“Well,” Anne said abruptly, cutting Jake off right as he’d been about to answer another question, “I better go help Mom. God only knows what’s going on in there.”
Jake looked to Sadie with his eyebrows raised, and she laughed.
“Aunt Anne’s known for administering verbal whiplash,” Seth told him.
“I don’t mind it. So, where you been, man?” he asked Seth.
“Oh, you know—out sowing my wild oats,” Seth answered.
“I’m getting wine,” Sadie announced. “All around, I assume?” Everyone nodded, and Raquel followed her into the kitchen.
“I love your family so much,” she said, sighing.
“Want to trade?” Sadie joked.
“Yeah, right. You think you could survive Rodriguez rules? No way. Why do you think I always wanted to come over here when we were younger?”
“If you were like every other girl in school who feigned interest in me, I’d say because of my brother,” Sadie said, laughing.
“Well, him too,” Raquel said lightly, and Sadie, for once, couldn’t quite tell if she was joking or not.
Kay and Tava sat at the counter while Gigi and Anne moved around each other in a practiced way. Gigi handed her the cheese grater right before she reached for it, and Anne turned the pan handle away from the flame as Gigi lit the burner. It reminded Sadie of when she and Gigi used to cook together, and she realized with a sudden jolt that they hadn’t done that in some time. They’d gotten so used to it being just the two of them that they didn’t make a big fuss over dinner. It was usually something Sadie would throw together after a long day at the café.
As Sadie filled the wineglasses, there were two thumps against the back-garden window. It was the peach tree, wanting to join in the fun. Sadie looked at Raquel and nodded to the last two wineglasses, her own hands already full. Raquel picked them up, and they walked back out to the living room.
“To family,” Raquel toasted, and the sound of clinking followed.
“Only Uncle Brian and Aunt Suzy are missing now,” Sadie noted after a long swallow.
“I’m so glad Brian married that woman. The best addition to this family anyone could have asked for,” Anne said.
“And our mother,” Seth said lightly, though there was a coldness to it. “But I guess once you’ve been gone that long, it doesn’t really count as ‘missing’ anymore.”
“Seth,” Sadie said in a warning tone.
“Sadie,” he answered, mocking her in the same pitch.
“Don’t even start,” Raquel said, interrupting the twins’ staring contest.
“Alright, alright.” Seth laughed. “See? This one’s so good for me. Keeps me in my place. Truce, sister?”
Normally she would have bickered right back. But then she felt Jake’s hand against her lower back, the heat of his palm making her skin tingle through her shirt. And she nodded.
“Truce,” she answered, her voice hoarse. She watched as Raquel and Seth made their way to the kitchen, thinking how strange it was the way they moved in sync. She sighed. She could let go of her grudge for a night. And that’s when she remembered Jake’s hand was still on her back. The house seemed to sigh in a contented sort of way, and the record player in the corner began to play Nat King Cole all by itself.
“Listen,” he said. “I really need to talk to you.”
She took another drink of wine. Turned around. She’d been meaning to say something, but now she couldn’t remember what.
They stared at each other, the inches between them growing warm.
His eyes burrowed into hers, and he opened his mouth to say something. Closed it again.
Just then, a knock on the front door had Sadie springing away from him and nearly spilling her wine. She cleared her throat. Blushed. The lights flickered, and the grandfather clock chimed loudly even though it was only 5:42 PM.
“I’ll just get that,” she said hoarsely. Uncle Brian stood on the doorstep, with a smile that Sadie always felt he reserved just for her. He was short, stocky, bald headed, and handsome in a Bruce Willis look-alike way. His hands were always dirty, calloused, covered in grease from the mechanic shop he owned with his wife, Suzy, who’d been so much a part of the family for so long that Sadie didn’t remember a time without her. He held up a grocery bag.
“Margaritas?” he asked.
“God bless you!” Sadie laughed, squeezing him tight and then beaming at Aunt Suzy, who was carrying a covered bowl that Sadie knew was full of her favorite pesto pasta. No matter how many times Sadie tried to replicate it, she could never get it quite right. She’d had Aunt Suzy write out the recipe, but even that didn’t help. Her obsessive-compulsive nature compelled her to spend half a summer trying different variations before finally giving up.