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The party is outdoors, which is unusual, but the spring night is light and easy. Lights have been strung up in the trees around us, and there’s huge, long tables filled with food. My mom called it ‘rustic’ and said it would make all the Italians more comfortable because of the casual elegance.
I don’t know who any of these people are, but they seem to be having a good time.
“Caterina. Walk with me?”
I look into Elio’s handsome face.
He’s been perfect this entire time. Gracious. Kind. Thoughtful. He fetches me water and kisses people’s babies and gives the old women flattering compliments that have them blushing and sighing.
I blink. “But our guests…”
“Can wait. Let’s take a walk.”
I could never say no to that face.
Elio takes me away from the party. We walk a ways into the woods. My dad told me that the Rossi estate extends for miles on either side, the woods on either side thick and quiet.
Finally, he pauses next to a small pond, and gestures for me to stand next to him.
“Hi,” he says with a smile that makes my heart beat faster in my chest.
“Hi,” I respond shyly.
“So. That was a lot,” his eyes twinkle in the moonlight, and I smile in response.
“Yeah. Was that your zia who decided to dance on the table?”
“After having way too many glasses of red? You bet. Zia Lucia was the best stripper in Naples for many years.”
I laugh. “Really?”
“Really. When Zio Andreas married her, it was the talk of the town for about six months.”
I tilt my head at him. His accent is light, but definitely there. “How much time do you spend in Italy?”
“Most of it, until I started high school. My parents thought it was important to go to an American school in order to get access to American colleges.”
“Oh. How does that work? Did you get like a passport?” I’m just asking questions, but mostly I’m staring into his beautiful face.
He laughs and turns to me, then cups my cheek with one hand. “Tesoro, you know that kind of stuff doesn’t matter for people like us, no?”
With those words, reality crashes around me again.
I’m marrying this man.
Who is older. Who knows more than I do.
I feel small and afraid. I pull back and wrap my arms around myself. “Yeah, I guess,” I say in a small voice.
His eyebrows push together. “Hey, is everything okay?”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
“Oh tesoro,” he takes another step toward me but doesn’t continue when I step back. “It’s okay. You can tell me.”
“Um…” my father’s words flash in my mind.Be a good wife. Don’t upset him. Make sure that he feels like he’s in control.
I don’t know how to do that.
