Joe places his arm on my shoulder. “She’s probably overwhelmed, man. We’re a lot to digest at once.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
Maybe it’s just the number of people who have been here this week and all the family events that are wearing her down. Maybe she’s thinking of the family she missed out on since her parents passed away. There’re so many variables that could be setting her off this week that I didn’t even consider when my mother planned a family reunion centered around our wedding.
Joe grabs a beer from the fridge and hands it to me. “Don’t let your mind wander places it shouldn’t. Suzy has so many mood swings, half the time I don’t know if she’s pissed or happy. It’s just how shit is sometimes. We’ll be gone in a few days, and things will be back to normal.”
“Hey, asshats, come down here and sit with us!” Anthony yells from the outside seats, facing the field. “Let the ladies be. They could use a break from you two, hovering over them.”
“Your brother’s annoying,” I tell Joe as I take a sip of the beer.
“Man, they’re all a pain in my ass.” Joe smiles.
I can’t disagree, but I know we both love our siblings and couldn’t imagine life without them. I’m sure there’s a part of Tilly that has to wonder how her life would’ve been different if she weren’t an only child.
We’re halfway down the stairs to the seats when Vinnie says, “Bianca and I have an announcement.”
I stop and turn around, shocked and happy he’s finally going to tell the family he and Bianca are expecting their first child.
He grabs Bianca and pulls her close, throwing his arm around her shoulders. “We’ve decided to get married at city hall tomorrow afternoon, and it would mean a lot to us if you’d celebrate with us. But none of the parents can know. We want it to be a total surprise for them.”
“City hall?” Lucio asks, rubbing the back of his neck and gawking at my brother in confusion.
“We’ll do the big church wedding later, but we don’t want to wait another minute to become husband and wife.” Vinnie stares down at Bianca and smiles.
I wait, expecting the other surprise to pop from his lips, but instead, he says, “Pizza and beer at Vito & Nick’s afterward. Remember, don’t tell the parents anything.”
My brother always does stuff the hard way or, should I say, differently. I shouldn’t be surprised he didn’t drop the pregnancy news just yet, especially without my mother here. She’d pull his hair for doing it when she wasn’t around.
“You tell us when, and we’ll be there, kid,” Mike says with a quick chin lift.
The girls rush to Bianca’s side, hugging her and telling her how excited they are.
I pull my brother to the side. “You finally going to come clean?”
He shoves his hand into his pocket. “Tomorrow at dinner after we’re married. You know Ma and Pop have to be there for me to announce it. Ma would straight up kill me.”
“I’m pretty sure everyone here already knows,” I tell him.
He raises his eyebrows. “How?”
I slap him on the back and laugh. “After you spend nine months with a pregnant woman, you’ll be able to spot one from a mile away, little brother. It doesn’t help that Bianca’s suddenly stopped drinking and keeps resting her hand against her stomach like she’s literally holding a secret.”
His gaze drifts to Bianca, who is, in fact, holding her stomach as she chats with the girls. “Well, just one more day and it won’t matter. We’ll be married, and her parents can’t ship her off to a convent somewhere.”
“I don’t think shit works like that anymore.” I laugh. “But you have a better chance of her father not punching you in the face when he hears the news.”
“I plan to be as far away from him as possible when we make the announcement. I won’t take any chances. It’s not like I can fight the man. It’s her father, after all.”
“Well, you never did anything the easy way,” I say with a smile before pulling him into a hug. “Fatherhood will be good for you.”
He doesn’t look convinced. He looks like a nervous wreck, which was exactly how I felt when Tate was on the way. I thought I wasn’t ready, but then again, I’m not sure anyone really is. There’s no way to prepare for the sleepless nights, the endless diapers, and constant feedings. Your time is no longer your own, and the realization of the commitment you’ve made by creating the tiny human doesn’t hit you square in the face until it’s too late.
“I’m scared, man.”
I pull back and grab his shoulders. “We all were. It’s normal, and you have all of us to help you through the hard shit.”
“Will you come to city hall tomorrow as my witness and best man?” he asks.
