Another Shot: A Modern-Day Ruth and Boaz Story (10 page)

Laura helped me put my blonde waves into a messy braid that hung over my right shoulder. I took my time with my makeup, but was careful not to overdo it. By the time I was ready to go out there, I felt happy and anxious to find out what was around the next corner.

Chapter 12

Laura and I walked down the hallway at 8:30AM to the sounds of a kitchen full of people. We could hear talking, and we slowed as we approached the living room. She stuck her arm in front of me to make sure I didn’t continue walking.

"I heard your name," she whispered.

"She ain't Italian, I'll tell you that," someone said.

"Do mom and dad care that she's not Italian?"

"Of course we don't," a woman's voice said. I assumed it was Maria.

"Willy might mind, did you ask him?" a guy said.

"I'm going out there," Laura whispered at that, but I stopped her.

"Dad doesn't mind," I heard Dominic say. I smiled knowing it was him. "I told him my plans right when he woke up this morning. He couldn’t be happier for us."

"And your plans are to marry her?"

"Yes."

"You barely know her, what if she's an axe murderer—a non-Italian axe murderer."

"That's it, I'm going out there," Laura said.

I put a hand out to stop her again. "Whoever it is, he's just playing around," I said. "I can hear it in his voice."

"I know, but I still don’t want him saying things like that."

"It's fine," I whispered.

"I can't say I blame you for questioning my sanity on this," I heard Dominic say, "but I can assure you it's something I've thought about since I met her. It's the best decision of my life—the only choice I had."

I heard a female in the room let out an
awww,
at his sentiment.

"She's a good woman," a man's voice said. "Just look at how she treats Lu."

"I'm going out there," Laura whispered, unable to handle it anymore. "I'll tell everyone you'll be right out."

"There she is right now," I heard someone yell a few seconds later when Laura showed her face.

"Morning everyone," she said. Several people spoke at the same time, and it was difficult to discern any one conversation after that.

"Where is she?" someone said loudly enough for me to hear.

"She'll be out in a second," Laura said.

Again, there were multiple low conversations and I couldn’t hear any of them clearly. I took a few deep breaths before working up the nerve to walk out there. I peeked around the corner shyly as I walked into the main room.

Dominic, who was on the other side of the room talking to Laura, caught sight of me. He smiled before turning to tell Laura something; and seconds later, he was crossing the living room, walking in my direction at a good clip.

He seemed genuinely relieved to see me, and as he got closer and continued picking up speed, I realized he wasn't going to stop until he ran straight into me. He took me into his arms with such force that I giggled.

"I told everyone our plans," he said.

I glanced up at him. "What'd you tell them?"

"That I'm marrying you."

"You did?" I whispered so no one else could hear.

He turned me by the shoulders to face the group of family and close friends who were staring at us curiously.

"I think everybody here wishes Tony were still with us," he said to the group at large. He hugged me to his chest, but I craned my neck to stare up at him when he spoke. "I know it's been a hard time for Aunt Lu and Rae, and I'm happy that it worked out where I could step in for Tony."

I couldn't stop the tears from rising to my eyes, and I turned in his arms to bury my head in his chest. His big hand stroked my hair gently, and I tried to hold back the tears.

"Aunt Lu, you're the only one I haven't talked to about this. Rae said you two had talked about it."

I turned just enough to glance at Laura who was nodding and wiping at her eyes.

"You know I'm gonna take care of her, right?"

She nodded again as tears poured down her cheeks and she continued to wipe at them.

"It's settled, then," Dominic said. "Purely out of love for my dear cousin, and having nothing to do with the fact that she's kind, talented, and so very beautiful, I'm going to marry this girl at the soonest possible opportunity. If any of you have a problem with it, please see my dad who will kindly spit in your eggs."

Everyone laughed, including Dominic, whose chest shook. "Seriously, I want you to know that I couldn't be happier, and I want you all here to celebrate when we're married."

The whole group clapped and came over to embrace us and give their congratulations.

"I'm so glad we were here to see this!"

"I know you two are going to have a beautiful life together."

"Thank you for bringing her to us!"

So many kind words were being said that I felt overwhelmed with happiness, gratefulness, and love.

"She can't be in the contest if she's your wife, it wouldn't be fair," someone said.

I looked up to see a guy named Vince who was one of Dominic's cousins but also worked on the floor at Nic's. He'd entered the contest himself and knew my photo was one of the finalists.

Dominic looked down at me with a shrug. "Yeah, you're not in the contest anymore, sorry."

I stuck my lip out, but in a silly way that showed I didn't care all that much. "The contest ends in a few days," I said. "I doubt we'll be married by then."

"Yeah, but you don't even work there anymore, right?"

I scrunched up my face like he was confusing me, and he gave me a squeeze. "We'll talk about all that stuff later," he said. "But you're not in the contest anymore. Vince is right, I'd definitely cheat for you."

"See?" Vince said.

"Did you cheat already?" I said with wide eyes.

Vince gasped like he hadn't considered that. Dominic put his hands up in surrender. "I promise I did not. You can ask Debbie and Bill. They had access to the totals all month."

He was looking at me when he said it, but the explanation must have satisfied Vince because he didn't say anything else. Everyone took a turn at congratulating us before we all went back to hanging out and eating breakfast. Laura and Maria went right to work talking about wedding possibilities while Willy made eggs to order.

***

I married the stunningly handsome Dominic Russo four months later on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. The wedding was late March, and we assumed it'd be cold, but it turned out to be a gorgeous spring day, which was a welcome surprise. We got married in front of a hundred guests in the same church where most of the family said their vows for generations before us.

We thought about having everyone over to the big house for the reception, but they would have all spent the night, and we knew we'd want privacy after the festivities were over. We had the reception at a place Maria loved for it's old-world Italian décor. It was in the city, but when you entered, you felt like you were being transported to another time and place.

There was food, music, and dancing for two hours after the wedding. We danced a traditional dance called the Tarantella where everyone held hands and danced in one direction before switching back. The process continued as the music sped up, and by the end of the song, we were all dizzy and laughing.

Anthony and I hadn't performed any Italian traditions at our wedding, so it was my first experience with the dance. The same was true for the last tradition we did before we left the reception headed for the apartment.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Big Willy said, getting everyone's attention. "We're gonna honor Nic's Italian heritage by performing this sacred wedding tradition. With the breaking of this vase, we pay tribute to their future together. As they break it, we'll think of all of the beautiful gifts each of them bring to this relationship, and the limitless potential that lays in front of them as a couple. I want everyone to think special thoughts and focus all your love and best wishes up here on this couple."

Willy handed Dominic the vase, and he tossed it at our feet, causing it to break to pieces. We both stepped on the pieces, causing them to break into a zillion tiny shards. Everyone cheered.

"As you all know," Willy said, "The number of pieces signifies the number of happy years Dominic and Rae will have together. They've done a thorough job of smashing that vase, so the future looks bright."

Everyone laughed and gave us a round of applause, and within ten minutes we were in the backseat of the car headed for our apartment. Dominic and I saw each other a good bit at the reception, and had danced together a few times, but everyone wanted our attention, and by the end of it all, I found myself thirsty for the sight of him.

My head was spinning with the thrill of it all. My ears were ringing from the music, and I had a permanent smile on my face. The trunk was full of gifts, and the driver and doorman helped us get them on a cart to bring them upstairs.

"Do you want to open a few of these?" I asked, as I took them off of the cart.

"You can open all of them if you want," he said, "They're yours."

"They're yours too," I said.

"You're mine. That's all I care about."

I flashed him a smile that I felt from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. "How about I open three of them and save the rest?"

I opened a dish, a clock, a mixer and a few gift cards before making my way to Frankie and Viv's box. There was a card attached to it with a gift card to Crate and Barrel, which I stashed with the others I'd already opened.

I opened the box to find what looked to be an old shoe. I glanced up at Dominic with a confused expression, and he shrugged.

"It looks like a shoe," I said.

He smiled. "I see that."

"There's just one of them," I continued.

"Yep."

"And it's used."

"Yep."

"Do you think it's Frankie's?"

"It looks like something Frankie would wear."

He reached into the box and removed the worn out leather dress shoe before looking inside of it. He fished a piece of paper from the toe and unfolded it.

"What's this about?" I asked.

He shrugged as if he had no clue whatsoever, and then read the note out loud.

Dominic,

Vivian told me I owed you this. I'm not sure what it means. She said it's something her great uncle told her about—like a receipt for paying the debt Gianni owed. She couldn’t really explain the whole thing, but she's a sucker for traditions, and was adamant that I send you this. It was the shoe I was wearing when Lu handed me the check, which Viv said is significant. I told her it was lucky for her it wasn't my snakeskins, or I wouldn't have sent it, tradition or not. It's probably not significant to you, but here's my shoe nonetheless. We want you two to know how excited we are about the match with you and Rae.

With love and best wishes,

Frankie and Viv.

"I love how weird you Italians are," I said, smiling up at him.

"That's not an Italian tradition," he said. "I've handed out lots of checks in my life and never once had someone take off their shoe and hand it to me as a receipt."

I shrugged and smiled. "At least it wasn't his snakeskins."

He laughed and then stared at me smiling. "I'm sorry for what it took to get you here," he said. "But I'm so happy you made it."

I looked at him, trying to put into words what was in my heart. "Everything that's happened in my life, tragic or happy, led me to this moment. I've never been happier than I am right now, Dominic, and I'm thankful for each and every event that led me to this point." I stared into his dark eyes wondering how I ended up with such a man. He was sweet, and smart, and loyal, and my love for him had multiplied ten times during the past months.

Dominic and I didn't know each other the way a husband and wife know each other during our courtship. We talked about saving it for the night of the wedding, and even though it was extremely difficult at times, we made it.

It had come down to this, and I knew tonight would be the night we'd both enjoy what we'd been craving. I was nervous and hoped I could please him the way he deserved. The thought of trying sent a wave of desire through me, which was reflected in the way I stared longingly up at him.

"If you keep looking at me like that, we're not going to be able to open any more of these presents."

"Why's that?" I asked innocently, biting my lip.

"Because I'll be too busy carting you off to the bedroom."

"Being carted off might not be so bad," I said with a casual shrug. And with that, he scooped me into his arms and carried me down the hall.

Epilogue

It had been just over a year since Dominic and I got married, and I woke up every day thankful for my life. It was hard to believe that I'd been so low at one point. I thought about Anthony and knew in my soul that he'd be happy with the way things turned out.

Dominic took care of both Laura and I with no questions asked. I moved in with him when we got married. Laura thought about moving in with us since we had plenty of room in his big house, but she knew I'd be staying in the city at the apartment quite a bit, and she didn't want to follow me back and forth. She said she'd miss the city anyway and felt comfortable in her apartment with so much family nearby.

Dominic and I split our time between houses, spending a few days in one place and then going to the other. I liked the change of pace, and took pleasure at being able to experience both. I still got to see Laura about three times a week when I stayed in the city. Our frequent visits were the reason she felt at peace with staying at her apartment.

Of course, it was hers now. Dominic bought it from Frankie not long after we got married, and we gave it to Laura as a Christmas gift. Frankie didn't want to sell it at first, but Dominic talked him into it. Laura took great pride in it and had been fixing it up with the help of Little Mike and a few others.

She'd gotten back in the swing of socializing with friends, and made an effort to get together with Maria, Viv, and the others on a regular basis. We had settled into a routine that was like a dream come true. I got to see Laura on a regular basis while having privacy to start a family with Dominic.

And start a family was exactly what we did.

Nearly two months ago, I gave birth to our first son. We named him Luke. We were as in love with him as we were with each other, which basically meant it was a big love-fest everyday at our house.

He was only seven weeks old now, and Dominic and I had each taken thousands of photos of him. We both loved photography, and taking photos of Luke just gave us an excuse to stare at him. One thing's for sure, this kid was being well documented.

I spent a two full weeks at the big house after I had him, but had been back in the routine of splitting our time between there and the apartment lately. Luke came with me wherever I went. He was an easy-going baby who'd been a joy since the day he was born. Laura got her hands on him anytime she could, and when we stayed in the city, she'd often come to our apartment to hang out and help me care for him.

Sometimes while she was there, I'd walk around with my camera for an hour or so, and when I'd come back home, it was like I hadn't seen him in a year. It was still the same way with Dominic. When we were in the city, he spent a good amount of time at the store, and my stomach still turned flips every time he returned home.

Dominic was at the store this morning, and Luke and I had plans to meet Laura and a few of the ladies for lunch. Laura and Maria saw him on a regular basis, of course, but there would be other ladies in the group who'd be meeting him for the first time.

I got us both dressed and the driver took us to Laura's. I thought about having him take us all to the restaurant where we'd be meeting the others, but it was a nice day, and the restaurant was only a few blocks from Laura's, so we walked.

I had a beautiful, elaborately expensive stroller that had been part of a package of gifts from the employees at Nic's. I hadn't brought him by there to meet everyone yet, but had plans to do it soon. Lunch with the ladies would do for today.

We went upstairs at Laura's for a few minutes before heading to the restaurant. It wasn't uncommon for me to bring prints of photos for her to inspect. I did it just about every time I saw her, to the point where she almost expected it.

I handed her three 5x7's of photos we'd taken in the last few days. She always liked to scrutinize them and try to decide if Dominic had taken it or if I had. It was one of her favorite games, and she was usually right about it even though we had similar styles.

"We're bringing these to the restaurant for the others to look at," she said. "In fact, I'm bringing some of these other ones."

She crossed to the little catchall where she stashed the photos I brought her, and grabbed most or all of them. We headed out and walked the four blocks to the small pub Maria suggested. I'd been there before and liked it, so I was glad to hear that's where we were going. Maria text to let us know she'd be bringing Paul's new girlfriend with her and for us to do recon when we could since she didn't know a thing about her yet.

Viv came as well, and when we got to the restaurant, Viv, Maria, and the new girl named Allie were already sitting down waiting for us.

"We ordered appetizers," Maria said, when we walked up. "Hey baby, you look amazing," she quickly added, reaching out to hug me. "Hey Lu, you're not so bad yourself," she said, squeezing Lu as well. "And where's my beautiful little grandson." She said it in a cooing baby tone because, even as she spoke, she was leaning over his stroller to get a look at him. She pushed back the canopy and gasped. "I think you've grown and it's only been three days," she said. She reached in and took him from the seat carefully before sitting at the table with him cradled in her arms.

Viv came to stand over her shoulder so she could get a good look at him. Allie peered at him but didn’t' get up. She wore an easy smile that gave me a good first impression of her.

Maria introduced her to Laura and I, as we got settled at the table.

"I brought some pictures," Laura said, handing the stack of about fifty prints to Viv.

"I'm not sure if I've seen all those, so you'll have to pass them over here when you're done," Maria said.

Viv nodded at her, but then looked at me with a stunned expression. "These are gorgeous, Rae! I can't believe how beautiful they are." She flipped to the next one and stared at it. "I can't believe you and Dominic took these. They could be in a photography book."

I said, "Thank you."

But it was overshadowed by Laura saying, "I keep telling her that. She could put out a coffee table book with all these pictures."

"She sure could," Viv said.

"I'd buy it," Maria said.

I giggled. "You guys would buy it because little Luke's the star."

"Yes he is," Maria said, staring down at him. She looked up at Laura. "Lu, we got ourselves a good one here," she said.

Laura nodded. "I know it. He's a fine specimen."

"His mama too," Maria added, smiling sweetly at me. "She's been better to you than seven sons."

"You're not kidding, Laura said with tears in her eyes. "She's my angel, and I thank God for her every day."

"You girls are gonna have to stop this," Viv said, wiping at her eyes. "I have to go back to work and nothing on my face is waterproof."

We laughed as all the ladies simultaneously touched the corners of their eyes with napkins.

"Oh, look who it is," Viv said, smiling as she looked over my shoulder. I turned to find my knight in shining armor walking toward me with a huge smile on his face.

"I couldn't let you have lunch right down the street and not come by," he said. I stood to hug him, feeling relieved by his presence even though I'd seen him only a few hours before.

He placed a kiss on my cheek and held me at his side as he greeted everyone else at the table. The appetizers came at that moment, and Maria insisted he stay and have lunch.

"I can't," he said, regretfully. "I have to take a conference call. I just wanted to come by and see my lady and my number one boy."

His mom turned so Dominic could get a good look at our bundle of love.

"Those photos are amazing, Dominic," Viv said.

Allie agreed saying she'd never seen such creative baby pictures and we should open a studio. Dominic gave Allie some good-natured warnings about his brother, which made us all laugh.

I'd been standing beside him, and he gave me a little squeeze. "I'll be home around four," he said.

I stared up at him. "I can't wait."

He leaned in and put a kiss right on my mouth even though we were standing in the middle of a restaurant.

"I love you," he said.

I was so smitten that I reached up and touched his cheek.

"I love you too."

He smiled and gave me one quick kiss before waving to the others and making his way out of the restaurant.

Dominic and I were as happy together as two people could be. We knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that we were supposed to be together, and that knowledge brought a sense of security and contentment to our relationship that we were both thankful for every day.

We often joked about the fact that were destined to be together, saying it was so undeniable that someone from our lineage would probably end up saving the world.

The End