Distracted by his wife when she asked Manny to fix something on the strap of her shoe, Max leaned in a little and lowered his voice. “My nephew says he thinks he’s the only one that’s made the connection about your brother and you know . . .” He lowered his voice even more. “The past. He says he’s leaving it that way.”
He winked at them and started up the stairs with his wife. “What’d he say?” Manny asked a bit out of breath after having to bend over. “Nothing,” Max said without turning back. “Just walk.”
Vannah and Byron exchanged confused glances though she did notice Byron tense a bit. He’d openly shared with her about his brother’s shady past and she really hoped that’s what Max meant. That they weren’t going to be holding it against Byron. Smiling, she shrugged squeezing Byron’s hand and hoped this hadn’t made him even more nervous.
They headed up to the party as Manny grilled Byron about his brother’s boxing matches. Vannah was more than grateful now for Byron’s famous brother. Even yesterday the boxing talk had taken precedence over too much more personal questions about their relationship. Neither of these two uncles asked anything about it. They were far more interested in Beast and when, not if, they’d get to meet him.
As they entered the packed banquet room, Vannah started her rounds. Table by table, relative by relative, and close friends of the family, she greeted them all, then introduced them to her friend Byron. By the time they were done she was exhausted, but she’d been right. It was far less nerve wracking than yesterday. They finally reached the table where Manny, Max and their spouses were just settling in. They too had also been busy making the rounds.
“We can sit here, or there’s room over by my parents and uncle—” Vannah stopped and smirked when Byron was instantly pulling a chair out at the table with the Romero’s. “Fine,” she said as she sat down on the chair he offered her. “But you still haven’t met Uncle Romero and he’ll be sitting at this table too, no doubt.”
“Yeah, get ready for that one,” Aunt Pat said shaking her head.
Vannah chuckled at Byron’s widening eyes though Pat didn’t elaborate further. Vannah asked about their kids, to which Pat explained they were at her mom’s. Uncle Romero and his wife Izzy arrived with their two oldest. Their younger two were also at Pat’s mom’s since she and Izzy were sisters.
Vannah and Byron were on their feet again to greet them. “I heard about you,” Romero peered at Byron, arms crossed in front of him after the introductions.
“Dad,” his daughter Amanda said in a cautioning tone and he turned to her. “You promised.”
“What? All I said was that I heard about him.” He turned to Vannah this time. “I also heard you’re not staying with your parents this weekend.”
“Romero.” This time it was Izzy interrupting.
He turned to his wife. “Honey, it’s just me, her uncle, making a friendly observation.” He turned back to Byron. “I’m just saying, if this is how it’s gonna be, if this is what it is, I’m sure her dads already told you, but look around. This is what you’ll be dealing with should anything go wrong, and baby girl here sheds so much as one tear.”
Swallowing hard, Vannah turned to Byron who nodded but said nothing. So much for less intense than yesterday. Despite her uncle Romero’s perpetual smirk, Vannah could tell he was dead serious.
Max laughed. “You do remember who his brother is, right?”
“I remember.” Romero turned back to Max then back to Vannah. “He know what I do for a living?”
“Yeah, I told him a little about it,” Vannah said glad she’d filled Byron in a little more on these uncles on their way there.
“Security firm, right?” Byron offered.
“Yeah, that’s part of it. But I’m also a private investigator.” Romero’s smirk flattened before very seriously adding the next part. “I hunt people down.” He paused staring at Byron for a moment as if to let that sink in. Then just as fast as it’d gone flat, the smirk was back. “Anyway, you’re picking up what I’m throwing down, right?”
Amanda groaned loudly. “Oh my God! Who even says that anymore, dad?”
The wheezing laughter started up again and just like that, the mood eased up. Vannah’s mom had always said Romero could have the attention span of a gnat and thankfully so. He went from practically threatening Byron, to happily inquiring about his brother.
Nena walked over to let Vannah know she’d be filming soon and wanted footage of each family at their tables with all the kids.
“Oh, hey that reminds me,” Manny said picking up his phone and tapping away. “Mandy told me you collect video’s that might get your website lots of hits. I got a couple for you.”
“Here we go.” Romero rolled his eyes.
Manny laughed standing up and walked over to them. “These are good. Did them myself.”
Vannah was already suppressing giggling, and she hadn’t even seen the videos. She and Nena exchanged wide eyed looks. Vannah could tell her sister was also holding back so much as smirking because like herself, she didn’t dare, since Uncle Manny sounded so proud of himself.
“Don’t I have to sign a release?” Romero asked looking annoyed. “Since I’m the one in them?”
“Yeah? Whatta ya gonna do?” Manny asked as he cued up a video on his phone. “Sue your nieces for using ‘em?”
He handed the video to Vannah as Nena and Byron leaned in on either side of her to watch. “This one here’s called the slamming door challenge. Mandy showed me online and I thought if anyone would be perfect for this it’d be this one with his precious car. Kids aren’t even allowed to eat in it. I had to get sneaky about mounting the phone so he wouldn’t know I was filming.”
He handed the phone to Vannah who was already smiling big with anticipation. Nena and Byron leaned in on either side to watch with her.
“I told him I had to wiz just a few blocks after we left my place.”
That alone had them snickering, and Vannah was just glad this was apparently supposed to be funny. Because just the fact that this was some kind of hidden video gag on impatient Uncle Romero, of all people, had her going already.
It started out with Manny and Romero in his car, but the camera was facing Romero and he already looked irritated. “Seriously? How old are you, man? Couldn’t you piss before we left the house?”
“Just pull over right here, will ya?” Manny pointed out the window.
“You’re not pissing on the side of the road, Manny.”
“What am I, an animal?” Manny asked sounding genuinely appalled. “I mean right here, at the gas station.”
Turning to glare at his uncle, Romero shook his head but grudgingly pulled into the station. “Hurry up,” Romero urged impatiently. “We’re already late because of you, and now this.”
“I had to get him good and worked up,” Manny explained proudly to the girls as they continued to watch. “To get the best reaction.”
They turned back to the video. “You want anything?” Manny asked. “I’m getting a hot dog.”