Some other tenants are around, too. There are several picnic tables, a swing set and sand box. And all the apartments that face the courtyard have small patios outside their door. Ma’s is extra-large and covered by her pergola, the pergola climbing with grapevines.
“Little Niko is following in my footsteps, too. He just bought that place in North Park he was looking at,” Uncle Niko says.
“Oh yeah?” I say.
My cousin Little Niko is six foot four so he’s anything but little.
Ally slides the door back over, holding the box of dye.
“Okay, so… you bought the wrong one, Jude,” Ally says.
My aunt stands there behind her, looking about to cry.
Fuck.
“It’s baby pink instead of hot pink, so it’s still gonna be pink, though, Aunt Ivana,” Ally assures her.
I love how comfortable Ally is with her. A lot of people who don’t spend time around someone like my aunt act awkward or don’t know how to act but make it very obvious they’re uncomfortable.
Does she have experience with this? Another piece to the Alyssa McQueen puzzle?
“So we won’t be like twins?” Ivana asks.
Ally smiles. “Not identical twins, but definitely like sisters. And then you’ll be unique instead of people thinking you’re a copycat. Do you want me to do it or would you rather not?”
“Okay!”
“Are you sure? Because if not, we can try to take this back.”
“That’s all they had that wasn’t permanent,” I say.
“I want it permanent!” Ivana all but shrieks, looking about ready to hit meltdown mode.
Ally shows her the box. “It’s better like this, I think. A test run, actually. It’ll let you have baby pink hair for about ten or so shampoos and then you can either do it again or do a different color. I like these ones because they’re kinder to your hair and you can change your mind in a month and decide you want it to be purple. Or blue. Or even rainbow. And you’ll have different shades when we’re done because you’ve got some lighter and darker hair.”
“Oh! I like that. Do you ever have rainbow hair?”
“I have, yep. But pink is my favorite.”
“Mine too!”
“Okay. Let’s get started then,” Ally says and slides the door shut.
“She’s a fox,” Luka informs.
I smile.
“She is that,” Uncle Niko says. “But I bet she’s a handful.”
I smile wider.
Uncle Niko laughs. So does Roman.
25
Ally
Aunt Ivana loves her hair. She held a hand mirror all during dinner after I’d blow-dried it for her.
I’ve proven to the Novak family that I can cook a third thing - Yorkshire pudding. Luka commented that someone needs to learn to make those, and so I told Ana I could and then whipped them up in her kitchen while Baka made the gravy.
They were a hit. People got boisterous about who had seconds and who had thirds, and I almost had to cook another batch.
The dinner was delicious. It reminded me of Sunday dinners that my mom used to make. Dad loved having roast beef on Sundays with roasted vegetables and gravy. Yorkshire pudding. Something sweet afterwards.
After dinner, we ate a Croatian layer cake that was tall, chocolatey, and had rum in it. Baka made it and told me that she’d teach me when I had babies.
I replied cheekily, “Or, I can ask Google.”
Everyone laughed at that. Except Baka.
I had her laughing a few times and took her Monopoly crown, but maybe that was a shade too far.
“You can try,” she said, “But it won’t be as good.”
“I’m sure it won’t,” I told her. “I’ll save the smack-talk for board games.”
And that got me a small smile.
At 5:55 pm, Ana was rushing us all out the door. She told us if we wanted to stay we could hang in the courtyard or go up to Prabaka and Aunt Ivana’s, but that she needed peace and quiet, so everyone dispersed.
I found out that Prabaka and Ivana live together on the second floor next door to Luka and Julian, who share an apartment. During the day, Ivana goes to a day camp.
Roman lives with his mom and Baka but plans to move upstairs with his brothers in a year. It seems like the other apartments are an extension of the home here. Everyone helped one another out and Ivana and Prabaka were mostly only up there to sleep. I liked that they all took care of one another and lived close.
Mom, Dad, and I had no one but each other, no extended family. Mom was an only child whose parents had her late in life, so they passed before I was born. Dad was sent to juvie when he was a teenager and didn’t get along with his folks. After that, he didn’t even talk to his family, even his two younger siblings. When Dad died, it was just me and Mom. And then when I fucked my life up by falling for a criminal, it was just me. I’m just happy Mom has her new husband John and his girls, Sophie and Janie.