Nonno and Nonna
“Zorah!” Dagoberto noticed her before anyone else did and he was up from his seat and rounding the table to pull her into a hug. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m so glad you decided to join us. You look beautiful, my dear.”
“Thank you.” She looked down sheepishly at the white sundress she’d pulled from the closet.
“Have you rested well today?”
“I did thank you.”
“You and I will have a little chat later where I grovel, no?” he patted her cheek softly.
Avaline kissed her cheek, “thank you for coming for dinner.”
“I thought there would be more people.” Aside from Avaline and Dagoberto, only another couple was seated. Icaro leaned against a pillar and was watching her cautiously as if afraid to approach.
“Family dinners are usually only the family of each estate. Once or twice a week we’ll get together for a bigger dinner with brothers, cousins, and the like,” Dagoberto explained, “come I want to introduce you to someone very important.”
Zorah expected Dagoberto to take her to the man slowly rising from his chair but instead he took her to the elegant woman whose dark hair, peppered with silver strands, was twisted in a long braid over her shoulder. Her dark eyes were bright and happy as she got up to grip Zorah’s hands in hers.
“Zorah, this is my Mama, Elisabeta Lucchesi,” Dagoberto’s voice was reverent and gentle. “Mama, this is Icaro’s wife, Zorah.”
“Hello Zorah. You can call me Nonna. I am so happy to finally meet you. I understand you’ve endured a rough few days. You sit beside me, and I will keep you safe from their silliness.”
Zorah smiled at the woman’s gentle words. Her demeanor was soft, missing the edge Avaline showed. “Thank you.”
“Zorah,” a warm but gruff voice called her from the side, “come let me see my new granddaughter.”
She turned to look at the man and knew without a doubt she was looking at an image of how Icaro would look in fifty years. Emilio was still, even with his grey hair, deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and mouth and obvious appearance of a man who’d lived a lot in his years, an incredibly attractive man. With his posture, there was a rigid strength to him. While she knew from Icaro, Emilio was once quite ill. nothing about this man spoke to being defeated.
“Zorah, may I introduce you to my father, Franco Lucchesi.”
“It is a genuine pleasure to meet you, my darling,” he kissed both of her cheeks warmly and drew her into a tight hug.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” she offered a shy smile at his overt display of affection.
“You will call me Nonno, child. I may no longer be the titular Don of this family following my illness, but my word remains law. If you want me to put some sense into the boys, you let me know. I have a slew of punishments at the ready. Only today I made Icaro clean out the barn.”
“Smelly work,” Icaro finally chimed in.
“Why? Why did you put him to work in the barn?”
“Because he was stupid and hurt his bride’s feelings, scared her and made her feel she was at risk.” Nonno Lucchesi didn’t pull any punches, “and when I asked him if actually apologized for his bullshit, he admitted he had not. Next time he forgets to appreciate you and apologize for his errors, he will have the scent of horse and sheep shit in his nostrils to remind him.”
She couldn’t help herself and she giggled at his words. She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek, “thank you, Nonno. I appreciate the effort.”
He patted her hand and made wide eyes of reproach at Icaro, “see boy, this is how you take care of a Lucchesi bride. None of your macho bullshit telling her to toughen up.”
“I told you Nonno,” Icaro winked at her, “I like her soft. I do not want her tough in any way shape or form. While I like how she can stand up to me, I do not think I want her comfortable with violence considering how much I piss her off.”
Zorah felt her lips twisting at the words.
He drew near and held out his hand, “and my bride, may I also greet you or are you still denying me even a hug?”
She gave a snort and moved to sit next to Nonna Lucchesi. “Let’s see how you fare during dinner. If this one is less catastrophic as last night’s meal, I may even let you move from the sofa in the room to the bed.”
“Ooh,” Nonna made a squeal.
Icaro laughed at his grandmother, “do not get excited. I feel my wife is going to torture me in her own unique way. Remember I am to be celibate for thirty days. I still have twenty-seven days left.”
Nonna patted Zorah’s knee appreciatively, “keep him on his toes. I warned him many times in his youth he was forging a dangerous path. He should have kept his penis in his pants and a no-cell phone policy in place at all times.” She looked to Icaro with disgust, “I saw the bachelor party video, Icaro.”
Zorah was horrified, “no! You did not see it.”
“Did you see it, Zorah?” Nonna gave a shake of her head with revulsion coating her features.
“I did.” Zorah admitted as the entire table turned to glare at Icaro. “My friend Sidonia was the one who found it. She was very worried about me being in a contract marriage and spent most of the night running internet searches on Icaro. She brought me the video Monday morning. She had her eyes covered and was squealing like someone was breaking into our apartment.”
“I haven’t met her yet. She is my other new granddaughter,” Nonna said with a smile. “I will be having dinner with her tomorrow evening. My daughter-in-law Eleonora tells me she is breathtakingly beautiful.”
“She has the biggest heart,” Zorah spoke of Sidonia warmly. “She is my best friend, and she was very worried for me being married to a man who was allowing himself to be filmed in such a way.”
“It’s not a wonder Icaro is going to suffer thirty days of celibacy for his foolhardy behavior. If I were you, I’d be demanding far more from him than a bit of celibacy.” Nonna snorted.
“What would you be asking?”
“I’d be putting a hell of a dent in his bank balance, Zorah,” Nonna winked playfully. “Hit him where it hurts. Lucchesi men value their wives above everything, but their money is a close second and don’t let any of them tell you different. Ask for an island.”
“An island?” she blinked at Nonna.
“An exotic and private one where you can go to whenever he pisses you off. Somewhere tropical so at least if you need space, it’s somewhere nice.”
“Who buys an island?” Zorah giggled.
“Done,” Icaro looked up from his phone. “Do you want a plane of your own to command?”
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