Santino laughs nervously. “Yeah, something like that.”
“When does the movie come out? Where can I watch it?”
“Um…” Santino casts a panicked look in my direction.
I shake my head furiously and mouth “not available.”
“It’s all small indie projects. I don’t actually know where they’ll be available. But I can check?” He crumples his face into a cringe and slumps against me. He wasn’t joking when he said he was a bad liar.
“Cool. Let me know. What else is going on out there?”
Santino turns to look at me before he speaks again. “I, um, I’ve met someone.”
A sharp shriek has us both flinching away from the phone. “You have?! Oh my god, hold on. Paola! Get over here! Okay, tell useverything.”
Santino shoots me an alarmed look, a question in his eyes. Doubt swirls around inside me. Should he really tell them about us? What if he changes his mind about me later? What if he doesn’t want to be with me after all? Wouldn’t it be better if they never knew? But if he’s brave enough to talk to his mom, then I need to be brave too.
I nod.
“His name is Hayden,” Santino says, gazing into my eyes, a smile gracing his lips. “And… he’s amazing. He taught me how to cook today.”
Another woman gasps. “And you didn’t burn down the house?” she teases.
“Ha, ha, Paola. No, I didn’t burn down the building.” Santino rolls his eyes, even as he smiles wider.
My earlier anxiety begins to ease as Santino talks with his sisters. And though the voice is still whispering at the back of my mind, I focus on the warm weight of Santino’s body against mine. The way he talks slightly differently with his sisters than with anyone else. The easy banter they all have back and forth. His sisters sound really nice. And more importantly, they sound supportive.
“So when are you bringing him here to meet us?” Paola asks.
“Oh, uh… I don’t know. We haven’t thought that far yet,” Santino answers.
“When are you clearing your stuff out of your apartment in San Francisco?” Louisa asks.
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far yet,” Santino repeats himself.
I can almost hear his sisters shaking their heads on the other end of the phone.
Louisa sighs. “I can go grab your things the next time I’m up there. Just call your landlord and tell him I’m coming.”
“Really?” Santino double-checks, looking both hopeful and skeptical.
“Yes, really,” Louisa sounds put out, but also fond at the same time. “I have a work meeting next week, so I can swing by on Thursday.”
“Sweet! Thanks, Louisa!”
“Yeah, yeah, just make sure you bring your boyfriend home sooner rather than later, okay?”
“Yes! I will. Promise!” They hang up and Santino turns in my arms. He sort of launches himself at me, but because of the awkward angle, I fall sideways and we land in a tangle of limbs.
“That went okay?” I ask, wanting to make sure that Santino isn’t too upset about his mom.
Santino nods and sighs. “I was hoping my mom would be over it by now, but…” He trails off. I can see just how much it bothers him that his mom isn’t on board. It only lasts for a second, though, before he smiles again. “My sisters are pretty cool, right?”
They are, and even though I still have some doubt niggling at the back of my mind, I find myself smiling. “I’d like to meet them,” I say and I mean it with my whole heart. “I hope they like me.”
“They’re going to love you as much as I do.” He plants a kiss on my lips. “Well, maybe not as much as I do. But close. My dad will too. He’s super chill. And my mom?” He shrugs. “We’ll deal with her when the time comes.”
Just like we’ll deal with everything else. Together. One day at a time.
