Thankfully, my parents don’t ask any questions as I pass them and make my way up the steps. Mario must have filled them in when he came to fetch his car, so they just smile at me as if I’m a psych patient who just escaped from the ward. I don’t mind it though, because honestly, it’s better than having to explain why my head is pounding and there’s dried vomit in my hair.
Of course, the first thing I see when I get into my bedroom is a stupid picture of Drew and me from last Christmas. Spare me the lecture. I know I should have taken it down a month ago, but give a girl a break, will you?
I place it face down on the dresser, take my cell phone out of my bag and set the alarm. I really need to be in the restaurant by 2:00 at the absolute latest. I figure I’ll just take a little nap before I need to shower and make my way back to Lorenzo’s.
My mom comes in and sits on my bed before my alarm rings at 1:15. When I open my eyes, I see her smiling at me sympathetically. She pats my head and brushes my face with the palm of her hand. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m ok,” I say sitting up. Man my head still hurts. Who would have thought a little Sambuca would do such damage. I reach for my phone on the nightstand and see the picture lying face down where I left it. “Drew’s engaged to Trisha Motley.” Even though I’m saying it out loud, I still can’t believe it.
“I know.”
“Did Mario tell you?”
“No, Anna did.”
Anna? Mrs. Lancetti? How the hell did she know? I give my mom a puzzled look. “Honey, she’s friends with the Motleys.”
I feel like my world is crashing down. The Island is too small for me. Now the entire town knows about my love life. I’m a laughing stock.
“Stellina” my mom says, which makes me sadder. She only calls me that in dire situations. “There’s someone out there who’s better for you.”
“Yeah right,” I say. “All men are assholes.”
My mother shoots me a troubled look, but I’m convinced. That’s it, I’m giving up men. What I’ll probably do is devote my life to others. I’ll become a nun and move to a little town in Peru. The children of the world will be my children. It’ll be like The Sound of Music, only without the lederhosen.
My mom sighs. “Listen, I think you should stay home tonight. We can manage at the restaurant.”
I shake my head. There is no way I am staying home.
“Stella, you look awful, and you’re stressed out. Just take the night off and rest.”
Nope. Not gonna happen.
Even though I feel like a bus leveled me, I need to go into the restaurant tonight. I need to see people and solve all the problems that arise. No one can do that like I do. Without me the restaurant will practically fall apart. “Mom, I’m going into work,” I say and fling the covers off my bed. She moves slightly to let me out.
“Whatever you want to do Stella,” she says with a frown.
I walk past her and into the bathroom. I step into the shower and let the water run over me. Before I can stop myself I start to cry. It’s really over. Drew is marrying someone else. There’s nothing left to do but get over him.
As I shampoo my hair I start thinking back to our relationship, and suddenly everything becomes clear. Drew wasn’t the man for me. When I was with him I compromised myself, and always did what he wanted. Without even realizing it, I let him control me. How could I have let this happen? I feel like a fool, and I never want to feel this way again.
Recipe: Chocolate Soufflé
Sorry, I can’t even think of chocolate right now!
Chapter 12
My phone rings at exactly 10:30 the next morning.
“Hello?” I say without looking at the caller ID.
“Stella, it’s Lucy.”
I knew Lucy and I have ESP. Just last night I was thinking about how I needed her now more than ever, how she’ll be able to make sense of this whole mess and put it into perspective for me. Before bed I started sending her subliminal messages, and she got them.
I just knew she would.
She sounds drained. “Is everything all right?” I ask.
“Yeah, I just… I miss you.” I hear her beginning to cry and tears well up in my eyes too.
“I miss you too Lucy. You have no idea. I’m so sorry for flipping out at you.”
“No, it’s okay. I admit I was being shady.”
I can hear her clinking things in a kitchen, and I wonder where she is.
“Want to get some breakfast at Cindy’s?” I ask.
Cindy’s is our favorite breakfast spot, right on the bay, and it’s a tradition for us to eat there whenever we need to talk about serious issues. Today I need a thick stack of pancakes and my best friend.
“No,” she says and instantly I’m disappointed.
Doesn’t she get that I need her?
Maybe her ESP is out of whack.
I’d be able to tell if she was having a crisis.
“I do need to talk to you though. Can we meet at the restaurant?” her voice snaps me back to reality.
“Sure.” Why does she want to meet there of all places? Why doesn’t she just come here?
“Can you be there in a half hour?”
I get to the restaurant a few minutes early, planning on making myself a cappuccino, but Lucy’s already there, sitting on the bench out front. She looks sleek in skinny jeans and a tight red tank top. Her long hair is pulled into a low ponytail, and she’s wearing the Tiffany’s open-heart necklace I got her for her twenty-fifth birthday. She smiles at me and stands.
God, I missed her.
I can’t wait to tell her everything that’s happened.
“Luce, I’m so sorry,” I say giving her a hug.
“Me too, Stella.”
I move to unlock the door and Lucy follows me into the dining room. She sits at the table closest to the door. “You want a coffee?” I ask.
“No, I’m good.”
“I need one. I had such a rough night.” I move towards the espresso machine and turn it on. As it heats up, I cut a slice of strawberry short cake, and another of almond amaretto cake. I plate the desserts and walk them over to the table. ”Breakfast.” I smile and place them down. “I made these myself.”
Lucy looks at the cakes but doesn’t move to take a bite.
“Do you want a different cake?” I ask. I walk back over to the espresso machine to check if it’s warm enough.
“No. I’m not hungry actually.”
I’m not sure if Lucy is mad at me, or if she’s really not hungry so I make a quick espresso that comes out luke warm. I heat some milk and pour it over the coffee then return to the table. I sit across from her. “So what’s going on?”
Lucy takes a deep breath.
I’ve known my best friend for four years and she’s never nervous.
Something bad must have happened.
She looks straight at me and I prepare for the worst. She’s ending our friendship, I know it. I can imagine it already. She probably has all of the stuff she ever borrowed from me in a cardboard box in her car. She’ll leave it out by the front door and I’ll have to scramble to collect everything while running after…
“I’m pregnant,” she sighs.
What?
Pregnant?
As in, with child?
The words seem to float around in my brain but don’t sink in.
Lucy leans forward and I can tell she’s waiting for my reaction, but honestly, I don’t know how to respond. I can’t tell if she’s happy or sad about this news. I still don’t know who her boyfriend is, for God’s sake. “Oh my God,” I manage to say.
“And I’m getting married.” She looks down at her lap.
“Lucy,” I nearly yell. “Who’s the guy?” My heart is racing. This is too much.
Lucy stays silent but I can see the corners of her mouth tighten.
She doesn’t want to tell me.
Why wouldn’t she want to tell me?
Oh God.
I
t’s one of my ex-boyfriends.
I flip through the list of my previous boyfriends. I hope for her sake it’s not Tom. Anyone but Tom. None of them were exactly winners, but Tom was the worst of all. But Tom’s from the Bronx, why would he be in New Jersey?
“Lucy, you know you don’t have to get married.” I hear myself saying. A baby is a big enough deal, she doesn’t need marriage to a guy she hardly knows thrown in the mix.
Especially if it’s Tom.
“Stella, I want to. I’m… we’re in love.”
Love?
I swallow hard. Ok, Stella, be supportive. She’s obviously hormonal. It’s critical to be supportive in situations like this.
“How the hell did this happen?”
She looks at me as if she’s about to explain human biology. She opens her mouth and then immediately closes it. She sighs.
“Does your dad know?” Lucy’s father is stricter than mine. I can only imagine how he reacted.
“Oh God, no. He’s going to flip out. You’re the first person we’ve told.”
Since she refers to her boyfriend, I assume he knows about me. It must be one of my exes. “Who is this guy Lucy?”
I’m bracing myself for the worst. If it’s Tom, I’ll have to smile and tell her how wonderful he is.
She takes a deep breath. “Lorenzo.”
I feel as though I’ve been slapped in the face.
My brother?
My twin brother?
There’s no way.
This isn’t happening.
“Stell, I wanted to tell you from the beginning but I couldn’t. We both thought it was best not to say anything until the summer is over.”
“Lorenzo?” I say, stunned.
“Stell, don’t be mad.”
“I’m not… mad.”
I’m shocked.
I had no idea they even liked each other.
Oh God. My parents. They’re going to die. “This is crazy.”
“I know, I know,” she says. “I didn’t mean to be shady about it all summer but we had to. Now we’re in this mess, but we’ve talked about it. We’re getting married.”
“When? How did this all happen?” Even though I’m sitting down, I feel dizzy. “Wait, I don’t want details of that,” I say with slight disgust. I do not want to imagine my brother and Lucy.
Ew.
“Stell, I’ve loved him since the day I walked into this place for an interview. I remember he was standing at the hostess stand, looking over inventory, and you were there waiting for me. The first thing I thought was that I belong here. But not just as a worker. As family.”
I look at her strangely.
This was not supposed to happen.
He’s my brother and she’s my best friend. They are not supposed to get together, ever.
Ew.
When her words finally settle in my brain, I start to feel a little used. “Were you only friends with me to get to my brother?”
She looks hurt. “Come on Stell, that’s not fair. You know you’re my best friend regardless of anything.”
I take a deep breath.
Thinking back to our history, I do believe her, it’s just that this is a lot to take in all at once.
“Where’s my brother?” I ask. He should be out here talking with us.
“He’s in the kitchen, waiting for us to come in.”
Now it makes sense why she wanted to meet in the restaurant. I stand up and feel like my knees have turned to rubber bands. Lucy gets up and starts walking towards the kitchen. I follow her through the swinging doors.
Lorenzo is sitting on one of the prep tables, swinging his legs back and forth. He looks like he’s about ten years old, and suddenly, I remember our childhood as if it were yesterday.
When we were six, our neighbor, Mrs. Stewart would baby-sit us. She had this amazing tree in her back yard, and one afternoon we had a contest to see who could climb the highest. I’ve always been short, but that didn’t stop me from getting way up in the tree, and when I looked down, all I could see was how high up I was. I was paralyzed by fear and started to cry, but instead of leaving me there, Lorenzo climbed all the way up and sat on the branch with me. Neither one of us could get down, but at least we were together.
Seeing my brother sitting there fills me with compassion. He needs me now, and even though I’m not sure what to do, or say, I can sit here with him and Lucy.
He looks up at us. “Did you guys talk?” he asks jumping off the table.
“Yeah, I told her everything.” Lucy walks towards him and takes his hand. I look at the two of them and wonder why I never realized that they’re in love.
“I’m happy for you guys,” I say honestly.
“We’re getting married,” Lorenzo beams. “I already talked to Fr. Jim.”
“When are you gonna tell Mom and Dad?” I ask.
Lucy and Lorenzo look at each other. “We aren’t going to until after the wedding,” he says.
“What?” I yell and immediately my heart starts racing again. As much as it will kill my parents to know that Lucy is pregnant, it would be a million times worse if they got married in secret. “Why not?”
“I don’t want to put your parents through that kind of stress.” Lucy looks at me. If she is going to be part of my family, she’s going to have to learn the rules.
“If you guys don’t tell them they’ll be way more stressed. Look, they’re not going to stop you. You’re pregnant.” I say this with a slight change in tone that makes it sound judgmental. I look at Lucy who is looking at the ground. Oh crap.
“I’m sorry.”
“Stella, we’re not telling them,” Lorenzo says. I can’t believe what he’s saying. He knows it’ll kill our parents to be left in the dark.
“No, you have to.”
“She’s right,” Lucy says firmly. “It’s much worse if we sneak around. We need to tell you parents and my dad.”
My brother feels outnumbered and I wonder if he thinks it’ll always be like this. He is marrying his twin sister’s best friend. He should have seen it coming. “All right,” he sighs.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you.” I move to hug them both and throw my arms around them. Even though the situation is hard, I’m really happy for them.
Lucy starts to tear up and before I can say anything, Lorenzo cups her face in his hands. “Stay calm, babe,” he says and kisses her nose.
Ok, now I’m officially in shock.
Lorenzo looks at me. “You hungry?”
“We have cake,” Lucy says. “It’s out front.”
“No,” he shakes his head. “My baby is not eating cake for breakfast.”
Ew. I really hope he’s talking about the actual baby and not Lucy.
“Go out front and relax. I’ll make you girls a frittata. I think you have a lot of catching up to do.”
I turn to her. “How have you been feeling?” I ask.
“Like shit.”
“Me too,” I smile.
Lucy looks at me as if she knows all about Drew being engaged. “Let’s talk about the home wrecker,” she says and leads the way into the dining room.
By the time Lorenzo steps out with the frittata, Lucy knows all the details. “Slut,” she says. “I never liked that girl.”
I shrug my shoulders. For some reason, Lucy’s situation has helped me to see even more clearly that Drew is not the right guy for me. Or maybe Trisha really is pregnant, and Drew is the father. Honestly, I can’t deal with this fertility rush right now.
“Here ya go,” Lorenzo says placing the eggs in front of us.
I’m so hungry that it’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. Golden slices of caramelized onions and potato slivers are surrounded by the fluffy eggs. Tiny flecks of green parsley are scattered throughout, and a crumbly layer of blue cheese is browned perfectly on top. Lorenzo has already cut it in slices for us, and drizzled white truffle oil over it. And to think, I was just going to eat a slice of cake.
&
nbsp; “This looks incredible.” I reach my fork out to stab a slice. But before I get it on my plate, Lucy is up and running towards the bathroom.
Lorenzo and I look at each other.
Oh boy, here we go.
Recipe: Potato and Onion Frittata
Yields 2 servings
So this might not be the best pregnancy food, especially if you’re nauseous, but I obviously don’t need to worry about that. Not until I’m married at least, and the way things are going, who knows when that’ll be.
5 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream, or plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 potato, peeled and sliced into 1/8” slivers
1 large Spanish onion, diced
1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons white truffle oil
1) In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, parsley, and grated cheese. Set aside.
2) Heat olive oil in a large oven-proof sauté pan. Add the onions and cook until translucent.
3) Add the potatoes and flatten them over the base of the pan. Cook until potatoes start to brown.
4) Pour the egg mixture into the pan. Lower the heat and cover tightly.
5) Cook until eggs have set.
6) Top with crumbled gorgonzola cheese and place the pan under the broiler until cheese is golden brown.
7) Before serving, drizzle with white truffle oil.
Chapter 13
I’ve never been so nervous in my entire life.
After we talked, Lorenzo and Lucy decided to tell my parents this weekend.
Last night, instead of coming right home after work, I stayed at the restaurant until 3:00 a.m. baking chocolate chip cookies.
I’m secretly hoping that they’ll put everyone in such a good mood, that when Lorenzo and Lucy tell my parents today, my mom will applaud them and my dad will stand up, cookie in hand, and give them a toast.
The Queen of Minor Disasters Page 14