Chapter 7
Lainie
With my entire family assembled in my dad’s dining room, I place two out of three pizzas in the center of the table, announcing, “Voila, pizza is served.”
I watch my dad scramble to his seat at the head of the table and one-by-one my sisters follow. Back in the kitchen, I pick up the third pizza, sausage, and a fruit pizza I whipped up for dessert. By the time I make it back into the dining room, the pepperoni pizza is completely gone and the second is nearly there. “Geesh, people. Are you hungry or what?”
Mumbles and chewing sounds are all the response I get or need. I love to feed my family. “Save me a slice of that Hawaiian pizza, please.” I didn’t buy them like that. I bought basic cheese pizzas and doctored them up with our favorite toppings when I got here. Yeah, I know. When I add extra cheese and other goodies, I’m only adding calories. Lewis used to remind me of that on a daily basis. But, that’s what Mom used to do so I do it too.Suck it, Lewis.
I snicker out loud which causes all five to look up at me. “What?”
“You’re laughing to yourself,” Keelys says. “Did you spit on our pizza or something?”
Violet giggles while Sadie and Agatha look affronted. “No. Of course not. I just had a funny thought in my head. About Lewis.”
A collective groan is heard from every member of my clan, my dad the loudest as he mutters, “Don’t mention him at the table. I’ll lose my appetite.”
“Fine. Eat up. I made fruit pizza too.” Placing that in front of my own spot, I slap away Keely’s hand before she can take a slice. “Eat your dinner first, Keely.”
She curses under her breath muttering, “I’m not a baby. Jesus.”
I know she’s not a baby but I have a hard time remembering that sometimes. “Sorry, Keels. I forget sometimes.”
She reaches for the fruit pizza again and I slap her hand away once more. My dad and remaining sisters laugh out loud. “
“Assholes.” That’s Keely’s only rebuttal.
I bite into the slice Violet set on my plate and moan. “How can a frozen pizza taste this good?”
“Well, because once it got here, you made it something else,” says Sadie. “You’re good at that. Making something out of nothing.”
I think about my marriage when she says that. I’m not sure why.
After dinner, Dad volunteers to clean up the dishes, what there is of them, while we make our way down to the basement. Agatha grabs a bottle of wine from the wine fridge and Sadie brings five glasses.
“Okay, so what’s this little meeting about?” That’s Agatha.
“Well, I wanted to tell you all about my day at Gustafson Custom Motorcycles.”
“Why did you go there?” Agatha again.
“Because, she’s writing a romance book about a biker gang and their bitches,” Keely replies smugly.
“Seriously?” Sadie looks shocked. I guess I forgot to tell a couple of my sisters.
“Yes. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I wanted to research it, you know, so I was writing from experience. Anyway, I scoped out this place and thought it was a motorcycle club. Guys in cuts were in there all the time.”
“Cuts? What’s that?” asks Violet.
“A cut is a leather vest. It usually has patches on it to tell us their name of their club.”
“Okay, okay,” says Keely using her hand to motion for me to move along.
“I went over there to interview someone about the club. A super cute guy named Eric told me I had to talk to the boss. I followed him through the showroom, which was amazing by the way, down a long hallway, to an office. The second I entered said office, I nearly fainted.”
“Why?” asks Violet. She’s moved to the edge of her seat, literally.
“Because,” I sigh. “He was the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen.”
