“They grow so fast,” Suzy says as she grabs on to her husband’s thick bicep. “Right, honey?”
Joe glances down at his wife, and the annoyance at his daughter virtually melts away. “Too fast, sugar,” he says softly.
“Give me the phone, Giovanna,” Maria, her grandmother, says and holds out her hand. “He can talk to you later. Tell him goodbye and hand it over. This is family time.”
Gigi doesn’t sass her grandmother as she types furiously on the tiny screen while we all watch. Within seconds, the phone is in her grandmother’s hand and everyone seems happy except Gigi.
My eyes move beyond Joe and Suzy to the largest cousin, who’s holding his wife’s hand like it’s a lifeline. He makes everyone in the room seem ridiculously small, as if they could be part of the supporting cast of the Wizard of Oz. “Mia and I are over the moon for you two.” He smiles, and I melt a little. “This is our daughter, Lily, and our son, Stone.”
I try to memorize the names and faces, but Lord help me, there’s so many of them. I know I’ll never get them all right. At least not today. The hangover is too strong, even after downing more pills than I care to remember.
I hug Mike and then Mia. “It’s a lot to process, sweetie. I know,” Mia says like she’s reading my mind. “We’re like a small army.”
I laugh at her words and the truthfulness in them. One by one, I’m reintroduced to every cousin from Florida along with their children. There’re more than twenty of them, and my head’s almost spinning as their names are rattled off so quickly, I almost want to ask for them to wear name tags.
“You’re staying in the city the entire week, right?” Angelo asks Anthony.
“All week, man. We want to show the kids where we grew up. Show them our old stomping grounds.”
This puts a smile on my husband’s face. “I’m happy you guys are sticking around. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
Thomas pulls Angel tightly against him in typical Gallo fashion as they step forward, and Mike and Mia wander toward the bar. “This is our son, Nick.”
I bend down, coming eye to eye with the spitting image of his father. He has the same intensity in his eyes. “It’s wonderful to meet you.” That’s a phrase I’ve repeated more than once tonight, and based on the length of the receiving line, I’m not done saying it either.
“You too,” the boy says, reaching for my hand and kissing it because he’s a Gallo and was raised to make every woman swoon, no matter how young or old.
“Ma’am,” James says, dipping his chin but making no moves to embrace me like the rest of the family. “Congratulations and welcome to the family.”
“Thank you.” I move closer to Angelo and wrap my arm around his back. “You’re a lot to take in.”
Izzy laughs. “We travel as a pack. Add in the children, and we become a small horde.” Her gaze moves to the three younger men standing near her side. “These are our children, Trace—” she points to the smallest boy for a moment “—and the twins, Carmello and Rocco.”
They’re clones of their father, only smaller. Handsome in their black suits with perfect posture and an air of power about them even at their young age.
Max is standing at Izzy’s side with Anthony on one arm and her children in front of her. “This is Asher and Tamara, our bundles of joy.”
The kids look up and wave, their beautiful faces covered in smiles.
“Well, aren’t you just the cutest darn things.”
They glow at my praise. All the kids, every damn one of them, is more beautiful than the next. Perfect mixes of their parents’ genes and somehow more stunning.
I’m not sure the world is ready for the next generation of Gallos.
“Your dress is on point,” Max says to me. “It’s absolute perfection on your body.”
“Thank you.”
I will never confess I tried on at least fifty dresses before finally settling on this one. I tried not to go over the top since this is my second wedding. I tried to keep things simple, but everything I put on my body looked too plain. Betty and the girls convinced me to “go big or go home.”
“Let’s find our tables and let the newlyweds finish greeting the guests. We have all week to catch up,” Sal says as he stands off to the side with Maria on his arm.
Angelo leans over and places his mouth near my ear, “Overwhelmed?”
I turn my face, and our lips are so close, I have to stop myself from kissing him. “Just a little,” I whisper.
“By the end of the week, I swear you’ll have everyone memorized.”
