17
Lucia
On the ride to the church, my mind was preoccupied by the expression on Romeo’s face, which could only be considered ironic. Here I was out in the world again for the first time in months, and the thing I worried about most was the state of the man who’d captured me. The man I’d hated. The man I now cared more about than I would’ve ever thought possible or advisable. Yet, I couldn’t deny that while parts of my life had spiraled down the drain by being with him, other parts were better satisfied than I had imagined they ever could be.
Santa Mariahelp me, but I wanted Romeo. I needed him, needed all the light within him and some of his darkness also. And I’d come to discover that he needed me.
Throughout this past month, I’d be able to visit my sisters, and I’d been so relieved. They’d both been fine and had visited one another due to a reason I never would’ve suspected. Marcello and Savio. Romeo’s brothers had begun to show interest in the twins, Marcello with Chiara and Savio with Alessandra. And they’d each been sneaking around and letting Chiara and Alessandra be together. I wondered just how involved my sisters were with the brothers, but each of them proved to be exceedingly tight-lipped about the matter.
For better or for worse, the three of us Bonifacio women had been targeted by the three Cavetti men. I just hoped that none of it would ultimately end in heartache.
While there was a lot of activity taking place at the church’s altar, the rooms further back—rooms that during the weekdays were used as classrooms—were mostly abandoned. The only people I saw as we came holding garment bags, cosmetics, and toiletries, were the nuns who likely taught there at the school.
Because we only had an hour before the ceremony was to take place, all of us flurried about to get ready. We assisted one another with our makeup and hair, but just before I started to put on my dress, my stomach clenched in an uncomfortable way and I had to run to the restroom. Due to everyone being so near, they heard what I’d done. As soon as I came out, my siblings pounced on me like lionesses.
“You’re shaking like a leaf, sit down,” Alessandra told me.
“You’re so pale, too,” Chiara added.
“I’m fine. I’ll be just fine,” I assured them.
“It’s probably because it’s such a big day. Are you feeling nervous? It’s normal if you do,” Alessandra babbled, she’d always been the most talkative of the two, of all of us, really. “Maybe it’s cold feet.”
“It’s not cold feet,” I told her, setting a hand on her arm. “I haven’t been able to keep much down lately, that’s all.”
It was then that the twins caught on to the subtext of what I was saying. Philippa seemed to catch on, as well. All of them stared at me, Chiara and Alessandra with their identical gray eyes and the maid with her dark brown. It was Philippa who dared ask the question first.
“Signorina, are youincinte?”
“I believe so.”
Chiara seized my arm and brought me to a nearby cushioned chair so I could sit down. “You’re not sure?”
“I haven’t told anyone and haven’t had access to a doctor. I’m two weeks late, though.”
Alessandra looked thrilled while Chiara seemed frightened. “Too bad you can’t confirm it before you take your vows,” Alessandra mused out loud, but then, she cut herself off. “Well, maybe you can. There’s a pharmacy down the block…” But then, she fell silent. Despite what was happening today, my freedom had remained limited, and I was certain theirs had, as well.
“I will go,” Philippa volunteered out of the blue.
“You will?” I asked her.
“Oh, yes,signorina. This is tooimportanteto wait.”
Chiara glanced at an old clock with roman numerals on the wall. “We only have thirty minutes till the ceremony.”
But the maid had already headed for the door. “I will hurry.”
Suddenly, my eyes stung, and I reached for my sisters. “I’m so glad you’re both here with me today.” There were sniffles as we each struggled with our emotions for a moment. It was Alessandra who broke us out of it.
“No, we have to stop this. You’ll ruin your face, and you’re so gorgeous right now.”
“Thank you,” I whispered to her, hugging her even harder.
Then, perhaps because Philippa had left us alone, she murmured another question. “Are you safe, Lucia? Is he treating you well?”
At another time in my life, I might’ve hidden the truth from my younger sisters. But after all that we’d endured to this point, I saw no reason to sugar coat it. “I was frightened at first. He was so… callous sometimes. And… he wasn’t as gentle as he could’ve been early on.” I felt heat rise to my complexion, and I couldn’t quite admit to the fact that I’d liked the roughness of his hands on me. I still did, though I didn’t welcome it as much considering my possible condition. “But that’s changed. I think he cares about me. Genuinely. I think it’s going to be okay.”
The truth we’d all come to realize the older we’d become was that none of our lives were guaranteed to be long. It was part and parcel of being a member of our family’s lifestyles. The ugliness of our parent’s deaths had only served to remind us of this.
