“Vincent! Giff’s here, and we’re ready to get started. Are you coming out?” My mother leaned into the kitchen, shooting me the kind of look only a mother can use effectively. It said clearly,I’m asking you a question, but you should consider it an order.
“Kind of busy, Ma.” I lifted the pastry bag and began piping another row of delicacies that were destined to delight the patrons of Cucina Felice tonight.
“You have time to come sit with us for fifteen minutes.” Ma crossed her arms over her chest and glared.
“Why should I? You’re all going to be talking wedding stuff, right? I know what I’m supposed to do. I make the cake. I don’t need to know anything else.”
“Vincent, this is your sister’s wedding. This is our last meeting before the big day. We need everyone on the same page, so that if anything goes wrong, any of us can make it right.”
I sighed and laid down the pastry bag. I’d known from the start that I wasn’t going to win this battle. “Fine. Fifteen minutes. Not one second more. I’ve got a full schedule today.”
“Oh, aren’t we just something, with afull schedule. Listen to your mother, Mr. Hot Shot. This is the most important day of your baby sister’s life, and you’re not going to ruin it by being rude and grumpy. I don’t know what’s crawled up your ass the last couple of months, but you’re going to get over it today. Now. And you’re going to come out here and smile and talk to the rest of us while we go over everything. You hear me?”
My chest tightened. My mother wasn’t wrong. While I’d always been the moodier of the DiMartino siblings, I’d been gruffer than usual lately. I didn’t want to think about why that might be.
“Yep.” I picked up the tray and slid it into the huge refrigerator. “I’ll be right out.”
The restaurant was empty, of course, since we were hours from opening, and my mother had pushed together two of our four-seat tables to accommodate everyone who was gathered here for the big meeting. My father, the lucky man, along with my brother Carl had escaped because they were meeting a potential new linen supplier in Somers Point.
But my sister-in-law Angela was there, with the baby on her lap, and so was Liam’s mother, Mrs. Bailey, along with Giff, who was flipping through a folder when I came in and sat down.
“Okay, let’s get this over with.” I leaned back, knees wide, bracing my feet against the floor. “What do I need to know?”
“We were just going over the order of events.” Giff slid a single sheet of paper across the table to me. “Here’s what I have. You’ll have the cake and the Christmas cookies Peaches wants all done and in the kitchen by the morning of the wedding—”
“I know that part,” I interrupted. “Forget the kitchen stuff. I’ve got that covered. I need to know when I have to be where, during the times when there’s no food involved.”
Giff eyed me, the corner of one eye twitching just a little. “Fine. You need to be at your parents’ house no later than four PM for family pictures. Ava wants to do the family photos in front of the Christmas tree. Once Jeff’s finished doing the pics, you and Carl will drive the bridal party, minus the bride, to the church.”
“Your father and I are driving Ava,” my mother put in. “We’ll come last, the three of us.”
“Okay, got it. Four o’clock. I’ll be there.” I stood up, but Ma pointed at the chair.
“Sit. We’re not finished.”
“Once Ava and your parents arrive at the church, they’ll be in the bridal room until everyone is seated. Vince, you’ll walk Mrs. B here to her seat, in the front row on the groom’s side.”
“Isn’t there going to be a rehearsal or something for all this?” I tapped the paper. “I thought that was where we went over all these details.”
“Usually, you’d be right.” Giff nodded. “But Liam and Ava want to keep the rehearsal as streamlined and simple as possible, which is why it’s important for everyone to know what they’re doing ahead of time.”
“Okay. So I walk Mrs. Bailey to her seat, and then I sit down, too?”
“On the bride’s side, in the second row,” Giff agreed.
“My mother will be sitting there holding the baby,” Angela put in. “Just in case you don’t know where to sit.”
I wanted to roll my eyes. The wedding was happening in the same church where I’d taken my first holy Communion and made my confirmation, and where I showed up for Saturday night or Sunday morning Mass at least once a month. I was pretty sure I could figure out where the second pew was.
But in the interest of keeping the peace and moving things along, I smiled at my sister-in-law. “Thanks, Ange.”
“And then Carl will walk Mrs. DiMartino to her seat, and he’ll join you, too. After that, the bride walks down the aisle, yada, yada, yada, I do, I do, exchange rings, I now pronounce you, kiss, kiss ... and then bride and groom walk up the aisle, followed by the bridal party, and then the parents of the bride and groom, and then the rest of the family. In the narthex, just outside the sanctuary, we’re going to do a very informal receiving line.” Giff gave a little cough, and I knew why. My sister and Liam were trying to keep everything laid-back and casual for the wedding, but in some instances, they were fighting an uphill battle against my parents and Liam’s mother. The receiving line had been one of those sticking points, and the compromise had been that there would be one, but Giff would make sure that it moved along quickly.
“Vince, will you have a date for the wedding?” Giff turned eyes on me that were wide with innocence, but I didn’t miss the undertone of curiosity in his voice. I wondered how much he’d heard about my night with his friend Amanda. Apparently, we hadn’t been that subtle in our departure from the engagement party, since I’d been interrogated by my sister afterwards.
I’d kept my mouth shut, though, telling her to mind her own damn business. And when I’d kicked at Liam for spilling the beans to her—which he freely admitted he had—he’d shrugged cheerfully.
“Sorry, Vince. She’s got better ways of making me talk than you have of keeping me silent. Also, my loyalty will always be to Ava first. No question. No matter what.”
