Mallory came over with a steaming dish and placed it on the table. The lasagne was a mess to look at, the tomato sauce bubbling up through the pasta, the cheese burned to a crisp at the edges. It was probably a world away from what Cristiano was used to eating back home in Italy!
“What are those?” Keira asked, pointing at small, round balls on the top.
“Hazelnuts,” Mallory said.
“On a lasagne?” Keira asked, frowning.
“I read it in a magazine,” Mallory replied ambivalently.
Keira felt her body growing heavier and heavier.
“Shouldn’t we wait for Bryn?” she asked her mom.
“I told her seven,” Mallory replied. “She can read a clock. It’s her fault if she’s not here on time.” She grinned at Cristiano and poured a glass of wine for him. “I hope you like rosé.”
Keira hunkered in her seat, remembering how much of a wine connoisseur Cristiano was, how he knew what wine to have with what dish. You didn’t need to be a connoisseur to know that rosé didn’t compliment anything!
Politely, he picked up his glass of pink colored wine.
“To our handsome guest,” Mallory announced, and they all clinked glasses.
Keira was so embarrassed she wanted to disappear.
The door opened then and in waltzed Bryn. Any signs of the hangover she ought to be sufferings were completely gone. Her eyes were bright, her hair clean and glowing, and she’d dressed to impress.
Keira couldn’t help the jealousy she sometimes felt over her beautiful older sister. She had years of memories of boys swooning over Bryn to back it up. The only saving grace was that her sister was a bit on the unstable side. You just wouldn’t know it to look at her. To look at her, you’d think she was a supermodel, all grace and poise.
Bryn sat down at the table with flourish and helped herself to a large portion of lasagne.
“I did an hour and a half in the gym today,” she boasted. “I’m allowed to treat myself.”
Keira couldn't remember the last time she herself had been to the gym. In fact, the last two months had been a blur of eating and drinking. From all the Guinness and fried breakfasts in Ireland, to the pastas and gelatos of Italy, she was quite frankly surprised to have not yet become obese. It was only thanks to all those hills in Italy and muddy walks in Ireland that she’d managed to stay in any kind of shape at all.
“Do you work out a lot?” Cristiano asked Bryn. He seemed interested rather than suggestive, which relieved Keira, although she couldn’t understand why he’d want to know.
Bryn nodded. “Spinning is my main thing. Oh, and climbing. They have a great wall at my local.”
Cristiano looked excited. “I love to climb!”
“You do?” Keira asked, surprised. Somehow that had never come up in conversation.
“Yes,” he said, nodding excitedly before turning his attention back to Bryn. “You will have to take me sometime.”
“I’d love to,” Bryn replied.
Keira cringed. This whole conversation was putting her on edge. She wanted to put as much distance between her sister and Cristiano as possible.
Mallory seemed suitably impressed by Cristiano’s climbing background. “What else can you do, then?” she asked. “Physically?”
“Mom,” Keira groaned. “What kind of a question is that?”
“I like to swim,” Cristiano replied. Then with a wink at Keira, he added, “And dance the night away.”
“Really?” Mallory asked. “Do you Flamenco?”
“That’s Spanish, mom!” Keira cried.
Cristiano burst out laughing. Bryn chuckled too. Even Mallory seemed to find her error amusing. Keira was the only one who didn’t. Maybe Bryn was right about her being uptight?
“So how was your Italian adventure?” Mallory asked Keira, leaning over the table to pat her hand. “Another success?” Her eyes darted to Cristiano.
Keira felt the blush rise in her cheeks. “It was beautiful,” she said, trying to steer the conversation away from the fact she’d instigated another romance and towards the country itself. “The scenery is out of this world. The food is incredible. And the culture!”
“Don’t forget the men,” Bryn added, wiggling her eyebrows.
Keira shot her a look. “Yes, the people are wonderful too. Cristiano took me to meet his parents in Florence. They were super friendly.”
Mallory looked over at Cristiano, impressed. “You’re close with your family?”
He smiled and nodded. “Very. Apart from when I’m working out of town, I see them at least once a week.”
“That’s so nice,” Mallory said, looking down contemplatively at her lasagne. “My girls are always too busy to see me. I’m only a cab ride away but I may as well live in Canada.”
Bryn rolled her eyes. “We’re modern women, mom. We work.”
“I’ve spent about forty eight hours in New York City in the last two months!” Keira added.
Mallory just shrugged, keeping the wounded expression on her face for maximum effect. Bryn seemed immune to that sort of thing, but it always irked Keira. She felt like her relationship with her mom was pretty good. She certainly spoke to her on the phone a lot, and visited her frequently. And it was hardly like Mallory was a lonely old woman sitting at home all day! She may be retired now but she had friends a plenty and all kinds of hobbies to occupy herself with.
“How’s your lasagne?” Mallory asked Cristiano then. “I suppose it doesn’t compare to your super mom’s recipe, does it?”
Bryn just laughed at her mom’s forlorn tone. Keira wasn’t in the mood to mollycoddle her. She responded before Cristiano even had the chance to, attempting to relieve him of an awkward social encounter.
“Of course it doesn’t,” she said. “Our food is completely different. Most of it is imported. I mean the Italian ingredients are so fresh and nutritious.” She prodded her rubbery pasta with her fork. “Even the tomatoes taste different in Italy.”
“But American food is good too,” Cristiano added diplomatically. “Keira and I had bagels for breakfast this morning. It was very exciting.”
Bryn made a face that indicated she found Cristiano's bagel excitement adorable. Keira couldn’t stand the way she was looking at Cristiano like he was a cute puppy.
“And how long are you staying in New York?” Mallory asked.
‘Great,’ Keira thought. ‘That question again.’
“I don’t know yet,” Cristiano replied. “I have no reason to rush off though.”
A small furrow appeared on Mallory’s forehead. “No? Don’t you have a job at home to get back to?”
Cristiano shook his head nonchalantly. “I only do casual work and most of that is during the summer. Tour guiding. Waiting tables. That sort of thing.”
Keira noted the way the furrow on her mom’s forehead deepened.
“Casual work?” she repeated, the tone in her voice betraying her distaste.
“Things are different over there,” Keira explained. “The culture is different. People aren’t clamoring over each other for promotions like they are here.”
“But he’s not a kid anymore,” Mallory said with exasperation to Keira. “Shouldn’t