“Let me taste.” I dip Rose’s spoon into the bubbling pot, blow, then sip.
In truth, it doesn’t need squat but in order to make peace, I hold my palm and Mia pours enough spice to melt the polar ice caps.
I dump most in the sink, add a pinch to the tomatoes, and scold. “Sta zitto. Shut it.”
“Hey, where’s the wine at?” My uncle Vinny squeezes past Aunt Marion who’s pouring pasta into a strainer.
She tosses her head at the stemware on the kitchen table and the open bottle of chard. “What, you blind?”
He pours, I raise my glass with the rest of my family, and clink.
“Salute.” While I set the table, my wise Italian grandmother, the one who warned me about wet hair and other dangers, appears.
“Nonna, so good to see you. How are you?” I kiss her on both cheeks.
“Bene, bene. My back, she hurts but everything else is fine for such an old lady. Come sit, sit. Talk to me. What big, famous detective story you tell me, huh?”
I recall the haunted condo next door and wonder if she can help. “Do you remember the church across from the subway station?”
She makes a sign of the cross, and kisses the one around her neck. “Si. Si. Molto brutto.”
“Bad how?”
I try to get more out of her but when my aunt puts the pasta on the table, it means no talking until after we say grace. Then, I forget as everyone stuffs their faces, gossiping, laughing, and drinking.
“Mangia, mangia.” In a perfect imitation of Nonna, Suds piles food in front of me.
“I’ve already had thirds. If I eat anymore, I’ll bust a gut.”
He chuckles and jams a roll into my mouth.
My dad, sitting at the head of table, raises a brow and I shrug back.Hell if I know, papa.
“Cheesecake?” Rose takes my plate and I jump up, eager to stop the madness.
We clear the dishes, the women chat in the kitchen, and the men amble outside to discuss the intricacies of football, tomatoes and fruit trees.
Nonna tires easily, so my Mom helps her into the living room.
With them out of earshot, my cousin grabs a dishtowel. “What’s up with Suds shoveling food into your mouth?”
“I have no idea. Do you think I’m too thin?” I rinse a pan and hand it to her to dry.
Sitting at the kitchen table, Princess Mia takes another sip of wine. “You look fine to me… By the way, I heard the police are going to arrest Sienna.”
Rose shushes her. “You know she can’t talk about her cases.”
“Why not? It’s not like she’s a priest or somethin’.” My younger cousin glares at her sister who no doubt hopes to have some dirt to share with the salon ladies tomorrow.
“You’re not holding out are you, Sam? We’re huge Sienna fans.”
“I can tell you she stayed overnight at my place, then went to her brother’s house. I think-”
The door opens and Suds comes in from the small courtyard with Kimmy asleep on his shoulder. “Y’all know where I can put her down?”
Holy shit. Hot man with a baby alert.
My Aunt Marion shows him to the crib in the spare room and I follow, mesmerized. After, he gently places the little cherub down, he kisses me.
