The World in Reverse Read Free Page A

his twin boys came running in the room soaking wet.
    “What in the world?” Nicola shrieked.
    “Daddy, we got the slip and slide out and put in the back yard. Can we use it?” Adamo asked, wiping the rainwater off his flushed face.
    “No. You’re not even supposed to be ou tside. It’s raining cats and dogs out there,” Nicola said, grabbing a napkin to wipe the floor. He bent down and quickly cleaned it up. 
    “ It’s not raining cats and dogs , daddy,” Madison said with a frown. “It’s raining rain .”
    “I don’t mean it literally, Maddy,” Nicola said , standing back up. 
    Just then two more people came through the front door, dodging the heavy rain with a large Nike umbrella. The grandparents. Ivy’s parents to be exact. Lugging bags of gifts, Sadie and Madison walked into the dining room and looked around.
    “Some kind of birthday, huh?” Madison asked, shaking Nicola’s hand. “How are you, son?”
    “Pretty good, sir,” Nicola said with a smile. He leaned over and kissed Sadie on the cheek. “Hey, Ma.”
    “Hey, baby,” she said, setting down her purse on the dining room chair. “Well, worse things could happen on a birthday,” she said, picking up on the disappointment. Ivy had told her how long Nicola had spent yesterday putting everything together. She was sure that he was bummed. 
    “ Like what?” Ivy asked, hugging her mother.
    “Like…a tornado,” Sadie laughed. “The point is that we’re all here.” She winked at her daughter. “Trina and Emerald sent a gift from Seattle and they send their love, of course.”
    “Yeah, I know.  Emerald landed some huge development deal.  So he and Trina said that they would try to come down later in the su mmer when things cooled down,” Ivy said, hating that her only brother and her best friend couldn’t make it. 
    “That is one huge cake,” Madison said, lea ning over the table. “Happy birthday, indeed.”
    “Grandma! Grandpa!” the kids screamed, rounding the corner. They burst into the room with arms wide and eyes wider. Both sets of the twins now in dry clothes hugged their grandparents all at once, nearly knocking them down and making them damp.
    “Look at my wonderful boys,” Sadie said, kissing their cheeks.
    “When are you guys gonna give me a girl?” Madison asked, looking over at Nicola.
    “That’s what I keep asking,” Ivy said with a giggle. “I feel outnumbered here.”
    Nicola looked down at his son, Madison, named for his grandfather, and grinned. “Are you ready to open your gifts?” he asked, rubbing through his mass of curly hair.
    “Yes,” they said in unison .
    “Okay, go and get all of your friends roun ded up. You think that you can do that for me?” Nicola asked.
    “On our way,” Adam said, bolting out of the room. “Come on, Maddy!”
    A little slow to react, Madison turned around and followed after his brother, determined to catch up.
    Putting one of the boxes that had fallen off the table back on top of the large pile , he heard his work cell phone ring loud in his pocket. It wouldn’t have been more unwanted if it had been a mistress calling.
    Ivy suddenly froze, back rigid and a small vein protruding out of her neck. She stared at him as he pulled out his work Blackberry.
    “I’m sure it’s nothing,” Nicola said to her as he turned his back. “Yeah,” he answered. He listened on and then his shoulders dropped in defeat. “When?” He listened again. Looking up at the wall, he sighed and shook his head. “I’m on my way.” Hanging up, he turned around to face Ivy. “Baby…”
    Ivy’s finger pointed like she wanted to hit Nicola. “Don’t baby me, Nicky. This is their birthday for God’s sake. They have been looking forward to this party for months.” Tears started to form in her eyes. “Can’t someone else…”
    “It’s my case,” Nicola interrupted, voice strained. Walking over to her, he rubbed through her long tendrils and tried to get her to calm down.