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The next day passes in a blur. My hair’s done in a chignon. My makeup is smoky and I love it. I’ve got diamonds dripping from my ears and my throat. I’m ready to get married. Kind of.
I get taken to the church in one car, Ricardo in another. When I arrive, my dad’s on the steps outside, asking if he can speak to me. I take him into a side room. He looks at me like we’ve never met before. “I don’t get it,” he says, scratching his head. “Who are you?”
“Why are you saying that?”
“I don’t know you. You’re marrying a mobster? What the hell, Kelly? Who are you?”
“I’m your daughter,” I reply. “Nothing’s changed.”
In the church, I can hear the organ playing. “I get a call,” he says, more to himself than to me. “I get a call that tells me my little girl is going to get married. So I assume it’s a joke. Bad taste right, so soon after Jody’s died but still, a joke. Only it’s not a joke because here I am and here you are and I don’t get it. Why’s this the first I’m hearing of it? I didn’t even know you were dating. When did you start dating?”
“Sit down, dad.”
I pull out a chair from the stack by the window, lowering him into it as he continues talking to himself. “Listen, Dad, I wanted you here so you can support me. I don’t need you acting like this.”
“Like what? How am I acting?”
“Like I shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I don’t know you at all. Who are you?”
I lean toward him, lowering my voice. “Look, it’s not a long term thing. It’s just for a month, all right.”
That only makes things worse. He screws up his face like he’s sat on a tack. “A month? Who gets married for a month? What’s going on, Kelly?”
“I’m getting married, Dad. That’s all you need to know.”
“You can’t just say that.”
I think of how best to word things, glancing at the clock on the wall. I’ve got two minutes before I’m supposed to be walking down the aisle. Dad’s meant to be giving me away. I don’t want to screw this up. I think fast.
“I’m marrying Don Bianchi,” I say, watching for his reaction. “You’ve got to get used to it.”
He looks like he’s been punched in the stomach. “He’s threatened you, hasn’t he? That’s why you’re doing this. Is he going to kill you if you refuse?”
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
“Oh, God. This is how the bills got paid, isn’t it? It wasn’t the insurance, was it? You took his money? That’s blood money, Kelly.”
“You were going to go to Don Colombo for help. How is this any different?”
“Don Bianchi isn’t family.”
“We left the Colombo family, remember?”
“He’s notorious for sleeping around, Kelly. He’s seduced more women than James Bond. He’ll cheat on you. You know that, right?”
“Thanks for your support. Glad to know you’ve got faith in us both.”
He rolls his eyes. “I can’t believe this is happening to me.”
“It is happening to me, Dad, and I want you to walk me down the aisle but if you don’t think you can do that, then that’s okay. I’ll do it without you.”
“I’ll do it,” he says, getting to his feet. “One month, you said, right? I can handle a month. Your mom won’t like it but I can handle it. You’re marrying Don Bianchi?” He looks up at the ceiling. “How is this happening?”
The music on the organ changes. “That’s my cue,” I say, pushing open the door. “You doing this or not?”
