“So your mom was really the only family you ever had?”

She nodded and thankfully, she didn’t seem uncomfortable with the subject. “My mom mentioned having a much older sister who she never really knew. My grandparents were older when they had my mom. She was an unexpected but pleasant surprise.” She buttered a roll as she spoke seemingly okay with sharing this part of her life with him. She told him all about the much older sister her mom had that ran off when she was eighteen and never returned so while she knew she had an aunt somewhere she’d never met her.

“What about your dad?” Judging by her sudden change in expression, this obviously wasn’t quite as easy a question as his first. Worried that this might change her mood he added, “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want.”

“No. It’s no biggie. I never met him. My mom fell in love with an acquaintance of the family who came from Mexico to visit for weeks at a time. He made her all kinds of promises, especially after they became intimate and when he’d go back to Mexico they’d write each other constantly. When she wrote him to tell her she was pregnant he never wrote back.” Her expression hardened. “She later found out he’d been married the whole time. His visits over here were to make money to send back to his wife and kids. She was devastated but my aging grandparents helped raise me though I was really young when they passed and from then on it was just me and her.”

She dipped her roll in her potatoes and took a bite.

Feeling bad that he’d dredged up such a sore subject Noah felt compelled to say something and then hopefully change the subject. “Well, I’m sorry about your dad but at least your grandparents stuck by your mom. I know the older generation tends to be very stern about those kinds of things.”

Her smile made him feel better. “No. My grandparents were wonderful.” She glanced around. “This was their house. They left it to me and my mom.” Her eyes met him and were suddenly full of compassion. “And don’t be sorry. At least I had my mom. Were you really in foster care your whole life?”

Noah wanted a change of subject but this certainly wasn’t the direction he had in mind. He continued to eat trying to play it off as it was no big deal. “I honestly don’t know anything about my dad and I barely remember my mom. All I know is we lived in a house here in Los Angeles. We shared it with several other families. I’d go to school, come home, go into our room and wait for her to get home from work.” He took a hard drink of his coffee surprised that talking about it still made him sad. “One day when I was six she never came home. The other women in the house looked after me saying the migra had taken her from the factory she worked at and sent her back to Mexico, but she’d be back for me. Then weeks later, we got notice that she’d been killed when the truck she and about thirty other immigrants were being smuggled in crashed just before crossing the border. So I was placed in foster care and was told it was only until one of my mother’s family members came to get me.” He moved his food around on his plate. It’d been years since he told this story to anyone and he was surprised now that he was telling her this. The only other person he’d ever shared this with was Gio. He glanced up at him and she was staring, her eyes full of compassion. “No one ever came. End of story.”

She nodded as if she understood and wouldn’t ask anything else. Strangely, he wanted her to. As hard as it was to relive it, it felt good to tell someone else. He’d only told Gio bits and pieces over the years and that was usually when he was drunk.

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Noah. Have you ever tried to find any of your mom’s family?”

Noah shook his head almost annoyed, not at her, but at the idea of him trying to reconnect with people who obviously didn’t give a shit about him. Over the years he’d come to the conclusion that if he and his mom were all alone living with strangers in a shared house then none of her family gave a shit about her either. “What for? If they had any interest, they would’ve come looking for me. I was the kid.”

“Maybe they didn’t know about you.”

Noah chuckled bitterly. “Someone knew. They knew enough to send word about my mom being killed.” He stared at her eyes that now seemed to search for more in his. “You know that saying ‘blood is thicker than water’?” She nodded. “It’s bullshit. Growing up I got to know a lot of different families and it always amazed me how f**ked up some of these families were.”

Noah bit his tongue before he went on. As good as it felt to let it out, today wasn’t the day for it. Today was supposed to be fun. He shook his head and speared a piece of turkey breast with his fork. “Anyway, some of the relationships I’ve developed over the years with friends, I would never dream of trading them with someone just because we have the same blood running through our veins. That’s all I’m saying. I didn’t mean to get all heavy on you.”

He stuck the turkey in his mouth and stood up. “You ready for some champagne?” Her pensive eyes were still glued to him even as he glanced back at her. “I know it’s early but what the hell? It’s a holiday.”

Her expression finally eased up then she smiled. “Yeah, I’ll take some.”

All the muscles in his back and arms seemed to have tensed up with that last conversation. He needed something to bring him down. Help him relax so he could enjoy the rest of the day and evening with her. The very thought pulled him immediately out of his edgy mood and he smiled as he pulled the bottle of bubbly out of the fridge.