“Ava! It’s Mamá Alvarez. How are you doing?”
“I’m great. Thanks for asking.”
“And my son is treating you well?”
I suppress a giggle. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good, good. I’m looking forward to your arrival in Santa Luz.”
“I am too,” I say, curious to see the place where Fernando grew up.
“Now, I was wondering if I might be able to get your opinion on something.”
Fernando crosses his arms and mouths“wait for it”to me.
I shoot him a curious look. “Sure.”
“How would you feel about me organizing a little welcome dinner for you and Fernando?”
He rolls his eyes.“Little is an understatement,”he mouths to me.
Picking up on my fake boyfriend’s frustrations, I ask, “Er, how many people did you have in mind? I was hoping I’d have some one-on-one time with Fernando’s immediate family, like yourself and Mr. Alvarez.” He flashes me a thumbs-up. “But if you think a bigger gathering is better...”
“No, you are absolutely right. There’s no need to invite the whole family.”
“I’m glad you’re seeing reason,” Fernando says, wiping his brow in mock relief. “Anyway, Mamá, is Tía Yesenia with you? I want to treat Ava to a spa day. I need some recommendations on where we should go.”
We hear a few muffled sounds. Another woman’s voice I recognize as his aunt comes onto the line. “A spa day? How romantic!”
Fernando opens his mouth to correct her, but I shake my head. “Yes, he’s been spoiling me like a princess the entire week.”
“Good boy. That’s how we raised you,” Tía Yesenia says, a hint of pride in her voice. “Fernando, take your woman to the Malvarrosa Resort and Spa. Ask for Ana, the manager. She’ll look after you herself.”
“Gracias, Tía. I knew we could count on you.” He takes the phone off speaker, finishes the conversation with his aunt, and disconnects the call.
“That wasn’t so bad,” I say, picking out a few more almonds for myself.
“We got off easy, thanks to you.”
“How many people would your mom have invited given the chance?”
“ThinkMy Big Fat Greek Wedding.”He places the phone on the table, leans back in his chair, and stretches. “A small family gathering to Mamá includes everyone who lives within driving distance of their home. About forty people.”
“That many? Is your parents’ home that large?”
“Sí. My parents run a bed and breakfast. The building has ten guest rooms, a large dining room, and an outdoor patio.”
“What happens when your relatives not within driving distance are also invited over?”
“The one time that’s happened, for my abuela’s ninetieth birthday, Mamá rented a ballroom in one of the local hotels.”
I let out a low whistle. “And here I thought having seven people at Thanksgiving was a lot. You win the prize for the largest extended family, maybe ever.”
“Nope. That prize would go to our neighbors, the Rodriguezes. They have an even larger family. At last count, I think there were just over fifty of them.”
All I can say is, “Wow.”
We get out of our seats. Fernando takes care of cleaning up our trash as I move along at a glacial pace.
