Page 18 of The Singing Trees
“No. God no.” Hearing the abruptness of her tone, she pulled back. “My grandmother would put you in her garlic chopper. She doesn’t know I left.”
He held up the two brown bags in the back seat. “Want all your snacks?”
“No, thank you,” she said with a nervous smile. She put her hand on the door. “I really appreciate the lift and you taking care of me.” To her surprise, she found that she meant it.
Before he could ask to see her again, she said goodbye and slipped out of the car. When an urge to turn back and wave hit her, she fought it off and started walking home. If she was intent on going to Portland and figuring out a way to make it in the art world, the last thing she needed was him tugging at her.
Chapter 6
THEMANCUSOINQUISITION
The next day, the first of November, twenty-plus Mancusos filled Nonna’s house. Annalisa stood in the kitchen with Nonna and two of her aunts, making Saturday supper. If Nonna wasn’t making her cook right now, she would be hiding in her bedroom and trying to sleep last night off. Her family could be a little much at times, and with a hangover they were like a tenor singing an opera through a megaphone into her ear.
In a kitchen thick with the scents of Italian spices, Annalisa was chopping lettuce into a giant wooden bowl when Aunt Julia, the gossip of the family, said, “Who is the young man walking up with flowers in his hand?”
A lump caught in Annalisa’s throat; a young man with flowers certainly wasn’t there to see Nonna. Rushing to the window, she craned her neck around Julia’s big hair and saw Thomas coming from his VW. Sure enough, he carried a bouquet of flowers, and an ambush of pleasure hit her before she could hide from it.
She raced out of the kitchen and, without a word, passed her family members drinking wine at the dining-room table. She ignored the others chatting in the living room as she ran to the front door, hoping she could get Thomas out of there before everyone saw him.
As Annalisa pulled open the door, she heard Aunt Julia running behind her, shouting, “Annalisa has a caller! Annalisa has a caller!”
The queasiness from the night before returned as Annalisa’s family, like a swarm of bees, moved to the window. A mix of Italian and English phrases rose up into the air.
“What are you doing here?” Annalisa asked, almost attacking Thomas as she descended the porch steps.
He stopped his approach and raised her scarf in his left hand. “You left this in my car, so I thought I’d come by and check on you. And I brought your grandmother flowers—if you’ll introduce me, that is.”
He looked admittedly handsome in a sharp khaki suit with a blue plaid tie, and he seemed so out of place here in the Mills. His shaggy blond hair was combed back with a part on the left side. A bouquet of daisies was cradled in his right arm. His endearing smile showed that he’d brought his confidence with him too.
“You can’t be here,” Annalisa said, looking back at her family members with their faces pressed to the glass. “My whole family’s inside.”
He followed her gaze. “I can see that; sorry. I wanted to see if you were feeling all right. That was quite a night.” As much as she didn’t want to admit it to herself, she was happy to see him. She was less eager for him to meet her family. “Can I come say hi?”
A voice from behind said, “Yes, you can.”
Annalisa turned to see Aunt Julia poking her head out from the cracked door. Her aunt rushed out of the house and nearly flew down the steps. She stuck out her hand to Thomas. “I’m Annalisa’s aunt Julia. Your name?” To go with her big hair, Aunt Julia had big something elses that had been drawing stares since her prom queen days.
He took her hand and introduced himself. “Wonderful to meet you.”
“You’ve come at the perfect time,” she said, completely oblivious to Annalisa standing there. “I know youbegli uominiare always hungry. We’re just about to have dinner.”
Oh my God.“No, no,” Annalisa said desperately, “he was just dropping something off.”
Aunt Julia peacocked her chest. “Well, unless he has other plans, I think he should join us. Would you like that, Thomas? We make some of the best food in the Mills.”
“I’d adore it. Thank you.” He looked at Annalisa for permission. “If that’s okay with you?”
She was at a loss for words, trying to think of some excuse but finding herself reluctant to seem rude or hurt his feelings.
And then it was too late.
“Of course it’s okay with her,” Aunt Julia said, literally circling Thomas and pushing his back as if she were a shepherd herding him up the steps and into the house.
“Look at thisbell’uomoI found out in the yard,” Aunt Julia announced as she pushed him into the house.
Thomas turned back to Annalisa, who stood cross armed in the yard. He mouthed a quick apology and then flashed a smile before the family consumed him.
With a shake of the head, Annalisa followed them in, her face probably as red as the pope’s velvet mozzetta. This couldn’t be happening.
