Read Online Winter In August by Mia Villano - Free Book Online

buried my head in his neck. He smelled of Old Spice and garlic and I felt like I was finally home.
    He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me away to get a better look at me. “Are you hungry? You’re a little scrawny.”
    “Scrawny? I’m not, but yes, I’m starved. That’s a long drive.” I smelled the sauce cooking inside the small house I had once called home.
    Walking inside I noticed everything was the same as when I was last there. My dad’s rocking chair stayed in front of the television. The couch was the same and looked as if no one ever sat on it. My mom’s blue striped oversized chair still sat in the corner, now bleached from the sun shining in the window. The only thing that changed was he replaced his big cabinet television with a new flat screen as big as the wall.
    I went to the kitchen to see what he put in the sauce. Just as I thought, he made my favorite meatballs. I grabbed the end of the loaf of hard Italian bread. I slathered the piece in butter and sauce and shoved it in my mouth. Sauce and bread were almost better than sex. Well, not quite.
    My dad walked to the refrigerator opening the stainless steel door, he showed me all the things he bought. “Look at this. I bought your favorites, Mooch.”
    “Dad, I’m trying to stay this thin. You’re going to get me fat,” I laughed, looking inside to see the many things I used to devour as a little girl. I noticed a pepperoni stick, provolone cheese, and Snickers bars. All the wonderful things I tried to stay away from, were waiting for me once again.
    I walked to the stove, ripped off another piece of bread, and scarfed it down in one bite. Sauce dripped down my lip, and I wiped it with my finger. “Dad, this is so good. I haven’t had bread in a year. I make my sauce exactly like you showed me, and it never tastes this good.”
    “What kind of crazy shit is that? A person could die without bread. You better eat fast before you pass out. I told you the secret to a good sauce is the olive oil.” my dad laughed turning his attention to the noodles boiling on the stove.
    “Take your bag to your room, Mooch and come and eat. The noodles are about done.” To Giuseppe, food cured everything. If you were sad, eat, tired, eat. Whatever was wrong in my family, food was the cure. Needless to say, by the time I was twelve I was a very plus size girl. Sure he would be drunk most days, but he could make the sauce and buy the desserts at the local bakery and that’s what I lived on.
    “You didn’t remodel my room or move a broad in since I’ve been gone?” I joked.
    “What? Not on your life. That’s my Mooch’s room and no one else’s.” He hugged me tight. I loved the feel of his familiar gray work shirt on my face. The worn out cotton was familiar to me since I was a little girl. He’s worn the same outfit for the past twenty-six years.
    “I’m glad I came home.” I looked at him and smiled.
    “I’m glad you’re home too.” He kissed me on the forehead and I headed towards my bedroom door.
    A sense of apprehension enveloped me as I took the familiar creaky, wooden steps to my room in the attic. The last time I was up there, Kris was alive. My apartment-style bedroom was the official party room since my dad was out every weekend. I was a cheerleader and very popular when I attended St. Christopher’s. By the time freshman year arrived, I seemed to have blossomed overnight. The weight came off, my breasts grew, and my body became curvy and filled out. Put that on top of the fact I had no real parental supervision, I was who everyone wanted to hang out with. I took in everything, swiftly. Missing on my nightstand were the four pictures of me and Kris. My dad must have put them away, so I wouldn’t be so upset. I was relieved he had. Walking around to my closet I noticed a few things hanging in there from my high school days. All my prom and homecoming dresses, my favorite outfits, and my communion dress, covered in plastic. Despite all