Foul Pole by Tina Gallagher
Chapter Seventeen
Leo
My parents walkedout the back door of the store just as I just turned into the parking lot. I pulled into the spot next to their car, then quickly got out and took the big box my dad was carrying off his hands. After placing it into their trunk, I leaned down to give my mom a kiss on the cheek. She didn’t waste a second bringing up Anjannette.
“I’m so disappointed your girl couldn’t make it. I was looking forward to meeting her,” she said.
“Annita, he just got here. Give him a minute before you harass him,” my dad said.
“Leo knows I’m not harassing him, just stating facts.”
I’m sure this won’t be the last time this weekend I’ll hear her juststating facts.
“She already had plans for the holiday.”
I’m sure that won’t be the last time I’ll be saying that either.
I was going to say I’d bring her some other time, but if I do, my mother won’t let me rest until I deliver Anjannette to her front door. So I kept the thought to myself.
“Maybe she’ll be here for Christmas if you make it a point to ask her before she makes other plans.”
“I’ll mention it when I talk to her.” Then in an attempt to change the subject, I nudged my head toward the store and said, “Anything special you need done?”
“There are a couple of orders being picked up late, but that’s it. Nicky is in there and already started cleaning.”
That last sentence just left my dad’s mouth when my brother walked out the back door of the store carrying two garbage bags, which he tossed into the dumpster.
“I appreciate you helping out,” my mom said.
“Anytime.”
“You’re a good boy, Leonidas Marakis.” She smiled and patted my cheek.
I smiled.
“Okay, I’ll see you guys later.”
My siblings and I have been trying to get our parents to cut back on their hours, but it’s not easy getting them to leave. They’re used to working at least twelve hours a day, but now that they’re financially-independent empty nesters, they should be able to relax and enjoy themselves more. Of course when we say that, my mother tells us if she had grandchildren to spend time with, she wouldn’t work all the time.
We waved as they drove off and I followed my brother inside.
“What still needs to be done?”
“Nothing really. Angie was here earlier helping out so I was able to get the paperwork done. After these orders are picked up, you can mop out there, but everything else is good,” he said. “I was gonna tell you not to come, but you know they wouldn’t have left if you weren’t here.”
I hooked my foot around the rung of the stool, pulled it toward me, and sat.
“I planned on being here anyway, so it’s not a big deal.”
Nicky leaned against the counter.
“You know she’s already planning the wedding.”
“She’s been planning all of our weddings since we were born.”
“Yeah, but now you have an actual person she thinks you’re going to marry.”
“If you were a good big brother, you’d get married to take the pressure off the rest of us.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled.
“Not me. I’m not crazy enough to get that involved again,” he said. “Once bitten, twice shy.”
“So what do you do?” He raised his right brow. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m asking. Mom might think you’re celibate, but I’m not buying it.”
“I get by.”
“You just don’t get involved.”
“Exactly,” he said. “And I make it a point to not get involved past a certain radius from here so she doesn’t find out.”
While this conversation might make my brother seem like a total douche, he’s not. If you’ve ever seen the movie The Wedding Singer, his story is the same as Adam Sandler’s character, Robbie Hart.
Nicky dated a girl through high school and college, and they got engaged. Everything seemed great, but when she left him standing at the altar, it was pretty obvious Daphne didn’t agree with that.
“She had such high hopes when you, Eleni, and Marina all had long-term relationships in high school and college.”
“I know we joke about it, but sometimes I do feel bad.” He held out his hand and shook his head. “Not bad enough to try to walk down the aisle again, mind you.”
“It is kind of funny that out of six kids, none of us are married.”
“You say funny, Mom calls it a tragedy.”
“Which is why none of us tell her when we’re dating someone.”
“Except for you.”
“I didn’t tell her anything. Angie did.”
“But you didn’t deny it.” He rubbed his chin then tapped it. “And why is that?”
“Because she already knew.”
“Still, you’re in Scranton. She’d have no way of knowing.”
“Yeah she would. She’d know as soon as the denial left my mouth,” I said. “Omitting the truth is one thing, but totally lying is a whole other story. She sees right through all of us.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but the bell over the front door rang as Joe Gatto walked through.
“I appreciate you staying late,” he said. “I was supposed to be off today but ended up going into the office and of course got stuck there.”
“No problem,” Nicky said.
I stood and grabbed two boxes off the rack and set them on the counter.
When he reached for his wallet, I ripped off the order slip and pushed the boxes toward him.
“It says the order is paid for, so you’re good.”
We chatted for a minute before the bell was dinging again as he left.
I looked over at the lone box on the rack.
“You can go if you want,” I said. “No reason for both of us to stay here for one order.”
“You just don’t want me asking questions about Anjannette.”
He said her name in a sing-song voice then added some kissing noises.
“Real mature.”
“But you’re not denying what I said.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Angie said you really like this girl.”
“That’s not a question.”
“Is it true?”
“Yeah, it’s true.”
“So it’s serious?”
“I think it is. If not, it’s getting there.”
“Okay.” He drew out the word, letting me know he had no clue what I meant.
“I was immediately interested the first time I saw Anjannette, but she wasn’t as eager to date me,” I said. “She hasn’t shared specifics with me, but from what I understand, her last relationship wasn’t great and it left her gun-shy.” I thought about the difference in her the past few weeks and added, “But she seems to be getting over that and we’re moving forward. She’s really opening up and things are going well. I’m just making sure to take it slow so I don’t scare her off.”
“Just make sure you find out about what happened in her past so you know what you’re dealing with before you get in too deep. There are some things people can’t get over no matter how much time goes by.”
I know he’s speaking from personal experience so I didn’t ask him to elaborate. It’s been over a decade since Daphne failed to show up at the church, but Nicky still doesn’t talk about it or her. I just hope whatever happened between Anjannette and her ex didn’t leave as deep a scar.
Anjannette
I rinsedsoap suds off a platter then handed it to Keera to dry. Her mom and grandma did most of the prep work and cooking, so cleaning up is the least we can do. The dishwasher is already full and running. We’re just finishing up the last of the big items before setting out dessert.
“What are you up to this weekend?” Keera asked.
“Not much. Since the studio is closed, I think I’ll just curl up on the couch under a comfy blanket and find something good to binge watch. Maybe do some online shopping.” I cleaned the last serving bowl and set it on the drying rack for her to grab when she’s ready. “As boring as it sounds, you’re welcome to join me.”
“Granny Vi and I decided to have a Gilmore Girls marathon tomorrow, complete with tons of food, just like Lorelai and Rory do when they have movie nights. Why don’t you come?”
I rinsed out the sink and turned off the water, then grabbed a towel and dried my hands.
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“For chrissake, you’re not intruding,” Granny Vi said as she entered the kitchen. “You’re family and we’d love to have you with us.”
“Thanks. What time does the marathon start?”
“Eleven.”
“Great. I’ll bring the candy.”
“Excellent.”
Violet Jordan is one of my favorite people in the world. She’s seventy-six and more energetic than me most days. Of course that could be due to the fact that she always has a fresh pot of coffee available and drinks copious amounts daily. As if she heard my thoughts, she grabbed a mug from the cupboard and filled it with coffee then sat at the kitchen table. Keera and I finished putting the platters and bowls away then joined her.
We heard cheers and shouts from the living room where the rest of Keera’s family had gathered after dinner to watch football.
“Must be a good game,” I said.
“Our marathon tomorrow will be better,” Granny Vi said and took a sip of coffee. “I’m actually surprised you’re not with your young man for the holiday. Keera said you two have been getting close.”
I shifted my eyes toward Keera then looked down at my fingers as I twisted them together. Since I’d turned down Leo’s invitation, there wasn’t a reason to mention it.
“Something you want to tell us?” Keera asked.
“Not really.”
“Anjannette, did Leo ask you to spend Thanksgiving with him?”
“Yes he did.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because he just asked me Saturday morning and I already had plans to come here.” She raised her brow. “What?”
“That’s a cop-out and you know it.”
“How is it a cop-out?”
“Because we all would have understood if you went there instead of coming here.”
“I’m sure you would have, but I didn’t want to change my plans.”
“Why?”
Granny Vi cut in before I could answer.
“I’m still in awe of the fact that you’re dating Leo Marakis. He’s such a cutie,” she said. “And Keera said he’s really sweet.”
“He’s definitely both of those things.”
“So you like him?”
“I do.”
Her mouth curled into a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile.
“Then I’ll repeat Keera’s question. Why are you here?”
I took in a deep breath and let it out on a sigh.
“I already had plans to come here.” When Keera started to argue, I held up my hand to stop her. “You know that I have a history of changing my whole life to fit into the life of whoever I’m dating. I’m breaking that cycle.”
Granny Vi put her hand over mine and squeezed.
“Anjannette, at some point you’re going to have to trust your instincts.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t have good instincts where men are concerned.”
“Sure you do. They just got muddled for a bit,” she said. “My Marty and I fell in love in high school and I know how fortunate I was that we found each other so young. He was a good man and I loved him until the day he died. You and Keera weren’t that lucky, so now you have to forget about all the things every shitty guy you dated put you through so when you meet a good one, you don’t make him pay for them.”
“I don’t think I’m making Leo pay.”
Keera rolled her eyes.
“Until recently, you kept that poor man at arm’s length when it’s obvious he’s crazy about you,” she said. “Plus he’s such a sweetheart and even better, I love the way he treats you.”
I love the way he treats me too, but then when I’m not with him, I second guess things. But Keera has been rooting for this relationship from the start and that’s something she never did with the other guys I dated. Most times she begged me not to get involved.
“Just don’t be a Miranda,” Granny Vi said.
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Like Miranda from Sex and the City. She was horrible to that poor Steve at the beginning. He was a sweet guy and treated her well, but she kept expecting the worst and sometimes wasn’t so nice to him.”
I chuckled, not even surprised she watched that show.
“I definitely don’t want to be a Miranda.”
“He’s visiting his family for the whole weekend, right?” Keera asked.
“Yes.”
She pushed my phone toward me.
“Then call him right now and tell him you’re driving there tomorrow to spend the rest of the weekend with him.”
I shifted my gaze between her and Granny Vi then picked up my cell and stood.
“Okay.” I turned to walk away then stopped. “I also didn’t tell you that he’s playing in a charity golf tournament and asked me to go to Myrtle Beach next weekend.”
“You told him yes, right?” Keera asked, although judging from the look on her face, she knows the answer to that isn’t what she wants it to be.
“I said I didn’t think I could get away for the weekend because of the studio.”
“I’ll cover the studio. Call him right now and tell him you can get away.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
I leaned down and hugged her and kissed her cheek, then did the same to Granny Vi.
“You two are seriously the best. I’m going to go upstairs and call him.”