"Well, yeah. Eventually. We're young, doc. I want to enjoy life a little bit."

"Um, I'm not asking you to have a baby, you big pansy. Marriage doesn't equal a fun killer," she hissed, pushing back from the table and storming off.

Everyone was totally stunned and in shock.

"This s.h.i.t happen a lot?" I asked, looking around and wondering if the estrogen was a little too much in the room.

"No," Mike answered, scratching his head. "I don't know what the h.e.l.l has gotten into her lately."

"You're such a dumba.s.s," Izzy groaned, and rolled her eyes. "Really? She loves you and you love her. What's your issue with marriage?"

"Hey, pot. Meet kettle," James muttered before a hearty laugh burst from his lips.

I laughed, knowing that the man was going to have his b.a.l.l.s handed to him later for that little comment.

She looked at him, moving in close enough that their noses were touching. "You watch it, Jimmy," she hissed.

Before she could continue, James's hand wrapped around the back of her neck. Then he pulled her face to his and planted an enormous kiss on her lips. She groaned, pushing him away as he gave her a deeper kiss, holding her body to his. When they separated, a popping sound filled the room. Everyone had been quiet while watching James handle Izzy.

"As I was saying," she said, wiping the corner of her lips like nothing had happened. "The woman wants to be your wife. We want her to be our sister. What the h.e.l.l are you waiting for?"

"I don't know," Mike replied, and shrugged.

"Brother, we don't know how long we have in this world," Joey said. "My accident taught me that s.h.i.t. I didn't waste another minute without making Suzy my wife. Don't f.u.c.k this up." He shook his head. "You're not good enough for her anyway. She deserves better."

"f.u.c.k you, Joe. I'm the only man for her. I'd give my life for Mia. I quit fighting for her and the clinic. I couldn't imagine being apart from her."

"Um, again, what the h.e.l.l are you waiting for?" Izzy said, throwing a piece of bread at Mike.

"f.u.c.k," he growled, pushing back from the table and leaving to go after Mia-hopefully.

"I see that the drama around here has died down," I said, and immediately smiled as I looked around the table.

"b.o.o.bs: they're always the problem," Anthony piped in, still shoveling forkfuls of food in his mouth.

I didn't know how the guy stayed so d.a.m.n thin with the amount of food he consumed. Since we'd been little, he could eat us all under the table, yet he was the thinnest of us all. I didn't even think the f.u.c.ker worked out.

"I see your grumpy a.s.s is the same. What's got your w.i.l.l.y in knots?" I asked, glancing at Ma to make sure I wasn't overstepping my bounds.

She smiled, hiding a laugh behind her napkin.

"Women are a pain in the a.s.s, Tommy," Anthony said. "When they aren't breaking your heart, they're mixing up your head. Nothing but trouble, in my opinion."

"What, or shall I say who, have you been hiding, Anth?" Suzy asked, touching his hand.

He quickly jerked it away like her hand was fire. "No one. I'm just saying. It's best if I just steer clear of relationships."

"You doth protest too much," Suzy said in her best British accent, which was terrible. "You're hiding something. I feel it in my bones."

"Don't start with your pregnancy ESP nonsense again, Suzy."

She smiled, making a tsk tsk sound with her tongue before diving back into the giant hunk of lasagna my mother had placed on her plate when she'd finished first.

"d.a.m.n, we forgot the champagne. Hand me the bottles, Izzy darling," Pop said, beckoning them down to his end.

"Let me run and grab gla.s.ses," Ma replied, hurrying from the table and quickly returning with both hands filled with flutes.

"We should wait for Mike and Mia," I interrupted as Pop released the first cork and it bounced off the ceiling.

"They could be a while," James replied with a small grin.

While Pop handed each gla.s.s down the table as he filled them, I stared at him. He hadn't aged much in the time I'd been gone. Not as much as my mother, anyway. He still looked the same, happier than ever. This was his thing-family dinners and bulls.h.i.tting. He had his boys all under one roof, but we all knew his favorite was Izzy. She'd always be daddy's little girl.

My pop stood, holding up his gla.s.s. "I'd like to propose a toast." He paused until all of our champagne gla.s.ses were high in the air. "To my family. This house is filled with more love than your ma and I could've ever imagined. You kids-"

With those words, we all blanched, hating the sound of it, and he laughed.

"You have made us proud. We hope the family expands someday. More babies and more wives would be nice. It's great to have Tommy back and in his rightful spot. To love and family. Salute."

"Hear, hear," we echoed, clinking gla.s.ses with the people closest to us. Then we sipped champagne, talking quietly until we couldn't eat anymore.

After putting my napkin over my plate, I leaned back and rubbed my stomach. Somehow, Suzy was still eating. I watched forkful after forkful in astonishment.

"She's growing a Gallo in there," Joe said, rubbing her belly.

"So, what about you, Thomas? Were you seeing anyone?" James asked, throwing me for a loop.

"Oh, tell us," Izzy begged, resting her head in her hand and batting her eyelashes.

f.u.c.k. I made a mental note to punch James in the face or the junk.

I sighed, raking my hand through my hair and then dragging it down across my face. I want to kill him with my own bare hands. "Well, it's complicated." I turned to James and mouthed, "f.u.c.ker," to which he smiled.

"Isn't love always?" Anthony groaned before taking another sip of champagne.

"Shush it," Izzy hissed, throwing another piece of bread at him.

Ma quickly reached across the table and grabbed the remaining bread from Izzy's plate, her mouth set in a straight line. "Continue, baby."

"I did meet someone. She's amazing." I bit my lip, not sure how much of the story I should divulge.

"Where is she now?" Pop asked, placing his napkin on the table and resting on his elbows.

"She's at my place."

"Why?" Ma looked confused by my statement.

"I didn't want to scare her right away." I sighed, knowing I'd just opened a giant can of "what the f.u.c.k," Gallo-style.

"What the f.u.c.k!" Izzy yelled.

Yep, there it is. "She wanted to let me spend time with my family without her today. She's resting since we got home late last night. I didn't want to overwhelm her."

"We're not overwhelming. We're loveable," Suzy said, hiccupping as she sc.r.a.ped her plate clean.

"She's not used to a family like ours."

"What type would that be?" Pop asked, crooking an eyebrow at me.

"Pop, she has no one. No parents. No one. So yeah, we'd be overwhelming."

Ma gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "No one?" she asked, shaking her head.

"I couldn't leave her behind. I love her too much. She kept me sane."

"She can take all the time in the world, baby."

"Thanks, Ma." I smiled, hoping it was over, but I'd thought wrong.

"What's her name?" Joe asked.

"Angel." I smiled, happy that I'd used the right name.

"Angel sounds tough. We could use another tough chick around this table."

"b.i.t.c.h be trippin'," Anthony mumbled, and was quickly slapped in the back of the head by Joe. "Ma, you're going to let him treat me like that? He's. .h.i.t me at least twice at the table."

"Yeah, honey. You deserved it, though." She smiled.

"What's Angel do?" Suzy asked, taking a sip of water.

"She's going to go to school," I blurted out, because for f.u.c.k's sake, we hadn't even discussed her plans.

"I can't believe they let you bring her with you, son. Isn't that risky?" Pop said, eyeing me with curiosity.

"Yeah. They declined my request to speak with her. I quit on the spot and went to her. She came with me blindly, Pop. She has no one on this earth but me. How could I not bring her with me?"

"Do you love her?" Ma asked, her devilish smile reaching her eyes.

"Yes," I replied, shocked at how easy I could spill my guts to my family.

"You can't go wrong by following your heart, Thomas. You've always been a good judge of character. If you think she's the one and worth the risk, I'll trust in your decision." Her smile grew wider. "Plus, that means more babies!"

"Jesus," I groaned. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Ma. One step at a time."

"Bring her next time. I really want to meet her."

I nodded, hoping that she'd be ready to face the group next weekend.

"But we'll wait."

"Wait for what?" Mike asked as he and Mia walked back in and took their seats. Their faces were flushed, like they'd just had a good workout.

"Work things out?" Suzy asked, giggling and shooting Mia a look.

"We've agreed to disagree," Mike answered, and cleared his throat.

"I'm sure you did." Suzy chortled, unable to control herself.

Mia just blushed, keeping her eyes downcast as she picked up her fork and began to eat again. "I'm famished," she said between bites.

"I'm sure you worked up quite an appet.i.te," Joe responded, and as soon as the words left his mouth, Suzy hit him in the chest. He didn't budge, but he stared at her hand like it was a bothersome fly. "Sugar, hit me again and see what happens."

"That right there is s.e.xy," she said, batting her eyelashes before hauling off and punching him in the shoulder.

He caught her wrist, holding it in front of his body. "I warned ya."

"I'm getting tired, Joey. Will you help me lie down upstairs?" she asked, a small grin on her lips.

"I'll be right back. Let me help Suzy upstairs."

Everyone smiled at each other, knowing that was bulls.h.i.t. Those two were going to be doing the nasty in my parents' house and they didn't seem fazed.

As they walked out of the room, I looked at my ma. "You're okay with that?" I asked, motioning toward the lovebirds climbing the steps.

"I remember being pregnant quite fondly, actually. So yes, I'm okay with it." She turned to my father and smiled, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Bleh," Izzy said. "I swear to G.o.d, every time I come here, you two have to talk about s.e.x. I can't get the vision out of my head."

"Baby girl, how do you think you got here?" Pop asked, staring at Izzy.

"I don't need a reminder. The mental image is disturbing. You're lucky I'm not a nun."

"They'd kick your a.s.s out," James howled, slapping the table with his hand.

"Shut up," she hissed.

"Say it again and I'll help you lie down," he replied, the corner of his lips twitching.

"Everyone needs to stop talking about s.e.x. Jesus," I croaked, wanting to bang my head on the table. "Dinner talk sure has changed around here."

"Yes, baby. Life changes." Ma looked at me with sadness in her eyes.

I felt her comment. Although it was innocent, it cut me deeply. She had no idea exactly how I felt, but there was so much truth to her statement. Life had changed. The Gallos had continued, grown, and evolved. I'd f.u.c.king missed it all.