“Sleep in? Busy night?” Ezekiel asks me.
Ignoring him, I take the only spare seat. Next to my sister. When I look across the table, both Ezekiel and Esterio smirk at me. They’re sitting on each side of Frankie and know I’m pissy about not being able to sit next to her myself.
Frankie gives me a shy smile I find amusing. There was nothing shy about her when I was buried inside her just a few hours ago.
“How’d you sleep?” I ask her.
“Great. You?”
“Perfect.”
“You two do know the entire house could hear you, right?” This comes from Elias. I glare at him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I deny.
“I’d rather not know,” my father says.
“I second that,” my mom adds. “Wait, unless it’s going to lead to me finally getting those grandbabies, then I might want to know.” She looks between me and Frankie.
“Sorry, Aunt Evie, I’m not a grandbaby-making machine,” Frankie says.
“Fine, Elias, you’re up. Find a girl and settle down. You are the oldest,” Mom says.
“Mama, I’m not going to just marry any woman who comes along. She has to be the right fit for the family,” he says.
“No. She has to be the right fit for you, Elias, not the family.”
“She has to be both,” our father grumbles.
“Emmanuel, our children are not marrying for the good of the family. They will marry for love.”
“Not if that love involves a person who can’t handle the lifestyle,” Dad retorts.
“Why are we talking about marriage? We’re young. There is plenty of time for those grandbabies,” Esterio says.
“Well, don’t hold your breath on this one, Aunt Evie. He sucks at picking up girls.” Frankie laughs and points at Esterio.
“I do not have an issue picking up women, Frankie,” Esterio argues.
“Yeah? Tell that to the one who threw a drink in your face and slapped you last night,” Frankie reminds him.
The entire table goes silent. “Someone slapped you?” my father asks, his tone casual, but we all know he’s anything but casual about someone laying hands on us.
“It was deserved. I said something I probably shouldn’t have said to her.” Esterio shrugs.
“I don’t want to know.”
“I want to know who she is so I can congratulate her,” Eliana chimes in.
“I caught this one sneaking out of Emilio’s room at some ungodly hour this morning.” Ezekiel puts his arm around Frankie’s shoulder, which she shakes off.
“I was actually sneakingintohis room,” Frankie says. “Because I needed a phone charger and I knew he had a spare.”
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Elias laughs.
“You need to have a conversation with your father, Frankie, before this…” Dad points between me and Frankie. “…gets back to him.”
“There’s nothing that needs to get back to him,” Frankie says.