“Maybe next time, Nonna,” I said.
“Okay, okay, I’m going,” Nonna said. “I’ll be back in time for dinner for Sofia, okay?”
“And you’ll drop her off at school tomorrow?” I pressed, depositing the plates on the counter.
“Don’t worry about a thing.” Nonna dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Yes, Joni will take her to school before her audition, won’t you, cara?”
Joni’s face squirreled up into a scowl. “Seriously? Nonna, Brooklyn is all the way on the other side of the city. I’ll have to leave super early to get her there on time.”
“What else do you have to do? Curl your hair?” Marie asked, earning a shove.
“She can be late,” I offered. “It’s preschool, not the bar exam. Just drop her off before and take your time.”
“You can borrow my car if you don’t scratch it,” Nonna said. “That’s that. Ciao, my girls!”
And then, with a wave of her hand and the clink of her bracelets, she was gone.
“Okay, good. She’s gone.” Marie watched the door for a few more minutes before turning back to the table. “I have news.”
Immediately, the water at the sink was turned off. Lea looked up from where she was rocking the baby.
“What, did you finally get a life?” Joni cracked.
“Joni, give it a rest!” I snapped as I retook my place at the table. “My kid has better manners than you.” I turned back to Marie. “What’s going on, babe?”
“And why didn’t you want to tell Nonna?” Lea asked as she started to rock Lupe.
Kate wandered back in and sat down, silent but curious.
Marie pushed her glasses up her nose and fidgeted with her napkins. “Well, I got a promotion.”
“Marie, that’s great!” I exclaimed, patting her on the shoulder. “What is it?”
“Thanks, Frankie.” She nodded, flushing slightly in the cheeks. “Yeah. Chelsea—that’s the head cook at Lyon House, the estate where I work—is planning to retire soon. And she told Mrs. Lyon she wants me to train to take her place.”
Lea, Kate, and I all rained congratulations on our wallflower of a sister. Marie had never been one to step out of her comfort zone, more interested in watching and learning than actually taking part in things. She had gotten her current job at the Westchester estate as a maid and kitchen assistant right out of high school only because Nonna insisted that if she wasn’t going to college, she had to work full time and contribute. But other than that, Marie had stayed in her same room, at this same house, essentially doing the same things since she was barely two.
“I didn’t know you were interested in cooking professionally,” I said. “Nonna said she taught you some stuff, but this is a whole new level.”
“Yeah,” she admitted. “It is. It’s kind of scary, actually. And I didn’t say anything because, well, it’s going to be a lot. They want me to move up there when I become assistant cook. Sort of permanently.”
“You’re abandoning us?” Joni joked. “Nonna is going to freak!”
“Hush,” Kate chided her. “It’s going to be fine, babe. She’ll understand. She understood when Lea and Fran and I all moved out. She’ll be all right when you leave too.”
“It’s not just that,” Marie said. “They want—” She gulped. “After I’m done training with Chelsea, if it works out, in a year or two, they want to send me to Paris. To culinary school at the Cordon Bleu.”
By the time she was done speaking, her face had turned completely red, like she was overcome herself by the idea. The room turned into a frenzy.
“Paris!” Lea whisper-shrieked, if only to avoid rousing her nearly sleepy daughter. “That’s amazing, Marie!”
“Oh. My. God,” Joni uttered, envy dripping from every syllable.
Kate shook her head with a long whistle. “You lucky bitch. Can I come too?”
I just sat there, smiling at my sister while trying and failing to untie the jealous knot in my gut.
Paris. London. Europe. At one point, it had been everything I’d wanted, to see the places that had inspired my favorite pieces of literature. I’d wanted to jump into traveling like Alice down the rabbit hole.