Chapter 75
Luci
30 Weeks Pregnant
E l has been busy all day getting everything ready for my baby shower, which she’s refused to let me see beforehand. Earlier, she did my makeup and set rollers in my hair with strict instructions to keep them in until she comes back.
“Luuuuuciiiii, I’m hooooome! Alright, everything is done and we still have to finish doing your hair and getting you dressed in this.” I audibly gulp when El pulls out the dress. Instead of something that hides my belly, in front of me is a light pink dress that hugs every inch of my body.
I hold the dress hesitantly in my hands from a distance, like it’s going to attack me. “El, I’m not sure about this dress. Do you have another option?”
“No babe. You’ll rock this dress, and we will shower you and little miss with fabulous things. Now come and let me help you get dressed and we can head down to the garden since all the boys are out of the house. Except Domenico, I guess.” The last part said with an eye roll.
El has me dressed as I waddle downstairs in heels with the help of the handrail. We walk into the hallway that attaches to the garden. The dress she picked out for me is cute, but the idea of me highlighting everything I’ve spent my life hiding makes me anxious. We turn the corner into the garden and my heart drops. The garden mimics the pictures Alessandro found with similar lighting to the night we got married. There are cupcakes, towers of gifts, and games set up. The biggest surprise walks out from around the corner.
“Mamma? Nonna?” All three of us embrace each other, tears hiding any words we try to say.
“I’m guessing that’s an ‘Oh my God, El, you did so good! I can’t believe how amazing you are at your job!’ Right? I know I’m right.”
Surprisingly, it’s Nonna who laughs the hardest at El. “I like you. I don’t approve of a pretty girl using the Lord’s name in vain, but I can forgive that because of how amazing this all is. I cannot thank you enough for making this happen.”
“How did you get here? El, how did they get here? What did you do? There’s no way Nonno would have agreed to this!”
El goes to answer when Nonna cuts her off, holding her finger up and raising her eyebrows. “Luci, let me give you some marriage advice. There are times when it’s okay to hide specific details from your husband.”
“You lied to Nonno?” Growing up, lying might as well have been the eighth deadly sin.
“It’s not lying, it’s just withholding details. He knows Caterina and I went out and would be gone all afternoon. What we didn’t tell him was where or what we were doing. Caterina also ‘forgot her phone’ and I ‘forgot to charge mine and it died’. Which is not lying because Caterina did leave her phone and home and mine does not have any charge.” Her face reminds me of when we would get me ice cream before dinner. She would tell me not to let Mamma know, but if she asks, say we went for a walk because that was true.
Mamma comes up and grabs my hands, squeezing them tight. “My Luci Girl. Can I talk to you?”
We step off to the side, obviously needing closure between ourselves. My heart is racing so fast I can’t focus on what I want to say.“I wanted to talk to you about my letter and what I meant and what I was thinking. I—”
“I know. I know what you meant. Someone gave me a different point of view on what you had written. Thank you for everything you’ve done.” While we have more to address, today is about my daughter and celebrating Mamma and Nonna being here.
“Thank you for being my Luci Girl.” She kisses me on my temple as we rejoin the party, waiting for the one other guest to join us as Mamma and Nonna keep asking me questions about my pregnancy.
“How are you feeling? What have you been eating? How much weight have you gained? Are you still taking your walks?” Here we go. Suddenly, I’m self-conscious about wearing this dress and want to change until Quinn walks into the garden, interrupting Mamma’s line of unintentionally hurtful questioning.
“Luci is measuring perfectly and is right on track to have a healthy at-home birth.” Perfect timing. Mamma and Nonna are baffled by her presence and Quinn notices it too.
“Hi, Stella. Hi, Caterina. Luci and Alessandro thought since I was already helping her with prenatal care, it would be best if I continued. They flew me out and I’m staying here until after their daughter is born.”
Nonna switches her attention to me, obviously catching onto what Quinn said. “You’re having a girl?”
“Yes, Nonna. You were right. Again!” She always is.
“Of course I am! I should have assumed by the pink dress and everything else, but I assumed this was El’s taste. Do you have a name picked out? Because I have ideas.” She’s grinning from ear to ear, grasping my hands between hers, obviously more excited than I am.
“I know you do, Nonna. I have an idea for a name. I’m keeping it a secret until she’s born.” Until our wedding night, I had no idea what I wanted to name our daughter. I need to tell Alessandro, but the timing has never been right.
“Alright! Now that everyone is here, I have an afternoon of fun planned. But first, mimosas for everyone except Luci who has orange juice and alcohol-free champagne.” El keeps us entertained for the rest of the afternoon with games and amazing food Andrea prepared. Before we know it, it’s time for Mamma and Nonna to leave before Nonno sends a police raid to search for them.
They take a second to pull me aside, grabbing two presents from the pile I didn’t open to save for Alessandro and me to unwrap later.
“I know you planned on opening your presents later, but these two are from Caterina and I. Will you appease your nonna and open them now?”
I take the two packages from Nonna, finding a private place to sit down as I place them in my lap. I choose one of the packages at random and open it. I know by the perfectly folded edges, with no tape showing anywhere that it’s Nonna’s. My heart swells when I open the package and see the ornate jewelry box. It’s one of the few things Nonna brought to America when she ran away with Nonno.
“I wanted to give this to you even though I know it’s not necessarily something for your daughter. My mamma gave it to me when she told me I’d be marrying Geno. I don’t know if she gave this to me in an attempt to lessen the blow or because she wanted to gift me something. Since this was the last thing my mamma gave me, I had to grab it when I left with your nonno. I planned to leave it to Caterina upon my passing one day, but she mentioned giving it to you instead. Maybe one day you can give it to your daughter.” I hold the heavy box in my hands, tracing my fingers over the elaborate swirled pattern, as I picture myself gifting it to my daughter one day. Until then, this will be my most treasured possession.
I set the jewelry box on the table next to me and unwrap Mamma’s gift. I take the tissue out of the bag before pulling out the blanket inside—my baby blanket. “You kept this?”
“Of course I did, my Luci Girl. Treasure every time you swaddle her in this, because one day you will swaddle her for the last time without realizing it.” We sit there laughing until we realize it’s time for them to leave. Mamma kisses me on the side of my head and when Nonna hugs me I’m almost convinced she won’t let me go. The three of us promise that we will fight to see each other, especially after my daughter is born. It would devastate me if she never met Mamma and Nonna. This will work. It has to.
Alessandro, Marco, Enzo, and Andrea pull up as Nonna and Mamma leave, laughing about their afternoon until Alessandro sees me. He grabs me in his arms, kissing me and placing a protective yet gentle hand on my belly.
“How was my girls’ afternoon?”
“It was perfect. Thank you for letting the afternoon be for the girls. And Domenico.” Enzo, my main security may have been gone, but Alessandro would never leave me, us, with no protection.
“I made sure he kept his distance. You know I would never leave i miei due premi with no protection.”
“Now I have to share being your prize with our daughter?”
“Si. You know you’ll always be il mio primo premio.” He kisses me passionately before kissing his way to the shell of my ear. “Now let’s go to bed and I’ll show you how a prize should be handled.”
The giggle that escapes me as I bite my bottom lip is enough of an answer for him as he drags me into our room. A perfect finish to a perfect day.