get back. Tomorrow, you can help me at the shop. Busy hands will keep your mind from wandering. And Olivia will be happy to have the company. She’s been pouty now that everyone else is out of school and she has to work.”
I let Nonna tuck me in and baby me like she did when I was a little girl. It feels nicer than I remember.
She kisses my head and says, “It will all seem better tomorrow.”
I hate to call Nonna a liar, but it’s tomorrow and everything still pretty much sucks. My eyes are nearly swollen shut from all the crying, and I’ve got a headache that just won’t stop.
I glance at my phone. There are thirty-two missed calls and texts.
I scroll down to Addie’s name and send her a quick text: I’m okay. Call you a little later.
Then I pass over Griffin’s messages and open the conversation with Margot.
ME: You awake, Sausage Toes?
MARGOT: Of course I’m awake. I’m stuck in the bed All. Day. Long. But can’t get comfortable enough to sleep. How’s Nonna’s?
ME: Good. Have they cleaned between your toes yet?
MARGOT: STOP!!!
ME: You started it with the nasty pictures.
MARGOT: Change of subject. Tell me about the food. What did Nonna fix last night? The moms won’t let me have anything that isn’t organic and non-GMO.
ME: 3 layer chocolate cake with chocolate icing and chocolate shavings on top. I had a gigantic piece.
MARGOT: You SUCK. I would give everything in my checking account for you to bring me a piece.
ME: I know all about the online shopping you’ve being doing, so I can guess what’s in your checking account and it’s not enough.
MARGOT: Well, heads-up if you talk to Dad later. He was mad you didn’t call when you got there.
Crap! I totally forgot I was supposed to check in.
ME: How mad? Mad like when we broke the front window when we tried to turn Barbie’s car into a rocket ship?
MARGOT: Hahaha! He wasn’t that mad. He called Nonna and she said you were in the shower.
I owe Nonna one. She totally covered for me.
ME: I don’t want to admit this because you’ll never let me live it down…but I kind of wish I was there with you and your sausage toes.
I wipe at my face, brushing away the tears. I could still get in my car and drive down there this morning. Even though I’ll never hear the end of it, at least I could crawl into bed with Margot and not come out until Christmas is over.
MARGOT: I wish you were here, too. But you would be miserable. I’m miserable. Brad’s miserable. Even our dog is miserable. You were right to stay with Nonna and Papa.
I try not to feel disappointed. I know she would welcome me if I outright asked to come down. But my sour mood would no doubt make her more miserable than she already is.
MARGOT: Are you okay?
ME: Yeah. I’m fine. I’ll text you later.
I’m not sure why I didn’t tell her about Griffin. Maybe I’m afraid if I tell her about what happened it becomes irrevocably true. Or maybe I know Margot’s got enough to worry about right now. She’s trying to play it tough, but she’s worried about the baby.
I power off the phone, ignoring the rest of my messages and missed calls, and drop it in the bedside table drawer. Can’t deal with any more of that right now.
My reflection is scarier than I thought it would be by the time I make it to the bathroom. I’m not a pretty crier. The red around my eyes makes them look darker than normal, and my normally tanned skin has a sickly pale look to it. All my tossing and turning last night ruined the soft curls I spent forever perfecting when I thought Griffin would be excited to see me. Now my long black hair is a dingy, tangled mess.
Once I’ve showered and dried my hair, though, I feel a little better. On a scale from normal to complete disaster, I’m somewhere around pathetically passable. At last, I inch my way down the hallway, toward the chorus of voices coming from the kitchen, and prepare myself for the onslaught.
The family is here.
My family is a wild bunch. My grandfather was born and raised in Sicily. He was supposed to go back home after spending some time in the United States, but he fell in love with my grandmother. As the story goes, my grandfather’s mother almost started an international