Chapter 20
Twenty
MARISSA
“ W e’re sure this is a good idea?” I ask, as I drop down onto Luca’s sofa for the umpteenth time in five minutes.
“Yes, it is,” Luca reassures me. “We want Chiara and Angelo to know, and hopefully support us. This is as good a time as any.”
I don’t know how he can be so calm about everything. I’ve been a ball of nerves and excitement, ever since I said yes to his proposal. All of my friends know, but not telling my family has been harder than I expected it to be. When I’m at home or the restaurant, I have to wear my engagement ring on a chain around my neck, tucked under my shirt, so no one sees it.
“And they’re both coming?” I ask.
“Yes, they’re both coming,” Luca says. “Actually, they should be here any minute.”
I press my hands to the sides of my face. My cheeks feel warm, and part of me wants to throw up, but more than anything, I’m excited. Hopefully, my sister sees how happy I am, and she’ll give me her support. If not…well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, but hopefully I won’t have to.
There is a knock at the door, and Luca jumps up to answer it. Chiara and Angelo are standing in the hallway outside Luca’s apartment, looking at each other somewhat warily. Luca gestures for them both to come inside. Once in, Chiara makes a beeline for me. She gives me a quick hug and then sits down on the recliner. Angelo lopes in slowly and drops down on the bean bag next to the TV.
“Thank you both for coming,” I say. “We have something that we want to share with you.”
Luca sits down on the couch next to me, and takes my hand in his. “We do,” he agrees.
“This had better be good,” Chiara says. “It was super hard to get away from the restaurant today. And now I’m here with him ,” she glares as Angelo then rolls her eyes and sighs.
“Hey, what did I do?” Angelo protests.
Chiara gives him a look that would make even the bravest among us shrivel up. “Like I need to get back into all of that ?” she says.
“Okay, sure, but I said I was sorry for that. And I haven’t done anything to you today,” Angelo says.
Rolling her eyes, Chiara says, “So, what is it? Let’s get on with things.”
My stomach tightens into a knot. My sister can be abrasive at times, but I’m not sure she means it. This is just how she handles stress. Her attitude will not make it harder for me to share my good news. I’m too excited to let her burst my bubble. Luca squeezes my hand, and I squeeze back.
“Chill out ,” Angelo says. “Let them tell us at their own pace.”
“Don’t tell me to chill out,” Chiara snaps.
“Guys, seriously, please, can you get along for five minutes? For my sake?” I plead.
“Fine,” Chiara grumbles.
“Sure,” Angelo says.
“Right, so our news,” Luca begins.
“Is that we’re engaged!” I finish, holding up my left hand to show off the engagement ring.
“ What ?!” Chiara and Angelo say in unison.
“We’re engaged,” Luca says. “And we’re going to elope.”
There is a long, tense silence that follows. I’m not sure what I thought would happen, but this isn’t it. I thought Chiara might yell at me, tell me that I’m being stupid or impulsive, but - silence ? This, I did not expect.
Finally, Chiara lets out a long breath. “Okay,” she says. I can tell that she’s trying to stay calm. “Okay. You are engaged. Marissa, sweetie, you know how much I love you, but… engaged ? To our rival’s son ?”
“You sound like Dad,” I say. “Luca isn’t my rival. I love him, and I want to marry him.”
“Okay,” Chiara says again. “But… eloping ?”
“Yes,” I say. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Have you thought about how much it will hurt Mom and Dad not to be at your wedding?” Chiara asks. “If you think the rift is bad between our families now, what will it be like after you elope?”
I hadn’t thought of that exactly. Sinking back into the couch, I frown at her, but I can’t think of anything to say in response. Luca squeezes my hand again. I squeeze back and hang on as if for dear life.
“I hate to say that I agree with Chiara, but I kind of do,” Angelo says. “I mean, have you thought about the long term consequences of eloping?”
“What are you going on about?” Luca asks.
“I think Chiara is right about the rift getting worse. Eloping might solve your problem now, but you really might regret your actions in the future,” Angelo says.
Even though Luca’s brother doesn’t have the best track record for being grounded in reality, what he says does actually seem to make sense. I cast a sideways glance at Luca, and I wonder if he’s having second thoughts about our plan. Am I? I can’t tell. What both Chiara and Angelo are saying has merit, but I still feel deep down that we’ll be better off if we elope. I think.
“I understand where you’re both coming from,” Luca says slowly. “But quite frankly, we didn’t invite you here to give us advice. We hoped that you would be happy for us and support us. We wanted to tell someone in each of our families, and we chose the two of you. We know that our parents will miss out on an important day for us, but that’s something that they will have to grapple with.”
“Yes,” I chime in. “It’s heartbreaking that they won’t be there, but the reality is that we want to get married, and we have every right to do so. It doesn’t mean that we love our families any less, but that we love each other more. And we don’t want this stupid feud to ruin things for us!” I can feel my heart pounding inside my chest.
‘We still hope that you can support us,” Luca says.
Chiara and Angelo exchange glances. I feel the knot in my stomach tighten. There was always going to be a risk involved, telling our respective siblings about our relationship. Either one of them could spill the beans before we are ready to, and there would be nothing that we could do about that. Even acknowledging that fact makes me feel bad. It also makes me realize that our decision is more important to me than ever.
“I do support you,” Chiara says at last. “I’m sorry if that came off as harsh. Congratulations, of course.”
“Well, I support you, too,” Angelo says. He seems to have some sort of weird rivalry with my sister, even though it can’t be very real. They’ve only met once.
“Thanks,” I say. “We both appreciate that.”
“We do,” Luca agrees. “In fact, there is something else that we want to talk to you both about.”
“What’s that?” Angelo asks. He seems suspicious. I think I need to get to know my future brother-in-law better, so I can read his emotions. Right now, I think that I’m just seeing a reflection of the anxiety that I feel inside.
“We’d like the two of you to stand up and be witnesses for our ceremony,” Luca says.
Again, Chiara and Angelo look at each other. “I don’t know,” Chiara says. “That seems like it crosses a line.”
Tears flood my eyes. “We just want to have some family there with us,” I say. “But I understand if you don’t feel like you can do it.”
“No, no,” Chiara says quickly. “I’ll be there. Of course, I’ll be there. I don’t even know what I’m saying. Don’t cry! This is a happy thing! You can count on me, Sis!”
“I’ll be there, too,” Angelo says.
“Thank you,” Luca says, putting his arm around me and drawing me close. I feel safer in the circle of his arms.
My sister and Angelo both still look vaguely uncomfortable, and a silence falls over all of us again. This time, though, I don’t rush to break the silence. I’m happy with the outcome of this little meeting. Even if they aren’t fully on board, they’re supporting us, and for now, that’s all I need.