I nodded. It would be a very eye-opening experience to spend the holidays with such a huge family. I felt the warmth spilling out to us as his family members embraced him with twenty minutes of hugs and kisses.
The next several hours were a blur. There were a hundred kids running around and no real organized meal, just a bunch of food on a table for people to graze. Will’s mom, Rita, was a sweetheart—she complimented me over and over and seemed truly happy that Will had brought someone home. She said the next morning would be a quieter time for us to get to know each other, but she did tell me they used to worry about Will when he was younger because one of the sisters dropped him on his head as a baby. “He just always seemed different than the other kids,” she said.
He clearly didn’t fit in with the rest of the group. His dad was quiet and somewhat unsocial. He basically sat in a recliner while all the kids jumped around him. He was kind when Will introduced us, but he made very little effort to talk to me after that. Will’s brother Ray was literally his polar opposite. I could see immediately why they weren’t close.
“Mia, this is my brother Ray. Ray, this is Mia.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, holding my hand out. He shook it robotically while Will stepped away to get us a drink. Ray stood a tad taller than Will and was about sixty pounds heavier. What was left of his severely receded hair was very short and if it weren’t for his dark eyes, the family trait, he would have looked nothing like Will. All the family members dressed in a kind of typical suburban, conservative attire. Compared to his family, Will seemed very edgy with his tattoos and silver-studded belt, but to me it was just Will, my sweet and sensitive Will.
“So you’re the girlfriend?” Ray said, smiling. “Are you a bartender, too?” He spoke sincerely, but I could tell right away he was one of those people who always had a hint of condescension in his tone.
“No, I’m not. I own a café in the East Village and… I’m a musician, as well.” My own admission surprised me, but I wanted to remind Ray that Will wasn’t just a bartender.
“Ah yes… the music. Kind of an oddball thing to pursue, don’t you think?”
“Why is that?” I said with a smile.
“I don’t know, just seems like more of a hobby.”
I waited a long beat before responding. “Well, I disagree. I’ve studied music most of my life and your brother is by far the most talented musician I’ve encountered. It would be a crime if he didn’t pursue a career in music… And really, there is nothing odd about it.”
He studied my expression. “Hmm. Well, he’s always had a knack for it; I’ll give him that. So what do you play?”
“Piano,” I said and he nodded with a smile.
Will appeared and threw his arm around my shoulder after handing me a glass of wine. “Watch out, Ray, this one’s a firecracker,” he said as he kissed me on the forehead. Ray smiled warmly at both of us. I knew he meant well, but I wasn’t sure if anyone in Will’s family would truly appreciate the magnitude of what he was about to tell them.
Will glanced around the room and then cleared his throat loudly. “Ahem. I have an announcement to make.” Everyone immediately quieted. I noticed several sets of eyes surveying me, first my left hand and then my stomach. Clearly most announcements in this family were either engagements or pregnancies.
“Everybody, I want to let you know that Mia here… has never had turducken.” Huh? The first thing I thought was that Will was right, I had never had turducken; he told me it was his family’s Christmas Eve tradition to roast a deboned chicken inside of a deboned duck inside of a turkey. It sounded disgusting to me, but that wasn’t the point. I thought he was going to announce his record deal—instead Will threw the attention to me and then stared off smugly while his entire family started talking at once about how much I was going to love the freakin’ turducken.
I elbowed him and then narrowed my eyes. “You’re in trouble,” I whispered.
“What are you gonna do to me, sweet thing?” He grinned.
I yanked him away into the bathroom and shut the door. “What was that? Why didn’t you tell them about the deal?”
“Mia, did you see how many little kids were running around out there?”
I shot out my hands. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“In my family… it’s just kind of a funny thing when one of the couples goes into the bathroom and locks the door.” He smirked devilishly.
I gasped, appalled. “Oh my god. First of all, we’re not a couple and second, that is ridiculous.”
He just shrugged and held his shit-eating grin. “Will Ryan, I am mad at you.” I stomped my foot like petulant teenager. “And furthermore, you still haven’t answered my question.”