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Then I was introduced to the rest of the aunties and what felt like twenty cousins before Ally resolutely dragged me away, saying we had to say hello to her dad.
We found him around the back of the house, showing a small group of men the irrigation system I was halfway through installing.
“Ah, Gabriele!” He came forward, greeting me with a kiss on each cheek, then pulled me over to the group to explain the technique I’d used to lay down the hoses.
“Dad! He only just got here! He hasn’t even had a chance to get something to eat.”
Before I could even begin to say that I wasn’t hungry yet, Mario called out “Seth!” and then spoke in rapid-fire Italian to the tall, lanky guy in his mid-twenties who turned around. Seth nodded and disappeared inside, coming out a minute later with an antipasto plate piled high with cheese, crackers, salami, olives and pesto.
“Wow, thanks.” There was enough on the plate to feed a small army. And it was just an appetizer, not anywhere near being the main meal.
“I’m gonna go see if Mom needs a hand in the kitchen.” Ally patted me on the back and, with her eyes twinkling, said, “Mangia!”
“What does that mean?” I asked Mario when she’d gone.
“Eat!”
“Got it.”
I caught sight of Zara and Matt coming around the corner of the house. I noticed that Matt already had his own antipasto plate, unfortunately, so he wasn’t going to be able to help me with mine. Zara greeted Mario with a kiss to each cheek, then said, “Where’s Ally?”
I gestured toward the house. “Helping her mom.”
“I’ll see if there’s anything I can do too.”
Matt shot me an amused look and I thought maybe I was looking how I felt, i.e., more than a little overwhelmed.
“And you thought Cooper gatherings were big.”
“Yeah.” They were nothing compared to this. It was great though, big and boisterous and fun. I liked it.
“Ah, there he is.” I turned to seeZiaVittoria bearing down on me. “Please, come with me. There is someone you should meet.”
I glanced at Matt, hoping he was going to be dragged along as well, but no, he got no more than a smile and a friendly greeting. I, on the other hand, was a different story. Even if she hadn’t been in the kitchen I wouldn’t have seen much of Ally for the next hour, as I was handed from group to group, always greeted with that bug-under-a-microscope inspection, then enthusiastic kisses and slaps on the back. By the time Giulia announced that they were starting lunch, I was almost exhausted from all the scrutiny.
Ally came out from the house, hefting a huge tub.
“What’s that?” I asked, taking it from her.
“Pizza dough.”
I followed her over to the outdoor wood-burning oven, which Mario had stoked to an inferno, and put the tub on the wide counter next to it.
“Everything okay?” She looked so cute, with her hair piled up high, a smear of flour on her cheek and her apron crooked.
“Sure.” I put my arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss to her forehead. “I met your Aunt, um, Bettina, I think it was. I thought you said Vittoria was the one to watch out for.”
Leaning into me, she looked up with a frown. “Oh no, why? What did she say?”
“Well, she just asked a lot of questions about my relationship history and about Jesse.”
Giulia gestured to the pizza trays, so Ally pulled away to grab a bottle of oil and drizzle it onto the pans. “That’s pretty rude, I’m sorry about that.”
“That part was fine. It was when she asked me what my intentions were toward you that things got really tough.”
A frown furrowed her brow. “What did you say?”
“I took your advice.”
