“Kristo, it’s going to be fine,” Amaya called to me as she returned from giving her sister the full tour of the apartment. “You need to get some rest. Come on. You don’t want to be all wound up by the time she gets here.”
“I think I’m going to be no matter when she arrives,” I replied, pulling a face. “I’ve never been … She’s not exactly the easiest to get along with, you know?”
“Speak for yourself.” Jolene playfully tossed her hair over her shoulder, exuding confidence. “I’ve never met a person I can’t charm.”
“If you can pull it off with her, then I’ll believe you,” I replied with a grin. I was worried about how she was going to take seeing Jolene in her chair. My grandmother was, for the most part, a giving and accepting person, but she could react weirdly to things once in a while, and I didn’t want this to be one of those times. Last thing I needed was to have to deflect questions about Jolene’s illness and her treatment and my involvement in both of those things when I just wanted a nice family dinner in.
“That’s her car,” I announced as I saw it pull around the corner. “I’m going to go downstairs and meet her. See you in a second.”
I headed down to meet her and led her back up to the apartment, letting her bend my ear about the drive over and how she didn’t know why I hadn’t just come down to her place once and for all and that she could have cooked a better dinner for us and-
She stopped dead when she came through the door and saw Amaya and Jolene over by the couch. Amaya got up and helped wheel Jolene over to greet us.
“Nonna, this is Jolene, Amaya’s sister,” I told her nervously, and she stood there for a moment, looking down at the chair and the girl in it, clearly trying to keep her reactions in check. If there was one thing she valued above all else, it was keeping up appearances, and in this case, keeping up the appearance of being pulled-together and polite even in the most unlikely circumstances. She extended her hand toward Jolene, and Jolene took it with a wide smile.
“Great to meet you,” the girl told my grandmother. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Don’t believe any of it,” Nonna responded, and Jolene burst out laughing. Any tension seemed to lift from the room, and Amaya and I exchanged a relieved glance.
“I’m going to get lunch on.” I turned to the kitchen. “Amaya, why don’t you show Nonna the art around the apartment that we put up together?”
And to my great relief, the rest of the day went well. Better than well, actually. Things went so smoothly, I wasn’t sure I wasn’t still in bed and dreaming all this up. Nonna loved Jolene and got along well with Amaya again, and by the time we’d finished up our food, she was remarking about getting a wheelchair ramp put into the guest house to make it easier for visits for the three of us. The four of us got on so well that by the time I put Nonna back in her car to head home, there was a smile on my face half a mile wide that seemed to be reflected by everyone else in the house as well.
“You must have me around again sometime soon,” my grandmother told me as she pulled the door shut behind her.
“You’ve changed your tune,” I teased. I was amazed to see the impact Jolene had had on her. I never in a million years thought she would take it so well, so utterly in stride. She shrugged.
“It’s good to have some new blood in the family,” she replied. “Especially when they’re as lovely as those two girls.”
“I’ll see you soon, Nonna.” I leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek and watched as she drove away. Amaya had already taken Jolene home, and I had given them the privacy to get some one-on-one time while I cleaned the apartment. I was exhausted, sure, but today had also been about as near to perfect as I could have imagined it.
I showered and climbed into bed to read a little, to unwind now that the day was done, and soon enough, Amaya arrived back and made her way into the bedroom, practically crashing face-first into the sheets and letting out a long sigh.
“Well, thank goodness that’s over with.” She yawned loudly.
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” I asked as she lifted her head and grinned.
“No, it was perfect,” she replied. “But I’m so tired now. I think I’m just going to sleep forever.”
She snuggled up the bed toward me and leaned her head into my lap. Without thinking, I reached down to stroke her hair and watched as her breathing steadied and she dozed off right there and then. I couldn’t help but smile. Today had been new for me, but it had also been a heck of a lot of fun. I got the feeling I was going to be having a lot of days like this one, the kind that surprised me in ways I never imagined they would. As long as Amaya was here, nothing was certain, and I kind of liked that.