back to the office, set up a war room, and order lo mein for dinner, like we always do.”
“Can we still, now that you’re a partner?”
“Yes, only now, I pay for the dinner that we charge to the firm. So, no appetizers.” Mary’s phone started ringing on the console. “Can you grab that?”
“Will do.” Judy picked up the phone and read the screen. “It’s your mom and dad. I’ll put it on speaker.”
“Damn, I forgot to call them.” Mary braced herself while Judy hit the button, and screams of excitement came from her mother, her father, and a third voice.
“MARE! YOU AND ANT’NY ARE GETTIN’ MARRIED! CONGRADULATIONS! WHY’N’T YOU CALL US?”
Mary flushed. “Sorry, I got busy at work, I was going to call you.”
“S’ALLRIGHT! YOUR MOTHER AND I ARE SO HAPPY AND ANT’NY’S MOTHER IS HERE, TOO!”
“Thanks.” Mary smiled to hear her mother talking in frenzied Italian, which was redundant. “Ma, don’t have a heart attack.”
“ Maria, Maria, I’m a so happ’ for you, so happ’!”
Judy beamed. “It’s Judy, Mrs. D! How about this? Our baby grew up! We need grandchildren!”
Mary smiled. “Don’t encourage her. Hi, Ma!”
Anthony’s mother joined in, her voice raspy from years of smoking, “Mary, my new daughter! God bless you both! He’s the luckiest man in the world, and you’re the luckiest woman!”
“Thanks, Elvira.”
“No more with the Elvira! Call me Mom!”
Mary liked Elvira, even though she could be annoying, but it would be weird to call her mother, especially since she’d secretly nicknamed her El Virus. Mary didn’t need another mother. She already had the best mother in the world.
“Mare?” Elvira asked, froggy. “You there? Did we get cut off? Oh, no, Matty, we got disconnected—”
“Elvira, I’m here,” Mary rushed to say, because any disconnection in a cell-phone call panicked her parents, requiring endless discussion about why the call dropped, who had been cut off first, what it sounded like when they were cut off, and how the old days used to be better, when phones were two cans and a string.
“Mare, call me Mom!” Elvira croaked. “You gotta call me Mom! We’re family. ”
Judy shot Mary a meaningful look, so Mary bit the bullet. “Hi, Mom.”
“Ha!” They all dissolved into applause and laughter, and Mary had to switch lanes not to run into the back of a construction truck.
“Okay, I have to go! I’m in the car! I love you guys! Talk to you later!”
“BYE, MARE! CALL US! LOVE YOU!”
“Good-bye Mr. and Mrs. D, Mrs. Rotunno!” Judy pressed the button to end the call. “That was fun.”
“Was it?” Mary rolled her eyes. “I have to call her Mom now?”
“Go with it. What’s in a name?”
“But she’s not my mother, for God’s sake. I love my mother. El Virus isn’t in my mother’s league.”
“You’re really negative about this, aren’t you?”
“No, I just feel, well, maybe, negative about calling El Virus my mom. Sheesh.”
“Mary, you should go home tonight.”
“Why? We have to work. You’re working late, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but you don’t have to.”
“I have to read the file. You read it, and so did our client.”
Judy clucked. “But they want to see you and celebrate with you.”
“They just saw me. We just celebrated.”
“That was business, and this is personal. Plus Anthony might want to see you. What if he wants to talk about it? Maybe it will help clarify your feelings.”
Mary felt her stomach tense. She hit the gas and spotted the highway on-ramp, up ahead. “He’ll understand that I have to work late.”
“Will he?”
“He’ll have to.” Mary steered the BMW onto the highway and accelerated smoothly into the fast lane.
“Mare, are you avoiding going home?”
“No, but I won’t drop Allegra because I’m getting married.”
“You sure that’s it?”
“Yes.” Mary gestured at the phone. “Do me a favor and press A on my phone, to speed-dial
“Can we still, now that you’re a partner?”
“Yes, only now, I pay for the dinner that we charge to the firm. So, no appetizers.” Mary’s phone started ringing on the console. “Can you grab that?”
“Will do.” Judy picked up the phone and read the screen. “It’s your mom and dad. I’ll put it on speaker.”
“Damn, I forgot to call them.” Mary braced herself while Judy hit the button, and screams of excitement came from her mother, her father, and a third voice.
“MARE! YOU AND ANT’NY ARE GETTIN’ MARRIED! CONGRADULATIONS! WHY’N’T YOU CALL US?”
Mary flushed. “Sorry, I got busy at work, I was going to call you.”
“S’ALLRIGHT! YOUR MOTHER AND I ARE SO HAPPY AND ANT’NY’S MOTHER IS HERE, TOO!”
“Thanks.” Mary smiled to hear her mother talking in frenzied Italian, which was redundant. “Ma, don’t have a heart attack.”
“ Maria, Maria, I’m a so happ’ for you, so happ’!”
Judy beamed. “It’s Judy, Mrs. D! How about this? Our baby grew up! We need grandchildren!”
Mary smiled. “Don’t encourage her. Hi, Ma!”
Anthony’s mother joined in, her voice raspy from years of smoking, “Mary, my new daughter! God bless you both! He’s the luckiest man in the world, and you’re the luckiest woman!”
“Thanks, Elvira.”
“No more with the Elvira! Call me Mom!”
Mary liked Elvira, even though she could be annoying, but it would be weird to call her mother, especially since she’d secretly nicknamed her El Virus. Mary didn’t need another mother. She already had the best mother in the world.
“Mare?” Elvira asked, froggy. “You there? Did we get cut off? Oh, no, Matty, we got disconnected—”
“Elvira, I’m here,” Mary rushed to say, because any disconnection in a cell-phone call panicked her parents, requiring endless discussion about why the call dropped, who had been cut off first, what it sounded like when they were cut off, and how the old days used to be better, when phones were two cans and a string.
“Mare, call me Mom!” Elvira croaked. “You gotta call me Mom! We’re family. ”
Judy shot Mary a meaningful look, so Mary bit the bullet. “Hi, Mom.”
“Ha!” They all dissolved into applause and laughter, and Mary had to switch lanes not to run into the back of a construction truck.
“Okay, I have to go! I’m in the car! I love you guys! Talk to you later!”
“BYE, MARE! CALL US! LOVE YOU!”
“Good-bye Mr. and Mrs. D, Mrs. Rotunno!” Judy pressed the button to end the call. “That was fun.”
“Was it?” Mary rolled her eyes. “I have to call her Mom now?”
“Go with it. What’s in a name?”
“But she’s not my mother, for God’s sake. I love my mother. El Virus isn’t in my mother’s league.”
“You’re really negative about this, aren’t you?”
“No, I just feel, well, maybe, negative about calling El Virus my mom. Sheesh.”
“Mary, you should go home tonight.”
“Why? We have to work. You’re working late, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but you don’t have to.”
“I have to read the file. You read it, and so did our client.”
Judy clucked. “But they want to see you and celebrate with you.”
“They just saw me. We just celebrated.”
“That was business, and this is personal. Plus Anthony might want to see you. What if he wants to talk about it? Maybe it will help clarify your feelings.”
Mary felt her stomach tense. She hit the gas and spotted the highway on-ramp, up ahead. “He’ll understand that I have to work late.”
“Will he?”
“He’ll have to.” Mary steered the BMW onto the highway and accelerated smoothly into the fast lane.
“Mare, are you avoiding going home?”
“No, but I won’t drop Allegra because I’m getting married.”
“You sure that’s it?”
“Yes.” Mary gestured at the phone. “Do me a favor and press A on my phone, to speed-dial
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