15
Bianca
“This is my brother Lucio,his wife Delilah, my sister Daphne, her husband Leo, my oldest brother Angelo, and his fiancée Tilly.”
I stand in stunned silence as Vinnie points to each sibling and their respective partner as we stand in the living room.It’s like I’ve walked into the twilight zone where everyone’s beautiful and muscular.The genes in this family run deep and strong.
Vinnie pulls me closer.“This is my girl, Bianca.”
I’m not the only one gawking.They’re looking at me like I’m an act in a sideshow.I almost wonder if I have something on my face because their eyes are hard and fixed on me.
“You brought a girl to dinner?”Daphne, his sister, asks like she’s in shock.
“Not just any girl, Daphne.Mygirl.”
He keeps calling me that, along with baby.Over and over again, he drives the point home, even though we haven’t had a conversation where we’ve solidified our relationship status.
Angelo nods slowly as a smile spreads across his face.“Never thought I’d see the day.”
I lean over, their eyes still on me, and whisper in Vinnie’s ear.“Why are they looking at me like that?”
He looks down with a small smirk and his hand firmly on my hip.“Because I never bring anyone to dinner.”
“Never?”
Vinnie shakes his head.
“Why me?”I ask as my belly flips.
“Because, baby, I told you…” He pauses and ticks his head toward his siblings.“You’re my girl.”
He’s already said that, but it doesn’t help explain anything.
“We’re happy to have you here, Bianca,” Lucio says as he bounces a tiny baby in his arms.“It’s not every day Vinnie brings home a girlfriend.”Lucio makes a funny face as he says the last word, as if it’s foreign on his tongue.
“It’s never happened.”Daphne steps around Lucio and Angelo and holds out her hand to me.“It’s wonderful to meet you.”Her eyes go to her brother.“It’s nice to see my brother is settling down.”
I know what she’s saying without her actually saying the words.Vinnie’s a player.I knew the type in high school and college.The big man on campus with so many girls fawning over him and vying for his attention it was bound to go to his head.I can’t even fathom the number of women Vinnie’s been with, and the very thought makes my stomach twist into a tight knot.
“Is Vinnie here?”a woman calls out from the next room.
“He is, and he brought agirlfriend!”Daphne yells back.
The woman runs out of the kitchen, wearing an apron and wielding a spatula like it’s a sword, and she comes straight toward us.Her beautiful red hair bounces near her shoulders when she stops right in front of us.She grabs Vinnie’s face, smashing his cheeks in her palms like he’s a little kid.“Baby,” she says and kisses his cheeks near her hands.“You look good.”She studies him for a second, thankfully, ignoring me.“You look happy.”
“I am, Ma,” he says, but his words are garbled.“This is Bianca.”
His mother releases her hold on him and takes a step back to look at me.Her eyes sweep from my face down and then back up.“Well, aren’t you a looker.”She smiles and moves closer.“High cheekbones, beautiful golden skin, hips perfect for baby-making.”
I give Vinnie the side-eye.I’ve never had anyone describe my hips as perfect baby-makers.I’m not a twig, never have been and never will be.But baby-maker?
“Hi,” I say nervously and fidget with my hands because I don’t know what else to do.
His siblings are in shock that I’m here, and his mother, much like my grandmother, already has us starting a family.
Awkward.
“You’re absolutely stunning.”His mother smiles before reaching out, handing Angelo the spatula and grabbing me into a bear hug.Vinnie’s hands disappear from my hips, giving me over to his mother without hesitation.
