“Not true. Your mom is going through some other stuff that maybe she’ll share later. This trip is for you, but it won’t matter unless you believe it. You are both overdue for a long talk and some honesty. Mothers will never be perfect, my sweet girl. We make many, many mistakes.” Her eyes turned sad and a bit haunted, which made my heart hurt. “The only thing we can hope is for our children to forgive us and believe we did our best.”

I gently squeezed her hand. The fragile, wrinkled skin was a badge of her age and her wisdom, and it always comforted me. “Mom has nothing to forgive you for. You were always there for her.”

“We must forgive our mothers for everything they are not. One day, you’ll understand.”

Her words struck something deep inside me, but I couldn’t figure out what it meant. Instead, I tried to comfort her with the truth. “I’m not into drugs, Nonni. Yeah, I did weed a few times, like most kids do, and I drink at parties, but it’s nothing to worry about. And David isn’t bad. He just has a different philosophy about things, and he interests me. Okay?”

She squeezed back in reassurance. “Your job is to make many mistakes, and that’s okay. Own them proudly. But choose your mistakes carefully.”

I shook my head and laughed. “That makes no sense.”

“Eat your veal. And have another sip of my champagne. I already feel too drunk to finish it.”

Mom leaned over. “What are you guys laughing at?”

“Nothing,” we said together. At my mother’s hurt look, I felt a flash of sympathy but pushed it away.

Nonni jumped in. “How’s your head, honey? I still think you should have gone to the doctor.”

“I feel fine, not even a headache. My butt’s a bit sore still.” She made a face. “I’m just embarrassed. Did you see everyone staring at me?”

“No one saw,” Nonni stated. “You got up really fast.”

Mom bit her lower lip at the bald-faced lie. “You can’t even fall without being recorded nowadays. I just hope I don’t end up on America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

“They give you ten thousand dollars for a winning video,” Nonni said. “That would be worth it!”

My mother and I met each other’s stares and burst out laughing. It was one of my grandmother’s favorite shows along with Dancing with the Stars and Wheel of Fortune. “It wasn’t a funny fall,” I pointed out, trying to make her feel better. “A simple slide won’t get you any airtime. Now, if Mom did a flip or her pants fell down, we’d be rich.”