Then I look at my family. Everly has her hands covering her eyes, two fingers spread out over her right eye so she can peek. Vivi swings Knox into her arms, looking pleased.
My mother is beaming. "Knew it," she calls out. "Come here," she motions to Mallory. "The last time I saw you I didn't know you were pregnant. I want to hear everything."
Mallory steps into my mom, who places an arm around her shoulders. "Tell me about the idiot who let you go. Just kidding, I don't care about him. Tell me how my son has cared for you."
Mom leads Mallory away, toward the living room. Aunt Carmen takes Knox from Vivi, and asks Everly if she'd like to see the new coloring book she bought recently.
Vivi begins pulling vegetables from the crisper, chicken thighs from butcher paper. We get to work, and Vivi is quiet. She's working her way up to saying something to me, so I wait.
She's lifting the skin off the chicken thighs, rubbing seasoning under it, when she finally breaks.
"I like her, Hugo. As a person, and for you."
"But?" I'm peeling carrots, watching the peels go everywhere except the garbage can I'm aiming for.
"But what are you getting yourself into? She's pregnant."
My back teeth gnash. "I noticed."
"Are you signing yourself up to be this child's father? Because if you're not, you need to think long and hard about what you're doing."
"It's sweet of you to be concerned about me, but?—"
"I love you, Hugo, but I'm not concerned about you. I'm worried for Mallory. Being a new mom is hard even with a partner. And here you come, bringing adrenaline and oxytocin, playing house. Playingfamily. What happens if one day you decide you've changed your mind? You've realized you don't want to raise another man's child?" Vivi's squeezing a chicken thigh, mangling it. I don't think she knows she's doing it. "That woman knows she's going to be a single mom. Don't make her be a single mom with a broken heart."
I could be mad at my sister's words, her lack of faith in me. I'd be justified. Instead, I wrap my arms around her. She is stiff, and then she softens.
"Why are you hugging me?" she asks, in a defeated voice.
"Because you need it," I answer. If it's not me who gets the pleasure of knocking out my sister's ex, I hope I can shake the hand of the man who shows Vivi she's worth more than what she's received.
"Sometimes, everything really hurts," she admits, her head on my shoulder. "I don't want Mallory to hurt, too."
"I will be the last person in the world who will hurt her."
Vivi sighs. "You give me hope. Maybe I'll meet someone one day, a man who doesn't mind that I have two kids and some untended trauma."
I give her an extra squeeze before releasing her. "Whoever he is, I'm going to have to vet him."
"If you scare him away, you'll have to accept the fact that I'm moving into your house with my two kids."
"If it's possible for him to be scared away, he didn't deserve you in the first place."
Vivi smiles gratefully at me. She notices the crushed chicken thigh on her cutting board and tosses it in the trash. "I might want to take up kickboxing, or some other sport where I can get out my aggression."
She washes her hands with hot, soapy water, saying, "Don't worry, I didn't touch you with these hands."
Vivi and I work side by side preparing dinner. At some point Mallory returns, jumping in to set the table.Everly entertains us during dinner, Aunt Carmen regales Mallory with her personal favorites from the obituaries she has authored, and Knox makes it clear he'd like to be held by Mallory when dinner is finished.
My mother, undeterred by my groans, brings out a photo album of me growing up. "Get over it," she tells me. "I've been waiting my whole life to show you off."
Mallory is game to play along, sitting next to my mom on the couch while she flips through the album. School pictures and holidays, Mallory patiently listens to my mom talk. "I was so proud of him that day," my mom brags, pointing to a photo she took of me at the medal ceremony. It's not a good photo, I'm not looking at the camera, but she took it, and she loved it enough to place it in an album.
The second Mallory yawns, I usher her from the house.
"We'll see you soon," I remind my mom when she frowns. "I live just over that slope."
I've been waiting all evening to get Mallory home. I want her again. Need her, really. She is a sun I never want to set, a wave I hope always crests.
