It always amazed Nora just how many people could fit into her grandfather's small inner city house. Both floors and the cellar were filled to the brim with Delrios, even spilling out into the front and back yards. Every single member of their family was invited on Christmas Day. Quarrels and squabbles were forgotten as the entire clan joined together for one big party. Not everyone could make it of course, but the majority always turned up. From her spot by the back gate, Nora could watch the whole bustling mess while also keeping out of the worst of it. She skewered a few of the cocktail sausages on her paper plate, trying to work out what was going on over the cacophony of noise. At least three different bands were playing three different songs, but even they were barely audible over the chatter, the laughter, the life that filled the yard.

That was what the Delrio family Christmas was. A celebration of life, no matter what that entailed. No matter what anyone believed in, they were welcome for the day. While it wasn't exactly Nora's usual style, she couldn't help but smile at the throng of bodies. A sudden weight on her leg dragged her back to her self, aware of the little hands clinging to her.

"Auntie Nora!"

The small boy beamed up at her, his face grubby and bruised. She couldn't imagine what mischief he'd gotten himself into this time, but he looked happy enough. Grabbing under his armpits, Nora hoisted her little cousin into her arms.

"Hey Philly! Look how big you got. Last time I saw you, you were tiny. I don't know if I'll be able to pick you up much longer."

The toddler giggled and nuzzled into his unofficial auntie, inadvertently poking her with the toy truck he was cuddling.

"Yeah, he's shooting up alright."

A busty Latin woman joined the pair, followed closely by a tall, curvy Indian girl. They pressed close, fluffing the boy's hair. Kyanna had come a long way from the little troublemaker that'd followed Nora everywhere. She had a steady, successful job, a loving, beautiful wife, and a healthy son who may have inherited her knack for tomfoolery. Nora passed the woman her son.

"So, what'd he do to himself today?"

Kyanna squeezed the boy's face as she inspected his fresh black eye.

"Someone got a bit too excited and ran into the kitchen table, so now what happened Philly?"

The boy was the opposite of shy, puffing his chest out in pride.

"I have'ta stay outside!"

"That's right, far away from anything dangerous. Did you thank Auntie Nora yet?"

His little hands squeezed his toy tightly.

"Thank you for the truck, Auntie Nora."

It was nice seeing the boy grow up. Nora had no worries about him, both his mothers would keep him on the right path.

"Ey, you're welcome kid."

Philly suddenly went very quiet. He squirmed a bit before whispering in his mother's ear.

"Okay sweetheart, let's go to the bathroom. Sorry Nora, I'll catch up…."

"It's okay, I'll take him!"

Beli practically snatched the boy out of Kyanna's arms. She was probably looking for an excuse to slink away, crowds had always made the poor thing nervous.

"You two stay and chat, we'll be back in a minute, won't we honey?"

Philip clung to his stepmom as they weaved away through the crowd. Nora couldn't help but stare at those hips as Beli left. Even through the baggy blue sari, it was obvious the woman had a nice ass. Her cousin was a lucky girl, being able to grab a handful of that sumptuous, swaying flesh whenever she wanted. An elbow to the ribs broke Nora's fixation on the woman's rear.

"Don't even think about it. That ass is mine and mine alone."

Giving Kyanna a shove in return, she leant back against the chain link fence.

"I know, I know, but let a girl dream. I bet she's a squealer."

If only Kyanna knew how devoted Beli was to her. Nora had put her through the wringer before, spiking her drink to get her talking, but all she'd heard was the girl's list of insecurities and how amazing Kyanna was. They were made for each other.

"Besides, I've got my own date this year."

Kyanna's lips curled into a sly grin at her cousin's bragging.

"Yeah, I saw him. You think it's serious this time?"

The very same question had been at the back of her mind for weeks.

"I dunno. He's nice and all, but I don't know if he's looking for something long term. But, like, I wouldn't exactly mind if he was, Y'know?"

She fiddled with the edge of her plate, folding it back and forth as she avoided meeting her cousin's eyes. Kyanna wrapped a reassuring arm around Nora's muscly shoulders.

"Well, if you seriously like him, then you'd better go save him. Last I saw, Abuela and a few of our aunties had him cornered in the kitchen."

Nora was off like a rocket, shoving her plate into her cousin's hands. Rico may have been tough, but he would be no match for the older Delrio women. They were vicious predators, always in the hunt for gossip. Her sneakers squeaked on the linoleum as she burst into the bustling kitchen, finding her boyfriend pinned against the wall by a gaggle of squawking women.

"Oh, you're such a big, strong boy. My daughter would love you…"

"Big? Are you blind, he's far too skinny. You come round to my place son, auntie Sofia will give you a proper meal…"

"All those tattoos! You'd look a lot better if you covered them up. A nice white shirt and a tie would look just lovely. Maybe some glasses as well…"

His eyes met Nora's in a silent plea for rescue. She began shoving her way to him, when her grandma raised her question.

"You know, you and our little Nora make an adorable couple. When are you gonna make an honest woman out of her?"

Nora froze in her tracks. Noticing her presence, the nosy group dispersed. It wasn't long until it was just her, Rico, and her grandmother.

"Seriously, she's nearly thirty. I expect some great-grandbabies soon! You'd better hurry…..Oh, Nora, baby. I didn't see you there. Well, I'll leave you two alone…"

The old woman scuttled off, leaving her granddaughter to face her boyfriend.

"Erm…..look, sorry about Abue….grandma. She can be kinda pushy about shit like that."

The man rubbed the stubble on the top of his head, avoiding her gaze as much as she was avoiding his.

"Yeah, she was pretty insistent in the whole….'settle down' thing…"

The beating around the bush thing wasn't Nora's style. With a cry of frustration she turned away from the man, rummaging through the cabinets until she found what she was looking for. Slamming a pair of tumblers on the kitchen worktop, she filled them both with her grandpa's secret whiskey stash, draining and refilling hers before passing Rico his drink. She set both hands on the counter, bracing herself for an honest talk.

"Look, I wanna know how serious all this is. Are we just fucking, or is there something more to it!"

He stared up at her, a little puzzled.

"What?"

"You heard me. What are we? Cause if you wanna keep it strictly physical, then I'm fine with that, but if it's gonna be like a….'relationship' or some shit, then you gotta be straight with me."

She was more riled up than usual. They worked well as a pair, even if he'd pointed a gun at her when they first met. She knew she could trust Rico to have her back, and as the trainee maintenance man, he was fitting in nicely at the resort. Nora knew she had trouble trusting people. A few shitty relatives and an awful taste in men had left her hurt plenty of times, but with him she genuinely felt it was worth trying. The man fiddled with his glass a little bit.

"I'll be honest with you, I kinda thought we were serious already…."

That threw her a bit.

"Really? I thought you been banging Brooke in her office. You visit her a whole lot."

He rubbed his neck.

"Yeah, she's been helping me get my papers sorted. Making sure I'm all legal and shit. But that's it. You're the only one I've fucked in her office."

A strange bubbling welled in Nora's chest. It was weirdly comforting to know he'd been loyal, even if they hadn't made anything official.

"So, we're like, 'together' then. Properly now, cause I just want to confirm it."

He locked eyes with her as he nodded, taking a swig from his glass. It was like Nora was a teenager again. The giddy tittering as she got a proper boyfriend, except she wouldn't find this one balls deep in that slut Leshana when she came home. Yeah. Dating. She could do that. She'd done plenty of harder things. Taking his hand, she led him out of the kitchen, towards the stair.

"Where we going?"

"My bedroom's here. I stayed over a lot while mom was working, and I know there's a lock on the door."