Page 9 of Under Pressure
Nonna turned to him with a big smile and her face, stood, and went into a dramatic bow. “Thank you, thank you,” she said. “Thank you very much.”
In her youth, Nonna had been a concert pianist, though grandpa had once told him that she’d hated it. The touring had taken all of the fun out of it for her.
“Bravo!” Sean hooted.
She swatted the air and came and put her arm around him. “Not bad for an old lady, huh?”
“You rocked, Nonna.” Nonna smelled so good—like clean laundry and sugar cookies. He loved the fresh laundry scent so much, he never wore cologne and bought fabric softener for his clothes.
She sniggered at the word play and patted his back. “You’re excited.”
Yeah, he was. Last time he was this excited to go on a date, he’d been in high school. And that had just been to a schooldance. No, he was more excited now. Definitely more excited. He liked Blue. A lot.
Sean stepped back from Nonna, spread his arms, and spun around. “How do I look?”
With dramatic flair, Grandma lifted her hand to her brow and sighed. “Be still my beating heart.”
“I know, right?” He stuck a pose, holding his chin high and bracing his fists on his hips.
She fanned her face. “I almost swooned.”
This time it was Sean’s turn to be dramatic. He pointed a finger at her. “Don’t tease me. I need to look good for my date.” He picked at the front of his soft cotton t-shirt, pulling it away from his chest. “Is this my shade of blue?”
Nonna sucked in a gasp. “I would never tease you.”
She would. And did. Constantly. She was teasiest teaser in the family, and the funniest, and Sean was a hundred percent positive he’d gotten most of his sense of humor from her. Though, grandpa had a pretty good sense of humor too—he was just much drier. Half his childhood Sean couldn’t figure out if grandpa was cracking a joke or not.
When Johnny had broken his arm in high school, Grandpa had shown up frowning and asked what the insert-expletive here had happened—that wasn’t funny. Then there was the time Sean, Johnny, and Axel had exploded a bag of flour in the kitchen trying to make a cake for Nonna’s birthday. Grandpa had come in with a face looking like thunder. Axel, Johnny, and Sean had all about wet themselves before Grandpa had started laughing and tossing handfuls of flour at them. After their flour fight, he’d helped them make a cake—from a store-brand box. It hadn’t been very good, but Nonna had made yummy noises with every bite, and the four of them had felt like they were baking kings.
“You look like your dad, like your grandpa,” Nonna said with all seriousness this time, a gleam in her dark brown eyes as she clasped her hands together in front of her. “You must really like this girl.”
“She’s the sweetest. And feisty too,” Sean said. “She’s special. You’ll see what I mean when you meet her.”
“I’m just glad she got you out from under that to-do list of yours so you could go tonight.” She patted his face. “You’re the oldest twenty-two year old I’ve ever met. You need some fun in your life.”
That wasn’t the first time she’d said something like that to him. “I know, I know. Just let me grab my cane first.”
Nonna reached for hers beside the piano—she’d gotten a little unsteady on her feet the last few months—and handed it to him.
Sean twirled it in the air like he was in Singing in the Rain, threw his arms out, and did a side shuffle and squeaky spin. Nonna applauded.
“You ready?” Grandpa came up behind them, his deep voice reverberating around the room.
They faced him, and Gramps gave him an appraising look. “How do I look?” Sean asked.
“You wearing that?” Grandpa asked, blank-faced.
Sean shot his gaze down to his baby blue t-shirt and dark jeans. “What’s wrong with it?”
Nonna swatted Gramps and rolled her eyes. “Oh, Don. Stop.”
Grandpa’s face was turning red from holding in his laughter. Okay, maybe he still wasn’t sure when Grandpa was teasing.
“I just need my sweater.” She glanced around, and Grandpa’s face went from smiley to stern in a flash. Sean wondered what that was about.
Grandpa forced a smile. “You left it by the door earlier. Remember? Said so you wouldn’t forget it?”
Nonna fluffed her hair and took Gramps’ arm—sunshiny as always. “Right, of course. Shall we?” She signaled to the door.
