Purely Relative Read Online Free

female,
practically fall over themselves trying to wait on him.”
    “Small world,” Scott interjected, his tone as dry as the
Sahara.
    A chilly, unspoken message passed between him and Jenny.
    Jon’s eyes darted back and forth between them before meeting
mine. He shrugged. I returned the gesture, but let the topic drop.
    “Do you cook, Gayle?” Jon’s mother asked.
    “Oh, yes, cooking! All the daughters of Italy are good
cooks,” Sophia interjected. She wore a cunning smile and the gloves were
peeling off. I’d have rather been stuck in an elevator with Thalia than engage
in further conversation with her mother.
    “I’m afraid I’m more a daughter of the Norsemen, preferring
to pillage food lovingly prepared by others rather than to make it myself,” I
said.
    To my relief, Jon’s mother laughed, not just a polite
titter, but a full belly-laugh. Jon’s father joined her. Jenny and Jon smiled
at each other. Life was good.
    In the distance a door shut as if it had been kicked. “Hello?
Did you start without me?” A male voice accompanied its owner into the dining
room. A younger, fairer model of Jon loped into sight. “I hope you saved me
some.”
    “Jason! We’d almost given up on you, son.” Jon’s father
jumped up from his chair and gathered the young man in a huge bear hug.
    “Dad. Dad! Easy on the PDA.” Jon’s brother, Jason, wriggled
out of his father’s embrace and sought his mother in one as heartfelt as his
father’s. A mama’s boy. Aww . “Ma! Smells great! Am I too late?”
    “Nonsense,” she said extricating herself. “Have a seat. I’ll
reheat it for you.” She swung past the empty place setting, grabbing his plate.
After heaping it with turkey, potatoes, and a wide variety of the other hot
dishes, she disappeared into the kitchen.
    Jason pulled out the chair to sit, but stopped and moved my
way. “Oh, I’m sorry. Please don’t get up.” He approached me with his hand
extended. “Hi. I’m Jason.”
    We shook, but before I could give my name, Jon said, “This
is my girlfriend, Gayle.”
    Jason stopped shaking my hand but didn’t release it. Eyes
full of curiosity bored into mine, so like his brother’s—brown and
earnest. “Ooo-kay. Nice to meet you, Gayle.” He shot a highly charged,
questioning glance Jon’s way. He obviously had not been told about me.
    Sophia filled in the gap. “Another one who didn’t know. Jon
and Thalia are no longer engaged, Jason. I see you are as shocked as I was.”
    Tia-Sophia-screw-mia was totally beginning to piss me off.
    Jon’s mother emerged from the kitchen, Jason’s plate in hand.
I wasn’t the only one who released a breath at her timely interruption.
    Alex Milano cleared his throat. “Now that everyone is
finally here, I’d like to propose a toast.” He stood and raised his glass. “Thank
you for friends—both old and new—who are as close as family and
loved just as much. May the upcoming holiday season bring you all joy.”
    “Hear, hear, Uncle Alex,” Jenny said.
    Everyone clinked glasses and an awkward lull fell over the
table.
    “Who’s going shopping on Black Friday tomorrow?” Jenny asked.
    “I wish I could, but Ian’s thrown a monkey wrench in my
plans!” I said, happy to move on to innocuous topics.
    “Not me,” Sophia said. “I’ve already finished my Christmas
shopping.”
    “You have?” I asked. I couldn’t help myself. Where was the
fun in that, shopping so early, your purchases barely felt like gifts?
    Jon’s mother leaned forward. “Sophia starts the day after
Christmas and is usually finished by June 30th, isn’t that right?”
    “ Si . I cannot help it that I like to take my time to
find the perfect gift. I buy the birthday gifts then too.” She beamed as she
rattled off her shopping timetable and rules for acquisition.
    “You won’t catch me within five miles of any of the malls or
block stores for the next four weeks. That’s what the Internet is for,” Jon’s father
said.
    Jon