Page 27 of She Used to Be Nice
“Ah, the classic northeast Italian-American voyage,” Pete declared, like he was a cartographer mapping a new world. “Hopefully we’re not secretly cousins or something.”
Avery nudged him with a laugh. “Ewww, don’t be weird.”
“Hey, I wouldn’t like it any more than you would.”
Gina rolled her eyes. “You’re sick, Pete.”
Avery’s heart warmed at Gina’s familiar pronunciation of “you’re.”Yaw-uh.“My parents hate that I moved out. They wish I still loved home. They’re a little overprotective. One time, in college, when my mom couldn’t get a hold of me because my phone died, she sent the campus police on a search for me.”
Gina and Pete burst out laughing. “That’s hilarious,” Pete said.
“It was. I mean,nowit’s funny. But at the time I was mortified.” Talking about her parents made Avery realize she hadn’t talkedtothem in a while. The last time they spoke, though, they got into an argument about why abortion should be allowed for any reason a woman decided upon with her doctor, not just the extreme exceptions touted by Republicans, and it turned into a massive fight about women needing to “take responsibility for their actions.” Maybe she should wait a little longer.
“You gotta understand something, Avery,” Gina began. “You guys are our babies. Doesn’t matter if you’re sixteen or sixty. When our babies are out of our sight, we are in a constant state of distress.” Gina reached over the table to squeeze Pete’s cheek. “All this is to say, I’m gonna cry the day Petey moves out.”
“Ma!” Pete ducked away from her grip. “Goddammit.”
Gina wagged a finger at Pete. “Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain in this house.”
“Sorry about her,” Pete muttered to Avery.
“Don’t be,” Avery said, charmed by how embarrassed Pete was. She could imagine her mom reprimanding her for the same thing.
Pete stabbed a piece of cantaloupe with a fork, the juice sliding down and pooling onto his place. “I’m definitely moving out soon.” He seemed to direct that statement more to Avery than to his mother. “To Manhattan, most likely. I’m just trying to save up some more. I’ve almost got enough to rent a place and have some extra cushion in the bank.”
“That’s a good idea,” Avery said. The familiarity of Pete’s home made her feel so loose, so open. She kept going with it. “I lived with my parents for a month after college. It helped a little with savings. But I couldn’t stand the commute.”
“Where’d you go to school?” Gina asked.
“Woodford College. In Boston. Just like Pete.”
“But we never knew each other,” Pete added. “And I definitely would’ve remembered if I’d met her.”
He met her eye across the table and smiled. Avery resisted the urge to grab his hand, as a thank you for seeing something good in her. For giving her a chance that she wasn’t sure she deserved.
“Get outta here!” Gina squealed. “So how’d you two meet then?”
“We met at a bar downtown,” Avery explained. “And it turns out Pete knows my friends Charlie and Morgan.”
“Yeah, Charlie worked at the record store with me, Ma, if you remember,” Pete said. “He brought me to Woodford to hang a few times.”
Gina gasped. “Nowthatis fate.” Her eyes darted between Avery and Pete. “This is all God’s work. You two were meant to be, I just know it.”
The suggestive smile on Gina’s face punctured Avery’s chest with guilt. Avery knew that look. Gina thought she was meeting her son’s new girlfriend.
Avery felt her walls shoot back up around her. She let this conversation go on too long, open up too many possible doors. She knew she needed to keep Pete at arm’s length, but she also knew the more they hung out, the harder that would be. Because this was how it all began: First you told them your favorite color, and then they found out everything. Even the things you were the most ashamed of, all the things you wanted to hide. And she liked Pete so much already. She’d rather spare herself the pain of his inevitable rejection when he found out what a mess she was. What she was capable of.
“Well, it’s getting late,” Avery said, shoving a final chunk of cantaloupe into her mouth. “I think I should get going.” She stood up. It was only 9PM, which wasn’t late, but she didn’t have another excuse.
“Already?” Gina reached out to give Avery a hug. “Come back soon, will ya?”
Avery returned Gina’s embrace. “For sure.” Avery was grateful for the hug so that she wouldn’t have to look Gina in the eye when she lied.
“Let me drive you to the ferry,” Pete said. He was so earnest in his offer to help, not thinking anything of Avery needing to leave. His trust in her made her feel even worse.
“Oh, you don’t have to,” she said, feeling shy. “I’ll just take an Uber.”
“Let Pete take you!” Gina winked. “He should learn what it takes to care for a woman.”
