"Julia, you're not eating." Her aunt Lucia, a short, plump woman with pepper gray hair, paused by the table, her face disapproving. She pointed to Julia's un-touched lobster ravioli. "Is it too spicy? Shall I get you another plate?"
"It's perfect. I'm just full."
"How could you be full? You ate nothing."
"Hey, she has to fit into a wedding dress in a couple of months. Don't fatten her up yet," Liz interrupted, joining Julia at the table. "But since I hate to see food go to waste…" She pulled Julia's plate across the table and picked up her fork. She took a bite and nodded approvingly. "Excellent."
Lucia beamed her approval. "You I don't worry about. But Julia…" She gazed at Julia again. "Since your sweet mother died, you just don't seem yourself."
"I'm all right," Julia said. "I'm just not hungry."
Lucia sighed, but held her tongue as Michael joined them at the table.
Michael kissed her aunt on the cheek, then smiled at Julia. "Have you told them?"
"Liz did. She got here before me. You know what a big mouth she has."
"I couldn't keep it to myself," Liz said with a laugh. "I'm so excited. It seems like I've been waiting forever for this wedding."
"I feel the same way," Michael said with a laugh.
"We're very happy for you," Lucia said. "Now, you must be starving. I'U fix you a plate of food."
"That would be great."
"And I'll get you a beer," Liz added, following Lucia over to the bar.
Michael sat down at the table. "Big party."
"Like always," Julia replied. "How did your charter go?"#p#分页标题#e#
"Fine. Sorry I'm late. I got hung up talking to my father about our advertising. I want to make changes. He doesn't. Same old argument. What did you do this afternoon?" he asked, reaching across the table to take her hand in his, his thumb playing with the engagement ring on her finger. "Did you go Shopping for a wedding dress?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm sure Liz wants to do that with me."
"Just make sure you get something sexy and low cut."
She smiled as she knew she was meant to, but it must have looked halfhearted to Michael, because the light disappeared from his eyes. "What's wrong, Julia? You've been acting strange since we left the museum."
"You'll think I'm crazy if I tell you."
"I could never think that. If something is bothering you, I want you to share it with me. I'm going to be your husband."
She gazed down at their intertwined hands and knew she had to be honest with him. "I'm feeling rushed."
"Because of the December wedding date?"
She glanced back up at him and nodded. "It's fast, Michael. Only a little over three months."
"We've been engaged for a year."
"But not a normal year. Not a year of just being together without my mom being sick and endless trips to the hospital."
"I understand that you're still sad, Julia, but it will get better. And it will get better faster if we're together. I can't wait to get on with the rest of our lives. I have so many plans for us. I promise to do every-thing I can to make you happy. And I honestly believe that once you get into the wedding planning, you'll feel more confident that this marriage is absolutely right."
She thought about his words. He might be right. Maybe she just needed to be settled. But how could she settle down when there were so many questions running through her mind? "There's more," she said slowly. "I've been thinking about my past, about my real father and who my mother was before she married Gino."
Michael looked at her in confusion. "Why would you be thinking about all that now?"
"That girl in the photograph at the museum. She looked just like me, and she was wearing the same necklace that my mother gave me when I was a little girl."
"I don't understand. You're saying you're… Russian?"
She winced at the incredulous note in his voice. It did sound ridiculous Coming from his mouth. "I'm saying I don't know who I am," she amended. "I don't have anything from before my mom married Gino. Nothing-no pictures of anything or anyone. It's like I didn't exist before I became a DeMarco."
"Didn't you ever ask your mother about your real father?"
"Of course I did, hundreds of times. She wouldn't talk about him. She said he left us and what did it matter?"
"It doesn't matter, Julia," he said, squeezing her hand. "You don't need him. You don't need anyone but me, and I don't care about your bloodline."