“I know. They all knew this morning at breakfast. And your mom already filled my mom in, too.”
My phone was still in the drawer upstairs, but Mom had tracked me down at the nursery. That wasnota call I wanted to get. At least she felt so bad for me that she didn’t even mention my detour last night. And I had to laugh when I heard Margot in the background, yelling, “Tell her I sent more pictures!”
“Don’t let Aunt Maggie Mae give you any crap,” Olivia says. “She’ll use any excuse to talk about how Mary Jo’s boyfriend is being wooed by both LSU and Bama, and how Jo Lynn’s boyfriend just got an early acceptance letter to A&M.”
“It’s hard to believe anyone would date the Evil Joes.”
“That’s exactly what Charlie keeps saying.” Olivia turns off the car and we both stare at the house.
“Are you ready for this?” she asks.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
When we step inside, we’re greeted with pure chaos. The younger cousins race through the halls on scooters, RipStiks, and one another’s backs.
“Hey, Sophie! Hey, Olivia!” the tiny voices ring out as they lap us. The last little one to pass is one of my youngest cousins, Webb. He’s flying down the hall on his scooter wearing black boxer briefs and a Superman T-shirt.
“Webb,” I say. “You seem to be missing your pants.”
Olivia waves him off. “He’s going through an anti-pants phase. Refuses to wear them if he’s in the house. Any house.”
Papa and a few of my uncles are parked in front of the TV, arguing about the game. I lean down to kiss Papa on the cheek. Charlie and one of my other cousins, Graham, snuck him out of the nursery to go fishing this afternoon while Nonna was busy in the greenhouse.
“How many did you catch?” I whisper.
He chuckles and ruffles my hair. “Five, but don’t tell your grandmother.”
Of course, Nonna was the one who asked Charlie and Graham to come get him when she realized Papa needed a break.
“There are my girls,” Nonna calls from the stove when we enter the kitchen. She’s wearing herCiao Y’allapron and she looks like she was doused in flour. “Why don’t you both set the table? We’re almost ready.”
Olivia grabs the place mats and I follow behind with the plates.
“Sophie,” Aunt Camille calls out. She’s at the counter next to Nonna, sprinkling croutons on the salad. “What happened with your boyfriend? And who’s this Paige girl? Was he cheating on you with her?”
Olivia throws me a look over her shoulder, then rolls her eyes.Here we go.
“There’s no girl named Paige. He was talking to his friend Parker,” I answer.
Aunt Kelsey, who has a daughter on each hip and one clinging to her leg, limps into the room. There’s usually a fourth little girl attached to her, so I scan the area to see which one is missing.
“Where’s Birdie?” I ask her.
Aunt Kelsey does a quick check and seems to notice for the first time one of her littles is missing. She rolls her eyes and yells to her husband, “Will? Do you have Birdie?”
A muffledyesbounces back.
She shakes her head, then continues into the room. “I can’t believe he broke up with you,” she says before dropping the three attached to her one by one into the high chairs lined up against the wall.
“I think his crime is moreIntent to Break Up, Kelsey,” Nonna adds.
The problem with the phone tree is a lot of the details get mixed up.
Aunt Maggie Mae snorts. “Well, I never liked him. You could tell he was up to no good by just looking in those eyes. Not like Mary Jo’s boyfriend. LSU and Bama are both justdyingto get him. We hope he picks LSU; I just don’t think I can root for Bama, even if my future son-in-law is the quarterback.”
Olivia pretends to gag.
“You didn’t think Griffin was too bad when he helped fix your tire last summer,” Uncle Sal says.
