“Why ya crying, Ma?” I asked, as she wiped the tears.
“Damn, I’m going to mess up my makeup.” She pulled a tissue from her bra and blotted the skin under her eyes. “I just saw Suzy and she looks stunning. I’m the happiest woman in the world today. They’re tears of joy.”
“How is she, Ma? Is she okay?” My heart pounded, my throat feeling constricted by the button up shirt.
“She’s better than okay, she’s glowing and ready for the ceremony to start.” Ma wrapped her arms around me, holding me against her as she spoke. “You’ve made me a happy woman, Joseph. I couldn’t love Suzy any more than I do if I had given birth to her myself.” She rubbed my back as she kissed my cheek.
“You just have baby Gallos in your mind, Ma,” Michael said as he kicked back in a chair against the wall. He looked so put together and calm.
“So what?” she asked as she placed her hands on her hips and turned toward Michael. “I’m old, boy and all I want is a baby…just one damn baby. Is that too much to ask?”
“Not really, Ma, but it’ll happen when it happens. We’re still young and enjoying our life,” Michael said, leaning forward resting his elbows on his knees.
“By the time I was your age, I had four children. I enjoyed every bit of my life and maybe more so since it was filled with such love. Children don’t end your life, Michael, they add to it.”
“Bullshit,” Anthony muttered, covering his mouth and coughing.
Ma narrowed her eyes at him. “Anthony, you better stop acting like a playboy and living your hollow existence. You have to settle down sometime and when you do, you’ll regret all the years you spent alone.”
“I’m rarely alone, Ma.” He smiled, his hair flopping over his forehead.
“I mean emotionally alone.” She stared at him, waiting for him to respond, but he didn’t. “Okay, I want a picture with my son on his wedding day. Where’s that damn photographer?”
Pop walked toward the door, pausing as he opened it. “I’ll go get him.”
As the door clicked shut, my ma turned to me. “Nerves are normal, son. Once you see how breathtaking Suzy is in her dress, everything else will fade away.” She rested her head on my chest, as she held my hand.
“I know, Ma. I’m just ready to get this started. I hate waiting; I’ve never been a patient man.” I kissed the top of her head, getting lost in the strawberry scent from my childhood.
“You don’t say.” She laughed, squeezing my hand. “Just like your father.” She sighed, drawing her body closer to mine. “I wish Thomas could’ve been here. I’m more worried about him than I’ve ever been, Joseph.”
“I know, Ma. I haven’t spoken to him in a while. He’s too deep undercover now. I don’t like it, not one fucking bit.”
“Ya’ll are going to burst into flames with the language in this room. We are in a church,” Izzy said as she entered the room with Pop and the photographer.
“If you haven’t, then no one will, Izzy,” Anthony said with a laugh.
“Enough. Let’s take some photos. We have five minutes until you boys need to be at the altar.”
Five minutes felt like an eternity as we took more pictures than I wanted to count. My line of sight would have a perpetual dot from the camera flash. By the end of the night, I’d have dozens of tiny blobs in my eyes and possibly be partially blind. We took photos as a group, the Gallo Family minus Thomas. We took turns taking pictures with our parents; it wasn’t often that we were all dressed up and in one place together.
I was thankful when there was a knock on the door and a voice said, “It’s time.”
Cracking my neck, I straightened my back and headed for the door. Ma grabbed my arm, stopping me. “I’m proud of you, baby.” She smiled and released me.
I nodded, leaving the tiny room and heading toward the church. Anthony and Michael filled in behind me as we stood in our designated spot at the top of the altar in front of the crowd. The church was packed with people, many faces I didn’t know. Ma and Suzy went overboard on the invites, but my mother insisted that her friends be invited besides our gigantic family that had flown in from all parts of the world. The Gallos didn’t know how to do anything small.
As the music started, the doors in the back of the church swung open and the entire church stood and turned. The attention no longer on me, I squinted down the aisle, catching a glimpse of Suzy. She looked like an angel dressed in off white.
The tulle straps created a V, encasing her breasts. The fact that I knew the word tulle disturbed me slightly, but Suzy had educated me about bridal fashion…whether I wanted to know it or not. The bodice was form fitting, a wide ribbon around her waist held a large fabric flower just below her left breast. The bottom of the dress was loose with layers of tulle that flowed and shifted as she walked. It wasn’t over the top of puffy shit, it was perfect and totally Suzy—classy and sweet. I couldn’t wait to rip the fucking thing off of her. A veil covered her face, more traditional than I thought she’d be. I desperately wanted to see her.