AllFreeNovel
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“Why didn’t you just use premade pasta? It would’ve saved you hours.”
Her head snaps back and she looks like I’ve just suggested she serve the cat for dinner. “Premade? For Sunday dinner? Okay, that’s enough. You shut off that damn computer and come downstairs before you completely lose your mind.”
Rubbing my temples with both hands, I say, “Mom, I’m under a crazy tight deadline. My entire career…” and Lando’s demise… “depends on this. I promise I’ll be around to help out in a couple of weeks, maybe even next Sunday. But today, I have to stay focused.”
“You better be free next Sunday. It’s Landing Day, in case you forgot.”
“Obviously I know what next week is.” And by that I mean technically I’m aware of the date, but only because I’m counting down the days until the conference. As far as Landing Day goes? I totally forgot. It’s a holiday my family made up to celebrate the anniversary of their arrival here in the US. It’s an up-at-dawn, cook-til-you-drop event that rivals Christmas.
“You remember it’s not just any Landing Day, right?”
“Yes, of course. It’s … a big one.”
“That’s right, it’s a big one,” she answers, holding up four fingers. “It’s been forty years since the Cammareris made our way across the Atlantic and set up here in sunny California. Forty.”
Then why is she holding up four fingers? “Yup, got it. Forty. I’ll be there with bells on, Ma. I promise.”
“You’ll be down here all day helping?”
“I swear on your life, all day.”
She gives me a sharp look. “I don’t like it when you swear on my life. It’s tempting fate.”
I let out a groan, then point to my room with every ounce of urgency coursing through me.
“Fine, go back to work, but as soon as that doorbell rings, I want you down these stairs.”
“Fine,” I grind out.
“And … clean yourself up a bit. You look like you smell bad.”
“I look like I…? That doesn’t even make sense.”
She waves a hand at me and spins on her heel, walking away while I sniff my left armpit. Huh. Her theory actually holds some weight. I grab a fresh hoodie, some jeans, and some undies, then hurry to the bathroom for a quick shower. A few minutes later, I rush back to my laptop while I brush my teeth, only to see that Frank is still running the latest batch of recordings I gave him.
The doorbell chimes and I let out a heavy sigh, then go back to the sink to rinse and spit while the house fills with the sounds of hungry humans. By the time I get downstairs, I see my sister, Lucia, her husband Vinnie, and their two kids, Matteo and Camilla, peeling off their jackets. My grandparents and Zia Fernanda must have arrived at the same time because they’re all squeezed into the front entry.
“There’s my girl!” my nonno says, holding out his arms for a hug. Nonno is a teeny, tiny, adorable old bald man. Like, so tiny, I’m pretty sure I could pick him up and carry him around for hours. He’s also the one person in my family who is completely interested in my job. He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, even though he never got a chance to go to school. If life had dealt him a different hand, he definitely could’ve been running NASA by the time he was forty.
I give him a quick hug, then hug my nonna (who insists on being called Grandma because she says a nonna is an old woman). The truth is, it’s not the label that makes her old, it’s the blue, tightly-permed hair she’s been sporting since the nineties. Giving her a kiss on the cheek, I say, “Hi, Grandma. You look as young and beautiful as ever.”
She wheezes out a chuckle and pats my cheek. After a second of staring at me, her face grows serious. “You look like hell. What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
“You’re not sick, are you?” Lucia says, adjusting her bra under her fitted sweater. “We just got over a month of head colds at our place. We don’t need anything new.”
“No, I’m fine,” I tell her. “Totally healthy.”
Lucia screws up her face. “Then why do you look so bad?”
Zia Fernanda steps closer to examine me. “She’s right. You look terrible. When’s the last time you had a hair mask?” (Zia has been a hairdresser for forty years, and she believes there’s no problem that can’t be fixed with a good hair mask.)
“Never, but I’m fine, seriously. I haven’t had time to worry about my looks because I’m under a tight deadline at work,” I tell them, glancing at my niece who is staring up at me dumbfounded that her auntie could look so bad. I give her a wink. “Zia’s got more important things to do than worry about her makeup right now.”
“What? Trying to find aliens all day and night?” Vinnie asks. “You should try finding a man instead.” He barks out a laugh at his own joke, and when he’s done, he clicks his teeth and shakes his head at me. “Although it’s getting a little late already, isn’t it?”
“Vinnie!” Lucia snaps. “It is not too late for Allie to find love.”
I’m about to thank her when she adds, “It is getting a little late for babies though. Have you made an appointment at that egg freezing place I told you about? Because you better get on it.”
