Chapter Thirty-Two

ANNIE DREAMED HER father arrived in the night, and when she woke up on her wedding day, while Janice and Lindy lay sleeping in their beds, she dressed and went to the hotel reception, sure it was more than a dream.

“No, I’m sorry,” the clerk said again, and Annie felt more than a little pity in the kind eyes of the middle-aged man.

She smiled and said, “Could you call my phone if he does arrive?”

“Si, but your fiancé has already requested the same. Should I call both?”

“Oh no, his phone is fine, thank you.” Put it out of your mind. He’s not coming.

Someone knocked at the door while she put on her makeup, lifting her hopes one last time.

“You’re not supposed to see her,” Lindy said.

“Only a minute.” Jake’s voice.

“Okay, but only because she’s not in her dress yet.”

“No hanky-panky while we’re gone,” Janice warned.

Lindy and Janice left them alone. Annie knew what he had come to say by the look on his face.

“He’s not coming,” she said.

Jake’s eyes were full of sympathy. “No, he’s not coming.”

Annie tried to hold it back, but she burst into tears when Jake pulled her to his chest. She cried for a while and then silently listened to his heartbeat, drawing comfort from his body. She pulled back to look at Jake.

“You talked to him?”

“He called me,” Jake admitted.

“After all my calls went unanswered.”

“We talked for a long time,” Jake said.

“He was drinking, I’m sure.”

“Probably.”

“What’s his excuse?”

“He didn’t offer anything.”

“Well, that’s new,” Annie said and blew her nose with the tissue Jake handed her. “Usually there’s some cock-and-bull story that he’s made up.”

“He said he’s not worthy to walk you down the aisle. He hasn’t earned the right.”

“No, he hasn’t earned the right. I wanted to give it to him anyway because he is my father. He hasn’t earned anything. This was a gift I wanted to give him, to grant him the right to be my father for one day in the eyes of God and all our friends. Somehow, he manages to diminish the pain he inflicts on others, and make it about himself. It’s always about him.”

“You have every right to be angry.”

Annie slumped into the chair by the fireplace. “I don’t want to be angry. This is my wedding day and I want to be—no, I am—happy.”

“That’s right. Let’s not allow him to take that happiness away from you today.” He held her face in both his hands and kissed her gently on the lips.

***

“Good grief, you’re a mess,” Janice said after Jake left.

“We need to do your makeup all over,” Lindy said.

“Is it that bad?”

Her two friends peered at her as if they were threading a needle. “It’s bad,” Janice said.

“I’ve got some of that yellow cream that takes away dark circles,” Lindy offered.

“Grab it. I’ll start on the hair,” Janice ordered.

“Sorry about your dad,” Lindy said as she began working the cream under Annie’s eyes.

“Me too, but it’s his loss. No offense, Annie, but what a jerk.”

“None taken.”

“Beulah’s fit to be tied,” Lindy said.

“I bet she is,” Annie said. “This is not her first rodeo with him. It makes me realize the disappointment my mother and grandmother must have experienced, over and over again.”

There was a knock and the door cracked open.

“Can we come in?” Beulah was standing on the threshold with Evelyn behind her.

“Sure,” Lindy called over her shoulder.

“How are you?” Beulah asked.

Annie reached for her grandmother’s hand. “I’m fine. Disappointed, but fine. It’s not going to ruin this day. You all look beautiful.” Evelyn was dressed in pale blue; Beulah wore light peach.

Beulah squeezed her hand and sat down in the chair beside her while Lindy and Janice continued to work.

“I can’t believe Jo Anne’s little girl is getting married,” Beulah said, getting choked up. “She would have been so proud of the young woman you’ve become.”

“No crying, people,” Janice said, and put both hands up as if to stop traffic. They all burst into laughter.

***

Lindy left with Evelyn and Beulah after putting the finishing touches on Annie’s makeup.

“Can you pin this on?” Annie said, handing the cameo to Janice. “Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue,” Annie said. “I’ve got everything but the something new.”

“What about your shoes?”

“They’re new. I showed Betty a few options and let her choose so she’d feel included.”

“Then you’re good to go,” Janice concluded.

“Janice, thank you. If you hadn’t been so honest with me, I doubt I’d be here today.”

Janice shrugged. “You’ve been a good friend to me, Annie Taylor. That’s what friends do, if they love each other.” Janice pursed her lips as if to push back emotion. “Now, let’s stop all this jabber and get to the chapel. You look great and it’s time.”

Vincenzo was waiting outside to drive them up the hill.

“Ciao bella, cara la mia Annie,” Vincenzo said and kissed her on both cheeks before helping her into the back seat with Janice.

“I must tell you something now,” Vincenzo said, turning around to face her in the back seat. “Papà is well loved in Montefollonico. He help many people over the years. Many people want to show him respect. It became too much.”

What was he saying? She looked to Janice for explanation, but her head was turned, as if she found something interesting outside the car window.

“What has happened to papà with finding his family, it has been a happy thing, not only for us, but for the whole village because papà is loved.”

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at.” Vincenzo started the engine and drove out of the hotel parking lot.

“You see soon,” Vincenzo said.

Janice picked at her fingernails. When the car turned into the town square, people crowded along the sides of the street, as if watching a parade. They pointed, smiled, and waved at the car as it inched along.

“What’s going on?” Annie asked, as she waved back.

No one answered and she kept waving as the street narrowed when they approached the chapel.

Vincenzo stopped the car and helped her out. The chapel doors opened wide with Lindy on one side and Paola on the other. The chapel was packed tight with people who sat and stood wherever space permitted.

Understanding washed over her and she turned to Vincenzo.

“You see, not intimate wedding you wanted. They wouldn’t allow it,” Vincenzo said.

Annie kissed her cousin on both cheeks. “I’m very happy.”

“Did you know about this?” she whispered to Janice as they approached the doors to the chapel.

“I heard about it today when I heard one of the townspeople speak about it in Italian,” Janice whispered back. “The Gianellis didn’t have a choice.”

Paola greeted them at the door. “I am sorry, Annie, did Vincenzo explain?”

After getting over the initial shock, Annie found it touching that so many people wanted to celebrate with her extended family. “It’s beyond anything I could have imagined.”

“Are you ready to begin?”

“I need a papà first. Please ask Benito if he would be my escort down the aisle?”