POV YUE
"Didi ... Are you sure it's a good idea?" I ask Dylan for the umpteenth time.
"Yue is right. Why don't we use her car?" Su adds, tensed.
Today is his wedding day.
Well yes, my puppy is now a man. A tall, sturdy twenty-five year old man.
I still don't believe he has grown so much! He's now an independent boy... During the day he works at the university as a psychology professor, while in the evening he helps Xixi in her restaurant.
The wedding will take place in the afternoon, in the country where Xixi's grandparents live. We have four hours of travel ahead, so we decide to leave in the morning.
What worries me and Su is that Wang He Di has decided to use his car.
The old yellow car that has accompanied us since we were young.
"Guys, I already told you that you don't have to worry! It's old, ok, but my car has no problem!" Dylan exclaims.
"It's not true that it has no problem! It's full of problems!" I retort.
"Yueyue... Please... It could be its last journey!"
I snort and I seek support in Wang Su, who is looking him straight in the eye.
"I swear that if we arrive late I won't forgive you," he says seriously.
"Everything will be fine! Promised!" Dylan smiles.
I know he is really fond of that car.
His father gave it to him when we were nineteen ... It's been a long time! In these days we have convinced ourselves to look for a new one, with poor results.
While Wang Su and Wang Yan Se climb and fasten their belts, I take Dylan by the hand and stop him.
"Didi ... Are you sure it can face such a long journey?"
"I'm sure".
"This is the farewell trip, okay? From tomorrow we will seriously look for a new car. No more excuses" I tell him.
He nods and smiles at me.
POV SU
I am nervous. Really nervous.
I feel exploded with joy at the thought of finally marrying Xixi after many years of courtship and then engagement.
I look in front of me and smile as I see Dylan and Yue's hands entwined together on the gearbox.
"How many memories in this car, huh?" I say.
"True, a lot of memories," sighs Dylan, giving Yue a sweet look.
At that moment all four of us get lost in our thoughts ...
I am sure that each of us is remembering an important moment spent on this little yellow rubbish.
Mine dates back to when I was a teenager ...
Sitting in the back seat next to Xixi, I listened to my brother and Yue squabble all the way.
"Ok! You're right!" Yue finally blurted out in a trembling voice, turning to the car's window.
Dylan glanced at her and sighed.
"Yueyue ... I don't want to be right, I ..."
Before he could finish the sentence, Yue turned back to him and put her hand on his, as usual.
"Sorry, I overdid it," she whispered softly.
At that moment I heard Xixi chuckle.
"Those two are really weird," she said softly.
"It's true," I replied.
Unexpectedly Xixi leaned over and took me by the hand.
She said nothing. I only saw her blush and look away.
I tried to hide my stupid smile as I played with her thin fingers, too happy to speak and risk breaking that magical moment.
We weren't a couple yet, but in my heart I knew that one day the wall she was trying to build between us would collapse. We were part of each other. And even if the uncertainty and fear of losing her tormented me, I would never stop fighting for her full attention.
We held hands throughout the trip. When we arrived, she tried to let go of my hand, but I softly squeezed it to stop her.
She turned to me with a confused look.
"Maybe we're weird too," I said.
Seeing her hold back a smile made me feel on the moon.
"Maybe," she replied.
Now I can finally say it: we are weird too. And I've never been so happy.
POV YUE
Su is right, this car is a great box of memories.
There is one in particular that comes to my mind ...
I left the clinic and waited for Dylan in the parking lot.
He had always accompanied me to all the medical visits, but that day he had an important meeting with some book dealers and he could not miss it.
When he arrived, he helped me get into the car and once he got back on his seat he looked at me with eyes full of anguish.
"So?" he asked me.
I stroked his face and pulled him towards me to kiss him.
A long kiss. Very long.
"It's a girl," I whispered, without breaking away from him.
I felt him smile against my lips.
I moved away slightly to look him in the eyes and I was surprised to find them full of tears.
"Hey ..."
"Yueyue ... A girl ... We'll have a baby girl! God! I ..." he couldn't even speak, he was crying like a kid.
I burst out laughing, without even realizing that my face was already streaked with tears like his.
He hugged me and held me tight.
"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you..." he repeated it endlessly, with his face hidden in my neck.
"I love you more ... Daddy".
He took my face in his hands and he dug my soul with his gaze full of light.
"Now that I know that she's a girl, I feel even closer to her. I can finally imagine her. She will have your full lips ... And your adorable nose. She will have your cheeks always ready to blush ... She will have your big eyes and oh, I already know i'll be ruined!" he said.
I laughed and kissed him on the tip of his nose.
"So she will be my copy?"
"I hope so much. She will be beautiful. Just like you. And she will be an explosion of colors. Just like you," he replied sweetly.
Words are not enough to describe how much I felt the most loved and lucky woman in the whole universe at that moment.
Suddenly he got out of the car and I worried when he disappeared from my sight.
Seconds later the car started rocking and I rushed out.
Dylan was on the roof, jumping like crazy.
"WE WILL HAVE A GIRL! WE WILL HAVE A GIRL! I WILL BE THE DAD OF A BEAUTIFUL GIRL! HAVE YOU ALL HEARD ?! I LOVE SHEN YUEEEE! SHEN YUE IS MY LIIIIFE!" he screamed .
I burst out laughing and I covered my face with one hand.
"You are crazy! You will break the car!" I exclaimed.
"I don't care! We'll have a baby girl! I LOVE YOU SHEN YUE!"
The people around us laughed and applauded, sharing that moment of happiness with us.
Without being able to stop laughing, I took a deep breath and I screamed with all the voice in my throat: "I LOVE YOU WANG HE DIIII!"
Eight years later, here we are again ... On these uncomfortable seats, with our little girl. And I swear I have the same urge to scream to the world that I love my husband, just like then.
POV YAN SE
I don't want dad to change his car... I really like this!
Even mom used it once!
It was a really sad day for me ... Mom had accompanied me to a friend's birthday and as usual all the children had ended up buzzing around her. The little ones wanted to stay in her arms. The older ones wanted to play with her.
But she was my mom! Not theirs!
She could only play with me!
When we got home, I decided that I was too angry with her to talk to her. So I shut myself up in my bedroom.
After a while I heard the door open and my mother came to sit next to me on my bed.
"So whats up, honey ?" she asked, worried.
I shook my head and turned away.
She sighed and stroked my hair.
"Do you want ice cream?" she asked me.
Again I shook my head.
"Guess what we'll do... Let's go for a ride in Daddy's car!" she proposed with a smile.
She knew how much fun I had on that car, with all those noises it made!
Daddy never let mom drive his car ... He said that only he could use it.
"But Daddy will be angry," I murmured, incredulous.
"It will be our secret, okay?"
She winked at me and finally a small smile came out.
We got into the car and mommy started it.
"It feels like driving a tractor," she muttered, struggling with the gearbox.
I burst out laughing and she gave me an amused look.
"So where are we going?" she asked.
"Ice cream".
"Ice cream? A little while ago you told me you didn't want it!"
"I changed my mind..."
"Okay, then! Ice cream!"
We left the ice cream shop and returned to the car with our ice creams in our hands.
"Mommy... Daddy doesn't want us to eat in the car," I warned her.
"Oh well, today is a special day, so ..." she grinned, licking her ice cream.
I smiled.
Mom never broke the rules ... It was funny!
"Do you know where we are going now?"
"Where?"
"At the car wash! I got the whole seat dirty with ice cream!"
We both burst out laughing.
I helped her clean the car and we had a lot of fun while splashing with water and foam.
On the way home, Mommy kept peering at me from the rearview mirror.
"You know I love you so much, don't you?" she said suddenly.
I didn't answer.
"And you know that you are my only little sphere of light, don't you? I'm sorry if I made you angry ... But always remember that even if I sometimes play with other children, for me you are the most important thing in the world. You're my only baby. You are part of me. And it will always be so. "
"... Mommy?"
"Yes honey?"
"You're the best mom in the world," I said.
As usual, her eyes became shiny and she smiles as she tried to hold back her tears.
When Daddy came home with Uncle Caesar that evening, he immediately asked Mommy: "Did you wash my car? It looks cleaner."
"Didi, please! Yan and I were too busy having fun without you to waste time in your car," Mommy replied seriously.
I held back a laugh and Uncle Caesar noticed it.
"Yeah, man, your women surely had better things to do!" he exclaimed, taking me in his arms.
"Hey! Get your hands off my girl!" mumbled Daddy.
"That's who Yan Se looks like," Mommy said softly, rolling her eyes.
Me, Mommy and Daddy always tell each other everything ... But that day will remain forever the little secret between me and Mommy.
POV DYLAN
Feeling the warmth of Yue's hand on mine, I can't help smiling.
I still remember our first trip together on this car.
The day my father gave me the car, I forbade Yue to get in.
I spent all afternoon alone driving through the streets of our neighborhood. I didn't want to risk putting Yue in danger, so I decided to practice first and familiarize myself with the machine. That night, when everyone went to bed, I turned on the computer in my room and prepared a CD with all of Yue's favorite songs.
The next morning I left a note on her bedside table, next to the bed, which said, "I'll take you to dinner tonight, Miss Shen. I love you."
I still have in front of my eyes her huge smile when she opened the car door for the first time and found the bouquet of daisies on her seat. Or when I turned on the radio and her favorite song rang in the cockpit.
We had dinner in a restaurant and then we set off again.
I stopped only when I arrived in an old uncultivated field.
"Didi, the car will get dirty!" she exclaimed.
"I don't care," I smiled.
I helped her to get down and I spread a blanket on the hood of the car, where we then lay down.
Hand in hand, we were enchanted to admire the sky above us.
We didn't talk much ... Our lips were too busy looking for each other and dancing together.
I loved to feel her hands playing with my hair ... Her legs that were intertwined with mine ... Her nose that touched mine from time to time ... Her little moans of pleasure when the kiss became more intense...
Her favorite songs continued to play from the car.
The world could also collapse at that moment ... I had Shen Yue.
My Yueyue.
And she ... she had Wang He Di. Completely. I was hers. Heart, body, soul, mind ... I was hers.
If I really buy a new car, I swear there will be a new bouquet of daisies on her seat. A new CD with the other million favorite songs that Yue has discovered over the years.
And a new blanket to spread on the hood.
POV MR. WANG
"They're late ... Do you think I should call them?" I ask to Beatrice.
"Dear, you called them half an hour ago! They will come ..." she replies, squeezing my shoulder gently.
Beatrice .... Beatrice is my partner.
I met her two years ago, during my second trip to Italy, and we have never separated since then.
She packed her bags and came to live with me.
Every day I am grateful to life for giving me the gift of being able to love twice. I am no longer a boy, but with her everything seems lighter to me.
We hear a noise coming from the courtyard of Xixi's grandparents' house and we run outside.
My kids have arrived!
"Grandpa!"
Wang Yan Se gets out of the car and runs to hug me tightly.
"Hi, honey! Hi guys! I thought you were going to use Yue's car!" I exclaim, surprised.
"Your son likes to take risks," replies the girl, as she helps Su open the trunk and take the bags.
"I see! Come on, now go get ready" I smile.
I pretend to be calm, but the idea that my second child is about to leave the nest is creating a real earthquake inside me.
I look at the sky and I think of my wife.
I know she is proud of them. And I hope she's proud of me too.
POV XIXI
My bedroom door opens and I see Shen Yue enter.
"Hey" she smiles at me.
"Yueyue!" I hug her tightly.
"You are beautiful! How are you feeling? " she whispers, stroking my face.
"I feel like I want to puke," I confess, nervous.
She laughs and takes my hands.
"It's normal, honey. You are going to take the most important step in your life! I would worry if I saw you calm."
I smile and take a long breath.
"And you? How are you?" I ask her.
I know how much she cares about Su...
And I hold back a laugh when I see her eyes fill with tears and her lips tighten so as not to burst into tears.
"Oh Yueyue!" I exclaim embracing her again.
"Remember that he cannot eat too spicy food and that he is allergic to peanuts. And that when he's sick he loves to hug his favorite blanket, even now that he's an adult. And that when he's agitated, a cup of hot tea always helps him to calm down. And that... "
"Yueyue! I already know everything, don't worry" I tell her.
"Damn, sorry ... I'm acting like an old mother-in-law" she mumbles, wiping her tears.
"I know you will take better care of him than all of us," she adds.
After a last hug, she leaves me in the hands of the make-up artist.
Before she can get out of the room, I call her.
"Yueyue! You and Didi taught us what it means to truly love. You are our example. Thanks for everything," I smile.
"Tsk! Stop making me cry!"
POV DYLAN
Me, Yue and Su go out into the garden, hand in hand.
"Are you ready?" I ask my brother.
He nods, clearly nervous.
I see Yue staring at him softly and my heart fills with love.
"Look at your hair! There's really no way to keep it tidy," she laughs, trying to fix Su's bush.
"It doesn't matter. My hair makes me the sexiest groom the world has ever seen," he grins.
"Yes, just pray that a bird doesn't decide to perch there in the middle of the ceremony," I comment, earning me a bad look.
"Come on, now go! Xixi will arrive soon" Yue pushes him.
"Okay, okay!"
Up he takes only a few steps away, then he turns towards us and he runs back to hug us tightly.
"I love you so much. Thanks for everything," he whispers.
"We are so proud of you, puppy," sighs Yue, without letting him go.
I move back away just to leave them some time.
I see them looking at each other in a silent conversation all their own.
"Now go, really," Yue smiles, standing on tiptoe to give him one last kiss on his forehead.
POV YUE
After the ceremony, all the guests move to the other side of the garden to celebrate with music and a wonderful buffet.
While I'm talking to Mr. Wang and Beatrice, I feel a hand grab me and drag me away.
"Sorry dad, I need my wife," says Dylan.
He accompanies me to the dance floor and he hugs me.
We remain silent for a few moments, swinging on the spot to the rhythm of the music.
"You're beautiful" he whispers to me.
I blush and look down.
"And I'm madly in love with you," he adds.
"I love you too" I answer, looking for his gaze.
"We did a good job with Su, didn't we?" he asks me.
I smile and nod.
"Yueyue ... I would like to ask you to marry me."
"Didi, we are already married!" I laugh.
"I don't care, I would like to marry you every day."
"I would say yes every day" I answer.
Our eyes fit into each other before half-closing to make way for a kiss full of tenderness.
"I love you, Big Idiot."
"I love you, Little Idiot."
Author's corner
Ciao!
Sorry if sometimes I come back with new chapters, but this is my happy little place 😅
However, I hope I brought you a smile 😊
Can you believe that little Su has now become a man? 🥺
Thanks for everything ❤️
A big hug,
Lucrezia