‘Yep, take a seat in my parlour.’ I pointed to the face-painting chair and grabbed some toner. ‘Sorry that it’s not quite the getting-ready-together love-in I’d imagined, but it’ll have to do. Hols! I’m doing make-up over here if you want some!’ I shouted, while Mia chose her colours.
Holly squealed and ran over. ‘Yesss! Can I be pink?’
‘You can. Pale or shocking?’
‘Shocking, of course.’
‘Sounds about right,’ I said, with a grin.
‘Can I have some too?’ Tony asked.
‘Of course! I’ll do you after Holly. Choose a colour.’
Mia handed me the red glitter, which was rich and glossy, and the perfect contrast to her pale blue dress. She sat down and held her hair off her face.
‘Go for it,’ she said, closing her eyes.
I couldn’t resist brushing on a small swipe of strobe cream to highlight her amazing cheekbones, then I painted a thin navy eyeliner into an elegant point on each side and feathered the glitter around the edges of her eyes. ‘Shall I pop you on some lashes as well?’
Mia hesitated. ‘I’m not sure… I haven’t ever tried them before. But… well, yes, if you think so?’
‘You can always peel them off if you don’t like them, but they’ll frame your eyes nicely.’
‘OK,’ she said, tilting her face towards me. A couple of dots of eyelash glue, thirty seconds for optimum tackiness, and she was done. Her doll-like face transformed for the party with an elegant, sparkly look. Mia opened her eyes, and I handed her a mirror. She frowned at first, doing a double take, then looked a little closer.
‘Abi? How is this possible? I can’t even believe it’s me! I love it! And the extra eyelashes,’ she said, batting them at herself to get used to them. ‘Thank you!’
‘My pleasure. They really suit you.’
She blushed, delighted with her party face, and switched places with Holly.
‘Just a tiny bit for me, please,’ Holly said, as I added a double pop of pink to her cheeks. I knew Holly’s face almost as well as my own, so she was easy to do. The colour-clash of bright pink with her red hair felt fresh and I added a smoky eye to complete the look. Then it was Tony’s turn. He sat down with the blue and black glitters, ready to be made up.
‘Good choice,’ I said, sweeping his face with cotton wool. ‘Sparkly and fun but with a serious tone.’
‘Exactly,’ he said, a smile on his lips. ‘Party-time meets professional.’
‘Where do you want it?’
‘Wherever you think.’
He closed his eyes as I cleansed and toned, peaceful and trusting, the two of us inches from each other. There was total quiet as I worked, giving him a sharp, sparkly V around each eye. His skin was tanned and warm, with just the right amount of stubble, his lips always ready to smile. I felt myself getting giddy as I stroked the glitter glue onto his face. As if I might be tempted to lean over and kiss him.NO, Abi!
‘I’ve gone for a relaxed kind of Zorro vibe.’ Tony opened his eyes and I stood back to assess my work, scanning his face in case another touch was needed. I nodded and held up the mirror for him to see. ‘Looks really good.’
‘It does!’ he said, admiring himself from both sides. ‘Very cool… thanks!’
‘Anytime,’ I said with a smile.
Mia’s alarm went off, bringing us back to the moment. ‘It is 3 p.m.,’ she called, looking at her phone. ‘Xavier? Holly? Are you ready to go?’ They both nodded. Mia did a quick lap around the other stallholders to check everyone was happy, then gave us a big thumbs up.
‘Time for the party to begin!’ Paolo announced proudly.
Tony jogged down the driveway to open the gate onto the main road. There was already a queue of people waiting and he looked like the Pied Piper as he led the first few revellers up the path towards the farmhouse. The band kicked off a jazzy tune, a jaunty violin solo, followed by the guitar and cello, and a lady in a long green dress started singing ‘Volare’. Cars were pulling into the drive and Gino was directing the parking, as guests wandered up, bought drinks, and settled into the party. Once the initial flurry was over, Paolo took the microphone from the singer and stood on his one good leg to address the crowd.
‘Friends, neighbours, and guests, from here, near and far, welcome to our annual summer party to celebrate the Vendemmia,’ he said, and everyone cheered. ‘I will speak in English as we have lots of visitors from the UK with us today.’ Well, that was a relief. ‘We had to start the Vendemmia slightly earlier than usual this year, due to the heatwave, and I want to say a big thank you to everyone who helped, while I was er…’ he pointed at his arm and leg in plaster ‘…indisposed.’ Everyone cheered and clapped again. Mia gave me a squeeze and Tony and I exchanged a proud look across the crowd.
‘We want you to enjoy the food and drink on offer. We have many chef and vintner friends here to give you lots of options to choose from. We also have face-painting this year courtesy of the wonderful Abigail Mason.’ Paolo pointed over at me and beamed as I gave a little wave. ‘But before we officially start the party, we want to share something very special with you all. My wife, Mia, and I, have been blessed to have my brother, Tony, staying with us for the past few weeks.’ He gestured towards Tony, who blew him a kiss. ‘There is nothing better than having family close by, especially as we lost ourmammalast year. Tony has been working to reimagineVigneto Almagno, and has produced a short film which will be shown for the very first time today. Tony…? Would you like to say a few words?’ Paolo handed him the microphone and started clapping, as the rest of the party joined in.
