A Life Sublime (11 page)

Gina returned with a box of her own. “These are for you. Just from me.”

Belinda had always loved pearls and these ones, creamy, warm, glistening with a bright gold clasp were the most gorgeous she had ever seen let alone owned. “Your parents would be so proud of you.”

“Oh, God save us, stop it!” Lydia commanded. “All of yous. You,” she warned Gina, “will mess up your makeup.” She turned to Sofia who was sucking at the neck of a bottle of champagne, “You won’t be able to walk if you carry on dulling the pain with alcohol and Auntie, you are so hard, seeing you weepy is really damaging me.” Lydia’s voice wobbled over the last few words. “So all of yous, just pull yourselves together.”

Gina laughed, “And that’s why you’re my favourite. Second favourite,” she added seeing Sofia’s face.

“And this is from Nick,” Sofia added, passing over the distinctive Tiffany & Co
TM
coloured box.

“That dude is so gay,” Gina grinned, opening the box. “So very gay. Holy crap!”

Belinda looked over Gina’s shoulder at the drop diamond pendant. “What are you talking about, it’s beautiful. Not too much.”

“If you don’t want it, I’ll have it,” Sofia offered.

“You don’t need any more jewellery, I’ll have it,” Lydia suggested.

“Your husband buys you plenty of jewels.”

“You’ve met my husband, haven’t you? I work hard for those jewels.”

“On your knees or on your back?” Sofia asked. Belinda gave a groan. She didn’t know whether to blame their men or just take them all home for some education on modesty.

“Knees,” Gina answered as she clipped on the necklace. “Gives him a choice view of the double F’s.”

“I’d be upset, if you didn’t know him so well,” Lydia shrugged. “Are you sure you want to get married, we’re just whinging wives.”

“Yes, I do!” she exclaimed holding her hand out for her bouquet. “Let’s do this already.”

Sofia tapped at her headset. “Right, Botticelli’s ready to move. How’s Davide?” She glanced up, “Nick’s been waiting under that tree for the last hour. Someone’s keen!”

“Good,” Belinda asserted. “He should always be waiting patiently for you.”

Sofia snorted, “Do you know that man? Patience isn’t his strong point. It’s actually a family trait, darling, be ready to see that in your children.”

“Not if I beat it out of them first,” Belinda asserted, clipping on the pearls. “Are we ready?”

They all nodded firmly and Belinda turned to the door. “Er, Auntie, where’re you going?”

“To sit down.”

“And who’s giving me away?”

Belinda blinked, not understanding why she was still discussing this. “Your uncle Frederick.”

“I’d rather not smell of whiskey fumes. Besides, you represent my parents better than anyone.” Gina’s face became opaque, and for a moment, Belinda couldn’t decipher why she couldn’t see the girl any more. “Oh no, Auntie, please don’t cry!”

“I’m not crying. Your necklace has just caught my eye,” she disagreed instantly. “Let’s walk.”

Sofia and Lydia went ahead of them, and despite wearing four inch heels, Gina seemed to float through the villa down toward the greenery just before the sea. Belinda gave her a beady look, “Aren’t you nervous?”

“Why?” she replied, a laughing lilt to her voice. “This is the easy bit. I’ve wanted to do this since I was nineteen years old.”

“Getting married while pregnant?”

Gina gave a small shrug, “Meh, I’ll be Mrs. D.C. in about twenty minutes. Well before the baby arrives. God’ll forgive me.”

The beautiful melody of Giordani’s
Caro Mio Ben
was causing havoc with Belinda’s reign on her emotions as she walked with Gina arm in arm to Nick. She felt the girl’s heart race at Nick’s expression. When they reached him, the shade of the tree shielding them from the glare of the sun, Belinda caught Nick’s hand and placed it in Gina’s. “Be good to one another.”

Nick didn’t pay any attention, even as Gina leaned over to kiss Belinda’s cheek. “Hello,” she said to his frozen demeanour. “I’m Gina. I’ll be your bride for today.” He didn’t move and Gina perched a hand on her hip. “Dude, I told you what this looked like the other day. In detail.”

He snaked an arm around her waist, practically nudging Belinda out of the way to plant his mouth on Gina’s, in front of the priest, who didn’t seem to know quite where to look. The soprano cleared her throat and started the aria again.

Tony put a firm hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Look, unless you want us to all bear witness to you trying to give G twins, let up, and get married.”

Massimo shook his head. “Impetuous youth.”

Nick lifted his head and looked at Tony, “I 
am
 going to throw you from this cliff.”

Gina tapped him lightly with her bouquet, “Do you mind marrying me first? Time’s a ticking.”

The priest indicated for them all to be seated. Massimo caught Belinda’s arm and placed her gently in the seat next to his own. The priest started to speak in a melodious voice that sounded worshipful, but in fluent Italian. “I didn’t know it’d all be in Italian.”

“Never mind, I will translate for you.”

Belinda didn’t want to disturb the other guests. “Don’t trouble yourself. I’m sure I can work it out.”

“Please,” Massimo insisted, his arm around her chair so his voice, soft and warm, was close to her own. His scent was all-come-hither-and-be-led-into-temptation. This was not good for her. “Allow me. I would not wish you to miss a thing.”

He translated the prayer for her while both Gina and Nick knelt on gold silk pillows, the priest hovering his hands over both their heads. “Now, they are exchanging their vows. Love, honour, cherish. I did not think Georgina would agree to obeying.”

“Not her best feature,” Belinda agreed.

“And they are now exchanging their own. Nicholas, is promising to protect Georgina from all ills, even himself if need be. To love and cherish every single one of their children, however many they are blessed with. To give his life to her, as she holds his very heart. To give everything that will keep his family together in love, hope and trust. Now Georgina is promising to not delete his football matches from the Sky box.”

Belinda exhaled noisily. “Can’t she be serious for once?”

Nick turned to the guests with a grin. “Needed to be done in front of a priest, she’s done it twice now.”

“By accident!” she argued.

“It’s a valid vow. Carry on beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Gina said, a little sarcasm tingeing her smile.

“She is now promising that whatever their future holds, Nicholas will always be her very best friend, that he will never need to doubt how much she loves him or what her life is worth with him in it.”

“Well, that’s much better,” Belinda coughed through the thickness in her throat. She took a quick look around and saw that no one was in any better state. Tissues were being exchanged left, right and centre. Tony stood up and handed over the rings. He gave Belinda a little thumbs-up. Belinda pointed at her eyes then at him. He winced and faced the front once more.

“
Marito e moglie
!”

“Husband and wife?” Belinda guessed. Massimo gave her a huge smile.

“Absolutely.” He got to his feet and applauded them, along with everyone else who cheered and catcalled as the new Mr. and Mrs. Da Canaveze sealed their union with yet another unchaste kiss. Belinda prayed for them.
Please God, give them what I never had.

The wedding didn’t make a spot of sense to Belinda. None of the photographs were at all serious except the ones of Belinda and Massimo and the new Mr. and Mrs. Da Canaveze. Many of them had Gina hoisted over Nick’s shoulder or draped across the arms of her husband and his friends.

“Show off!” Sofia yelled. The family photos took the longest as one of them would start giggling and set the rest of them off. Belinda didn’t understand, would never understand, why Nick and Gina would want to crush grapes in the middle of their wedding.

“It’s so we can bottle it and have it on our twenty fifth anniversary,” Nick called out, jacket discarded and his trousers rolled to his knees. Massimo’s younger brother, Durante who was as severe looking as his sibling, eyed the mess with distaste.

“I’m guessing my wedding present of a case of thirty year old wine was unnecessary.”

“You look like a hobbit!” Tony yelled which made Gina laugh so uncontrollably, she slipped, landing bottom first in a sea of purple fruit.

Belinda gave a scream of horror. “Oh my god! Your dress!”

Sofia was no help, not even when her dropped champagne bottle was spraying over everyone else.

“Don’t worry Auntie, I’ve got dress number two somewhere.”

“Two?” Nick asked. “What else were you planning?”

“Contingency,” she replied.

“Aren’t you clever,” Belinda muttered drolly, holding her hand out to get Gina. Shaking her head to lead the girl back to her room, Belinda fumed, “You’ll never get that out.”

“Bicarb of soda,” Gina said with a lilting laugh. “Works with everything. Aren’t you having fun?”

“Hmm.”

Gina was stepping out of her dress when Nick walked in. Belinda lifted her eyebrows. “And what do you need in here?”

His eyes lightened on Gina. “Just that little one over there. She’ll need help with her dress.”

Just as Belinda opened her mouth to argue with such a flimsy piece of an excuse, Nick gently led her out of the room. “We’re all square in the eyes of the law and God now. Honest, Auntie she’ll be back, fully dressed and neat in half an—”

“Twenty minutes, dude, let’s be real,” Gina called out. “And fifteen of those is dressing.”

“Ouch. All right, then. Twenty minutes,” he acquiesced. Rolling her eyes, Belinda returned to the party and sure enough, twenty minutes later, the couple returned. Flush faced and not remotely neat but at least fully dressed.

Belinda had no idea what Tony was talking about during his speech. “As I was planning to handcuff Nick to a midget painted blue to look like Papa Smurf
TM
and handing him over to a drug cartel so we could plan a rescue mission in Mexico, I thought to myself. You know what? We could have been doing this eleven years ago if Nick hadn’t been so completely and utterly retarded about his feelings. Please look over these slides of the stag party to know Nick worked really hard to get back to London. And for the sake of future children and the threat the cartel posed to his ability to reproduce, we’re glad he did.”

Lydia hid under her table. Belinda popped her head under and told her to get out. “I can’t, Auntie. I just can’t take the shame. There’s a picture of him with a white T painted on his bare chest.”

“Come out, for goodness sake.”

“I’m staying here until he’s done and everyone forgets that I married him. I
married
him. Oh god.”

Massimo made a blissfully short speech. “My pride today knows no bounds. Not just that their friends and family are here to witness this day, but that I have gained another daughter whom I love as much as I love my son.
Per cent’anni
!”

Belinda didn’t hear much of Nick’s because she was weeping too hard once he said the words, “Gina’s dad.” In fact, no one was in a fit state from that until the food arrived then the tears magically dried up. She hadn’t eaten as much as she did in her life. The setting was so relaxed, tables decorated with large church candles surrounded by pink and purple bougainvillea. People took their plates with them to move around and talk just as Nick and Gina did. Belinda found Massimo next to her. From the moment he gave her a smile, they simply chatted away, just like the friends he’d asserted them to be.

Once the plates were cleared away, everyone was called to the gardens where sky lanterns were lit. “Grab a partner!” Nick commanded, and people were forced to double up.

“Padre, can you look after my aunt?” Gina asked over the chattering voices.

“Of course,” he answered. “Stay with me,” Massimo murmured to her, his hand reassuringly tight around her own. Huge N’s and G’s were painted on the lanterns, one held between two guests.

“All lit?” Gina asked. “Three, two, one, let ‘em fly.”

The lights were all released, floating into the clear sky like burning stars. Caught up in the emotion of it all, Belinda impetuously gave Massimo a hug. He didn’t seem altogether surprised by her lack of decorum. She pulled back. “I’m getting carried away.”

He didn’t quite release her. “You should let that happen more often. You look beautiful when you do.”

Belinda was too shocked to see the bouquet that flew into her face and then landed right in her cleavage. Sofia dropped another bottle of champagne doubled over with laughter. Cleaning pollen from her cheek, Gina withdrew one flower and tucked it behind Belinda’s ear. “Good catch.”

“I will hit you.”

Gina kissed her cheek before she kissed her father-in-law’s. “No you won’t.”

Tony, Beppe and Rocky were all messing around with the stereo system for a good half an hour. Once they seemed satisfied with the set up, they called Gina and Nick to the now cleared dance floor for their first dance together as man and wife.

“Just finding the right song,” Tony called, when the awkward silence continued. Jodeci’s
Freek’N You
blared through the speakers.

“No!” Gina put an embarrassed hand over her mouth.

“Love on a sofa,” Tony shouted over the music. Nick made a slashing motion at his throat before the music changed. But to Kayne West’s
Golddigger
.

“Hey!” Gina yelled.

“True. He ain’t broke!” Beppe howled with laughter.

Nick was going red with the effort not to join in. Finally, Nat King Cole’s soulful tones drifted through the night air. Belinda watched them sing along, “I love you for sentimental reasons.”

Once the song finished and Nick dipped his new wife with a flourish worthy of a ten from Len Goodman, everyone else joined in the dancing. Massimo didn’t hesitate to dance with his daughter-in-law for a song while Nick spun Belinda into dizziness. Within a few minutes, someone yelled, “Tarantella!” and Belinda was dragged into a dancing circle with Italian folk music guiding her rhythm.