Page 28 of Without Me (Men of Inked 5)
Before I could get to her side, she opened the door and stood.
“Hey,” I said. “I was going to get that for you.”
“I got it, Anthony. I’m a big girl.”
“I know,” I said, nodding. “But my mother may be watching.” I looked toward the house, trying to see if I could spot her face in the windows.
“You’re really scared of her, aren’t you?” she asked before laughing softly as she placed her hand in mine.
“No. I’m not scared of Ma. I just never want to disappoint her, Max.”
She stopped walking, pulling me back by our connected hands. “Anthony, you’re making it really hard today for me to see that asshole I met in the bar.”
I grinned as I looked down at her. “I don’t ever want to be that man again, Max.”
“I like him. He’s frisky. Bring him out every once in a while for me. He’s a freak in the sheets, and I adore the hell out of him.”
“I can do that,” I responded before brushing my thumb along her jaw line.
“Lipstick,” she reminded me.
I blew out a breath and looked toward the sky. Today would be an exercise in self-control, and I could already feel it slipping.
I reached for the door handle as Max said, “You can’t just go inside.”
I looked at her, confused. “Yeah, I can. We do it all the time. I grew up in this house. Trust me. Everyone is beyond knocking at this point.”
“Okay.” She smiled at me and gave my hand a quick squeeze.
“Here we go,” I said as I opened the door and took a step inside. “Ma! Pop!” I yelled in the foyer, and waited for them to come to us.
“Should I take my shoes off?” Max whispered as she glanced down at her feet.
“Nah. You’re a guest.”
“Anthony!” Pop called out before I heard the squeak of the recliner being righted.
Ma walked out of the kitchen, entering the foyer with her arms outstretched. “Baby,” she said, motioning for us to come to her with her fingers.
As I reached for her, she grabbed Max and wrapped her into a giant hug. I stood there watching it as it happened. I no longer was the center of attention when I walked in the door. I now had another half, one who captured my parents’ attention more than I did.
“Hi,” Max said quietly. There was no doubt that the hug had cut off her ability to speak any louder.
“Son,” Pop called out as he walked in and held his hand out to me.
“Pop.” I shook his hand, stealing glances at the two most important women in my life.
“Let me get a good look at you,” Ma said, holding Max by the shoulders and looking her over. “You’re so beautiful.”
Max beamed at the compliment. “Thank you, Mrs. Gallo.”
“Maria, please. You’re prettier than Anthony described you.”
Max shot me a look over her shoulder. For the love of God, why had Ma had to say that? I’d told everyone she was drop-dead gorgeous.
“Anthony said you looked like a grown-up Rudy from The Cosby Show, but I say you’re a prettier version of Gabrielle Union.”
Hold up a second. I couldn’t believe that my mother had just told her about my Rudy comparison. I wanted to crawl into a hole. I’d never uttered those words to Max. I had been too worried about my balls to even drop it in passing. Beyond that, I was shocked my mother knew who Gabrielle Union was. The woman was full of surprises.
“He did, did he?” Max asked, glancing at me as I made my way next to them.
“Ma, we can drop the BET references. I think Pop needs to take away the controller.”
Ma smiled and slapped me on the arm. “Baby, I don’t know what BET is, but I know a beautiful woman when I see one.”
“Who do I look like, Ma?” I asked, fishing for a compliment.
“What’s that boy’s name?” She tapped her lip as I pulled Max to my side.
“A boy? I’m kind of old for that.” I squeezed her waist, feeling her body shake from laughter.
I glanced down at Max and smiled. I was glad she was enjoying herself. She looked more relaxed than she had when we’d walked in.
“Ahhh. Zac Efron. You look like him.” She nodded excitedly.
“Ma, he’s, like, twelve.”
“Oh, no. He’s all grown up now, Anthony. Your sister Googled him. He’s almost thirty. He’s very grown up,” she said as she wiggled her eyebrows.
“Jesus,” I mumbled. “Kind of pervy, Ma. Don’t you think?” I felt a little uncomfortable.
“I may be old, son, but I’m not dead.”
“Pop,” I said, turning to face him. “What do you think of this?” I motioned toward Ma with my head.
“He sure is pretty,” he replied, and snorted.
“Nice.” I shook my head.
Pop cleared his throat, reminding me that I hadn’t introduced him to Max. “Max, this is my pop, Mr. Gallo, and Pop, this is Max.”
“Max,” Pop said, holding out his arms for a hug.
“Mr. Gallo.” Max smiled and returned the hug he’d wrapped her in.
“Sal.” Pop smiled at me over her shoulder and gave a thumbs-up.
I chuckled to myself, trying not to ruin their moment.
“Sal,” Max repeated.
“Shall we go into the living room?” Pop asked as he released Max.
“Sure.” I nodded, holding Max. “Where is everyone?” I asked, surprised no one else had come barging through the door.
“I told them to come fifteen minutes later today,” said Ma.
“You did?” I asked, in complete shock. Never, ever had that happened before.
“Yes. I wanted to meet Max before everyone arrived. I didn’t want it to be crazy. I thought we could have a few minutes to ourselves before they showed up.”
“But that’s, like, sacrilegious or something, Ma.”
“We don’t want to overwhelm her, Anthony.”
“I’m not breakable, Mrs. Gallo,” Max said. “I have a very large, loud family. I’m used to a lot of people.”
I knew about her mother and brother, but I didn’t know how large the rest of her family was. Soon enough, I’d find out, and then neither of us would ever have a peaceful weekend alone.
“We’re good, Max. It was for purely selfish reasons, I assure you,” Ma said. “Why don’t you and Sal go sit down and Anthony and I will grab some drinks before the others arrive.”
I knew that confusion was written all over my face. My mother never needed help getting drinks. She must have wanted something or had something to say.
“Sure,” Max said, giving me a small smile before following my pop into the living room.
“What are you up to?” I asked Ma.
“Nothing,” she said flatly before turning her back and walking into the kitchen.
I followed her in and propped myself up on the counter. “Don’t lie, Ma. You have something to say.”
“She’s beautiful, Anthony. Stunning, actually. I’m so happy for you, son.”
“That’s it?” I asked with one eyebrow raised.
“Did you find out her test results yet?” Ma asked as she pulled down four drinking glasses from the cabinet.
“Not yet. It’s been a couple of weeks, but we possibly still have weeks to go before we hear anything.”
She sighed. “Tears me up, baby.”
“What does, Ma?”
“Thinking of that beautiful girl and what she has to be going through inside.”
“She’s okay.” I crossed my arms over my chest, knowing that I’d get swatted if I tried to help. My mother never liked any of her boys touching things in her kitchen when it could be avoided.
“Son. You’ve had good health your entire life. You’ve never had to wait for a test to hear your fate. I’ve been there. Your father has been there. I know how it’s eating her up on the inside.”
“What?” I asked. “When did you and Pop wait on test results?” I was confused. Clearly, there were things my paren
ts had held out on in the sharing department.
“Sweetheart, you don’t get to our age without a couple of scares. Don’t worry. We’re healthy. I’ve just been there. I know how it feels to wait to hear if you’re going to be okay or if you should start planning a funeral. It’s horrible.” She shook her head as she poured the drinks.
“I know. It’s eating me alive. Waiting to hear what her future holds is killing me slowly—I can’t imagine what it’s doing to her. I forced her into taking the test. I feel like shit because of it, too.”
“Anthony,” she said as she set the bottle of Pepsi on the counter and looked at me. “You’re only doing what’s best. Living with the assumption that you’re going to be sick isn’t a way to live. It’s like a noose around your neck and waiting for the bottom to fall out. Once you two know the results, you can either rejoice in the good fortune or move forward with the knowledge and live every day like it’s the most important day of your life. Things can change in an instant, but knowledge is power, baby.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ve always been a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of guy.” I pushed off the counter and grabbed two glasses. “Thanks, Ma.”
