It Had To Be You by Janice Thompson

cousin, after all?
    She reached into the pocket of her robe and came out with several small chocolates. “I brought these from home. I remembered they were your favorite.”
    “No way!” I reached to open one of the delectable goodies and popped it in my mouth, overcome by its creamy goodness. Deanna grinned. “Some things never change. You always did have a sweet tooth.”
    I nodded, my mouth too full to respond properly.
    At that moment, another rap on the door sounded, and Aunt Bianca—at least, I think it was Bianca—popped her head inside. She took one look at my cousin, and her anxious expression shifted to one of relief. “There you are, Deanna. Your mama was wondering what happened to you.”
    Okay, this one is Bianca. Perhaps I would be able to tell the twins apart by week’s end.
    “We’re having a slumber party,” I said.
    Deanna held up the chocolates and elevated her brows in a playful sort of way.
    Bianca took that as a sign to join us. She practically sprinted to my bed and hopped aboard. I smiled as I looked at her Scooby-Doo pajamas. Who knew Scooby was popular in Italy? Seconds later, another rap sounded at the door. Bertina stuck her head inside.
    “There you are!” She put her hands on her hips and stared at Bianca and Deanna. “I thought maybe the Rapture had taken place and I’d been left behind.” She giggled and scurried into the room, climbing on my bed alongside her sister and daughter. Only then did I notice she also wore Scooby-Doo pajamas. Man. The twins had this matching thing down to a science. Made me wonder what the rest of the week was going to look like.
    Before long, Mama joined us. Then Rosa. Then Sophia. By this point, the whole atmosphere had really shifted to a party scene. The only female missing was Francesca. I had a feeling neither she nor Emilio would be emerging anytime soon.
    “Remember all of those things we used to do at slumber parties when we were kids?” Sophia said, climbing onto the bed alongside the rest of us. “Wrapping houses. Tossing water balloons at cars.”
    “W-what?” Mama gasped. “You threw water balloons at cars?”
    Sophia clapped a hand over her mouth and laughed. “I can’t believe I just confessed that.”
    “When I was a girl, we would call boys on the telephone.” Bertina giggled. “We were brazen.” She looked at her sisters and sighed. “Mama would’ve had a fit.”
    “Back then, girls didn’t call boys,” Bianca explained, giving me a knowing look.
    “Now they just send text messages,” Sophia said. “The rules have changed, I guess.”
    “Whenever I went to a slumber party, we always did each other’s hair and makeup,” Mama said. Her face lit up. “That would be so much fun! We can practice for the wedding!”
    She sprinted out of the room and came back with her humongous makeup bag. The ladies began to squeal with delight as they looked through it, and all the more as she began to explain her beauty secrets. Out came the tube of hemorrhoid cream, which she rubbed into the crow’s-feet around Bianca’s eyes. Out came the udder cream, which she used to soften Bertina’s hands. Out came half a dozen other products, most purchased at the local feed store or Walmart. The women found these things delightful. Even Deanna went on and on about how she wished they had a Walmart in Napoli.
    “Now I want to do Rosa’s makeup,” Mama said. “We need to practice for next Saturday.”
    “But it’s eleven o’clock at night,” Rosa argued. “And I’m in my nightgown.”
    “Who cares!” Bertina crossed her arms and gave Rosa a look of warning. “This is going to be fun.”
    Bianca reached for the makeup bag and tossed it Mama’s way. “Just relax and enjoy yourself, Rosa.”
    I wondered if Rosa knew how to relax and enjoy herself, but I didn’t say so.
    The sisters spent the next twenty minutes meticulously applying foundation, powder, blush, lipstick, eye shadow, eyebrow pencil, and mascara. Rosa fussed and