“Take me with you. I want to say hi to Miss Russo.”
Leo and my grandmother had a very special relationship. The two of them bonded instantly the first time Nonna came to visit me in New York when Leo and I shared a basement one-bedroom in Queens.
I woke up to find them both missing on her first morning there. I texted Leo in a panic, and he told me not to worry she was in good hands. The duo sauntered back through the front door three hours later from the farmer’s market. Nonna whose hair was always worn in a low bun at the back of her neck and whose wardrobe consisted of black, navy, and gray my entire life was rocking a new pink, wide-brimmed hat, tortoise shell cat-eye glasses, red scarf, and a faux fur jacket, courtesy of my fashion-forward roomie, Leo.
I’d asked why they didn’t wake me up but they both just stared at me like I was crazy.
I was not exactly a morning person. I didn’t start functioning at a normal level until at least ten in the morning. It didn’t matter what I tried: coffee, going to bed early, meditation, and working out—nothing seemed to jump-start my circadian rhythm.
Which, admittedly, made my choice of career a head scratcher. As a teacher not only was I expected to be at work before eight in the morning. I was responsible for other human beings. But I loved kids. Always had. And school had always been an escape for me growing up. My teachers had been my best role models. I’d looked up to them and always known that was what I wanted to do.
If I could just find a school to teach at where classes started after ten o’clock, it would be perfect.
“Peyton Anne Russo!” Nonna called out even louder this time.
“Oh honey.” Leo tsked. “She used your government name, that’s serious.”
“Coming!” I responded as I picked up my computer.
When I walked into the front room, computer in hand, I found my grandmother seated on her plastic covered floral print couch. All the furniture in Nonna’s house had plastic over it, including the dining room and kitchen table and chairs.
She was staring down at the new phone I’d just got her. She’d refused to have a cell phone for years, but on this trip, I’d made an executive decision and bought one for her. The landline was fine, but she needed something more portable. Plus, she liked to go play mahjong with friends and it always worried me when I couldn’t get a hold of her.
“It says I have a message, but won’t tell me what it is.”
“Hello, Miss Russo!” Leo spoke loudly, knowing that my grandmother was hard of hearing. That was something I added to the list of things I needed to address before I left. She needed a hearing aid.
“Leo!” My grandma put the phone up to her ear thinking that his voice was coming from there.
“He’s on the computer, Nonna.”
“I’m over here Miss Russo.” Leo waved and called out from the screen.
Nonna lifted her head and squinted before her entire face lifted up in a huge smile. “Oh, there’s my handsome boy! How are you?”
“I’m doin’ just great, beautiful! How are you?”
“Fine, fine.” She waved her hand dismissively. “But you know I had a fall.”
“I heard,” Leo nodded his head.
“And my Farfallina came out to take care of me. I told her not to fuss, but you know how she is.”
That’s not exactly how it had gone down, but there was no way I would be correcting her.
“I do,” Leo agreed.
“Hard headed,” Nonna clarified, just in case her insinuation wasn’t clear.
“Stubborn as a mule, that one,” Leo chimed in.
“As much as I enjoy you two ganging up on me, I have to go, Leo, we’ll talk soon.”
“Love you, ladies. Bye!”
“Love you!”
“Such a nice boy. So handsome. He looks just like Malcolm from my show.”
