This time he hit me in the head with a snowball. “You love me,” he said, and then he hit me again. “Yeah, well, I love you too, motherfucker.”
Before stepping inside, I caught Scarlett looking down at us from the window in the kitchen. She disappeared as I opened the door.
* * *
Two days later, my wife and I were still keeping our cards close to our chests. I hadn’t sat down and had the conversation with Scarlett about Ettore. She still hadn’t been herself. Whatever she had been working out still must’ve been crumpled in her mind.
“You want to have the conversation?” I’d said to her.
“No. I have too much going on right now.”
The only reason I let it go was because I knew the subject line. The ballet: her career. And again, I couldn’t make the decision for her. Just talk it out when she was ready to admit it to herself.
It was our night to host what the girls calledfamiglianight. I didn’t see the use in giving it an official term, sincefamiglianight seemed to be almost every day and most nights.
Romeo had come up with a game he thought everyone would enjoy.
“We need tarp for the floors, skateboards, baskets, and plastic balls. I have already spoken to Donato. Chiara is collecting Little Donato’s play balls. And we have bought a couple of skateboards. Violet and Mick are bringing a few more so we have enough.”
Scarlett and I looked at each other.
He gave us a sly look. “Trust me.”
“It’s going to be fun,” Juliette put in. “Trust him.Thistime.”
Romeo had gone for his Juliette, and they were engaged until spring, when their wedding was scheduled to take place in Verona.
Juliette worked at the local high school, and Romeo had started his own security company. Still, he was close with the cops. Being what was the equivalent of a detective back in Italy made him naturally gravitate toward them. It was a good thing too, since Ettore’s newfound presence in our life might get complicated.
Romeo turned the sly look on her and then gave her a kiss. Her face flushed.
“We have extra hampers,” Scarlett said. “And tarp, from when we first moved in. They’re all in the basement.”
“We will get them.” Romeo patted me on the shoulder.
Juliette asked about the star maps I had given Scarlett for our anniversary, and the two women went in the opposite direction, Scarlett going on about how gorgeous they were.
A thump at the door made us all stop. I opened it to a deep voice booming, “HO-HO-HO!” Then the tip of a tree busted through, followed by the wide shoulders of my father-in-law.
“Give me a hand here, son,” he said, attempting to get the huge tree through the door. Needles were scattering all over the floor, along with snow, making a trail.
I took the tree and stood it against the picture window in the living room.
We had been so busy that we forgot to buy a Christmas tree, though Scarlett had placed all of her decorative items around the house after Thanksgiving. We had never failed to buy a tree before, though.
Everett patted me on the shoulder, proud as he took it in. “It just needs some hot water and some decorations.”
He was followed by Scarlett’s mother, Pnina, and her sister, Charlotte, who had her newest baby, Rachel, on her hip. Scarlett and Juliette joined them as they stood admiring the plain tree. It was full, but I wasn’t sure how Scarlett felt about it. We spent hours every year looking for the right tree. She liked them full and a certain shape.
“It’s beautiful, Daddy,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Thank you for bringing it.”
“My darlin’ needed a tree.” He squeezed her. “Her daddy delivered.”
Her parents and her sister’s family were spending the holidays in New York. They all had places close by.
The tree filled the house with a natural smell, its sap and freshly cut stem mixing with the scents coming from the kitchen and the roses from our anniversary.
Charlotte took in the walls, all of the roses, with a raised eyebrow. To say that Charlotte and Scarlett seemed to come from two different families was an understatement. Not only in looks.
