"I'm so fucking happy for you both, son!" he said, smacking my cheek lightly. Yeah, I got my foul mouth from him. "You did good, kid."
My mom and Colleen were huddled with Allie as they all looked at her ring and cried. Steve clasped my hand, and we didthe one-armed man-hug thing. He smiled and welcomed me to the family, before reminding me with a mock frown that Allie had better be sleeping in her own room until we actually tie the knot. I laughed and then bent to hug my Nonna, who was beaming ear-to-ear.
"Your Nonno would have been so damned proud of you, Nico. He would have loved your Allie, and Gracie would have wrapped him around her little finger. I'm happy for you. Thank you for bringing those two angels into our lives."
At the sight of the tears in her eyes, I felt my own well up a little. I gave her another big hug and kissed her cheek. "I love you, Nonna, and I can only hope that Allie and I are half as happy as you and Nonno always were."
With a final squeeze, she released me and stepped back. Before she walked away, she wagged her finger in my face and said "Whatever you do, don't screw this up. If you do, fall to your knees and apologize and don't do it again."
Once everyone had congratulated us and exclaimed over the ring, it was time to eat. Our parents, Aunt Ellen and Nonna were sitting huddled together at a nearby table, planning the wedding if I had to guess. Everyone else was spread amongst the other tables, leaving Allie, Gracie, and me to have a table to ourselves. We had told Gracie about our engagement the night before, and she'd taken it in stride. She was excited about the wedding, mainly because she wanted to "wear a princess dress and be the flower girl." I hadn't said anything to Allie yet about adopting Gracie, but I knew I would work up the nerve soon.
I had music playing on the outdoor speakers, and Gracie was bobbing her head in time to the beat while she ate her cheeseburger. Once we all finished eating and desserts werebrought out, we all mingled and nibbled our way through the goodies. By this point, Matt, Tony,Josh, and James had joined us, and Gracie was dancing around next to the table. Her ears perked up when a familiar song started to play. I'd been trying to teach her the words to Stairway to Heaven, which had been one of Alex's favorite songs. It was one of mine, too. As with most songs, Gracie tended to sing what she heard, not matter how many times we tried to tell her the correct words.
"There's a lady who's short, all the chickens are cold, and she's high on a stairway to heaven," she belted out in perfect time along with Robert Plant. Matt's jaw fell open, Tony snorted, Josh chuckled, and James choked on his beer as they heard Gracie's version. She continued on, humming along in parts she didn't know, and making up her own lyrics for most of the rest. She grinned at their reactions, thrilled to be the center of attention.
We were all laughing and cheering her on, and Tony piped up "I can't wait to hear what she does about the 'bustle in hedgerow' line."
"There's a muscle in your head, yo," I deadpanned.
Matt, Josh, and Tony howled, and James almost fell out of his chair laughing. Luckily, Tony grabbed his arm and steadied him at the last moment. Allie and I grinned at each other and shared a look. We'd had the same reaction the first time we heard her sing it, too.
By the time the song ended, Gracie had stopped dancing and was just spinning instead. After a few moments, she clutched her stomach and whined, "I'd better stop or I'm gonna fwow up."
"I'm going to throw up," I corrected gently.
"You're gonna fwow up, too?" she asked, seeming more excited by the prospect than I thought she really should be. "Why you gonna fwow up? Are you sick?" She called out to Allie, who was now talking with Nonna a few feet away, "Mommy, Uncle Nico's sick. He's gonna fwow up!"
Allie stopped talking and turned around, looking at me with concern. She walked over to us and reached up to touch the back of her hand to my forehead. "You don't seem hot," she said, looking me over closely for signs of this sudden mystery ailment.
I shot her a cocky grin "That's not what you said last night...twice." She huffed out a quick laugh and rolled her eyes at me, a faint blush crossing her cheeks. "Uncle Nico will be just fine, Gracie-girl."
Nonna, who had walked over to shamelessly listen in, decided to weigh in on the matter. "If he's anything like his grandfather was, you're both doing more than fine after a couple of rounds of mattress mambo."
She waggled her eyebrows at Allie and nudged me with her elbow like we were frat boys sharing locker room stories. No. Oh nonononono. Not just no, but hell no. I don't think I can ever unhear the phrase mattress mambo, and I'm gonna need a gallon or three of brain bleach to wipe out mental image of my grandparents having...ugh...no, just no. I gave a full-body shudder. I think I really might throw up now.
Allie, the traitor, threw her head back and laughed, then wrapped an arm around Nonna's shoulder. She leaned her head close to Nonna's and I heard her say, "if your husband was anything like Nico, then you were a lucky woman indeed." My chest puffed out with pride for a split second with the confirmation from Allie that I can satisfy her so well, untilI realized that she was comparing my sexual prowess to my Nonno's. Shit, now there's a boner killer.
By the end of the night, everyone ended up carpooling to get home as they'd celebrated a little too much. Tony, who rarely drank much, had driven a tipsy James home, Emma, sober because she was still breast-feeding, drove for her, Scott, Hannah and Dean, and Michael dropped off Josh and Min at her place before driving Lana home. Becca had volunteered to drive a very drunken Matt home, threatening him with great bodily harm if he puked in her car, and my mom and Colleen were driving the dads, Nonna and Aunt Ellen. Colleen and Steve had arranged earlier for Gracie to spend the night with them, and we would pick her up once they got home from church.
"I had planned on finishing what we started in the kitchen this morning since we have the house to ourselves, but I don't think I have the energy, Sunshine," I said with a wide yawn as I climbed into bed. She was already there, looking half-asleep.
"Me, too, but I expect you to make it up to me in the morning, honey." I pulled her close to me, kissing the top of her head and falling asleep within moments.
