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‘Nick,’ I greeted him with a friendly tone. One that I hoped I could neutralise the moment with. ‘Congratulations.’ Again, I attempted to steer the two of us around the man now in front of us.
‘And to you, Sera.’ Nick nodded as he sidestepped and swept his eyes quickly over me, taking in how uncomfortable I was, while completely ignoring the man holding me.
‘And you are?’ Salvatore snarled the question.
‘Me?’ Nick grinned up at Salvatore, feeling he’d got the upper hand, when he couldn’t have been any more wrong.
‘Yes, you.’ Salvatore’s Italian accent fell thick from his lips, making every one of my nerves go on end.
‘Oh, me… yeah. Well, I’m a neighbour of Sera’s.’ He answered with a cocky nod of his head, which I knew was fuelled by alcohol.
‘My wife’s neighbour. I want to say it’s good to meet you, but I’d be lying, and I never lie. Do I, Serafina?’
It seemed I’d lost the ability to speak when my lips moved but no answer sounded. I was too far gone concentrating on the ridiculous pissing contest in front of me.
‘Wife? I thought you were separated, Sera?’ For the first time, Nick looked sober as he tried to work out what was going on.
Not put off it seemed by the two huge men that were now flanking us, Nick carried on poking the bear, and when his next factual statement arrived it was all I could do to close my eyes and shake my head a little at him.
‘Well, Serafina and I… well we were more than…’
Aldo stepped forward quickly and placed a hand to Nick’s chest in warning. He looked down and shook his head at Nick, cautioning him from carrying on.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Nick raised his voice a level, staring straight at me and looking for an answer to his question, and in my peripheral view I saw a few heads turn towards us. ‘Are you okay, Sera?’
I nodded at him in answer, while hoping to either make a quick getaway or for the ground to open underneath me.
‘Serafina, Salvatore… I’m so glad we’ve caught up with you both.’ I sighed when I heard his familiar, comforting voice. My papa’s wheelchair arrived at the side of what I could only assume to a bystander was a strange looking group.
‘Papa.’ My greeting sounded out how relieved I felt. I turned to look at him and my mum standing behind him and silently pleaded with them for help. I needn’t have bothered, my papa had already read the state of affairs, hence his arrival.
When my Uncle Keith arrived behind Nick and clapped a hand to his shoulder, making Nick turn around, the tense atmosphere slid down a couple of very welcome notches.
‘Nicholas Firbank?’ my Uncle Keith questioned with a smile.
‘Yes.’ Nick turned. I believed he still wasn’t quite aware of the situation he had placed himself right into the middle of.
‘Keith Thomas.’ My uncle introduced himself and taking hold of Nick’s hand to shake it, he forced Nick to turn away from Salvatore and myself. ‘I hear you’re a very promising doctor?’
‘Surgeon,’ Nick corrected.
‘Surgeon,’ my Uncle Keith repeated, sounding very impressed and knowing unerringly what he was doing, managed to get Nick’s full attention.
‘Well, I’d like to discuss a bursary opportunity with you, if you have the time.’
‘He has a minute amount of time,’ Salvatore hissed between his teeth, before jabbing his thumb and forefinger only an inch apart, towards Nick’s face.
Nick shot Salvatore a questioning look and once again Aldo pressed his hand further into his chest as he silently conveyed that Nick should keep his mouth firmly closed.
As luck would have it, the orchestra employed by the university struck up. People who had at first been very interested in the small commotion we were causing began to move away from us, eager to take their place on the dance floor. Violins started and other instruments followed and although I only had a small amount of knowledge of classical music, I recognised the first few bars of “The Blue Danube.”
‘Sera, are you okay?’ Nick repeated his question before answering my uncle.
‘My wife is fine,’ Salvatore replied. His tone reeked how unhappy he was with the given situation.
‘Nick, I assure you I’m okay.’ I smiled at him as I spoke, hoping to convince him to move away.
‘Then there’s no time like the present,’ Nick uttered, as slowly through his alcohol blurred vision, he started to look at the situation and people gathered around him.
