“Nah, you’re right. Let’s watch something else.” She put the bowl on the table and passed him the remote. “You pick this time.”
He skimmed through the movies for a minute before stopping at a psychological thriller. Eri nudged him with her foot.
“You just want to see me scared.”
He smirked. “You mean pretend to be scared?” he teased. He rearranged them on the couch, sitting with his back against the arm and her between his legs. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”
“I know you will,” she replied, placing her hands on top of his as they settled in for the movie.
37
Elias pulled into the driveway of his parents’ house. His aunt and uncle’s driveway and the street were already filled with cars, and he didn’t want to get blocked in by anyone. It was easier to park at his parents’ and walk a few houses down. He turned to Eri, who was on a call with a client. He squeezed her thigh to gain her attention.
You want me to wait?he mouthed.
That’s okay. It shouldn’t be much longer.
Are you sure?
She nodded, shooing him from the vehicle. He glared at her playfully before pointing to the keys still in the ignition and exiting the car.
Elias took the short journey to the house hosting the holiday and entered through the side gate. He waved to the family friends he knew as he weaved through the crowd that comprised his uncle and dad’s employees, his zias’ and mom’s friends, some of his and his cousin’s friends, and plus ones of those people.
He found his parents, zia, uncle, and cousin. The two older men were at the grill while Marco added more ice to the cooler, and the other two arranged the table that the food was on.
“Hey,” Elias greeted.
Greetings were returned as his mom turned around excitedly, then looked past him as if he wasn’t there.
“Why are you here by yourself? Where’s Eri?” she asked.
He raised an eyebrow as the others laughed. “Nice to see you too, Mamma.”
“Mhm. Yes. You too. Where’s Eri?”
“She’ll be here in a minute. She’s in the car finishing a call.”
“And you didn’t stay with her, why?”
“Because she didn’t want me to, Mamma.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed,” his dad started. “Eri is your mother’s favorite child.”
His uncle nodded in agreement. “Don’t feel bad. Avian is definitely Lorna’s,” Matteo said.
“Yours too,” the mentioned woman stated as she exited the house with a tray that his cousin promptly took from her. When his uncle didn’t deny her claim, Marco snorted as Elias shook his head.
“Do you need help with anything?” he asked.
“No, I think we—” his mom trailed off to walk past him. “Hi, Sweet Girl,” she stated, and he knew before looking over his shoulder who she was talking to.
“Her favorite child has arrived, and I’m now invisible,” he mumbled, causing the others to laugh. Greetings went around again, and Elias wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Is it just me, or are people staring?” Eri asked.
“It’s not just you,” Avian replied. “It happened to me the first time I came to a family event with Marco.”
“They’re in mourning,” Lorna laughed.
