heard the words
keynote speaker
and
an hour or two tops
and he knew he had his chance to escape.
‘Love to, man,’ Jake said. ‘I’ll tell my PR guy to buzz you. If it fits into my schedge, I’m there, bro.’
Jake walked away but didn’t get far before he heard a high, nasal voice say, ‘Jake, wait, I wanna talk to you.’
Jake recognized the voice right away. He had known Rose-Marie Rossetti his entire life and she and his mother were still best friends.
Rose-Marie came over and gave him a kiss; she had a lot of lipstick on so he knew there was a big mark on his cheek now. Hoping he wouldn’t get a zit there, Jake said, ‘It’s so great to see you. How’s it going?’
‘Everything’s going great, and it’s great to see you. It was such a great idea your mom had to throw this party.’
‘Yeah, it was,’ Jake said. ‘So where’s Ryan?’
Jake didn’t really care where Ryan was, but he realized for the first time that he wasn’t at the party.
‘He’ll be here later,’ Rose-Marie said. ‘He wouldn’t miss this for the world.’
‘Cool,’ Jake said. ‘I’d love to see him.’
Jake didn’t expect Ryan’s father, Rocco, to be at the party, so he didn’t even ask about him. Rocco and Jake’s father had hated each other for years; they’d never set foot in each other’s houses, and they never would.
‘So,’ Rose-Marie said, ‘you look handsome as always.’
‘Thanks,’ Jake said, pretending to be flattered. ‘You look great too.’ Then he took a closer look at her and saw that she was still overweight and had that dark mustache. Growing up, the kids in the neighborhood used to make fun of Rose-Marie - behind Ryan’s back - walking around with their forefingers over their upper lips.
‘I heard you had another great season,’ Rose-Marie said.
‘That’s true, I did.’ Jake looked beyond her, waving to his aunt Joanne.
‘We’re all so proud of you.’
‘That’s great to hear. Having support at home means a lot to me.’
‘You know, I see a lot of Christina these days.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Ryan and her have become very friendly. He has her by the house sometimes.’
‘Yeah? That’s cool.’Jake smiled at the kind-of-familiar-looking woman across the room who he thought might be an old friend of his mother’s but who could’ve been his second- or third-grade teacher.
‘Christina’s a great girl,’ Rose-Marie said. ‘When are you gonna marry her already?’
‘Stay tuned.’
‘Really? You set a date? Donna didn’t tell me anything about that.’
‘We didn’t set a date
yet.’
‘Well, you better not do it too soon. I’m gonna have to go on a diet before the wedding.’
Jake rested a hand on Rose-Marie’s shoulder playfully, then said, ‘You kidding? You look beautiful just the way you are.’
‘What a charmer. No wonder all the girls go so crazy over you.’
‘Great seeing you again.’ Jake started away.
‘Oh, and I made my famous lasagna especially for you,’ RoseMarie called after him.
‘Great,’ Jake said. ‘Can’t wait to have some.’ He smiled until Rose-Marie looked away, and then he winced. He was off carbs, and besides, he hated Rose-Marie’s lasagna. It was always too dry, and something in the sauce gave him the runs. She had to be the only Italian woman in the world who couldn’t cook.
His sister waved him over, and they talked for a couple of minutes. Michelle was two years older than Jake and taught economics or business or something like that at some college on Long Island that he always forgot the name of. Jake could never think of things to talk about with his sister, so he was glad when Bill and Wanda, neighbors from up the block, came over and joined the conversation. As soon as he had the chance, he slipped away.
After talking with some more neighbors and relatives, Jake finally made it to the stairwell and he didn’t blow his chance for a getaway. He went up the stairs two at a time, then down the hallway to his
keynote speaker
and
an hour or two tops
and he knew he had his chance to escape.
‘Love to, man,’ Jake said. ‘I’ll tell my PR guy to buzz you. If it fits into my schedge, I’m there, bro.’
Jake walked away but didn’t get far before he heard a high, nasal voice say, ‘Jake, wait, I wanna talk to you.’
Jake recognized the voice right away. He had known Rose-Marie Rossetti his entire life and she and his mother were still best friends.
Rose-Marie came over and gave him a kiss; she had a lot of lipstick on so he knew there was a big mark on his cheek now. Hoping he wouldn’t get a zit there, Jake said, ‘It’s so great to see you. How’s it going?’
‘Everything’s going great, and it’s great to see you. It was such a great idea your mom had to throw this party.’
‘Yeah, it was,’ Jake said. ‘So where’s Ryan?’
Jake didn’t really care where Ryan was, but he realized for the first time that he wasn’t at the party.
‘He’ll be here later,’ Rose-Marie said. ‘He wouldn’t miss this for the world.’
‘Cool,’ Jake said. ‘I’d love to see him.’
Jake didn’t expect Ryan’s father, Rocco, to be at the party, so he didn’t even ask about him. Rocco and Jake’s father had hated each other for years; they’d never set foot in each other’s houses, and they never would.
‘So,’ Rose-Marie said, ‘you look handsome as always.’
‘Thanks,’ Jake said, pretending to be flattered. ‘You look great too.’ Then he took a closer look at her and saw that she was still overweight and had that dark mustache. Growing up, the kids in the neighborhood used to make fun of Rose-Marie - behind Ryan’s back - walking around with their forefingers over their upper lips.
‘I heard you had another great season,’ Rose-Marie said.
‘That’s true, I did.’ Jake looked beyond her, waving to his aunt Joanne.
‘We’re all so proud of you.’
‘That’s great to hear. Having support at home means a lot to me.’
‘You know, I see a lot of Christina these days.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Ryan and her have become very friendly. He has her by the house sometimes.’
‘Yeah? That’s cool.’Jake smiled at the kind-of-familiar-looking woman across the room who he thought might be an old friend of his mother’s but who could’ve been his second- or third-grade teacher.
‘Christina’s a great girl,’ Rose-Marie said. ‘When are you gonna marry her already?’
‘Stay tuned.’
‘Really? You set a date? Donna didn’t tell me anything about that.’
‘We didn’t set a date
yet.’
‘Well, you better not do it too soon. I’m gonna have to go on a diet before the wedding.’
Jake rested a hand on Rose-Marie’s shoulder playfully, then said, ‘You kidding? You look beautiful just the way you are.’
‘What a charmer. No wonder all the girls go so crazy over you.’
‘Great seeing you again.’ Jake started away.
‘Oh, and I made my famous lasagna especially for you,’ RoseMarie called after him.
‘Great,’ Jake said. ‘Can’t wait to have some.’ He smiled until Rose-Marie looked away, and then he winced. He was off carbs, and besides, he hated Rose-Marie’s lasagna. It was always too dry, and something in the sauce gave him the runs. She had to be the only Italian woman in the world who couldn’t cook.
His sister waved him over, and they talked for a couple of minutes. Michelle was two years older than Jake and taught economics or business or something like that at some college on Long Island that he always forgot the name of. Jake could never think of things to talk about with his sister, so he was glad when Bill and Wanda, neighbors from up the block, came over and joined the conversation. As soon as he had the chance, he slipped away.
After talking with some more neighbors and relatives, Jake finally made it to the stairwell and he didn’t blow his chance for a getaway. He went up the stairs two at a time, then down the hallway to his
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