Stone yanks on Pop’s beard and giggles, distracting him from Fran’s statement. “You little stinker.” Pop lifts him in the air, exposing his stomach, and gives him a sloppy raspberry against his belly button.
“Why don’t the girls go into the kitchen and work on dinner, and the boys can stay out here and watch the kids,” Ma says, hooking her arm with Fran’s and trying to pry her from Bear’s body.
“Sure,” I say, climbing to my feet after kissing Michael. I’ve been in the family long enough to know “work on dinner” is code for drink and gossip.
“We’ll hold down the fort out here,” Joe tells Suzy when she stands as I pass by her and pull her with me, needing a glass of wine and a little girl talk.
By the time Suzy and I step foot in the kitchen, Fran already has seven wineglasses on the island and Ma has started to pour the wine.
“Sit,” Ma says, motioning toward the stools with her chin. “Fran, we want to hear all about it.”
“I’m going to need more wine if we’re going to talk about old-people sex.”
“Stop being a brat, Izzy. You’re not too far off from being old,” Ma teases.
Izzy gasps with wide eyes. “I’m in my thirties, Ma. I’m far from a senior citizen.”
“You’re no spring chicken anymore, sweetheart,” Fran says, grabbing a glass from the countertop and lifting it near her mouth. “Just yesterday, I was in my thirties. Goes by in the blink of an eye. You’ll all be old soon enough.?
??
Each of us grabs a glass, silence falling over the room as we all take a larger than usual sip, contemplating Fran’s words.
Every year, time moves faster, and nothing I do makes it slow.
“So, how was the honeymoon?” Suzy asks first as the rest of us continue to drink.
Fran rests her elbows on the counter, leaning forward and holding her wineglass in one hand. “I’ve never experienced anything like it.”
Izzy sighs loudly before guzzling the wine, holding it with both hands.
“Bear is an animal in the sack. I can’t believe I can even walk after it all.” She snorts against the back of her hand. “The man should’ve been an acrobat.”
“Sounds like you had a great time,” I say, feeling slightly awkward hearing about their sex life. She’s not my mother or aunt, but I’ve grown to think of her as a friend and I love her.
“Girl, there’s something about a big, muscular guy twirling you around and bending you like you’re a Twizzler.”
“You mean a pretzel,” Max corrects her, finally entering the conversation.
“Whatever. Who knew I was so damn flexible?”
“Anthony does this thing with his…”
Izzy grunts. “Not enough wine in the world for this conversation.” She grabs one of the bottles off the counter and heads back toward the living room. “I’m going to sit with the guys and watch the World Series for the millionth time. At least that won’t make my stomach turn.”
When Izzy storms out of the room, we giggle loudly.
“She’s such an uptight princess sometimes,” Max says, rolling her eyes. “We have to hear about her chains and whips all the time, but Lord forbid we talk about one of her brother’s cocks.”
“I don’t like hearing about Sal and Maria. It took me years not to want to throw up every time Maria would talk about their sex life,” Fran admits.
“Well, shit. Who else was I going to tell? You’re my best friend.” Maria fills our wineglasses before refilling her own. “Fran, later you can tell me all the steamy details. We don’t want to make the young ones in the room faint.”
“Thank you, baby Jesus,” Max mutters into her glass.
“It’s time.” Ma pushes a stack of plates in front of Suzy and me, and we know the routine. It’s the same every week and is like a well-choreographed machine. Half of us set the table and get the troops set, while the other half prep the food and carry it out.
Someday, the men will do something more than watch sports and bullshit.
MIKE
I get Lily situated at the children’s table before coming to sit next to Mia and Stone at the adults’ table. “Did you get her something to drink?” Mia asks just as my ass touches the chair.
I climb to my feet again even though I’m so hungry I feel like I could pass out at any second. “No,” I grumble. “She’s ten. Her legs aren’t broken.”
I know I’m a whiny bitch. I love my kids and wife, but there’s a limit to my selflessness and it seems to be when I’m hungry. Keeping my body in tip-top shape isn’t easy.
“Just do it,” Mia orders me with a piercing stare while she cuts Stone’s food into the smallest pieces possible. By the way she’s stabbing at the meat, I’d say I pissed her off.
After pouring Lily a glass of milk, I collapse into the chair next to my lovely wife and begin to fill my plate without talking. Everyone is chattering around me, but I’m too hungry to do more than grunt.
“Should you be eating all those carbs?” Izzy asks, pointing at my plate with her fork.
“It’s Christmas. This is my cheat day.” I narrow my gaze at my nosy sister. “Mind your own business.”
“When’s the next fight?” James asks as he hands me the giant pan of lasagna.
“In a month,” I tell him, scooping out the biggest helping I can get away with without getting yelled at by Ma.
“We’ll all be there, son,” Pop says, which makes me smile.
My big and sometimes annoying family has been nothing short of amazing. They’ve always supported my choice to fight, and even after I quit and decided to go back, they followed my every move. Even Mia. I thought she was going to have a coronary when I told her I missed it, but the woman told me to follow my dream, even if it included pounding someone’s face in. I remember when we first met, she hated the idea of me being a fighter. She said it went against her oath or some bullshit as a doctor to watch me beat the piss out of another man. But I saw the fire in her eyes the first time she saw me fight. It turned her on, and she couldn’t deny it. Even to this day, she protests violence, but I always get pussy after a match.
Max wipes Asher’s face. I’ve never seen a baby eat as much as that little man does. When he gets older, he just may give me a run for my money.
“Let me do that, baby. Just eat,” Anthony tells her, taking the napkin from her hand.
His unusual selflessness and tenderness earn him funny looks from the entire table. Anthony isn’t known for his soft side, but he’s changed over the years. Between Max and his kids, he’s turned into a smartass teddy bear instead of the reckless manwhore he used to be.
If I’m being completely honest, all of us have changed. I’m still an asshole, but Mia makes me want to be a better person. I’m still a work in progress, but I’m getting there.
“Fine spread you have here, Mar.” Bear jams a chunk of meatball into his mouth and moans. His lack of table manners sometimes makes me look like a gentleman. I think it’s why I like him so much.
“Thanks, Bear.” Ma smiles. “Shit. We didn’t say a prayer and our thanks. Sal, sweetheart, can you start?”
There’s a collective groan before forks clank against everyone’s plates. I bow my head and hope the kids get so out of control that we eventually skip finishing and go back to eating.
“Behave,” Mia says and puts her hand on my knee.
“Higher,” I whisper with a smirk.
“I’ll go first,” Fran says, standing up and looking around the table. “I’m thankful for my family and my new husband. I never thought life could be this good.”
“Babe, I love the hell out of you,” Bear tells her and then stands. “I’m thankful for my wife and friends around this table and those who couldn’t be with us tonight. And thanks to Maria for the amazing food that’s getting cold.”
