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Chapter Five
- Noemi -
IDIDN’T WANT TO BEthere, but like everyone else, I couldn’t say no to Lilly. It was my first day back in Connecticut. I was still cleaning up the bathroom when she called, insisting that I come to the party.Couldn’t wait another day to see me,she whined. Besides, it was for her Mom.I didn’t want to break her Mom’s heart, did I?Not that I thought I would. Mrs. Calegari would never have held my absence against me, especially since I had just arrived in town a few hours ago.
I tried to put Lilly off. To get her to wait until tomorrow. I had reasons, very specific reasons, for not wanting to make an appearance. I still hadn’t unpacked, and half my clothes were being shipped by my ex-roommates. When I packed my suitcase to return to the States, I didn’t think I needed anything for a formal dinner. Not on my first night home! I had tee-shirts and jeans, sweatpants and tank tops, not designer couture.
But truthfully, I had just as many reasons to want to go. I wanted to see Lilly so badly I was seriously considering going to the party and braving the consequences. After all, I knew what I was coming home to, but it was my home and I was done with running away from it. And, I didloveMrs. Calegari. She became a second mother to me after I lost my parents. She filled in the gaps that Willis couldn’t. I would never be able to repay her for that.
And then there was Gabriel. He had changed over the years, but he was like a second brother to me. He had a way of always making me feel comfortable, like I was part of their family. And funny. Gabriel used to make me laugh so hard I’d get tears in my eyes.
I missedallof them, the entire family, and I couldn’t wait to see them again. But I still I had no intention of going to the party until Lilly mentioned during her pleading that she was already upset that her brother Dante wasn’t going to be there. He was away on one of his many business trips and she was sure he wouldn’t make it back in time. And I couldn’t possibly bail out on her, too, could I?
Emotional blackmail was Lilly’s specialty. But it worked on me. Every. Single. Time. I caved in without any more excuses, but other than a simple black dress, I didn’t have anything to wear to the kind of party Lilly Calegari liked to throw.
“And don’t worry about what to wear. I’ll send a dress over,” she’d said excitedly when I agreed to go after explaining my clothing situation.
Looking at the clock, I had less than three hours to get ready. I stopped cleaning and hopped into the shower before the dress arrived. I gasped as I took it out of the garment bag. The dress was stunning – a deep olive green, with feathers off the shoulders, dyed to match the dress, and these crystals and beads dancing down the center. I’d never worn anything like it.
I’m sure it was absolutely fabulous on Lilly, but on me? I was afraid I’d look like a seasick peacock. I didn’t exactly get a tan while I was living in London. Lilly knew what I looked like, what my coloring was. It hadn’t been that long since I’d seen her. Sure, I hadn’t been home in five years, but Lilly flew to England several times. Last summer, she stayed for two months. And now, she sent me a dress that looked like diamond-studded pea soup.
And it came with a note. “Nude makeup. TRUST me!” She knew me too well, or not at all.
I shrugged my shoulders and dug into my makeup bag. I’m a girly girl. I like makeup and shiny things, but I liked them on a different level than Lilly did. Lilly lived for fashion. If a pea soup dress and nude makeup were what the guru recommended, who was I to doubt her?
An hour later, I stood, looking in the mirror, wondering who that woman was? Lilly’s advice was spot on. I was a little... larger... than she was in some areas, so the dress strained against my hips and breasts, but honestly, she chose the right dress because the feathers and beading hid most of the fit issues. The dress showed off my body and made my hazel eyes pop. I couldn’t dwell on it or I wouldn’t go. I’d get too self-conscious.
I ran the brush through my curls one more time, gave the loose waves a spritz of hairspray, gathered my coat and clutch, and headed for the door. I called for a ride even though Lilly had offered to pick me up. She was wonderful, but she was also notoriously late foreverything. On the other hand, I was always early. I didn’t like grand entrances, having everyone stop and stare when you walked into a room. If I knew Lilly, she was planning to stop the band as soon as she and her mother arrived.
Just as I reached the side door, I saw the car pull up. Taking a deep breath, I headed outside to face a few pieces of my past. At least, the pieces that didn’t hate me.
***
OF COURSE, SHE WASlate. They all were. I was at the venue, the banquet hall of the nicest hotel in Bridgeport, and the person who had invited me hadn’t arrived yet. Awkwardly, I entered the ballroom, anticipating that someone would throw me out when I didn’t have an invitation, but I explained to the men at the door that Lilly had invited me. The tall blond asked me for my name, sent a text to someone, then immediately stepped aside and told me to have a good time.
One hurtle was cleared. Next, I had to find a way to blend in. I expected there would be people there that I knew. If there wasn’t, I’d be sitting at a table in the corner until the guests of honor arrived. I hated parties, particularly parties where I didn’t know anyone. But there had to be someone I knew that I could strike up a conversation with. Lilly and I had been inseparable for years. We were the sister each other needed but never had.
I had been to many Calegari family events over the years, but this was the first one I was nervous about attending. It was the first one I walked into without at least one member of the Calegari family beside me. What if they looked at me as an outsider? I’d been gone so long. Would they even recognize me? Understand why I was there? Lilly said it was a small affair, just close family and friends. Maybe, I’d be out of place. Ithadbeen five years.
Thankfully, my fears about standing out were unfounded. Apparently, Lilly’s idea of a small family affair meant almost a hundred people, dimmed lights, glittering centerpieces, and a string quartet. The hall was stunning.
Forget fashion. If she did all of that herself, Lilly’s future was in event planning. Maybe she had hired one, but the Lilly I knew was too particular to leave something like that to someone else. She’d probably been at the hall all afternoon to get it the way she wanted. I’m sure she hired a caterer and ordered the centerpieces, but the decor was so glitzy and elegant, it had Lilly’s name written all over it.
My eyes scanned the crowd, looking for someone I recognized, or a secluded table in the corner, whichever I found first. Familiar eyes met mine across the room and I breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as Lilly’s Uncle Gino saw me, his arms opened wide and I was once again welcomed into the Calegari family. Within minutes, I was reacquainted with people I hadn’t seen since Lilly’s college graduation party five years ago. Lilly’s Uncle Gino and his wife Loretta were wonderful people who always had smiles and their faces and stories to tell. I was immediately at ease as Uncle Gino took me around the room, making sure everyone knew I had returned.
I was grateful for that because when time passed, Lilly called to say they were still half an hour away. She needed Uncle Gino and I to keep things going until the family arrived. I let her uncle handle the guests, but I was the one who asked the caterer to keep the food warm. I got the bartender not to try to push the free drinks so that everyone wouldn’t be drunk by the time Mrs. Calegari arrived. And I was the one who guaranteed the quartet that they would get paid extra for staying past their contracted time.
When Uncle Gino asked me what I thought about starting a limbo game, I laughed. “That’s all you.”
I couldn’t have even bent over to pick something up off the floor in the dress Lilly loaned me. Limbo was out of the question. I ordered a Pinot Grigio, found the most remote table I could locate, and watched the show – a room of half-intoxicated guests bending themselves into distorted positions to get under a broom handle.
I finished my one glass of wine, the one glass I usually allowed myself, and returned the glass to the bar. I ordered a soda with lemon and turned my head quickly when the room erupted into applause. I took my drink from the bartender and immediately set it down again so I could clap along with everyone. Lilly entered like the diva she was born to be. She ate up the applause, looking radiant in her red mermaid evening gown.
Behind her, Gabriel stepped gracefully into the room then immediately stepped out of the way. I craned my head to see Mrs. Calegari. I was genuinely excited to see her again. I had to stand on my tiptoes when everyone who had been sitting at the nearby tables stood up, blocking my view. Even in heels, I wasn’t tall enough to see over everyone. I found a break in the crowd and made my way to a position where I could clearly see the woman we had all gathered to honor.
The smile spread across my face when I saw her. She looked the same. Maybe a few more gray hairs than before, but the same warm eyes and glowing smile. She was more vibrant in her red dress than my memories remembered her to be. I hopped in my shoes at how happy she looked.
I kept clapping as Mrs. Calegari scanned the crowd, smiling, nodding, waving and reaching out to a few people. I knew the moment she found me amongst the faces. If it were possible, her eyes lit up even more. I couldn’t see the man who escorted her into the room because there were too many people in the way, but as soon as my eyes met hers, I stepped around the people blocking me and took a step towards her. The man whose elbow she clutched leaned down to hear something she said to him as she gestured in my direction.
