Bella Fortuna (7 page)

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Authors: Rosanna Chiofalo

BOOK: Bella Fortuna
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“Ha! Ha! Really funny.” Squinting my eyes narrowly, I give her my most dirty look.
“He said he was heading over to Kyle's Travel to book his trip before all the flights were sold out. You know how anxious he gets!” Rita laughs.
“Girls, you know I always book my trips to Italy at least six to nine months in advance. It's better to play safe than sorry. Paulie has a point, even though I hate to admit he's right about anything,” Ma chimes in.
“I can't believe this! He's going to be so crass at the reception with his usual obnoxious questions and picking his teeth.”
I sink down on the office chair behind the receptionist's desk.
“Psych!” Rita and Connie scream out in unison, giving each other a high five as they laugh hysterically.
I throw two fat spools of thread at them, missing Connie, but hitting Rita on the arm. “I'm going to kill you both!”
“Oh, Vee, the look of desperation on your face when you thought he was flying to Venice! Priceless!” Connie looks at Rita, nodding her head to gain her sidekick's approval.
“Yeah, you looked so tortured. I almost broke and told you we were kidding almost as soon as we announced he was going. But you know us, Vee, we can't miss a good laugh.”
Rita lifts her curls on top of her head with one hand and fans her face with the other. She always does this when she gets excited. Like me, she flushes easily.
“Or the chance to tease your older sister. It's a good thing I have a soft spot for you guys or else. And, Connie, isn't lying against your Buddhist ways?”
“I never said I was a Buddhist just because I practice yoga and meditate.”
“If I ever catch you changing your religion, you'll be out of this family!” Ma looks up from the hem she's stitching on one of the bridal gowns and waves her index finger, which is covered with a thimble, at Connie.
“I know. I know. Catholic till I die.” Connie makes the sign of an X over her chest. Rita and I laugh.
“So what's up, Vee? Why did you want us to come in on our day off? Dare I ask?” Rita's lips turn up in her trademark crooked smile that matches Ma's smile. She hates it, but I love it.
“Yes, you may ask.”
“It's finished! I knew it!” Connie claps her hands together.
“Enough for a first fitting!”
“Yay!” Rita jumps up and down, followed by Connie. They embrace me, and I have no choice but to hop up and down along with them. I enjoy this rare moment where I feel like one of the girls and included.
“Have my daughters gone mad? I haven't seen you jump like this since you used to play Ring Around the Rosie.”
“Ma! It's finished! Valentina's dress is finished, and she's showing it to us today!”
I quickly look at my mother, raising my eyebrow to remind her of our secret pact.
“Valentina! At last!” Ma holds her hands up to the ceiling as if she's thanking God for ending a centuries-long drought. Leave it to her to overact when she's lying.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Don't keep us in suspense any longer, Vee!” Rita takes me by the arm and leads me to the back where my dress awaits its debut.
Nothing beats the feeling of slipping on your wedding dress for the first time, knowing
this
will be the gown your future husband will see you in. I want to savor every moment. As I carefully step into the fluffy pools of organza that swirl around my feet, I bask in the whisper-light feel of the fabric brushing against my skin. Since the gown features a halter neckline, I don't have to worry about my family seeing the dress from the back first so that they can help me with the zipper. I can just place the halter around my neck and hold the dress against my waist to give it a more fitted look. Taking a deep breath, I look in the mirror.
The pale ivory of the dress complements my fair-to-medium complexion, and my shoulder-length chestnut brown hair gleams in contrast. My hair is a blend of my parents'. It is thick like my mother's and Rita's, but unlike their tight curls, I only have waves. My hair is closer to Connie's and my father's shade, but not as light. Even my skin tone is a blend of my parents' coloring.
I admire how the halter straps of my gown show off my high neck and toned arms, thanks to the Pilates sessions I've been taking since I got engaged. It has been hard squeezing the three sessions a week into my already-packed schedule, but I know it's important to look my best on my wedding day.
The A-line of the skirt doesn't overpower my petite frame. Though I'm not as short as Connie, I am still only 5'3 ".
I keep staring at myself in the mirror. Spinning around, I look at myself from all angles and whisper, “I never want to take you off. You're perfect!”
“What are you doing in there, Valentina?” Rita screams out.
“We're giving you to the count of three, or else—Whoa!”
I open the fitting room door.
“It's beyond beautiful. It's brilliant!” Rita gently lifts the hem of the dress, closely inspecting my stitch work.
“I almost forgot. Can someone zip me up?” I turn dramatically around and hear Rita and Connie gasp.
“Oh my God, look at the back! Vee, you sexy siren, you! Who would've ever thought?” Connie has her hand over her mouth. With her taste for sexy clothes, I can tell she definitely approves. “Are you sure this dress is for you and not me with that racy back?”
I laugh.
“This isn't the Plain Jane we grew up with. What happened to safe and classic? What did you do with my sister? You're her clone.” Rita shakes her head, but I see the look of awe in her eyes.
I look at my mother. She's been terribly silent. She's just standing there with her arms across her waist.
“Ma, what's the matter? Don't you like it?”
My heart starts to drop, but then my mother's eyes fill with tears, and I'm quickly reassured.
“You're so beautiful! The dress is absolutely stunning! Yes, it's very different from your usual fashion tastes. But it's perfect, and it looks perfect on you! You look like Venus coming out of the sea. It's a masterpiece! I can't believe I'm standing here, watching my oldest daughter in her wedding dress at last! I never thought I'd see the day.”
“Oh, Ma! Stop with the hysterics!” Rita laughs.
“Shush! You're ruining the moment for me. Come here, Valentina.”
Ma opens her arms wide. I pick up the skirt of my dress and walk over to her, letting her embrace me.
“I'm so proud of you. Look at the gorgeous work you've done on this dress. Your seamstress skills are impeccable. But of course, you learned from the best.”
Ma winks at me.
“I'm glad you like the dress, Ma. Your opinion means the world to me.”
“Let's get some shots! You'll need them to show the stylist when you go for your hair rehearsals.” Wasting no time, Connie grabs her iPhone and clicks away.
Suddenly, the sounds of Madonna's “Vogue” come streaming through the shop's stereo system.
“This is a Madonna moment!” Rita exclaims. Though it's 2010, Madonna remains her idol.
“Oh God! You guys are cheesy!”
But I decide to indulge my sisters for once, and begin striking poses.
“That's it! You show it off, girl! Whoo-hoo!” Connie shouts as she continues taking pictures.
I pick up my hair and pout my lips, giving them my best sultry pose.
“Now, you're talking! Where have you been hiding all these years, Vee?” Rita asks me.
“I'm the big sister. I have to be a role model. Just because I don't flaunt my wild side doesn't mean I don't have one!”
“Whoa!!!!!” Rita and Connie yell out.
“You girls are crazy!”
Ma is blushing, but she's also laughing. And tears are still streaming down her face.
“Valentina?”
I whirl around.
“Michael?”
He's standing still, gaping at me, much like he did the first time we made love and he saw me naked.
And then it hits me.
“Oh my God, Michael! Get out of here!” I scream, ducking for cover behind Rita.
All hell breaks loose. Ma yells like I've never heard her yell before, “
Malocchio! Malocchio!
Go, go! Get out! You'll give her
malocchio!
It's bad luck forever!”
But Michael is still just standing there, staring at me, even though by now my sisters are doing their best to use their bodies to shield my dress from view. It reminds me of when we used to play Twister as kids. Then, Connie quickly leaves my side. I crouch lower behind Rita's back, incredulous that Connie has abandoned me. But just as soon as this thought pops into my mind, a fabric is dropped over my head.
“Stay there! Don't move!” Connie orders me.
She drapes muslin over me. Rita moves away from my crouching figure and adjusts the fabric. I drop to all fours, making it easier for Rita and Connie to cover me. I feel like a dog after it's been shampooed against its will and is seeking refuge by rolling up in a towel. But I'm not doing any rolling. I'm just frozen in place like a squirrel, too petrified to move. How ridiculous must I look now to Michael!
I hear Ma's heavy wooden Dr. Scholl's clogs as she scurries over to Michael.
“Please! Go now!” I hear the bell of the door and the sounds from the street once it's opened.
“Okay, okay. I'm going.” Michael is laughing. “Don't worry, Signora DeLuca. There's no such thing as bad luck.”
“Don't tell a woman what she knows. I've got forty years over you, hot shot. Now go and don't come back in here until after the wedding! You never know when Valentina will be trying her dress on for alterations.”
“ 'Bye, Vee, I'll see you later, if you ever get out from underneath that cloth.”
I can still hear him laughing as my mother shuts the door behind him. The lock turns in the door. She's not taking any more chances.
I pull the muslin off me and almost lose my balance as I try to stand up. Rita helps me.
Ma crosses herself as she exclaims,
“O, Dio, aiuto. malocchio . . . malocchio.”
 
Snow is falling again as I glance out Sposa Rosa's windows. The forecast is only predicting light showers. Lately, I've been closing up the shop every night since I'm working on my dress. The Michael Fiasco, as Connie likes to call it, has stirred things up. After my mother ushered him out yesterday morning, she kept telling me I had to make some alterations to the dress so it would be different from the dress Michael had seen.
“You can't start a marriage out like that, Valentina. It's bad luck.”
“Oh, Ma. We're living in the twenty-first century, and you still believe in the mighty evil eye. Give it a rest. I like the dress the way it is. I'm not changing it.
Basta!
”
“
Basta?
Don't
basta
your mother. I say when enough is enough. I won't be able to get a night's rest forever if you leave that dress as it is.”
I knew I wouldn't get a night's rest either if I didn't compromise.
“Okay, okay. I'll figure something out.”
As soon as my mother left the shop, I consulted with Rita and Connie.
“Whatever!” Connie rolled her eyes. “You give in to Ma too easily. It's
your
wedding. She had hers. Do what you want, Vee.”
“Well, you're not the one who will have to hear it day in and out for the rest of your life if I don't make the alterations.” I shook my head. “Of course with my luck, my fiancé has to walk in on me during my fitting.”
“Stop it! You're starting to sound like Ma—bad luck this and that. But yeah, I know what you mean. Who wants their fiancé to see them in their wedding dress months before the wedding?”
Rita was eating a slice of
prosciutto,
without any bread. She was on a carb-free diet to look her best in her maid of honor dress. Both she and Connie were going to be my maids of honor. I didn't want to choose one sister over the other.
Connie, who was standing behind Rita, slapped her in the back of the head. “Some help you are!”
“I'm just empathizing.”
Rita went over to one of the fitting room mirrors and patted back down into place her frizz-prone curls.
“I'm sure whatever you decide will be beautiful, Vee. Don't stress out too much over it. And don't let Ma get to you!”
Rita gave me a quick hug. “We have to go. We have a double date with the Broccoli Brothers. Come on, Connie.”

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