Nonna has that look like she knows we’re lying. It’s the kind of look that makes you squirm. I concentrate really hard on not squirming.
“Uh-huh,” she says, still piercing us with her stare.
“I can take the frames to her house, Nonna,” I say, finally finding my voice.
Her head tilts. “It’s okay. I’ll give them to her later.”
Nonna has gotten a whiff that something is up. This does not bode well for us. With a parting glance, she leaves the room, her conversation with Aunt Lisa resuming.
“Looks like she’s back at our house,” Aunt Lisa says.
Wes and I wash and put up our plates with record speed. We’ve got to get to Olivia’s and make sure Charlie doesn’t say something dumb to Aunt Lisa.
Olivia
I’m sunburned, I’m exhausted, and I’m pretty sure I pulled something. Today was rough. And I have three more days to go.
I’m lying on the floor in our den with the ceiling fan on high when Charlie races inside followed quickly by Sophie and Wes. Charlie pokes me with his foot.
“Is she dead?” he asks.
I raise one hand and flip him off.
“Nope!” he says. “Good as ever!”
Sophie plops onto the floor next to me and I can see her hand hovering over my arm in my peripheral vision.
“That looks like it hurts,” she says. I know she’s dying to poke my skin to see just how burned I am.
“I’m on fire,” I answer.
She jumps up as quickly as she sat down. “Nonna will have something for this! I’ll be right back.” And then she’s gone.
Charlie and Wes sit on the couch right behind me.
“Tough day on the course?” Wes asks.
I raise my hand and flip him off, too. They both laugh.
“Nonna may be onto us,” Charlie says. “She was talking to your mom when ‘you’ were at her house.” He putsyouin finger quotes.
This has me sitting up. “What happened?”
Wes waves me off. “We handled it. We were brilliant.”
“Brilliant enough that Nonna may be onto us?”
They both look at each other then back to me. “Well, you know how she justknowseverything, right?” Wes says.
“Okay, so maybe y’all steer clear of her house,” I say.
Charlie looks offended. “But that’s where the pie is.”
It doesn’t take long for Sophie to get back with cream to put on my arms and legs. I’m sure we would have all perished years ago if Nonna wasn’t a couple of blocks away.
“You really should shower first and then put this on,” she says, then turns to the guys. “We’re heading up to get dressed. Want to meet us back here for the party?”
“Yeah, that works,” Wes says as he gets up from the couch.
