I’ve got nothing.
Mary Jo drops down beside Charlie, her paper fluttering to rest on the table, and snatches his pencil.
Charlie lets out a loud breath, then reaches for one of the pencils in the center of the table he earlier deemed inferior.
“All right, everyone is here!” Nonna exclaims. “And I think this is by far the most graduates we’ve ever had at one time!”
My family is huge. And loud. My grandfather was born and raised in Sicily, but he met my grandmother while he was studying here. He was only supposed to stay in the US for a year, but they fell in love, got married, and had eight kids. He never went back to Sicily. Well, except for vacations. They celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary a few months ago. The same party where Aunt Patrice and Uncle Ronnie danced like no one was watching even thougheveryonewas watching. They’re both a little odd. Nonna and Papa = couple goals. Aunt Patrice and Uncle Ronnie? Not so much.
There are six of us graduating this year: Charlie, Sophie, Wes, the Evil Joes, and me. I glance down the table, where Wes sticks out as the only blond in the sea of dark hair. Wes has lived next door to Nonna and Papa his entire life and grew up with us. There are also over twenty members of the Messina family packed into the kitchen—aunts and uncles and cousins—some who have gone through this before us and others who will follow us. Oh, and one stranger.
I take one more peek at the guy next to Aunt Maggie Mae. He’s leaning against the far wall, arms crossed in front of him. He catches me staring, so I quickly swivel back around, embarrassed I got busted.
Nonna gets everyone’s attention. “Okay, let’s get started.”
Jo Lynn sits up a little taller in her chair and looks toward her parents. “You want to do this with us?” she asks the guy I’m trying really hard not to look at. Maybe she’s trying to make up for their boyfriends snubbing us?
Nonna shuffles around until she’s almost backward in her chair. “Oh! Who’s this?” she asks excitedly. “Yes, come join us!” she adds without even waiting for an answer.
Aunt Maggie Mae throws her arm around New Guy. “You remember Leo! Caroline and Alonso Perez’s oldest?” Since he’s now anchored to her side, it’s easy for her to push him forward slightly so she can show him off to the room.
Leo Perez.
“Oh,” Sophie says.
Charlie mutters something under his breath that would probably make Nonna reach for the nearest bar of soap.
Now the entire room has noticed him, and several family members welcome him to the chaos. The noise level inches up and up as it’s prone to do when we’re all crammed into one room. He’s shaking hands and answering questions about his parents and what’s going on with him, but I’m too far away to pick up what he’s saying.
Of course it’s Leo. But I didn’t recognize him with his hair long and curly like that. He always kept it buzzed close to his head when we were kids. His face has lost its chubbiness, and he’s grown at least a foot.
The Perez family lived next door to the Evil Joes until Mr. Perez got transferred right before we started eighth grade. Leo’s parents were really close to Aunt Maggie Mae and Uncle Marcus. Their kids were inseparable, and they vacationed together in the summer. We always knew the Evil Joes would rather be with them than with us.
“Leo,” Nonna says. “Jo Lynn is right; would you like to join us? You’re graduating this year, too! You can tell us all about your plans.”
Mary Jo scoots her chair over and says, “You can squeeze in right here.” She nods to indicate the space between her and Jo Lynn.
For every inch Mary Jo moved closer to Charlie, Charlie has now moved closer to me.
Even though Leo’s been around us in the past, it’s been a long time and this group can be overwhelming. From the look on his face, I’m sure he doesn’t remember all of our names or who goes with who, and it’s easy to feel like at any moment there will be a quiz.
“I, uh, no thank you,” Leo finally says.
Charlie lets out a grunt.
I whisper to Charlie, “It’s been years. Let it go.”
He gives me a funny look. “I’m good.”
Charlie and Leo did not part on great terms. I think the last time they saw each other was at the park for the end-of-year party and Charlie was being obnoxious, just like every other seventh-grade boy. Charlie and his friend Judd were throwing a football and Charlie was running backward a little too fast trying to catch it and completely mowed over Jo Lynn. She stained her white jeans and started bawling. And because Leo was like a brother to them, he pushed Charlie before Charlie had a chance to apologize or help Jo Lynn up from the ground. So of course, Charlie pushed him back. I’m sure they think they had some super-masculine brawl, but it was really just a bunch of flailing arms and legs and near misses.
They both got sent home before the party was over.
And obviously, Charlie isn’t over it.
“If you change your mind, feel free to jump right in,” Nonna says, then spins back around in her chair. “Now, where were we?” Without looking behind her, she adds, “Dallas, if you sneak another piece of chicken from that tray, you’re going to get it.”
He lets out a squeak when his brother, Denver, elbows him in the stomach, only because Dallas has now ruined any chance of him snatching one, too. I feel for them. The smells that waft through Nonna’s kitchen are enough to tempt even the most innocent into thievery. Dallas and Denver belong to Aunt Patrice and Uncle Ronnie. Even though their parents are weird, the boys are pretty cool despite the fact they were named for the cities they were conceived in.
