“You gonna tell me what that was about?” Wills stared after him.
I had to think fast, although it killed me that I was going to lie to him. I’d have to tell him about this, but not now, not today. “Alax and I never got along. He was just bringing up old grudges. He’s as bad as your Uncle Tony.”
“Shit, I’m sorry you have to have one of those in your family.”
I held my hands out palms up and gave him a slight smile. “That’s the way it goes.”
“I guess. Now, what were you going to show me?”
“The school I used to go to is right down this street.” And I started talking casually about classes, teachers, and friends, and the hazard was neatly sidestepped.
It wasn’t the best Easter I’d ever spent with my family. I’d lost my appetite and pushed the hiroméri, the smoked, salted pork, from one side of my plate to the other, and made a shambles of Kokkina—pasxalina avga—the dyed red Easter eggs, cracking the shells too hard and crumbling the yolk and white.
I remembered the scene in Cambridge just last week.
Marti had gone to Jack. “Daddy?”
“Yes, munchkin?” Jack put down the newspaper he’d been reading and gave her his full attention, something Wills had told me he did for each of his children. With an example like that, Wills would be the best dad.
“We were learning about family customs in CCD!”
“Really?”
“Mmm hmm!” I watched in awe as Marti peeked at Jack through her lashes and spun her machinations. “Sister Anne explained how sometimes they just start, and the families like them so much they keep doing them every year!”
“That’s very interesting.”
“I thought so!” She gave JR a poke in the ribs when he started snickering. “Anyway, we…I mean I thought it would be fun if we started a tradition of our own!”
“All right. And what might this tradition be?”
“Well…You know how we always tap our Easter eggs on the table to crack the shell? Well, I thought we could tap them on our heads!”
Jack glanced at Wills, who had his part of the newspaper in front of his face. When Marti had brought this up on Friday, I’d been charmed to learn that Wills had tried for numerous Easters as a child to persuade his dad to crack an egg—which Jack wasn’t supposed to know was raw—on his head, with no success.
“All right, munchkin,” Jack said now. “If that’s what you want. When did you want to start this new tradition?”
“Today?”
“All right.”
“Thanks, Daddy!” She jumped up and threw herself onto him, and then she danced back. “Let’s get Alice and do it now!”
* * * *
“What-how—” Jar stared around at us in dismay as egg yolk ran down his hair and onto his cheeks.
“Oh, yuck!” Marti’s eyes were huge.
Wills had to struggle to keep from laughing. One glance at him, and I fastened my gaze to the tablecloth to keep from laughing myself.
“Whose idea was this?” Jill stood there with her hands on her hips, exasperation in every line of her very pregnant body.
“Daddy said we could!”
“Jack, really!”
“Apparently it was Sister Anne. Something about starting new traditions.”
“Well, this is one tradition we won’t be following. JR, go get cleaned up. And please don’t drip egg all over the stairs.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Um…” Somehow I managed not to choke on my laughter. “Alice and I have to get back to the kitchen.”
“I’ll help!” Wills came after us.
“How did that happen?” I asked once we were in the kitchen.
Alice had a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle giggles. “We never got around to coloring the eggs on Friday, so Jill volunteered to do them yesterday while you were at the movies.”
I slid an arm around Wills’s waist. “Know something, babe?”
“What, Theo?”
“I love your family!”
His family…. I drained my glass of retsina. “Pass the bottle, Poppa.”
He did as I’d asked and watched as I poured myself another glass. I expected him to say he wanted it back, but it was Wills who reached for the bottle.
“I’ve never had this kind of wine before.” He studied the label. “I think I’ll try it.”
If he did, he wouldn’t drive. And that meant we’d have to stay here overnight. I pushed the bottle away.
“I’ve had enough.”
Wills gave me a thoughtful look, but he made no effort to sample the wine.
* * * *
I’d had more than enough…of dinner, of family, of everything. As soon as we could politely leave, I pushed back my chair and said, “We have to go. Wills has to get back to work earlier than we expected. They called him while we were walking.”
“But…but you were going to spend a few days.”
“Sorry.” I lied. I kissed Ma’s cheek, hugged Casey, and barely gave Poppa a glance as I walked out.
Wills pressed the key fob and the doors of the convertible unlocked. I got in and was buckled up by the time he walked around the front of the car and climbed in.