The Imperfection of Swans Read Online Free Page A

up timidly. “Perfect for what?”
    With a little gasp, Beatrice rescued both Kevin and Noelle from having to answer. “Your wedding dress shop!”
    “Oh, for….” Renata slumped at the table, resting her forehead against her hands, all the puzzle pieces apparently falling into place. She didn’t look up as she addressed her wife. “Little brownstone? I know exactly which one you’re talking about. There’s nothing little about it.” She finally looked over at Noelle through the gap in her fingers. “I can only imagine how you found out about it. And since you did, you obviously know the price tag.”
    Noelle sat back down at the table, admirably keeping her head high and her voice tremble-free. “I do. And I dare say it’s worth every penny.”
    Renata straightened, her voice low. “And this dinner was what? So you’d have witnesses as you encourage our son to throw away all he’s worked for?”
    Now Noelle did look nervous, and like Kevin, her gaze flitted down to the empty dessert plate in front of her. “In part. But there is another reason as well….”
    “Got it!” Anthony’s sudden cry caused every other person around the table to jump, which then made him chuckle. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare everyone.” He grinned at Noelle. “But I do. I got it. I’ve been trying to figure out why you invited us. Why Donna, Carmela, and Elena aren’t here. At first I thought you were just including all queers of our family, but Beatrice is here, so that didn’t make sense. Well, that, and Donna isn’t.” He chuckled again.
    Beatrice smacked her bother on the arm but didn’t hold back a chuckle of her own. “Quit being mean!” Donna was the oldest of the siblings, and the only one on whom the large family meals seemed to have shown its effects. Although she had a husband and children, the rest of her siblings were convinced she was truly a lesbian, which would have tipped the number of homosexual Bivanti siblings to outnumber their straight counterparts.
    Anthony continued to smirk but kept his attention focused on Noelle. “But that wasn’t it, was it? Beatrice, Francesca, and I are the only ones without children.”
    Renata let out an exasperated groan. “Oh, no. Noelle, you’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”
    Francesca piped up, though still timid. “I still don’t get it.”
    Kevin braved a look at Noelle. “Neither do I.”
    “I do.” Beatrice nodded at Noelle. “And I think it’s a wonderful idea.” She turned her attention to Kevin. Though at sixty-four, she was the same age as Noelle, her superthin appearance made her look older. The lines around her mouth deepened as she smiled in a motherly way at Kevin. “Francesca, Tony, and I don’t have children. Therefore, we can invest in you. Isn’t that right, Noelle?”
    Though her voice quavered slightly, there was tentative confidence in Noelle’s tone. “That’s my hope. Yes. I thought if we could all take a second mortgage out on our homes, and I’ll take one on my hair salon…. I know it would be tight for everyone and probably still barely make it where we could get approval for a loan, but it’s worth a shot, right?”
    The impact of what she was suggesting nearly brought Kevin to tears. Partly due to the love his family was showing, but even more so from the spike of terror it called forth. The thought of opening a shop on his own was daunting enough, and having the added pressure of his mothers’ and his aunts’ and uncle’s finances on his shoulders was beyond terrifying. “No. Absolutely not. I can’t ask that of all of you. I had no idea that—”
    Renata cut him off, addressing Noelle. “So, let me get this straight. Without ever bringing this up to me, you’re asking my sisters and brother for God only knows how much money, and you convinced Kevin to quit his job on the slight possibility that we qualify for loans. That’s not even taking into consideration that the sellers of the brownstone would