"Well, if it goes as Lana thinks it will, they'll go crazy again for a day or two, then it will die down as we keep posting our own stuff."
"I hope she's right. Michael wants me to work from home tomorrow, and we'll play Tuesday by ear. I'll keep Gracie home until then, too."
Our phones both started pinging with various texts and notifications, and I scrolled through both of our phones since Nico was driving. A text from Lana to Nico was the first to come in. She lived and breathed for the social media alerts she had set up for her clients. It simply said "Perfect post. Congratulations again to you both. Let me know if you need anything from me."
Others followed, with Tony, Matt and Josh all sharing Nico's post to their own accounts, adding their comments and wellwishes. Josh, who was normally the goofball of the group, added the most serious and beautiful caption. "I don't think I've ever seen a couple more attuned to each other, more committed to each other, or more in love with each other. It's been a beautiful ride so far, my friends, and I'm honored to have been a part of it. I can't wait to see what the future holds for your incredible family."
"Oh my God, that's so sweet. I can't believe that of all people, he made me cry," I sniffled, wiping a tear from my cheek.
"He and Min looked pretty serious together yesterday," Nico said, reaching over to squeeze my hand. "Maybe our little boy is all grown up now."
I chuckled. "Yes, they've been inseparable since they met. I talked to Min for a while last night, and she said he is great with her son, making sure to include him almost every time they are together. I offered to babysit for them when they want a night out alone."
"I would never have fucking imagined the two of them as a couple. Are we sure he hasn't tricked her into dating him?" Nico joked.
I swatted his thigh. "Be nice. They really like each other. Min blushes like a schoolgirl when she talks about him, and I swear he's halfway in love with her."
We got to my parents’ house a few minutes before they did and sat on their front porch to wait for them to pull in the drive.Dad walked up to unlock the front door, and Gracie ran inside yelling that she had to go potty. Mom got out of the car and walked toward us, looking like she couldn't decide if she should laugh or cry. Before I could ask what was wrong, shestarted talking, sounding a lot like Molly Weasley when she sent a Howler-gram to yell at Ron in one of the Harry Potter movies.
"Allison Rose Kettering Donovan, did you know that your child cannot pronounce the word 'funky'? She leaves the letter 'n' out! She wanted to tell her little friend Molly about the funky dance you learned, only she didn't say funky!We were in the middle of church, Allie. Church!" she screeched in a tone guaranteed to make every dog in the neighborhood howl.
"I'm pretty sure Pastor Rich will spend most of the day wondering how one of his precious flock has wandered so far astray because your daughter shouted - loudly enough for half the congregation to hear - that Uncle Nico said her mommy is really good at thefuckydance!"She looked mortified.
"The old biddies in the Senior Ladies' Sunday School class had a collective attack of the vapors!I'm sure they're still clutching their pearls and praying for our mortal souls. I think we're going to have to become Jewish at this point, because I'm too embarrassed to ever show my face at our church again. I'll need to figure out where to buy a yarmulke for your father. At least I already know how to make matzo balls," she grumbled to herself as she marched into the house.
Dad patted my arm as he turned to follow mom into the house. "Wait, will we have to keep Kosher?" I heard him ask, "because I'm not giving up bacon."
Nico and I just looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing at the same time. I had almost composed myself when Nico winked and said, "Don't worry, Sunshine. Those old biddies only wish they could do the fucky dance half as well as you do."
By the time we got inside, Mom had calmed down considerably. Dad almost had her convinced that the whole thing was funnier than it was mortifying. My sister Hannah called and squealed in my ear when I answered.
"You're a meme, Allie!"
"Uh, what?" I winced, pulling the phone away from my ear.
"A meme, you and Nico are a meme now!"
"OK," I said slowly, shrugging at Nico when he looked at me questioningly.
"It's a picture from the Grammy red carpet. You were both posing for a photo. You were looking at the photographer, but Nico was staring down at you and smiling like a love-sick fool. It's captioned'I want a man who looks at me like Nico looks at Allie.'It's so damned cute!"
I could feel myself flush. A meme?Oh, dear God. Gracie called out to me, wanting help changing out of her 'church clothes' so I got off the phone with Hannah and went to get my daughter sorted out. When I came back to the kitchen, Nico was chopping vegetables for a salad while Mom got the steaks ready for Dad to put on the grill in a bit. Potatoes were in the oven to bake, and she had dinner rolls ready to go in at the last minute. They apparently didn't need my help, so I wandered out to join my dad on the deck.
"Hey there, baby girl. Has your mom stopped looking for a synagogue for us to attend?" He asked with a chuckle.
"Yes, for the time being anyway."
He motioned to the phone in this hand. "This is a nice picture of you two that Nico posted. It's good to see you happy again, kiddo."
"Thanks, Daddy. It's all happening so fast, but it feels right."
"I don't think it's all that fast. You two have been in love with each other for years, but neither of you were smart enough to realize it," he said with a grin, smiling even wider as I swatted at his arm.
"He's a good man, and I think he would do anything in the world for you and Gracie. As a father and grandfather, that's all I can ask for my girls," he said softly, glancing inside to watch Nico and Mom moving around in the kitchen. Gracie was perched on one of the stools at the center island, munching on what looked like a carrot.
We sat in comfortable silence until Gracie popped her head out to let us know that Grandma said it was time to put the steaks on the grill. While Dad puttered around at the grill, I scrolled through my texts, responding to those from family and friends, and ignoring the ones from the media or nosy acquaintances. I felt a flash of guilt when I saw one from Liam.
Liam:Hey, I saw the news about you and Nico Peretti. Congratulations. I'm really happy it worked out for you two.
