Oh, man. Now they’d done it. Her mother was a sweet woman most times, but when she went off, Rosa Serafini was a force of nature. Here comes Hurricane Rose.
And then she remembered what her sister said about her father’s heart. Her father didn’t need stress, and this was her fault. “Mama, please. I’m sorry. Please, please, stop yelling.”
“Christina, how can you embarrass the family like this?”
At that moment, Gloria walked into the apartment and toward Christina’s room. Great. The last thing she needed was her sister’s commentary. “Mama, please. Think of Papa’s heart.”
Rose Serafini stopped her tirade immediately. “Who told you that? Never mind. Just be here for dinner tonight so we can get this straightened out.”
Fabulous. A family dinner. With her at the center of attention. “Of course, Mama. I’ll be there.”
Without saying goodbye, her mother clicked off the phone. Chrissy was in for it now. Her mother was rarely so angry that she would forget to say goodbye, and ‘I love you’.
She’d probably just earned the worst daughter in the world medal.
And none of it was her fault.
Okay, losing her temper was her fault. But how much could she take?
“What’s going on?” Gloria asked.
“Nothing. Hey, what’re you doing here?”
“Getting clothes. I’m staying at Marcus’ tonight. He’s waiting for me in the car. So, give. What’s going on?”
“As if you didn’t know. I’m sure Marcus told you all about it.”
“No. He didn’t. Why did Mama yell at you over the phone?”
“Because Saks and I had a fight at the diner.”
“Fight?”
“The kind where I dumped my breakfast on his head.”
Gloria said with her eyes opened wide. “You did?”
“Why does everyone keep bringing that up!??” Chrissy exploded at her sister, worked up from her mother yelling at her, and the ridiculous day she had.
“Did you sleep with him?”
“Excuse me?! Now I’m a whore?”
“Whoa, wait a minute, sis. You aren’t like that. Until Saks, you had the longest dry spell of anyone.”
“Gee, thanks. I’m not sure whether to be complimented or insulted.”
Before Gloria could reply, the whine of a car trying to start hit the air. Normally Chrissy wouldn’t think twice about it, but then she remembered the beater car Saks had driven here earlier. The thing looked as if it would fall apart any second. She looked out the window and found her suspicions confirmed.
“Oh no,” said Chrissy.
“What?”
“He’s here.”
“Who?”
“Saks.”