A Bouquet of Love

by Janice Thompson

My heart skipped a beat. “No way.”

  “Yeah.” Bella nodded and gazed at me with greater intensity than before. “They put her up in the spare bedroom, and she plans to stay until further notice. This according to my mom, who called just before our meeting today. I should have told you then, but Mama said your mother hadn’t even arrived yet, and she wasn’t completely sure she would carry through with it. But obviously she did.”

  “I just found out she was missing when I got home from your place,” I said. “Babbas was devastated. But when he finds out she’s at your parents’ place . . .” I paced the small bathroom, unsure of what to say next.

  “From what I can gather, our mothers are really good friends.” Bella shrugged. “Who can blame them? They have a thousand things in common. And your mother seems to have connected with Aunt Rosa too. They’re all very chummy.”

  “Still . . .” Staying at the Rossi home? This would be the ultimate insult to Babbas.

  “I stopped by my parents’ place after our meeting this afternoon, just to see if she’d shown up, and there she was,” Bella said. “She seemed a little embarrassed to be found out.”

  No doubt.

  “I think maybe she’s trying to make a point with your father, but she doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave. When I stopped by, Aunt Rosa had her in the kitchen cooking up a storm for the family. I ate some of her homemade tzatziki sauce. Man, that’s good stuff.”

  “Oh no.” Giving away family recipes? Babbas would have her head.

  “She seems happy as a lark. And that really worries me.”

  “Me too.” Mama? Happy, living with the enemy? Boy howdy, Babbas wouldn’t be happy if he found out. I mean, he would be happy to find Mama, of course. Happy to know she hadn’t fallen off the planet. But the whole part about cooking with the Rossis? Ouch!

  “So what do we do?” I leaned against the counter, ready to admit defeat.

  “It’s more complicated than you know. They’re hiding her from Uncle Laz. That’s why he’s here and Aunt Rosa’s there. They’re going to make sure your mama is in the guest room with the door closed before he gets home.” She sighed. “As competitive as your father is, Uncle Laz is even more so. You know? This is such a dilemma.”

  “Especially with Athena here.” I shook my head. “I’m guessing Mama forgot we had family coming today.”

  “Likely. Seems like she has a lot on her mind.”

  “You have no idea.”

  Bella checked her reflection in the mirror, then looked my way. “Well, let’s go back out there and act like nothing’s wrong. I don’t want to ruin Athena’s good time, and you need time to process all of this. We can talk after. I just . . . well, I just wanted you to know.”

  I gave Bella a hug and thanked her for telling me about my mother, though I still couldn’t process it. After sucking in a deep breath and ushering up a prayer for God’s miraculous intervention, I headed back out to the table. I somehow made it through our meal and then hugged Athena and Stephen before they left for their hotel. At this point I had two choices: I could go home with my siblings or take Bella up on her offer to go to the Rossi home to check in on Mama. I chose the latter.

  Eva gave me a curious look when I told her I wasn’t ready to go home yet. “Everything okay?” she asked.

  “I’ll let you know,” I whispered. “You just make sure Babbas doesn’t kill any of the little ones before I get home, okay?”

  “Oh, sure. Leave me to deal with him while you run away from home like Mama!” Eva spit out a nervous laugh.

  I wasn’t running away. Well, not for long.

  Bella drove me to her parents’ home. When we arrived I got out of the car, my heart as heavy as lead. My stomach felt nearly as heavy, what with all the pizza I’d eaten.

  We walked inside the grand old home, and I took in the stately foyer with its wooden floors and high ceilings. Wow. But I couldn’t get distracted by the Rossi lifestyle. Not yet, anyway.

  Off in the distance voices rang out, followed by laughter.

  “Sounds like they’re still in the kitchen.” Bella put her purse down on a little table in the entryway. “Not unusual around here, by the way. Our family sometimes spends all day in the kitchen.”

  “Technically ours does too.” I forced a smile.

  I could hear peals of laughter emanating from the other room, but I wasn’t prepared for the look of pure joy on my mother’s face when I saw her standing in the Rossi kitchen, wearing an apron that read, “Kiss me, I’m Italian!”

  She stopped talking midsentence when I walked in the room, and her eyes widened in surprise. “Cassia!”

  For a moment I couldn’t speak. This all felt so . . . surreal. Finally I managed to squeak out the only word that made sense at that moment.

  “M-Mama?”

  23

  Puttin’ On the Ritz

  You might be Greek if you think the intercom in Walmart is a family walkie-talkie.

  For a moment no one said a word. I spent that time gazing at my mother. I’d never seen her look so beautiful. Gone was the frumpy hair, gone was the usual over-the-top makeup job. Standing before me now, she looked like a completely different woman.

  “I . . . I hardly recognize you, Mama. You’ve done something different.”

  “Do you like it?” She fussed with her hair, which had been curled and pinned up on the sides.

  Like it? I loved it. But the hair didn’t come close to the makeup job. Mama’s usual look had been replaced with something far more stylish and elegant.

  “Imelda is a skilled beautician.” Mama waved a sauce-covered ladle toward Bella’s mother.

  “Oh, it’s nothing.” Imelda took the spoon out of Mama’s hand and took a little taste. “I’ve always loved to dabble with a brush and paint. Nothing spectacular. And my years of working at the opera house have taught me a lot about color combinations.” She pointed the ladle at my mother’s face. “Your mama has the most gorgeous wide eyes, so I just accented them a bit with a more subtle color. Don’t they look beautiful?”

  “Wow. Yes.” I could only imagine what Babbas would say.

  Babbas.

  “Mama, I need to talk to you about . . . well, you know.”

  “Talk all you like. I’m not going home.”

  I watched the play of emotions on her face and wondered at the pain in her eyes.

  “But Mama . . . what are you doing here?”

  She placed a hand on her hip and stared at me. “Living my life, Cassia. Something I rarely get to do.”

  At this point Rosa slipped out of the room with Bella behind her. Imelda gave Mama one of those “are you going to be okay if I leave?” looks and my mother nodded, so she left too.

  “But Babbas . . .” I couldn’t get the rest of my sentence out.

  “Your father gets what’s coming to him.” Mama raised the ladle like a weapon. “He needs a wake-up call.”

  “Are you planning to stay away forever?”

  “Depends on your definition of forever.” She gave me a knowing look. “I will stay away long enough for him to come looking for me. Then I will make my decision. Until he comes looking, I stay here, sharing recipes with my friends.”

  “Oh, he’s looking.”

  She looked around. “Where? I don’t see him.”

  “Mama. He doesn’t know where to look. The man never leaves the shop. He doesn’t even know anything about the island. His whole world is inside Super-Gyros.”

  “Exactly. And it’s about to move outside. If he wants me back, I mean. I will stay away long enough for him to acknowledge that he can’t manage the business without me.” Her eyes narrowed and she put the ladle down. “He can’t, can he?”

  “Things are falling apart at the seams without you, Mama. Surely you know that. He’s falling apart at the seams.”

  “Well, good. Just what I wanted to hear. Don’t you go out of your way to make things easier. I want him to see just how much I do. And don’t expect a word out of Yi
a Yia either. She’s not going to come to his rescue this time. You can trust me on that.”

  “Wait a minute. Are you telling me that Yia Yia knows you’re here?”

  “Knows I’m here?” Mama tipped her head back and laughed. “Yes, she knows I’m here. She’s the one who suggested it.”

  “No way.”

  “Yes. She gave me the idea. Did the same thing to your grandfather years ago. Maybe one day you’ll run away from home too. It will be a family tradition.”

  “Trust me, I’ve already been tempted.”

  But if I marry Alex, I’ll never run away. Won’t need to.

  Marry Alex? Where had that come from?

  My face heated up at the very idea. “We don’t need to run away for long, Mama. Things are about to change. Bella came up with a plan that will change everything.”

  I shared Bella’s idea and Mama looked intrigued. In spite of this, she didn’t seem to be in a hurry to come home.

  “We shall see how it goes. In the meantime, just hold down the fort.”

  “So you don’t want me to tell Babbas where you are?” I asked. “Because he’s going to worry himself into a heart attack or something.”

  “Fine, fine, tell him where I am. I don’t care. But also tell him that I won’t be back until I’m ready.”

  “It’s going to be harder to keep things under wrap now that Athena and Stephen are here.” I didn’t mean to sigh, but a little one escaped.

  “Oh no.” Mama looked mortified. “I totally forgot about your cousin. Does she . . . does she know?”

  “Know you’ve run away from home? No. She was asking for you earlier, but we told her you were out. She didn’t seem suspicious.”

  “Fine. You can bring her here to visit. She won’t have to know I’m staying here.”

  “I don’t know, Mama.” I’d no sooner spoken those words than a text message came through on my phone. From Athena.

  Any chance you could come by the hotel for a few minutes? I have a little confession to make.

  I quickly typed, What is it?

  Her response didn’t give me much to go on: I’ll tell you when you get here.

  I ended the conversation with Mama a short time later. No point in belaboring things. If she wanted to stay, let her stay.

  After giving her a hug and thanking Cosmo and Imelda Rossi for opening their home to her, I hitched a ride with Bella to the Tremont Hotel, just a few blocks from our family’s shop. Athena met me in the lobby. I could tell from the gleam in her eye that something was up.

  “I would invite you up to the room, but Stephen’s sawing logs. Passed out the minute we got here. Must’ve been the pizza.” She laughed.

  “Well, I’m dying of curiosity.” I took a seat on a beautiful antique chair, and she sat across from me in one equally nice.

  She placed her hands on her knees and sat up straight as an arrow. “I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. I have news.”

  “Wait.” I put my hand up. “I think I can guess what this is about. Are you having a baby?”

  “No.” She laughed. “Well, not at the moment, anyway. This is business related.” A little pause followed her words. “I didn’t come to Galveston just to hang out with you, though I would have. I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you too. It took a while to make new friends, but nothing’s the same as hanging out with you.” I flashed a smile, which she returned. “So why are you here, really?” I asked. “To help Babbas?”

  “Your father . . .” She rolled her eyes.

  “I know, I know. But no one can say he’s not passionate about his business.”

  “True.” She reached for her drink. “I do think we can help your dad. In fact, if you’re okay with Bella’s idea for the commercial, I think we can help all of the businesses on the island.”

  “I’m so glad you love the idea too. I’m all over it.”

  “I do!” she said. “A commercial that promotes Galveston’s tourism will benefit all of the shop owners on the island. And Brock is the perfect one to do it. He’s something of a legend around here, from what I can gather.”

  “It’s true. And I’m so grateful he’s willing to help out.”

  “He’s not the only one. My good friends Tia and Jason are coming down to the island next week with Brock.”

  “Don’t think I’ve met them.”

  “Tia’s the director of Stars Collide and Jason is a camera operator. They’re married. They’ve agreed to oversee the commercial while they’re here, but that’s not really why they’re coming to Galveston.” She gave a mischievous wink.

  “Surely they’re not vacationing here when they live so close to the Pacific.”

  “No, not at all. This all goes back to Brock, actually. And Bella.” Athena shifted in her chair. “Brock is probably more tied to Galveston than you realize. You know that he’s really good friends with the Rossis, right?”

  “Yeah, just found out about all of that.” I laughed. “Trust me when I say that everyone I run into is either married to a Rossi or friends with a Rossi, so I probably shouldn’t be surprised.”

  “Okay, well, let me get to it then.” Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, and her voice grew more animated. “The network has approached me about writing a pilot for a new sitcom . . . set here in Galveston.”

  “A new sitcom? Here?”

  “Yes.” She leaned forward in her chair. “So, cousin, get ready to see more of me. Lots more. I’m here to scope out the place for the next few weeks, to get a feel for the city, the people, the accents—all of it. Every nuance will be recorded in this brain of mine and used in upcoming episodes.”

  I could hardly believe it. What amazing news! I couldn’t help but wonder about one thing, though. “This is awesome, Athena, but does it mean you’re leaving Stars Collide?” My heart thump-thumped. “The show’s not being canceled, is it?”

  “No.” Athena chuckled. “Nothing like that. This would be a spin-off idea.”

  “Well, I love it! What’s the show about?”

  “That’s the best part.” She moved a bit closer and lowered her voice. “It all started with Bella. She shared a story idea with Brock and he shared it with me. You know how I am. I can’t hear a good idea—especially a funny one—without wanting to fictionalize it a little.”

  “That’s what makes you such a good writer,” I responded. “And that’s why the Stars Collide viewers love the show, because of your great sense of humor. You’re . . . hysterical. And people love that.”

  “Thank you. Please remember you said that, okay?”

  “Sure. But why?”

  “Because, Cassia, the idea that Bella shared with Brock involves your family.”

  “It does?” What did the Pappas family have in common with a Hollywood sitcom? Nothing that I could see.

  “She told Brock in passing about the feud between her uncle Laz and your father. She must’ve exaggerated the story.”

  “Probably not.”

  “Well, Brock thought it was hysterical, so he told me. When he shared all of the wacky details of things your father had done, I couldn’t resist. I mentioned it to our producer, and he said it sounded like a great idea for a sitcom.” She slapped her knee. “I could just see Brock Benson playing the part of the Greek shop owner’s son. Won’t he be great?”

  “Are you serious?” I could hardly breathe at this news.

  “Yes! Our producer took the pilot script I came up with—I think it’s hysterical, by the way; you’re gonna love it—and he started talking with some guys at the network, and the next thing you know they’re on board. This is going to be perfect as a spin-off to Stars Collide because Brock’s character is already Greek. See? It’s the ideal segue to tie the two shows together.”

  I wanted to form words but couldn’t. My entire world was about to be fictionalized for all the world to see? And this was a good thing?

  “Anyway, I decided to come to Galveston to soak myself in the culture. So far the
only thing I’ve soaked is my blouse.” She tugged at her collar. “It’s hot here.”

  “So, let me understand this.” I put my hand up to stop her from carrying on about the heat. “You’re here to help us film a commercial, but the real reason you’re here is to watch Babbas and Uncle Laz try to outdo each other with their restaurants? To fictionalize the feuding between the families to use in this new sitcom?”

  “Bingo!” She crossed her arms at her chest and nodded. “Of course, we’ll change the names to protect the innocent.”

  “You mean the guilty.” I shook my head. “Man, I hope this doesn’t backfire on you, Athena.”

  “Nah. We’ll exaggerate the story enough that your father and Bella’s uncle will think it’s a hoot. That’s what makes comedy work, after all—exaggeration.”

  “You won’t have to exaggerate Babbas’s character much, trust me. He’s pretty over-the-top as it is.”

  “Yep. But he’s also going to be famous in his own right once the show airs. And it should draw all sorts of new customers to the island and both of the restaurants. So you can see now why we were all so thrilled with the idea of Brock doing a tourism commercial for the island. It will benefit the new show, and vice versa. It’s a win-win for all involved.”

  “Should we tell Babbas?” I asked. “He’s going to have to know sooner or later. He’ll probably have to agree to his story being fictionalized, right?”

  “Yes, we will have to get his permission, and Laz’s too. And probably the other family members as well, which means you might be signing some legal documents before all of this is over. But let me take care of that. I’ll come up with a way to tell your father.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  “He just needs his ego stroked. I don’t want this whole project to come to a grinding halt because he’s offended.”

  “Hmm. Well then, you might want to wait a few days. Babbas is going through a bit of a . . .” How could I put it? “Transitional time with Mama.”

  “Transitional?” Athena looked confused. “He’s going through a midlife crisis?”

  “No.” I drew in a deep breath. “I think she is. Mama ran away from home today.”