Chapter Nine
BLESS THEM? How? Why? Had she even heard correctly?
In a daze, Jennifer found herself herded affectionately into the sitting room, where things were in full swing.
It had been decorated for the occasion with beautiful scented candles positioned on the shelves.
There were no more than a dozen people. Francesca was chatting in a group of elderly people who were sitting on sofas by the huge stone fireplace.
Two other couples, roughly the same age, in their late sixties, were laughing and talking, glasses of red wine in their hands.
Luisa was in her element, although as soon as they walked in, she turned to them, her face wreathed in a smile.
There wasn’t the formality of anyone serving hors d’oeuvres. Instead, there were small plates of bruschetta on the polished wooden sideboard, as well as olives and cheeses and various types of bread.
‘Come, come, children! But don’t fill up on the snacks. There will be a lot of food served shortly.’
Francesca was hurrying over to them, and everyone else took that as their cue to gather around. There was no getting away from the fact that she and Gabriel were the reluctant centre of attention.
Father Giovanni was introduced with pride, followed by everyone else.
‘I’m never going to remember all the names.’ Jennifer laughed. ‘I should because I teach, but honestly, as soon as I leave the classroom, my head for names disappears.’
‘She’s a wonderful teacher,’ Francesca said proudly. ‘My son, who’s always worked all the hours under the sun, couldn’t hope for a better catch. This darling girl doesn’t put up with unruly pupils, and she would never put up with an unruly husband!’
Dear Lord, Jennifer thought faintly, now we’re practically married.
‘No one could ever tell Gabriel what to do,’ she said, and she felt him move towards her and give her an affectionate squeeze.
‘Since when has that ever stopped you?’ he murmured to approving nods. ‘This woman has been telling me off since she was ten.’
‘That’s not true, Gabriel!’ Their eyes met, and she felt her heart flutter. Had she? She’d certainly never held back when it came to voicing her opinions.
‘You were the only person to tell me to stop showing off when I bought my first car.’
‘It was a stupid car.’ And a dangerous one…
She could remember the conversation as if it had happened yesterday, and she could also remember the horror she had felt at the thought of losing him to a car accident.
What idiot, she had told him acerbically, decided to buy a high-end fast car at the age of eighteen because he could?
‘I think you just proved my point.’
Their eyes tangled and her tummy flipped over this time, and she had to keep staring until she was in danger of running out of breath. At which point she rolled her eyes and looked away, shaken by just how powerful the connection was.
‘Do you hear that, Father Giovanni?’ Luisa turned to the elderly priest and drew him close to them. ‘Francesca tells me that her son is a changed man. Hasn’t buried himself in work for the first time since he and Jennifer got here.’
‘I’ve never known him to do that before,’ Francesca agreed. ‘And I’ve lectured him a million times on the importance of not working too hard. Jennifer has been able to reach parts of my son I never could.’
‘Which is a good sign.’ Father Giovanni nodded approvingly. He directed them towards a table at the side which was laden with tasty cold appetizers.
Just when Jennifer thought that an audience might be appreciated, everyone seemed to have evaporated into the background by mutual consent, leaving the three of them to fill their plates and then retire to a clutch of chairs towards the back of the sprawling sitting room.
‘I do not usually do this sort of thing…’ Father Giovanni ate and spoke between mouthfuls of garlic prawn and rustic bread, dabbing his chin after every mouthful.
He was as round as his host and with the same kind, weather-beaten, tanned face. A priest his flock would adore.
‘And you shouldn’t feel you have to…er…do anything,’ Jennifer interrupted, sliding her eyes sideways to where Gabriel was sitting in easy silence, sipping some red wine, his long legs stretched to the side. ‘Luisa and Roberto are so thoughtful, but they’ve already done enough for us without…er…’
Father Giovanni waved aside the stuttering interruption. ‘It is my pleasure, and—’ he nodded to Gabriel ‘—I believe your charming mother was very keen on the idea of you both being blessed. It is nothing formal, my children, but I hope it remains with you as you move through your married life.’
‘We haven’t set a date or anything yet,’ Jennifer managed. ‘So…’
‘You have known each other a long time, I understand?’
Gabriel finally decided to speak. ‘Like I said, she’s been a thorn in my side since she was a child.’
‘From friendship often comes the strongest glue to bind two souls together.’
Jennifer felt her heart jump because this mirrored just what she had dared to think herself.
‘Do you really believe that?’ she asked, raising her eyebrows whilst hanging on to his every word.
‘I sincerely do,’ the priest said, half turning to address her.
He carefully balanced his plate on his knees and linked his fingers together on his stomach.
‘We little realise how important it is that we know the small things about the people we end up spending our lives with. Too often, those details get lost in the fluff of being in love. Then, when they do get recognised, they become the obstacles that lie in the path to true happiness.’
‘The divorce rate,’ Gabriel murmured from alongside her, ‘certainly proves that most people do a lot of getting lost in the fluff.’
‘But,’ Jennifer risked, head tilted to one side, ‘some manage to make their way out.’
‘Well spoken, my child. I do not want to monopolise the pair of you this evening, so I will just tell you to beware the pitfalls that lie ahead.’
‘Do you have sufficient time to list them all, Father?’ Gabriel grinned. ‘We leave the country pretty soon…’
‘There are only a few to watch out for, young man.’ Father Giovanni wagged his finger with a smile before sipping some of his wine. ‘Arguments over money…’
‘Ring any bells, Jen?’
Jennifer glared at him, remembering how she had initially knocked him back for daring to offer her money to pretend to be in a relationship with him.
‘He has way too much money,’ she said to the priest. ‘No one needs as many cars as Gabriel has, so if we argue, it’s only because I like to point out the obvious to him.’
‘She’s been arguing with me about money for a long time, so we’re clearly not off to a good start when it comes to making it to the finishing line.’
Father Giovanni was smiling indulgently at them.
‘So, we have the money arguments…’ The priest ticked that one off on a finger. ‘And of course we have the complacency trap, so I counsel you to always make one another feel special.’
Gabriel reached out and linked his fingers through hers. When he squeezed them, she knew just what was going through his mind. They had been doing a great job of making one another feel special recently.
‘Let us not forget the curse of the in-laws!’ Father Giovanni ended with a wink.
Jennifer looked at Gabriel just as he stole a sidelong glance at her. Her breath caught in her throat before he broke eye contact to briefly lower his gaze.
‘That’s one area where there’s nothing at all to worry about,’ he said gruffly. ‘Jen’s almost as close to my mother as I am, and her mother thinks I’m the best thing since sliced bread.’
‘You know something I don’t. I’ve never actually heard those words cross her lips!
’ But she was smiling, because her mother was indeed very fond of Gabriel.
‘He makes things up as he goes along. Honestly—’ she was still linking fingers with Gabriel when she looked at Father Giovanni ‘—he has an ego the size of a cruise liner.’ She heard Gabriel chuckle and was flooded with warmth and tenderness and love.
All taboo. All there. Love…tenderness…desire…and a crazy craving for him never to leave her side.
‘I bless you, my children, and it goes without saying that my wish is for your love to grow stronger by the day and for you to be blessed with the gift of many children.’
What had Gabriel made of that?
She hadn’t expected the priest to have touched her so deeply.
Inside her, something had shifted. She muddled her way through the remainder of the evening and enjoyed herself, but she couldn’t remember any of what she had said to any of the lovely people there when, finally, they were saying good-night to Francesca, with Gabriel escorting his mother up the stairs to her bedroom.
‘Well,’ Jennifer said as she and Gabriel made their way back to their cottage. ‘On a scale of one to ten…?’
‘I’ve had more comfortable experiences.’
He stepped back to let her precede him and then quietly closed the door behind them.
A blessing?
What had he expected when Luisa had told him that that would be on the menu, along with home-cooked pasta and the finest of red wines?
Had he honestly expected a comfortable experience?
Truth was, he hadn’t really given it a huge amount of thought. It would be something to be navigated with politeness and almost zero personal participation, over in the blink of an eye and duly put on the back burner.
But something had got to him. Father Giovanni had moved him, and he wasn’t sure he’d liked that. It had taken him by surprise, which was something else he’d never had much time for.
‘I never saw myself as a father of many children,’ he mused with a grin. ‘How many is many, I wonder. Football team? Bigger? Maybe I should have delved deeper into that particular aspect of the blessing.’
‘I was actually being serious.’