“Grace was dance captain,” Auntie Baby chimes in.
Auntie Grace frowns when we flip through the dance troupe pages. “For an all-girls Catholic school, they really shouldn’t have allowed us to dress like that.”
“It’s good to flaunt the Lord’s creation,” Auntie Baby says, shimmying her shoulders. “We’re still sexy and desirable, Grace! You should take out some of the old dance troupe outfits. Kasya pa kaya sa akin? Maybe I can wear it to Homecoming.”
While Auntie Baby tells Auntie Grace that they’re too young to be dressing like grandmothers, I go through the yearbook searching for signs of Ma. My heart then stops when I stumble upon the prom section.
It’s a picture of my parents smiling and holding hands with the caption underneath:Soiree before the big day!
“Wow, look how totoy Ton was before.” Auntie Baby points at the picture.
“Can you imagine if I married the boy I went to prom with? Have you heard the news about Grant Sy?”
“That he has a mistress?” Auntie Grace’s gaze flickers to the ceiling and she does the sign of the cross. “He even brought thewoman to church! There were pictures of them kissing in front of Father Melvin!”
Auntie Grace shows her phone with a blurry photo of a man pecking another woman on the cheek during Mass.
“Imagine!” Auntie Grace says, outraged. “Offering the sign of peace to yourmistress!”
Auntie Baby shakes her head. “You know, that’s why his hairline keeps receding—karma! Grant used to have such good hair. I remember I used to brush my fingers through his hair and it felt so soft.”
Auntie Baby then turns to me. “Don’t be like me and get swayed by good hair, Nika. Just because a boy’s head has good hair on the outside, doesn’t mean he has a good mind on the inside. Thank goodness your Uncle Francis has both!”
My own mind is too caught up with my parents to digest Auntie Baby’s dating advice.
“Were my parents already together here?”
“I think this is when they first met.” Auntie Baby looks to Auntie Grace for confirmation.
“Ah yes, I remember it was the soiree that Beth hosted before prom with the Saint Francis boys.”
“And we had to play this ridiculous game. We had to pair up with a Saint Francis boy, hold an ice cube in between our hands, and keep talking until the ice melted.”
“Beth didn’t find it ridiculous, though,” Auntie Grace adds.
Auntie Baby scoffs. “Those two kept talking long after the ice cube melted. They really were in their own world back then.” Auntie Baby sighs and squeezes my arm before standing up. “Don’t bring this up with your mother, okay? It’s hard for her to remember the past.”
I nod as if my sister doesn’t give me the same kind of lecture weekly.
Auntie Grace mentions that they should head out before rush hour traffic. “Nika, do you want to ride with us to the memorial?”
“Oh, I’m okay.”
“Is anyone bringing you there?” Auntie Grace asks.
“No need to worry about me, Auntie.”
“What do you mean we don’t have to worry?”
I should have expected this. When I went over to Kayla’s last week and said no to Auntie Grace’s offer to stay for dinner, it turned into a full-blown interrogation. Instead of withstanding a thousand questions about my diet and food preferences, it was easier to give in and eat.
When I make up an excuse that I have to stay back to wait for a delivery, Auntie Baby suddenly beams at me. “Why doesn’t Seph take you?”
“Um.”
“We can take Grace’s car and Seph can drive mine.”
“But—”
