Can't Take My Eyes Off of You

65❤️

Que

I swiped through the dozens of videos Evie had posted last night. "Is that Evie?" I heard Nonna say. I turned seeing her look over my shoulder while Nonno grabbed something out of the fridge. I turned my phone face down as I looked at her. "Can I see, please? Haven't seen her since thanksgiving." She playfully joked. "I don't think that's a good idea," I said. "Why not? Is it something bad?" She asked as worry took over her face. I sighed. "Not necessarily," I said. "Well let's see it. Haven't seen Evie since she first got back." Nonno said. "I haven't seen her at all," Nonna added annoyed.

I unlocked my phone and played the videos. "Oh," Nonna said. "At least she looks like she's having fun." She added. "This is the shade, yes?" Nonna asked. I restrained myself from laughing at her question. "Yeah, this is shade," I told her. Nonno's face remained stoic as he looked at the videos. "Is this about you?" He asked me. "I'm not sure, but I swear I haven't bothered her since I've been home," I said. "Calm down. We trust you." Nonno said. "Maybe we should call Giovanni and Naya, and see if everything is okay," Nonna suggested.

I knew she was still upset that they decided not to come to the family dinner. Nonno pulled his phone out pushing a few buttons before bringing the phone up to his ear. "Giovanni?" He called out after a while.

"No, we're good I was just calling to see if you, Naya, and the kids were busy. Nonna hasn't seen you and the kids in weeks. And you didn't come to dinner—" He paused. "That's perfect," he said smiling. He got quiet for a bit before nodding his head.

"I see." He said. "Alright, we'll see you soon." He added before hanging up.

He looked at Nonna giving her a sympathetic smile. "Evie will not be coming." He told her. "I'm sorry mama," Nonno said but Nonna smiled shaking her head. "It's okay. I'll see Evie soon." She promised before her face changed.

"Now you two go and clean up I need to start cooking before everyone gets here. I probably don't have time to make pasta." She said as I picked up Mari. "Mama it's 10 in the morning," Nonno said while she laughed.

She turned and looked at him, her smile even bigger now. "Yes, but it's 5 pm in Italy." She said patting his cheek.

==

About 45 minutes passed when I heard the front door open. I was nervous because I hadn't seen Claire, Isiah, or Langston since I had moved in with our grandparents. I wasn't even sure if they knew I was living here.

"What's he doing here?" Langston asked. "He lives here. He is family." Nonno said. Isiah and Langston glanced at each other but didn't say anything else. Isiah pulled his phone out typing away. Marcello and Alessio rushed over hugging Nonno causing him to smile.

I looked over a Claire seeing how big she had gotten. "Wow, how far along are you?" I asked. "6 months." She said. "Do you know what you're having?" I asked. "A girl." She said keeping her answers short.

I nodded my head taking the hint. "The food is ready," Nonna called as she came into the living room. She ushered us all into the dining room. "See I told you she was going to cook." Aunt Naya said.

"Well since none of you showed up to dinner." Nonna snapped. Claire, Langston, and Isiah, all looked at their parents. "I'm sorry about that. We had a situation come up and we couldn't make it." He said. "Is everything okay?" Nonno asked as we all sat down.

"No, but we're dealing with it." Aunt Naya said. Langston huffed drawing everyone's attention. "What?" Nonno said. "Nothing," Langston said shaking his head. The room went silent as we ate before Nonna sat her silverware down.

"Questo è ridicolo. (This is ridiculous.)" She said. "Mama—," " No, sono stanco di camminare con gusci d'uovo. (No, I'm tired of walking with eggshells.)" She began.