes,piccola.”

The declaration has me cringing. “It’s dumb.”

“Heartache is never foolish. Who?”

“A soldier I used to write to.”

“Just the one?”

“You’ve been reading those dirty books again, haven’t you?”

Her eyes twinkle. “You bet your cutie patootie that I have. So, how many?”

“Lots…” I grimace at her knowing look. “One.”

Her brow lifts. “Thought you’d have more than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your mother might be blind, but I’m not. I saw this interesting thing on Tikatok.”

“TIKtok, Nonna.”

She waves a hand. “This rainbow thing. Fascinating. Knew as soon as I watched it you were one of them. Was the soldier a woman?”

I shake my head, but my cheeks are flushing.

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