by Megan Bryce
He stood when she did, saying, “I’ll change,” and for good measure he tried to lie again as she walked toward the door, hoping she’d believe it more when she wasn’t looking at him.
“I do like these pants.”
“Nope. But I’m almost sure we will know it when we see it.”
“Very reassuring, thank you.”
She grinned over her shoulder as she shut the door.
“You’re welcome.”
Gia picked him up the next day at his condo, even though he had offered to drive. He’d had a few hours to come to terms with it and he’d decided he’d face death willingly and with his eyes wide open.
So he smiled when he climbed into the Escalade, vowing he’d find her a smaller SUV soon, if not today.
He said, “Did you get your friend to the airport okay?”
“Yes. She had to buy an extra suitcase to fit everything she’d bought for Flynn—uh, her boyfriend—so at least one part of the trip was a resounding success.”
“I’m sorry she couldn’t help with your recalcitrant client.”
Gia grinned, glancing at him.
“Me too.”
Mac gave her right-turn-only directions to the used car lot and said, “Remember, we’re not buying today. We’re just looking.”
“What if I love it? What if someone else buys it?”
They might be buying today, if she loved it. But Mac didn’t want her loving the car in front of the salesman.
“Another one will come along. We just want to know if this SUV really will work for you. And if so, there are others to look at near here. Condition is more important than color.”
“Is it? Think about who you’re talking to.”
He said, “Repeat after me. Condition is more important than color.”
“Why don’t you repeat after me. One tie is not enough.”
“We will have to agree to disagree.”
Gia nodded. “Yes, we will. Look, we agree!”
When they arrived, Gia gave a little more attention to parking neatly—she only took up two spots instead of four—and spotted the bright red SUV right away.
So easy to find! And it was so small, she was sure parking would be a breeze. No more back of the lots for her!
Gia headed right over, walking all the way around it once before making crazy eyes at Mac.
“It’s so cute! I didn’t believe a cute SUV actually existed but it does!”
He smiled at her over the roof and then followed her around the car, kicking the tires.
He got down on the ground, scooting underneath and surprising Gia.
He was serious about this.
He hummed under his breath—it didn’t sound like a good sound to her—and then hopped back up.
She said, “That didn’t sound good.”
“We’ll see. Here comes the salesman with the keys.”
She helped wipe off his back, getting a good whiff of that spicy something that made her want to curl into Mac and forget how he was sometimes frustrating and irritating.
Because sometimes he was helping her buy a car.
And other times he was very focused.
She heard the SUVs locks disengage and decided to leave the salesman to Mac since he seemed to know what he was doing and check out the cargo space.
She lifted the gate and her blossoming excitement stuttered to a halt.
That was a very small cargo space.
She hadn’t thought a too small cargo space existed but this just might be it.
She nibbled on her thumbnail, knowing there was no way the mirror would fit in there.
She decided to put the back seats down to free up some room, realizing she should have actually brought the mirror since it was playing such a big part in the car buying decision.
Well, she’d just have to guess, she decided, and climbed in. She stretched out, her feet poking out the back.
Mac’s eyes came into view while she was lying there and he said, “Do you want to test-drive it? See if you can park it?’
“I don’t know. This is very small.”
His eyes twinkled at her like he was proud of her answer and she sat up when the salesman poked his head in.
She scooted out, saying, “I really think it’s too small.”
Mac eyed the space and nodded like a small SUV wasn’t exactly what she should want.
The salesman showed them a few larger SUVs on the lot but Gia didn’t let Mac crawl underneath any of them.
Too ugly.
And then they ended back at the red one.
“Maybe it’s not too small,” Gia began but Mac stopped her.
“It is.”
“But it’s so cute…”
“But we don’t love it.”
“Oh my god, is that what I sound like?”
He laughed, steering her towards the Escalade.
“Yes, that’s exactly what you sound like.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t like it.”
He squeezed her arm reassuringly and then opened the driver’s door for her before saying, “That’s why we were checking it out. It only means we’re closer to finding the right car.”
She climbed in and then narrowed her eyes at him.
“That is very optimistic coming from a guy who whines every time I ask him to put on a pair of pants.”
“I do not whine.”
“You’re right. It’s more of a silent tantrum.”
“I prefer to think of it as a silent protest. Do you really think we’re any closer to finding the right pair of pants?”
“Yes?”
He propped his elbow on the open car door and said with an irritating smirk, “That’s not very optimistic coming from a professional consultant.”
“Sorry. I’m almost fifty percent sure we’re going to find your style one of these days.”
He laughed.
“You know what might cheer you up? There’s a New York pizzeria close by.”
Gia reached for her seat belt, trying not to be interested. In New-York-style pizza. In Florida.
“Is there? I wouldn’t mind trying it, even just to point out how it’s really far inferior,” she said, sounding just like her father.
He shut her door with a grin, and Gia watched him walk around to his side.
She waited until he was buckled to say, “You know… I’m making lasagna tomorrow night for the family. Well, Nonnie is making lasagna through me. It could be considered a thank you for today, and an I’m sorry for Monday when I’m bringing some shirts in for you to try.”
He groaned and Gia said, “I know, but lasagna fixes everything. Literally everything. Including not buying a car when you really need to and spending weeks trying on clothes when you hate trying on clothes.”
Mac closed his eyes, leaning his head back and saying, “I kind of doubt that. But I do like lasagna.”
“Who doesn’t? That’s something that really doesn’t even need to be said because everyone likes lasagna.”
He turned his head toward her, his eyes still closed but his expression saying he could see her just fine.
“I was accepting your invitation. As long as you haven’t actually made that rainbow out of paint samples yet.”
She reached over to pat his knee sharply.
“Not. Yet.”
He smiled in her direction.
“I really am sorry this wasn’t your SUV,” he said. “I would have let you buy it if you’d loved it.”
Gia leaned back against her own headrest to stare at him.
Here he was being all sorry because the very first car they’d looked at hadn’t worked out, and she said, “Thank you. But let’s be honest. I would have been really upset if you’d found a car for me before I found a style for you.”
He chuckled, his puff of breath caressing her cheek and making her eyes close.
A long minute later, she smiled and said, “Pizza?”
Megan BryceThe Tie’s The Limit
Twenty<
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Gia flopped down next to her mother at the dining room table that evening and said without fanfare, “I did not buy a car today.”
Her mother lifted her head from her hands.
“Is that where you were? I tried calling.”
“I was with Mac. Looking at cars, eating pizza—I gotta tell Dad I found a new place. Oh, and I invited Mac to dinner tomorrow night.”
Loretta sucked in a sharp breath.
“Did you? Without even asking? There’s a lot of that going around today.”
Gia stared at her mother for a long minute, noting the slumped shoulders and angry lips.
“Inviting people for dinner without asking seems pretty normal actually. Why are you mad?”
“Because. I assume you’ve seen your grandmother.”
“Nope.”
“Well, she invited someone to dinner tomorrow night too.”
“Aww, is she finding friends at the senior center? Ma, don’t worry,” Gia said, rubbing her mother’s back. “She can’t replace you.”
Her mother repaid that gesture by putting her head back in her hands and glaring at the table.
“Oh, it’s not me she is looking to replace. She invited a man.”
A man?
“Like… Like a date?”
“It is exactly like a date.”
Gia sat back in her chair, thinking about her nonna on a date. Inviting a date here to meet her entire family…
“That’s weird.”
Loretta sniffed. “Don’t say that around your grandmother. I may have… I may have already said some words to that effect.”
“Words,” Gia said with feeling. “Tricky bastards.”
Her mother lifted her head enough to give Gia a look but Gia ignored it to say, “I guess it was pretty bad words.”
Loretta nodded, then put her head back down.
Gia said, “So go apologize.”
“But they were true!”
“I don’t know what you said so I can’t argue that. But sometimes the truth does not need to be said. Sometimes the truth is just an opinion and you don’t realize it.”
“I told her she was too old.”
“Yikes.”
Loretta’s hands flew into the air and Gia pushed her chair back, out of reach.
“I know! But…but…but…why? A date!”
Gia laughed.
“Um, maybe it sounds like fun?”
“She’s eighty.”
“Eighty is not dead, Ma. And Nonnino has been gone a long time. It’s been, what, fifteen years? Maybe after fifteen years you’d be excited to start over again too.”
Her mother shook her head. “When your father dies, I won’t be dating again.”
“Glad you’ve got it all planned out.”
“I have. If you’re still living here, I’ll be getting you married.”
“And we’re back to yikes.” Gia shook her head to clear it. “But what about if you die? Do you really want Dad sitting around pining for you? Who’s going to take care of him? Who’s going to make him put some pants on and find a new pizza joint he loves to hate?”
Loretta shook her head. “I won’t die first. He has very high blood pressure.”
“Ma! You sound so cold about it.”
“It’s not cold, it’s practical. Men always die first.”
“Okay, I don’t want to talk about this. You’re scaring me.”
Her mother put her head back down on the table.
“It scares me too. I can’t stop it though.”
“Can’t stop Nonnie going on a date, either.”
Loretta’s head popped back up, her eyes flashing. “What if he wants to…you know.”
Gia couldn’t help her laugh. “You’re afraid, what, he’s going to take advantage of her? She might be the one to take advantage. You’ve seen her nails, right?”
“The nails! The hair! The clothes! Don’t get me started on the bra. I haven’t seen a contraption like that since the eighties.”
“I am not getting you started so stop talking about Nonnie’s bra.”
Loretta put her finger in Gia’s face, like this was all her fault.
“He’s only interested in your grandmother because she’s been gussied up Florida-style. He doesn’t even know the real her.”
“That’s what dating is, Ma. Getting to know the real her. Getting to know the real him.”
“Like you and Mac have been dating?”
Gia jerked back.
“Oh. No. We’re not-dating.”
“Just out with him all day long. With him all week too. Are you sleeping with him?”
Both Gia’s and Loretta’s faces flamed red when that question popped out.
“Ma!”
“Just be careful. Your grandmother may not need to worry about getting pregnant but you do.”
God, how had this conversation even started?
Gia tapped her own chest. “Adult, remember?”
Loretta leaned forward to push a lock of hair behind her ear.
“My baby. No matter how old you get.”
Gia smiled at her mother. “I know. You’ve done an admirable job of restraining yourself.”
Loretta sat back.
“Well, I’m retired. But the instincts are still there.”
“And is it just instincts that are making you not want Nonnie to start dating again?”
“Who is he? We don’t know.”
“Then aren’t you glad he’s coming to dinner? You can wave a sharp knife at him and make sure he knows to bring her back in the same condition he took her.”
Loretta sniffed again but Gia was pretty sure it was with laughter.
“Also, don’t do that to Mac. We’re not-dating and you’ll only traumatize him… Maybe I should have a towel handy just in case.”
“You should warn him about your brothers.”
“Oh, that’s just great. And who invited them? People inviting people, all over the place. I’m the one who has to make the lasagna!”
Loretta couldn’t stop the laughter from escaping that time and she smiled at her daughter.
“I’d be happy to uninvite at least one of them for you,” Loretta offered and Gia said softly, “How else are you going to get to know him, Ma?”
“We’re not?”
Gia patted her mother’s shoulder. “Adult, remember?”
“Don’t talk smart to me.”
Gia pulled her hand away.
“Yes, Ma.”
Nonnie came slowly into the dining room then, sitting in the chair across from Loretta.
The bouffant blonde was back to gray. Her nails clipped short and colorless. Her clothing muted and dark.
Nonnie said, “I didn’t undo all of this for you, Loretta.”
Gia and Loretta stared, and her mother must have felt just as bad as Gia did at the transformation.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” Loretta said. “I just thought that you’ve been someone else since we moved here and now you’re dating?”
“I know. And that’s why I did this. Here’s me for him to see.”
Gia said, “So, does this guy have a name?”
“Jerry Silverman.”
“Jerry Silverman? What happened to not-Italian is not-dating?”
“I’m eighty, that’s what happened. For you, mia creatura, not-Italian is not-dating.”
Loretta smiled at her daughter and said, “Good thing you’re not-dating Mac, hmm?”
Gia changed the subject quick before that could start up again and grabbed for her grandmother’s hands.
“I liked your red nails.”
Nonnie smiled. “I can always get them again. Maybe. They were a lot of work.”
Gia shook her head.
“How is sitting there getting your nails done work?”
“I had to think about them all the time. I had to wear gloves to wash the dishes.”
Gia snorted. “You should just stop washing dishes. That’s how I do it.�
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Neither of the women seemed impressed with Gia’s problem-solving and her mother muttered, “That school. But Silvana, the clothes were cute even if they weren’t what I was used to.”
“I still have them.” Nonnie pulled at her dark mauve top. “These are too dark for Florida.”
Gia felt the thick material. “And too hot. Aren’t you hot?”
Nonnie nodded but just sat there.
Loretta studied the glum face of her mother-in-law before saying, “Maybe he knows the Florida you and I’m the one who doesn’t.”
Nonnie looked up.
“I don’t have to be someone different, Loretta.”
“No, but maybe you want to be?”
“Maybe. Maybe I kind of like being bright. And happy. Down at the senior center, I’m the life of the party.”
Gia smiled. She had no doubt about that.
Nonnie said, “When my Gianni died, I thought everything was over. And now I’m wondering if maybe it’s not. Maybe I want to start again. Maybe I want to get married. Maybe I want to run my own household.”
Loretta sucked in a breath, standing quick enough to knock her chair over.
“You want to get married?! You want to move out?”
Nonnie gave a little chuckle.
“No. I want to know that maybe I could. And I was pretty sure you would want to help me pack.”
It took Loretta a long moment but she finally said softly, “I know you’re not my mother. But you’re the only one I still have.”
Gia stood, hugging her mother tight.
“Oh, Ma.”
“It is just as hard,” Loretta said, rubbing Gia’s back, “figuring life out when your children are grown. And Silvana, I like having you here with me. I like that I don’t have to worry about everything on my own. I have help. I’m not alone.”
Gia pulled away slightly.
“You have Dad.”
Loretta waved that away with a dismissive hand, uprighting her chair.
“He’s a man. They sleep through everything.”
Nonnie cackled at that, nodding.
“Remember that mouse we caught? Mario wouldn’t get out of bed until the morning to take care of it so we stayed up the whole night to make sure it didn’t escape the Tupperware we’d trapped it in.”
Loretta nodded, smiling. “And the countless storms we’ve sat through, watching movies and eating popcorn?”
