“We did not,” Nana said flatly.
“He dated us both,” Nonna said. “We were only sixteen. Nothing exciting happened.”
Zippy preened. “You fell in love with me.”
“Ha,” Nana said. “Neither of us would ever love you.”
“So anyway,” Zippy continued, “I dumped them both for Gloria.”
I blinked. The words did not compute.
Cormac looked from him to us, then sighed and slid a little farther down the bench. Smart man.
“You dumped our grandmothers for Gloria Walton?” Donna asked, her voice tight.
A chill went down my spine. That tone was dangerous.
“Yes,” Zippy said. “They were furious at me. I did not mean to ruin their friendship.”
Donna turned to Nonna. “You two were friends?”
“The best of friends,” Nonna said softly, not looking up.
I stood, brushing flour off my jeans. The powder fell in ghostly drifts. “You are telling me you two were best friends, and when you were teenagers, you both dated the same guy, probably without realizing it, and then when he dumped you for Gloria Walton, you ended your friendship?”
Nana tilted her head. Nonna looked down.
“Over a guy named Zippy?” My voice hit an octave that made even Cormac flinch.
Nana chuckled. Nonna giggled. Then they looked at each other and burst into laughter so hard their shoulders shook.
Oh right. They were still drunk.
I sank back onto the bench. “I cannot believe this.”
“It was kind of stupid,” Nana agreed.
Nonna reached across me and patted her arm. “It really was, Fiona. But we have gotten along fine through the years, have we not?”
“Yes.” Nana nodded. “I have never understood what the big deal was. Our family is just overdramatic.”
Nonna threw her hands in the air. “So dramatic.”
“Really?” I asked, my voice dry.
“I would say we have been the best of friends since then, would you not?” Nonna said.
“I truly would,” Nana said warmly.
I looked at Donna. She looked back with an expression as bewildered as I felt. The cell suddenly seemed too small to hold all that absurd history, regret, and leftover laughter.
Cormac stared at us, a faint smirk at the corner of his mouth. “Well then, everything worked out, didn’t it?”
“Yes,” Nana said, smoothing her skirt. “Then Zippy dumped Gloria for—what was your wife’s name again?”
“Glenys,” he said, looking at them both. He didn’t seem to know whether to sound proud or defensive.
“Oh yeah. Glenys,” Nonna said. “She dumped your ass, didn’t she?”
