The Tori Trilogy (17 page)

Mom catches him by the wrist. “Not so fast,” she says, her voice light and teasing. “These are for later, when Uncle Javi and Aunt Leilani and the kids get here.”

“Aw, man.” Reluctantly Nate drops the turnover back in place. “After having to eat airline food, don't you think they'll be hungry for a little bit more than this?”

Mom shrugs. “Your dad talked to Javi earlier, and he said dessert should do it. Remember, they won't be here till nine. I'm sure they've done some snacking along the way.”

I lean quietly on the counter, listening.

Mom turns to me, smiling brightly. “Why don't you take the napkins I put out and fold some Christmas shapes?” she suggests.

Ever since Gina gave me this awesome origami book for my tenth birthday, I've loved folding everything I can get my hands on into interesting shapes: animals, birds, flowers, you name it. Almost every night at dinner, I perform origami magic on our paper napkins. Tonight, however, I was too distracted.

I'm still not in the mood, but I know it will keep me occupied, so I agree. I go upstairs, find my origami book, and take it back to the kitchen. I decide to fold origami Christmas trees, a perfect idea since our napkins are a mint-green color. As I study the directions, bending and creasing, Mom wipes off the stovetop and the inside of the microwave.

“You're awfully quiet, Tori,” she remarks.

I shrug. “Just thinking, I guess.”

“What about?”

The last thing I want is to get in trouble all over again for having a bad attitude about our houseguests. So I tell her a partial truth. “I keep hoping Andrew will call and say the baby's going to be born. This is Stephanie's due date.”

Mom wrings out the rag she was using and drapes it over the faucet. “Oh, Tori.” She slips an arm around my shoulders. “You do understand how few babies are born on their actual due dates, don't you?”

I finish my second Christmas-tree napkin and set it aside. I shrug.

“Andrew and Ben were both a little late,” Mom goes on, “ and you, Joey, and Nate were all a little early. None of you were born
exactly
on time.”

“Will the baby be born
after
Christmas?” I ask, though I know Mom can't answer that.

“Too soon to tell,” she replies.

I reach for another napkin.

Chapter Six

Around nine o'clock, the front doorbell rings.

“They're here!” Dad announces. He rushes to answer it. Mom, my brothers, and I follow, waiting in the entryway as he unlocks and tugs open the door.

Just like that, our five guests spill into the house, amid a jumble of suitcases and carry-on luggage.
“Feliz Navidad!”
cries Uncle Javi, tossing aside a duffel bag and wrapping Dad in a tight-squeezing, back-thumping brother-hug. They converse in pure Spanish for a minute or two, fast and loud and happy.

Everyone talks at once, hugging, kissing, and exchanging holiday greetings. Uncle Javi swoops me off my feet and spins me around. Dad does this sometimes when he comes home from work, but Uncle Javi's swoop-and-spin is much wilder.
“Toricita
(Little Tori)!” he exclaims. “Look at you, all grown-up! How's my favorite niece?”

I can't help but smile. “I'm good,” I reply. “I didn't know I was your favorite niece.”

He sets me down, winking mischievously. “Don't tell Gina or Sofie,” he teases.

Uncle Javi is second-to-the-youngest of Dad's siblings. He's shorter and huskier than Dad, with curly black hair, dark eyes, and caramel-colored skin. Abuelita calls him
mi payaso
(my clown) because he's light-hearted and funny and sometimes acts just like a kid. He's always teasing Dad for being his “serious big brother.”

Aunt Leilani hugs me next. “Tori,” she gasps, “you've grown so much! Oh, you're beautiful! Will you really be
eleven
next May?”

I blush happily at the compliment. “That's right,” I say.

I'd forgotten how much I love Aunt Leilani. Besides being sweet, gentle, and great with kids (she's a second-grade teacher at Joy and Ethan's elementary school, near Santa Luna, California), she's also drop-dead
gorgeous.
Half-Caucasian, half-Hawaiian, and born on the island of Kauai, Aunt Leilani has porcelain-smooth skin, impossibly long wavy brown hair, and deep-green, almond-shaped eyes.

A mix of their Peruvian-American dad and half-Hawaiian mom, my cousins Bella, Joy, and Ethan are what Mom describes as “beautiful children.” All three have skin the color of honey, like a perfect year-round tan. Bella, the oldest at nearly thirteen, has thick, dark hair cut just below her shoulders and big brown eyes. Eight-year-old Joy looks the most like Aunt Leilani, with the same green eyes and long wavy brown hair (it's easy to see why I was jealous of her that Christmas). Little Ethan, only five, has green eyes, too, but his short hair is darker, like Bella's.

Speaking of “grown-up,” I can't believe how much older Bella looks than the last time I saw her. I've seen pictures, of course, but that isn't the same. I watch her as she makes the rounds, hugging and greeting each member of my family. She has a definite figure now, her ears are pierced twice, and she even wears light make-up! In her fake-fur-lined, zippered hoodie with jeans tucked into boots, she definitely looks more like a teenager than a little kid.

When she hugs me, she even
smells
like a teenager. Hair product and body lotion. “Hey, Tori,” she says. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas,” I answer. “You look...wow!” What a stupid thing to say. In spite of myself, I blush.

But Bella laughs. “Older?” she guesses. “Well, so do you! Next year you'll be in middle school, huh?”

“Yeah,” I say, glancing at the floor. “I'm not sure how I feel about that. My friend Shannon's sister is full of middle-school horror stories.”
And,
I add to myself, Joey's in middle school. If that's what middle-school boys are like, then watch out, world!

Bella tugs on my hair. “You'll survive, I promise.”

Ethan comes over to us, stops behind Bella, and peeks out around her legs. “Hi,” he says, scanning me with his eyes. He pops a thumb into his mouth and sucks it.

Rolling her eyes, Bella pulls him out into the open. “Stop playing all shy,” she says. “Don't you remember your big cousin Tori?”

I squat to his level. “Hi, Ethan,” I greet him warmly. “I hear you're five
whole
years old. Do you know that last time I saw you, you were only three?”

Finally, Ethan smiles, and I see how much he, too, has grown up. “I'm in kindergarten,” he tells me. “We had a party before winter vacation.”

“Guess what?” I cry. “So did my class! Only I'm in
fifth
grade.”

In no time at all, Ethan is talking everyone's ears off.

Only Joy hangs back, watching and listening. She sticks close to Uncle Javi and Aunt Leilani, stepping away only to return the greetings that my family showers on her.

I realize that if I want to talk to her, I'm going to have to initiate. I cross the entryway to where she stands. “Hi, Joy,” I say. “Long time, no see.”

She gives me a friendly (but shy) smile. “Hi, Tori,” she answers softly.

I wait for a moment, expecting her to say more. When she doesn't, I continue. “My mom set up a bed for you in my room,” I venture, carefully disguising the fact that I'm no happier about it than she'll probably be.

“Oh,” she returns. After a short pause, she asks, “Where are my mom and dad going to sleep?”

Great,
I think. A mama's girl. I smile brightly. “They'll be in the basement with Ethan. There's a bedroom and bathroom in the finished half.”

The basement bedroom and bathroom used to belong to Andrew. After he moved out, Nate begged Mom for months to let
him
have it. But she was obsessed by the idea of a quaint little “guest suite” and turned him down. Nate's
still
not over it.

“What about Bella?” Joy asks.

“We cleared out Joey's room for her,” I explain. Already, I can tell that this is going to be a
long
week.

Mom pops the turnovers into the oven, brews coffee for the adults, and pours iced water for everyone. After Uncle Javi's family has gotten settled, we all gather in the living room for dessert.

Both Ethan and Joy seem exhausted, as though they can hardly keep their eyes open. Ethan curls up in Aunt Leilani's lap, and Joy leans on Uncle Javi's shoulder.

“You'll have to excuse them,” Aunt Leilani tells Mom with a smile. “They've had a long, busy day.”

“I can imagine,” says Mom. “Don't worry, we won't linger over dessert!”

Aunt Leilani laughs. “By the way,” she says, “you have a beautiful Christmas tree. I just love fresh trees. And the house looks so festive!”

“Thank you,” Mom says, beaming.

“Tori and Ben helped to pick out that tree,” adds Dad.

Uncle Javi thumbs us up. “Nice work, team!” He glances at Ben. “You still seeing that girl?”

“Jaine?” Ben grins. “Oh, yeah. We're happy.” He and Uncle Javi slap palms.

“How ‘bout you?” Uncle Javi nudges Nate, who's sitting on one side of him.

“Not at the moment,” Nate replies, his casually cocky way.

Uncle Javi reaches over and slugs Joey's arm. “You?”

Joey turns slightly pink. “You shoulda seen the way they fought over me at the fall dance,” he says, turning all macho-man.

‘'Liar, liar, pants on fire!” I giggle. In truth, Joey went to the fall dance with a girl named Karen. They danced to exactly one-and-a-half songs, and spent the rest of the evening eating brownies at the refreshment table and talking about soccer. I know this because Parker and Bret told me.

“Tori?” Uncle Javi asks unexpectedly, and I shriek.

“Ewww! No way! I do
not
have a boyfriend!”

He winks at me. “Just checking.”

The conversation shifts. We talk about school, work, family, and the flight from California. Bella shows us pictures on her phone of her family's golden retrievers, Cheyenne and Sierra. “Dad says we'll probably get a puppy next year,” she adds excitedly.

Aunt Leilani glances at her husband. “Javi?
Three
dogs?”

Bella hops up, spinning to face Uncle Javi. “That's what you
said,
right, Dad?”

“Don't worry, babe,” he tells her. “Your mom will come around.”

Aunt Leilani rolls her eyes. “We'll see about that.”

“Mom!” Bella and Ethan protest together. Joy looks like she wants to protest, too, only she isn't the type.

“I want a cockler spannel,” Ethan declares.

Everyone laughs.

“You mean a
cocker spaniel,”
Aunt Leilani corrects him gently.

Ethan slumps down in her lap. “Whatever,” he whispers.

We laugh again.

By the time the turnovers have been eaten and the last sips of coffee have grown cold inside the adults' mugs, Joy and Ethan are asleep.

Mom stands up, gathering the dishes. “I'm sure you're all ready to turn in,” she tells our guests. “Go right ahead, and let us know if you need anything. We're so happy you're here.”

Uncle Javi gets to his feet, cradling Joy, and Aunt Leilani does the same with Ethan. They both thank my parents for the millionth time. Aunt Leilani offers to help Mom clean up, but Mom insists that she'll load the dishwasher in the morning. Then my aunt heads to the basement with Ethan, and Uncle Javi follows me upstairs with Joy.

I click on my lamp and shoo Ebony off the roll-away bed, where she was busy playing with her catnip mouse. “Excuse the cat,” I tell Uncle Javi, rolling my eyes.

He lays Joy on the roll-away, tugging the top blanket over her, and grins. “I remember Ebony.”

I bend over, scooping my pet off her feet. Ignoring the fact that she isn't happy with me at the moment, I proudly display her slender body and sleek black-and-white fur. “Ebs,” I tell her, “say hi to Uncle Javi.”

She looks at me as if I've gone insane.

“On second thought, forget it!” I drop her lightly to the carpeted floor.

Uncle Javi laughs. “That's why I prefer dogs,” he says.

I smile, then glance at Joy. “Is she--I mean, will she wake up? Or will she sleep all night in her clothes?”

“I'm sure she'll wake up.” Uncle Javi leans down and drops a kiss on Joy's forehead. “Good night,
angelita
(little angel),” he whispers. Then he turns, gives me a quick hug, and heads down the hall to Joey's room to say goodnight to Bella.

Exhausted myself, I quickly get ready for bed. I'm tempted to leave my clothes on the floor, but we have guests, and I know Mom would not be happy. With a sigh, I put them away, turn my covers back in a triangle, and slip into bed. I pick up my book and manage to read a few pages before Mom and Dad come in to say good night.

A few minutes after that, Joy turns over in her bed and wakes up. “Tori?” she mumbles sleepily, then rubs at her eyes and sits up fast. “Where are my mom and dad?”

Before I have a chance to answer, Aunt Leilani pokes her head through the doorway. “I'm right here, Joy,” she says soothingly, walking toward my cousin.

Joy puts her arms around her mom and hugs her tightly, whispering something in her ear.

Aunt Leilani whispers back.

I try to focus on my book, but it isn't easy. I'm pretty sure Joy is telling Aunt Leilani that she wishes she could sleep in the basement bedroom, too.

I roll my eyes toward the ceiling. What a baby. This won't be
anything
like having a sleepover with Gina!

Finally, Joy pulls back from Aunt Leilani, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

“Shhh,” Aunt Leilani soothes softly. “You need some rest, sweet love.” She helps Joy, who is so exhausted she can barely move, change into a pair of teal flannel pajamas. Then she tucks her in, wedging what looks like a couple of stuffed animals under her arm, and kisses her goodnight.