And then it all came to a suddenhalt. Everyone turned to stare.
They all look the same, was my first thought. I would never say it aloud, but I hope it wasn’t an insensitive thing to think. All dark hair, some blue eyes, but mostly brown. Sun-kissed Mediterranean skin. Everyone fit as a fiddle. Gorgeous, every last one of them. And they all stared at me.
Donna peeled away from the group and swooped in like an Italian angel. Even Rome appeared put off by the sudden record scratch of a moment. His mother slipped beside me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and gently guided me toward the group.
“Everyone, everyone,” she called out. “Please, I would like you to meet my son’samore. This is Alex!”
The warm sounds of welcoming undulated through the Moretti clan, some saying my name, others stating something in Italian I didn’t understand. They all looked so…
Happy.
What a beautiful family.
“Okay, all right,” Donna cooed in my ear. “We will start with my family and then work our way outward, yes?”
I looked at her and let out a little giggle. “Whatever you say, Donna.”
Rome’s oldest sister, Sofia, ensnared me and I had to briefly rethink my sexual preferences. Tall, thin, full dark hair, and those deep blue eyes. She had all the hallmarks of a Moretti and each of them feminized to the nth degree. She greeted mewarmly and all I could do was stare. Of course, her husband could walk any model runway with gusto. Though, in my opinion, couldn’t hold a candle’s flame to the sexiness of my man Rome.
I learned that Sofia worked as an ophthalmologist and owned her own practice one town over. They lived in one of the houses between Rome and their parents. Her husband owned an accounting firm. They had three children, all of whom scampered around the crowd like slalom skiers during a race.
Isa came next, the middle child and Rome’s second sister. Donna stuck by my side the whole time as I learned that Isa was unmarried but really enjoyed dating, much to Donna’s chagrin. Equally as gorgeous, albeit shorter, Isa carried with her a quiet confidence that felt inviting. She worked as a programmer, bouncing around various upstarts, but I found she could have easily been a psychologist with her shrewd, assessing eyes that somehow invited me to speak more about myself. Instantly, I wanted to invite her out and have dinner to get to know her more.
Alas, there were still more Morettis to fill my time. Rome had slipped away. For once, I couldn’t use his height to pinpoint him in the crowd. I saw him with his father over by the grill. Rome spoke with animated gestures while Arrigo stared, face pinched together in deep concentration.
I met too many cousins to count. Aunts and uncles galore. It was like the Twelve Days of Christmas, only extremely Italian and each day had at least one Giuseppe in the mix. A particular introduction and conversation stuck out the most. Toward the end, Donna brought in a cousin named Elena. Her mother and Arrigo were siblings. She was mid-thirties and had what I would now come to call the “typical Moretti look” for a woman.
“This is Elena,” Donna said. She sounded delighted for us to meet. Especially when she said, “Elena is a physical therapist.She is single.”
I had to do a double take. Did… did Donna forget I was gay and dating her son? Why would she…?
Physical therapist. Like someone else I knew.
I laughed when I understood. For once, I wasn’t the confused one. Elena gave her aunt Donna a funny look. “It’s great to meet you, Elena,” I said. “We’ll chat later.”
Elena snickered, rolled her eyes, and said, “I look forward to it, Alex.”
At long last, I had a drink presented to me, something fizzy, from a can, and alcoholic. My buzz from the champagne had unfortunately abated, so the raspberry and lime drink had a nice kick back to a state of flow. Donna released me to the wilds after sufficiently introducing me to everyone. I targeted a safe pathway to Rome still at the grill, careful to avoid re-meeting someone whose name I didn’t remember.
I didn’t make it three steps before someone moved into my path. Thankfully, I recognized the face.
“Joe! Hey, man,” I said, and we quickly embraced. He carried a bottle of lite beer in his hand. “When did you get here?”
“Few minutes ago. Aunt Donna is super efficient when it comes to family intros, I see.”
I laughed and scratched the back of my head. “She loves playing hostess.”
Joe looked over his shoulder and then around us, as if someone might eavesdrop. “Hey, so listen.” I leaned in. “Our 501(c)(3) was approved this morning.” I started to react but Joe clamped down on my arm. “Shh-shh! Rome’s got one eye on us, the sneaky guy. We’re pretty much green lit on everything except for Rome’s approval.”
“And Rome’s money,” I added.
Joe nodded. “Yeah, and Rome’s money. But this means everything is officially set.” He took a sip of beer. “Anyway, we’lltalk later, all right? Enjoy the fam for now.” He turned to go, and I successfully made it to the grill.
Rome had a glass of red wine waiting for me by the time I reached him at the grill. I set aside my seltzer.
“Okay, so who is that?” he asked teasingly as he pointed to a random cousin in the crowd.
“Giuseppe?” I said, and he laughed.
