Jayce tossed his hands in the air. “I don’t know what’s so hard about running the family. You’d think we’re the Mafia or something.”
His father rolled his eyes. “There are seven of you. And now two in-laws. How often are nine people going to agree? There has to be a head of household to keep the peace.”
Jayce was just about to disagree when a knock sounded. He strode to the door and opened it.
His second-younger brother, Gabe, stepped into the entryway. “What’s going on? I heard there was some kind of family emergency.” Gabe hurried into the living room, kissed his mother on the cheek, and shook his father’s hand.
Jayce was about to close the door when another Fierro jogged up the steps of the South End brownstone. Noah straightened his arm to prevent the door from closing and pushed his way in.
“What’s going on?”
“Come in. I’ll tell you when everyone is here,” Jayce said. He turned to his father and asked, “Is Luca home?”
Antonio hit himself upside the head. “Luca! I knew I forgot one.” He stood up, walked over to the basement door, and then yelled downstairs, “Luca, get up here. Something important is going on—not that I know what it is.”
“Do you really need to bother Luca?” Gabriella asked. “He has to study for school. He’s having his finals soon.”
“When are you going to stop babying him?” Jayce and his father asked at the same time.
Gabriella straightened. “I am not babying him. I just want him to do well in school, and whatever is going on probably doesn’t have anything to do with him.”
“In other words, you’re babying him,” Jayce said.
A soft knock at the door was followed by Sandra and Miguel striding in. “What’s the big emergency?” Miguel asked.
“Is that everybody?” Antonio asked.
Gabriella narrowed her eyes. “We have one more son…Dante, remember?”
Mr. Fierro smirked. “I knew I was missing somebody else. You see, Jayce? There are so many of you it’s impossible to keep track. That’s why the family needs someone in charge.”
“And why that someone needsa wife,” Mrs. Fierro added.
“Dante will be here in a minute,” Noah said. “He’s just getting a girl’s phone number.”
“Oh good,” Gabriella said.
“Oh God,” the Fierro patriarch echoed. Then he turned to her and winked. She poked him in his big, meaty arm.
“Let’s gather around the dining room table,” Jayce said.
Gabriella jumped up. “Good idea. I have some tiramisu left from Sunday dinner, and I’ll make coffee. Sandra, would you set the table?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Jayce said. He slung an arm around Noah and another around Gabe and walked them into the dining room. Luca was just pounding up the stairs to join them as Dante was the last to barrel through the front door.
Jayce glanced over his shoulder at Dante and called out, “Before you ask what’s going on, come into the dining room and sit down. Do you want some of Mom’s tiramisu?”
“Are you serious? When have I ever said no to tiramisu?” Dante strolled into the dining room and took his place toward the end of the long wood table.
When everyone was gathered except Gabriella, who was making coffee in the kitchen, Jayce decided he would let them in on what he could.
“I was in New York visiting that FDNY firefighter I met at Ryan’s funeral.”
“You mean Ryan’s fake funeral, right?” Sandra asked, as she spread napkins around the table in front of everyone and placed a spoon on each.
“Of course.”
