Page 80 of Italy and Forever

‘Oh, is that Ginny’s?’ Toni gestured to his wrist, where his cuffs had ridden up to reveal the beige-striped hair tie she’d slipped over his hand the other night. Heat bloomed in his cheeks.

‘Uh…’

‘I’m sure I’ve seen her wearing this type. Did she drop it somewhere?’

‘Yes,’ he answered quickly. ‘I found it and… Oh, I didn’t realise it was hers. I can give it back when I see her.’ That would be a better idea than wearing it on his wrist until it fell to pieces, which was what he’d been planning to do.

It was just a hair tie, damn it.

‘Good evening, everyone! Hello again.’

‘There,’ Toni said, gesturing to where Ginny had appeared by the door. ‘I thought you wouldn’t be able to miss her.’

He never seemed to be able to. But when he left…

‘Welcome to the Castello di Brunico – Schloss Bruneck. Built by the bishops of Brixen many centuries ago, this building is now a museum dedicated to the cultures of mountain people across the world, a subject I’m sure you can all ask Andreas more about over dinner. If you’d like to come through, it’s nearly time for the speeches.’

This was professional Ginny, polished and confident, but as she stepped aside to allow others ahead of her, he saw it again – something in the set of her shoulders. Perhaps she was nervous about her speech? That didn’t seem to track with what he knew of her.

The dinner tables were set up in an ornate state room with white stucco and gold detailing. The slanted rays of the evening sun illuminated the recessed windows, boosted by soft light from the brass chandeliers.

Rhys switched the Sony’s battery and tried out a few aperture settings, testing different places to stand as the natural light faded. Ginny was busy talking to a woman in a black service uniform. Now was definitely not the time to ask her if anything was wrong – or if she wanted to meet to go through the photos when they were back in England.

It wasn’t long before the guests had taken their seats and the bride and groom arrived to a welcome of cheering and applause. Rhys marvelled once more at how relaxed Andreas looked. His old friend wasn’t a fan of crowds either, but with his hand clamped around Sophie’s, the ring on his finger, he was sanguine and quietly content. Rhys could see it in his body language and hoped the transformation had been captured in the photos.

Andreas stood to welcome the guests. ‘I won’t bore you with a long speech, especially because most of you heard me sacrificing my dignity before the ceremony. Besides, the important bit is done. We’ll hand over the stage to the rest of you, since apparently people have something to say that everybody needs to hear.’

Rhys wasn’t sure if he was being intentionally funny or just his usual self, but his short welcome went down well.

Petra and Oswald delivered a speech together, translating for each other into English. Sophie’s mother also kept hers short and sweet, tissue at the ready. Instead of a formal speech, Willard told the story of his first summit with Andreas, the Dufourspitze on the Swiss-Italian border. Then it was Ginny’s turn.

The little details of her were familiar through his viewfinder. He noticed her throat bob and a slight tremor in her hands as she clutched her tablet. Her gaze darted to him and held there. It made his hair stand on end, to have her see him through the camera. He was her subject as she was his.

Then she lifted her chin, looked up and out at the gathered guests and started to speak.

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‘When I was writing this speech, I thought of myself as some kind of avenger,’ she began with a self-deprecating tilt of her head, sharing the titter of laughter in the crowd.

Rhys wanted to put his camera down and just watch, experience what this moment could be without distancing himself from it.

‘I would be the defender of sentimentality,’ she continued drily, ‘reminding the guests – and my colleagues at Great Heart Adventures – that love is something to be earnestly celebrated and ardently wished for.

‘You know Plato told a story that said humans used to have four arms, four legs and two faces. But these superhumans were too fast, so the god Zeus split them in half to weaken them. The result was that all humans longed for their other half, continually searching for the one who completes them.’

She left a pause for the guests to glance indulgently at Sophie and Andreas.

‘But in truth, Plato didn’t mean that at all. He gave those words to a character, a fictionalised version of the playwright of Greek comedies, Aristophanes. And Plato was in fact making fun of this point of view, which just makes me realise that the teasing between I Do and Great Heart is part of literal millennia of banter about love and relationships.’

Rhys stared at her, a smile taking hold of his mouth, completely out of his control. She was charming and clever and gentle and half the room was probably in love with her as well.

‘The scene where Aristophanes tells this story is basically one big piss-up and he spends far too long explaining how the sexual organs were initially in the wrong place so these pitiful people had to make babies with the grass instead of each other, which I think gives you the tone of this supposedly sentimental speech about soulmates.’

She glanced at Sophie with a wicked smile, her stud twinkling in the soft lighting.

‘Now Sophie’s panicking, wondering what I’m going to say, but don’t worry. I’m still not going to make any ball-and-chain jokes. Although I didn’t mind this one Lucas told me: Marriage is like a long bath – if you keep it warm, you can stay in until you’re wrinkly.’

Looking down at her notes as the wedding guests chuckled, she rubbed her hands together nervously before continuing.