Like all good Italian boys, family is a massive part of my life, probably all the more so because the importance offamigliaseemed to skip a generation for my parents. I remember overhearing a conversation Mum had on the phone with Nonna when I was a kid, telling her mother-in-law how she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life putting her kids first like Nonna had with Dad. It still stings to think of it now. If only she’d known that Raff and I never wanted her to put us first, we just wanted her to show us that she cared.
When Raff met Ellie, I watched my older brother make sense of his life with her by his side and now that they have the girls, we make even more of an effort to see each other regularly. They’ve made this awesome home together, not to mention two great kids, and as much as Raff pretends to grumble about being a downtrodden dad I can tell how proud he is to have such a strong bond with his own children. It’s exactly what we didn’t have growing up. Raff, Ellie, Fran and Sienna. The people here today are my family.
Tiny barks at the bottom of the ladder I’m up.
‘Are you telepathic, Tiny? Don’t worry, you’re part of my family too.’ He sits down by the bottom step and sticks his tongue out.
‘Now you ask, I’m a little overwhelmed to introduce Alice to the rest of this bunch.’
Tiny licks his lips.
‘You’re right, it is a big deal. It wasn’t for Alice, you know? She welcomed me into her circle the minute I met her. Now I think about it, she’s shown such a willingness to let me in. I think that sums her up perfectly. Happy to give things a go, to be open and kind. God, I must seem so reserved in comparison?’ Tiny barks up at me and I’m convinced I can see a frown on his face. ‘She was really keen when I suggested meeting you guys.’
More barking.
‘No I hadn’t expected that either. I thought she’d run for the hills.’
‘Having a heart to heart with the hound again?’ It’s Raff, coming towards me with a huge bowl of apricots.
Tiny looks up at me conspiratorially. He knows so many of my secrets.
‘I’m not sure we need bunting,’ I say, choosing to ignore Raff’s question. I’ve been stringing triangles of colourful fabric around the garden for the past twenty minutes and there’s still reams of the stuff left.
‘Ellie’s going all out,’ Raff shrugs. ‘And you know what she’s like.’
A force to be reckoned with, which is probably why I’ve put this off for so long … in case she scares Alice away.
‘She’s never got the bunting out for any of my ex-girlfriends,’ I point out.
‘I think we can all sense that Alice is different.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘You’re into her, that much is obvious, but you haven’t got tunnel vision like you have had in the past. How do I put this? Alice seems to be bringing out the best in you.’
‘Oh, right,’ I scratch my head. ‘Well that’s good news, I think?’
Raff laughs. ‘Don’t look so worried! The sun’s out and there’s enough food to feed the entire village. Today’s going to be a good day.’
‘She’s here!’ Fran and Sienna run into the kitchen from their vantage point in the living room. They’ve been staking out a spot by the window for the past five minutes, desperate to catch the first glimpse of Alice.
Christ I’m tense.
‘Right, um, excellent,’ I say, mindlessly picking up a tea towel and putting it back down again.
‘So sweet that you’re nervous,’ Ellie pinches my cheeks and I frown. She’s my best friend and honorary big sister rolled into one but bloody hell, she can be annoying.
The doorbell rings.
‘You should probably get that,’ Ellie grins.
Why am I faffing about? I make for the front door but it’s too late, Fran and Sienna have already opened it. I can hear them chatting away and quicken my pace.
‘You’re called Alice and you’re Uncle Zach’s girlfriend and he’s nervous about you meeting us but there’s no need, Mum says, because we’re actually very sweet and not at all intimidating.’
Girlfriend? Ohgod. I cannot believe they just blurted that out. To me, it feels like Alice is my girlfriend already but we’ve not had The Conversation yet and I’m already worried that she’ll be scared off by my noisy family. Now we’ve got the G word to deal with as well?
Flustered, I rush to the front door and there she stands, framed in the hallway like a painting waiting to happen. Her summery dress is an explosion of yellows and oranges, her hair in plaits twirled around her head. She’s carrying a bouquet in one hand and a shopping bag in the other, which she sets on the floor as she greets my nieces.
