62. Again, sorry, Mom
Chapter 62
Again, sorry, Mom
Ariana
L il and I skip lunch so we don’t have to go downstairs and possibly run into Luca’s parents.
That lasts forty-three minutes before hunger wins out.
I pull up our group chat on my phone.
Whatcha doing, Beefcake?
Sexy Fiancé
Working baby, why?
Pastor Lil
We’re hungry
Sexy Fiancé
I’m not a waiter, lil
Is it safe to venture to the kitchen?
Sexy Fiancé
Maybe. Maybe not. But that’s where the food is. * shrug emoji*
Pastor Lil
You should bring Ari lots of food. *pizza emoji, bacon emoji, burger emoji* don’t let your wifey starve
Sexy Fiancé
neither of you will starve, I can’t bring you food right now - later yes
Damn it…
Alright, he must really be busy. I know if I push it, he’ll actually go get food and bring it up to me, but that’s not fair to him.
I still debate begging him for a minute before Lil and I slink downstairs, poking our heads around corners and tiptoeing past doors. We throw together some sandwiches, and as we’re filling a basket with bags of chips and cookies, Anthony walks in. I’ve seen photos of him. He and Dad share a few features, but some DeVille genes seem to skip a generation because Luca’s eyes and dimples come from his grandpa.
I’m still holding out hope we end up with a blue-eyed baby someday, if we decide to have babies… Nope, not going down that rabbit hole again right now!
“Uncle Tony, um, hi,” Lil says with a mouth full of leftover tester cake.
Like the fancy lady I am, I snort. “Smooth, Lilith. Real smooth.” She grabs a napkin to wipe her mouth, then she balls it up and throws it at me.
“You must be Ariana,” Anthony says with a smile I wasn’t expecting.
“That’s what they tell me.” I shrug, not really sure what to make of the whole situation. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that they’re here.
He turns back to Lil. “So, you go by Lilith now?”
“Fuck no. Only when I’m in trouble. And when Ari’s in a mood. Actually, she calls me that a lot…” She purses her lips and tilts her head back to get a better look at me.
“I’m often in a mood.”
“What have you ladies been up to, other than fighting over a book?’
“Reading books we didn’t rip in half and hiding out,” Lil says. “But we got hungry, and Luca’s too busy to bring us food. Fucking slacker.”
“We should take one of the stickers off his sticker chart,” I say.
“I was going to say put ants in his bed.”
“No, thank you. I sleep in that bed, and I like it ant-free.”
“Okay, well, I’ll come up with something to make him pay.” She cracks her knuckles like she means business.
“I ordered a bunch of tiny plastic frogs a few minutes ago. There’ll be one in every pair of boxers he owns before dinner.”
She snaps and points a finger at me. “Yes, that’s good. And those customized stickers we designed for him were shipped today.”
Anthony’s grinning, and his eyes bounce back and forth like he’s watching a tennis match.
“Throw some of that cake in here. And the sandwiches. We have energy drinks upstairs. Which cake is that?”
“The hazelnut one,” she replies, mouth full again. “Why didn’t we pick this one for the wedding?”
“Because you giggled every time we said ‘nut.’”
“Oh yeah…”
Suddenly, we hear Mom from the other side of the open back door. The whiny voice that responds must belong to Luca’s mom. All three of us freeze.
“Abort mission, abort mission!” Lil squeaks, her eyes wide.
“We don’t abort the mission, Lilith! We take our shit and run!” I hiss.
“Right. Sorry, I panicked! ”
I grab the basket and sprint for the stairs, whisper-yelling, “Cheese it!” over my shoulder at Lil.
We spread our food across the coffee table like the picnic of random shit it is and crack open our drinks. We’re halfway through an episode of The Office, and our sandwiches are almost gone when Anthony wanders into our living room. He stops and looks around. It’s much the same as it has been for years, except one of Luca’s sweatshirts is on the couch, the video games are a mess, and the caricature from the market is on the wall. He steps over to it, getting a better look.
“Nice setup you girls have. You must spend a lot of time up here.”
“Yeah, we do. Luca, too,” Lil tells him.
“Hmm. Care if I join you? I love this show, and I could use a place to hide.”
“Okay, but if you eat all our food, you’ll be sent down to the pantry to get more,” I say.
“Deal.” He holds his hand out and I shake it.
Two hours later, I’m dealing out cards. We taught Anthony how to play Fortnite but needed a break from getting our asses kicked.
“Just so you know, we’re not actually supposed to play poker anymore, so maybe don’t mention this to Dad,” Lil says as she looks at her hand.
“I just got here, and I’m already being dragged into your shenanigans?” Anthony asks with a laugh.
Grinning, I throw a chip into the middle of the table. “Welcome to the DeVille house. ”
Almost all the chips are piled up in front of me when Dad and Luca walk in.
“Shit, no one warned Anthony about playing poker with Ariana?” Dad asks.
“I tried.” Lil shoulders go up to her ears.
“Not hard enough, Lil,” Anthony groans as he loses again. “I never stood a chance, did I?”
Luca chuckles. “Nope. Her poker face is only good for actual poker, but it’s phenomenal then. What do you owe her?”
“My vinyls. All of them. The boat. My ’67 Mustang.”
“Ouch. The Mustang, Minx? Really?” Luca raises his sexy eyebrow my way.
“I was going to see if she’ll take my only son instead,” Anthony teases.
Luca drops onto the couch, and I squeal when he pulls me up off the floor to sit next to him. I snuggle into him. “She already owns that, Dad.”
Mom shows up about an hour into the movie we put on.
“You assholes!” She plops herself down onto Dad’s lap. “I can’t believe you all left me down there with her.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at each of us in turn. “Disowned. All of you.”
Dad wraps his arms around her with a chuckle, and whispers something in her ear that makes her cheeks turn red.
Clearing her throat, she says, “Well, the rest of you are disowned, anyway.”
“Sorry, Mom.” I grin when she looks my way. “Would a boat make you feel better?”