Page 31 of The Bad Girl List

Mom’s smile lights the room. It makes me wilt inside. I want so badly to make her proud. Which means I need to double down on my efforts to find a new job as soon as we get back from vacation, preferably at a design firm that is even more prestigious than Presidio. With any luck, I can make it look like a strategic move to further my career, and she’ll never know I got fired.

“Which one?” Auntie Dee asks.

“What?” I ask, having lost the thread of the conversation.

“Which winery hired your firm for the label redesign? Maybe it’s one of the wineries on our schedule.”

“Oh, no,” Annika says. “She’s not going to tell you guys.”

“Why not?” Auntie Helen asks.

“Because if that winery is on the schedule, you guys will act weird when we go there. You’ll do something like accidentally-on-purpose mention that Dom is working on their label.”

Thank you, Annika.

“We wouldn’t do that,” Mom says, but her expression says otherwise.

“We know better than to embarrass you,” Auntie Helen says, but she also looks guilty.

“Uh-huh,” Annika says. “Nope, you guys don’t get to know the name of the winery Dom is designing for until our trip is over.”

I grab the vacation schedule off the table. Auntie Dee is infamous in our family for her schedules. The sheet of paper is divided into squares, each one labeled with a date. There’s a square for each day of vacation with the corresponding schedule. She even has driving times marked between each of the events, so we can plan accordingly.

And there it is. Moretti Winery. Third on our list today.

Of course we’re going to visit the winery that got me fired from Presidio. The universe is clearly out to screw with me. With the way my luck is going, I’ll run into Sophia while I’m there. Or even worse, Tim Moretti.

“You okay, Dom?” Mom asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say around a mouthful of sausage, hoping my fake smile looks genuine through my poor table manners. “Keep going, Auntie. What else is on the schedule today besides wine tasting?”

“I found a Groupon for Sizzler,” Auntie Helen says. “We’ll go there for dinner tonight.”

Auntie Helen is the family’s researcher. If there’s a bargain to be found, or a way to get out of paying full price, she’ll figure it out. I have no doubt she is the one who secured our 80s lodging for our trip.

She’s also the one who spent weeks researching digital design degrees when it was time for me to start applying for college. And when I graduated, my gift was a list of the top twenty firms I should apply to.

“We have twenty minutes to eat and finish getting ready,” Mom says. “That will put us at the first winery in time to get a good parking space.”

Auntie Dee is the scheduler, Auntie Helen is the researcher, but my mom is the organizer. She’s the one who brings everything together. She’ll be the one keeping an eye on the clock and making sure we stick to today’s timetable.

Some people might not like this, but Annika and I love our family vacation schedules. It means we don’t have to think. Everything is planned out for us, and all we have to do is show up and have a good time. We don’t have to plan meals, figure out where we’re going, or even drive. Plus, the aunties pay for all the outings and the VRBO.

“Dom and I have a present for the aunties.” Annika pulls a bag out from under her chair.

I had completely forgotten about the presents. Annika and I always put together a gift package for the aunties. This year’s is bound to be a hit. Annika and I spent weeks researching to put together the perfect present.

From the paper bag, Annika pulls out three packages wrapped in pink-and-yellow wrapping paper. As soon as we pass them around, the aunties enthusiastically tear into them.

Inside the wrapping paper are matching fanny packs. They are black leather with the words Chen Sisters embroidered on top. The three aunties exclaim in delight. Annika and I grin at one another.

“Open them,” I urge. “There’s more.”

Inside the fanny packs, each auntie has a mini tube of sunscreen, a bottle of hand sanitizer, and a stainless steel flask.

“It’s a wine tasting survival kit,” I say.

“You can use the flask for water or moonshine,” Annika says. “I have a bottle of moonshine in my suitcase if there are any takers.”

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