My mother’s face fell. She blinked, glancing down at the line of brochures in confusion. “I think your mom would agree you don’t have to get a job right now. And it will be an early graduation present!”

Allegra chewed at her lip and touched my mother’s shoulder. “It sounds amazing, and I do want to go one day, just not now. Maybe next year before college?” she suggested. “We can have more time to plan.”

“Allegra’s right, Mom,” I said quietly. “I think this is really sweet, but there’s so much going on, it just won’t work. Definitely next summer. In fact, I’ll help you plan it—we’ll do a two-week tour and see all the highlights, including Naples. Okay?”

Her shoulders drooped. I was ready for a full-on guilt trip, but she raised her chin, staring at me with a fierce determination I rarely experienced. “No,” she said firmly. “It’s not okay. It has to happen now or it won’t happen at all.” She grew tense with frustration, and her breath came faster. “Don’t you see it’s important? We all need this trip. We’ve mentioned doing something like this for years, and if we don’t grab the opportunity and make the time, we won’t get another chance.” Grief flashed briefly in her eyes. “It goes too fast. A trip like this will give us memories for the rest of our lives. It can be an entire turning point, don’t you see?”

“Mom, calm down. You have to understand Allegra and I have a lot of responsibilities. And though it sounds amazing, we can’t just be ready to take a month off. Allegra starts track in August, and I own a business. I could never get all that time off.”

“Nonni, I’m sorry,” Allegra said. “Don’t get upset. I know you want to see Naples. Maybe spring break? Or Christmas break if you don’t want to wait?”

I nodded. “Absolutely. Here, can I take these brochures home and look at them? I’ll check our schedules and see what we come up with.”

My mother had always been the calm one in the household, a quiet, stable presence. She rarely lost her temper, even with her Italian genes, and Dad used to joke about her good nature as the trait that held the seams together. But right now, she looked at me with a deep betrayal, like I’d done something terrible rather than say no to a European vacation with no forewarning.

“Sure,” she said. Her voice fell flat. “Let me know what you think. I better clean up.”