Marcelle's POV
Looking at the stars at night is something my brothers and I used to do when we're kids. After dinner, while the adults talked, we would come out here and try to make out constellations. Miki is good at it. Matt is the extreme opposite. I'm only good at spotting two. Orion and the big dipper.
"I still don't get it." Matt complained.
"Are you wearing women's perfume?" Miki asked him.
"It's just perfume. If you are referring to a male sce t then it's cologne." Matt responded.
"Whatever dude. You smell like fucking flowers." Miki told him.
"He's right." I agreed.
"And flowers smell good." He chuckled.
"So... tomorrow is the big day and we are lying here at two in the morning looking at the sky. Why?"
"Because we are too old to be partying like teenagers." I answered Matt.
"When I get high, the next day is a nightmare! I no longer in process hangovers like I used to." Miki complained.
"You two speak for yourselves." He laughed. "But this is cool too! Hey! I saw one! I saw one!"
"Which one?" Miki asked him.
"It's just a shooting star." Matt sighed. "Let's make a wish."
Matt can be such a child sometimes.
"It's not a shooting star. It's a meteorite." I told him.
"Don't tell my daughter that. She loves shooting stars." Matt informed me.
"Scooch over boys!" Maddie, Bella and Charlotte lay on the grass. Maia spread a blanket that she shared with Ella. Lili lay next to me with a smile on her face. She sneaked her pinky over mine. Marcella lay on my other side.
"Remember when Marcella caught mom dressed in a pink tutu?" Maddie brought up one of my funniest memories. They burst out laughing.
"She started screaming "toof fairy! toof fairy!" I informed them.
"I was trying to say tooth fairy! I was missing some teeth!" She defended herself.
"Mom ran so fast down the hallway. What she carrying? A tiara?" Maddie asked.
"It was a wand with a star. I remember coming out of my room and wondering what is wrong." I answered her. "I ran snack into her and she threw money at me telling me not to say anything."
"I still believed in tbe tooth fairy for another year before dad spoilt it for me." Marcella sighed.
"Dad spoilt Christmas for me." Bella chipped in. "Remember that Christmas he said we won't get any gifts because we had been naughty all year?"
"Yes!" We all answered.
"I left cookies and milk for Santa. I was determined to see if he will come. Ella had her eyes glued to the window looking out for a sledge. I came downstairs when I heard movement and I found dad dressed in a Santa suit complete with the stomach and beard..."
"Eating gelato!" We all said at the same time.
"When I called him dad, he answered. Then he realized it and cursed. He promised me gifts every week for six months if I didn't tell Ella, Matt, Miki and Maia that Santa wasn't real. What did you do the next morning Madeline?"
"I was having a shitty morning! Try stabbing your little toe because your siblings shoved you out of the way to reach their presents!"
Maddie told the younger kids that Santa doesn't exist and that dad dresses in a Santa suite every eve of the 25th and hides gifts under the tree. That Christmas nonesense went to hell after that. I told my kids early on that Santa doesn't exist. That didn't go so well when they told their whole class and the school summoned me. Yikes!
"What about the time dad taught Maia her first curse word?" Marcella asked.
"Fanculo!" Maia said the word she used to threaten to repeat if she didn't get her way. Dad was doing serious pay offs. Gifts everyday while the rest of us got nothing. Then one day, he came clean and Maia stopped blackmailing him.
"Most of my toys were from the span of five weeks I held him hostage." Maia chuckled. "Guys! Remember the time Miki broke dad's TV and got all of us punished?"
All our heads turned in Miki's direction. He is laughing out hard. We gave her m a moment to gather himself. "In my defense... you all had run-ins with that TV all through summer."
Dad got the biggest TV we had ever seen and he put it in his office. He said that it's for sports and if he catches us watching cartoons on it, he will hang us by our ankles. Of course we didn't take him seriously! We all took turns to watch the TV when he wasn't home. Even Lupe, the one told to report on us was watching soap operas on it.
"I accidentally almost knocked it over while trying to hide from him. I caught it though so it wasn't me." I told them.
"But you left smudges on the screen. You are his gelato and left evidence on the TV screen!" Maddie reminded. "And it was another accusation of who are his stracciatella."
"We all are dad's gelato. Who didn't?" I asked.
We can only hear the sound of crickets. We all are his gelato.
"But Matt was the worst because he would mix it with regular ice cream and then dad would throw a fit at the store. Remember?" Ella asked.
"I didn't know he would know the difference!" Matt exclaimed amid laughter.
"What about nonna's Italian cream cake?" Bella asked and we all sighed with want. "We used to lick the cream off. We didn't know we all did it and that day she threw a fit because there was no cream left. We all took turns!"
"The cream is a better story. I remember when we had just met dad, he brought us here. It was Aidan, Terrance and I. It was my first time meeting nonna's Italian cream cake. We all decided to steal the cake. We were caught under the table eating. This is not forks, knives or plates. We were caught with fistfuls of the cake. She was horrified. Aidan said it was all Terrance and me. I punched him the face."
"He totally deserved it." Terrance is standing over me. "You guys don't mind if I steak him for a bit?"
"As long as you bring him back in one piece." Miki informed him.
We left them still going down memory lane.
"I didn't think you would come."
"I wouldn't miss this big middle finger aimed at Reina." He chuckled. "She's beautiful."
"Reina?"
"Vittoria. Just saw her a few minutes ago."
I looked up at the wedding now to her room. The light is still on. Poor thing is a nervous wreck. This is my third rendezvous with marriage. I'm not stressed at all.
"She's is." I agreed.
We stayed in silence for a moment, looking towards the done shaped gazebo where we will wed. There are people working at this hour. Ella has been on their case all day and she said she's sleeping after the wedding. High on every sort of caffeine, she is not joking. She wants perfection.
"We have come a long way, haven't we? From the Italian cream cake to near death experiences and severe fall outs. Yet we still stand next to each other."
"They say love is as strong as death." I told him.
"They say some friendships ate written in stone." He chuckled. "I'm just checking on you, making sure you are all right and to let you know we are very all right."
We exchanged a quick hug before he left me on my own. I reached into my pocket for my vows. I wrote them early this morning and I have memorized the words. I don't know if Vee has written hers. I want to hear what she has to say. I know what I want to say.
Love isn't always written in stone.
Love cannot be controlled and it is far from perfect.
When you sign up to be in love, you surrender your heart to another human being, trusting them to take care of it. Trusting them to never make you cry over love. You hope to love forever, stick with the same person even. But my mom says, love is not something stark. It's not stationary. Love evolves to something stronger or ebbs away as the flame burns out until it's like it was never there. It takes work to make love work.
As I marry her tomorrow, I hope to work as hard as she will to make our marriage work. There is nothing I won't do to make it work.
I want to love her forever.
I will love her forever.
Vittoria's POV
It's just a few hours to morning. 2:33am to be exact. I'm not able to sleep. How can I when there's a flood of emotions within me?
I'm excited. I'm anxious. I'm happy. I'm worried about everything going as planned. I'm tired yet so alive with the anticipation of being his wife. All these emotions are keeping my feet moving about, my eyes wide and incapable of sleep as my mind is fighting rest.
At 11am tomorrow morning, we will say our vows. Marianna said that if we marry any later she will sleep through the ceremony and probably snore loud enough to steal the show. I don't care what time. I'm ready even now. My dress adorns the mannequin in my room. It's too beautiful. I can't even touch it without thinking I'll ruin it.
"In a few hours..." I whispered to myself.
I can hear laughter outside.
It's heartwarming to see his family so close. They are lying on the grass and telling stories. I can't see Marcelle. My eyes moved about to the still figure of a man a short distance away. He's alone. My heart can't help but stir with excitement even if it's just the mere whisper of his voice. Just a thought that he is close by and I explode with unexplainable excitement.
Even if we are not in the same space, I believe our hearts are in tune.
I want to be the best wife he has ever had. I want to make him happy and complete.
I will love him forever.