Before Nonna disappears through the side gate to the backyard, she nods toward the front porch. “Olivia should already be inside. Would you help her at the counter today?”

I nod and stop in front of the wide set of steps that lead to the front porch. There are red poinsettias lining each step, and a huge wreath made out of greenery hanging on the front door with a big red bow. The flames in the gas lanterns on each side of the door wink and dance, and I swear I can smell gingerbread.

There’s a big part of me that doesn’t want to walk through that front door, no matter how festive it is. It’s been a long time since it was just me and Olivia, and I’m suddenly nervous.

I take a deep breath and open the door. Olivia is carrying a huge sack of potting soil to an old, scarred wooden table that sits in the corner. It looks like she’s in the middle of repotting some rosemary into decorative containers.

“Hey!” I say. I must have startled her because she drops the sack and a cloud of dust rises around both of us. I’ve missed her more than I realized, and my reluctance melts away. I reach forward and throw an arm around her, hugging her close.

Like Charlie, she hesitates before hugging me back.

“Soph,” she says against my ear. “What are you doing here?”

I pull away and scan her face. We both cough, and I wave my hands around, trying to clear the air around us.

“I’m staying with Nonna while my parents visit Margot. I’m surprised your mom didn’t tell you.”

She nods. “She did. I just didn’t expect you here.”

“Is everything okay?” I ask. So it is going to be awkward between us.

She looks like she’s about to say something but then stops when we hear Nonna moan. “Good grief!” Nonna says, looking between us, then at the mess on the floor. “Well, don’t just stand there gawking at each other. Get a broom.”

And then we’re both moving.

***

It’s almost dark when I leave the nursery with Olivia. Every house we pass is covered in lights, and there’s lots of traffic — people shopping or heading to holiday parties.

“Are you ready to talk about it?” Olivia asks as she drives.

For a second, I think she’s talking about whatever it is that’s off with us, but then she says, “Tell me what happened with Griffin.”

I grimace. We worked hard today, and Nonna was right — I needed to keep my mind off Griffin. But now I force myself to replay it all in my head. “Well, I showed up at this party.” I pick at my thumbnail and run through the story again. It doesn’t get any easier no matter how many times I say it. And if talking to Olivia is this difficult, going back to school will be so much worse. It’ll take a Christmas miracle for our breakup to be old news by the time I walk down the hall without Griffin by my side.

“Oh, Sophie. I’m so sorry,” Olivia says. “He really said you weren’t any fun?” By the tone of her voice, I can tell she’s as surprised as I was.

I let out a groan and say, “That’s what he implied.”

Olivia frowns. “The Sophie I used to know was super fun. He’s clearly the problem.”

My head whips around at the Sophie I used to know part. What does that mean? But before I can ask, she says, “Well, you’re here now, and we’re not going to let Griffin bring us down. We’ll find something fun to do while you’re here, just like old times. There’ll be a ton of parties during the break.”

I nod, but somehow hanging out at some loud party where I barely know anyone does not sound appealing.

We pull in front of Nonna and Papa’s. The driveway and half the block is full of cars, so Olivia eases down the street, looking for a spot. “Everyone is going to ask you about Griffin. News travels way too fast through this family. Nonna tells one person and then it’s like some phone tree thing is activated, and within an hour everyone knows everything.”

“I know. They all knew this morning at breakfast. And your mom already filled my mom in, too.”

My phone was still in the drawer upstairs, but Mom had tracked me down at the nursery. That was not a call I wanted to get. At least she felt so bad for me that she didn’t even mention my detour last night. And I had to laugh when I heard Margot in the background, yelling, “Tell her I sent more pictures!”

“Don’t let Aunt Maggie Mae give you any crap,” Olivia says. “She’ll use any excuse to talk about how Mary Jo’s boyfriend is being wooed by both LSU and Bama, and how Jo Lynn’s boyfriend just got an early acceptance letter to A&M.”

“It’s hard to believe anyone would date the Evil Joes.”

“That’s exactly what Charlie keeps saying.” Olivia turns off the car and we both stare at the house.

“Are you ready for this?” she asks.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

When we step inside, we’re greeted with pure chaos. The younger cousins race through the halls on scooters, RipStiks, and one another’s backs.

“Hey, Sophie! Hey, Olivia!” the tiny voices ring out as they lap us. The last little one to pass is one of my youngest cousins, Webb. He’s flying down the hall on his scooter wearing black boxer briefs and a Superman T-shirt.

“Webb,” I say. “You seem to be missing your pants.”

Olivia waves him off. “He’s going through an anti-pants phase. Refuses to wear them if he’s in the house. Any house.”

Papa and a few of my uncles are parked in front of the TV, arguing about the game. I lean down to kiss Papa on the cheek. Charlie and one of my other cousins, Graham, snuck him out of the nursery to go fishing this afternoon while Nonna was busy in the greenhouse.

“How many did you catch?” I whisper.

He chuckles and ruffles my hair. “Five, but don’t tell your grandmother.”

Of course, Nonna was the one who asked Charlie and Graham to come get him when she realized Papa needed a break.

“There are my girls,” Nonna calls from the stove when we enter the kitchen. She’s wearing her Ciao Y’all apron and she looks like she was doused in flour. “Why don’t you both set the table? We’re almost ready.”

Olivia grabs the place mats and I follow behind with the plates.

“Sophie,” Aunt Camille calls out. She’s at the counter next to Nonna, sprinkling croutons on the salad. “What happened with your boyfriend? And who’s this Paige girl? Was he cheating on you with her?”

Olivia throws me a look over her shoulder, then rolls her eyes. Here we go.

“There’s no girl named Paige. He was talking to his friend Parker,” I answer.

Aunt Kelsey, who has a daughter on each hip and one clinging to her leg, limps into the room. There’s usually a fourth little girl attached to her, so I scan the area to see which one is missing.

“Where’s Birdie?” I ask her.

Aunt Kelsey does a quick check and seems to notice for the first time one of her littles is missing. She rolls her eyes and yells to her husband, “Will? Do you have Birdie?”

A muffled yes bounces back.

She shakes her head, then continues into the room. “I can’t believe he broke up with you,” she says before dropping the three attached to her one by one into the high chairs lined up against the wall.

“I think his crime is more Intent to Break Up, Kelsey,” Nonna adds.

The problem with the phone tree is a lot of the details get mixed up.

Aunt Maggie Mae snorts. “Well, I never liked him. You could tell he was up to no good by just looking in those eyes. Not like Mary Jo’s boyfriend. LSU and Bama are both just dying to get him. We hope he picks LSU; I just don’t think I can root for Bama, even if my future son-in-law is the quarterback.”

Olivia pretends to gag.

“You didn’t think Griffin was too bad when he helped fix your tire last summer,” Uncle Sal says.

“Pooh. Of course he helped. He had to — he was standing right there. And he was only trying to look good in front of Jo Lynn’s boyfriend, who got a full ride to A&M so he can study engineering.”

Charlie, Graham, and Graham’s older sister, Hannah, are laughing on the other side of the room, where they’re putting out the extra table and chairs. Graham is the same age as Olivia’s brother, Jake, and they’re both at LSU together. Honestly, I’m surprised Graham’s not in a boot, too, since if Jake’s doing something wild and crazy, Graham is usually right behind him.

Charlie’s sister, Sara, strolls in carrying a huge gift basket. Her long black hair is almost halfway down her back, her cheeks have lost that baby fat, and she’s a few inches taller than I remember. It’s shocking to me how much she’s changed since I last saw her.

“Nonna, this was sitting on the front porch,” Sara says, then sets it down on the counter.

“Oh, how lovely,” Nonna says as she reads the card. “It’s from the Dethloffs across the street.”

“When did Sara start looking so grown up? And gorgeous?” I ask Olivia.

“Serious growth spurt over the last couple of months. Charlie is not happy, now that every boy in school has their eye on her,” she answers. “And she made freshman homecoming court back in October!”

“She did? How did I not know this?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” Olivia shrugs. “I guess you haven’t been around much lately.”

The kitchen door slams, and we all turn as Aunt Patrice, Uncle Ronnie, Denver, and Dallas come in wearing matching sweaters — and not the cute kind. I catch Denver’s eye and nod toward the sweater. He points to his mom, shaking his head. I can’t help but laugh. Those poor kids don’t stand a chance, especially since Aunt Patrice loves telling everyone they named their sons after the locations in which the boys were conceived.