It was a delightful Sunday.
It had been two weeks since Calliope went shopping with Persephone to the mall. Today was another Sunday, meaning another party or get together for Persephone Vitello. Once again, she was invited. This week she was out of excuses to give to the bubbly and cute woman who had been nothing but extremely friendly and kind to her.
Instead of using another excuse to avoid Persephone Vitello's Sunday party, she decided to be brave and try being a social butterfly once. Even if it meant for a few hours. She would try. She could try.
Then again, socializing was not one of her fortes.
Currently, she was standing before a full-length vintage mirror, studying herself and attempting to remember her new and changed image. A woman was staring at her. She was wearing a floral skirt and olive-coloured blouse paired with nude low heels and a handbag of the same colour. Her long locks were curled at the edges and the bangs were bringing about the delicacy of her sharp face. She hadn't put on heavy makeup, just tinted moisturiser to make her skin look even, natural pink lipstick was making her supple lips lovely and coats of mascara on her long lashes were highlighting its beauty.
She picked up her handbag and the wine bottle that she had specifically ordered for Vitellos and walked out of the house to fight her battles. Yeah, socializing was a battle for Calliope.
Calliope heard the sound of laughter as she was guided to the patio of Vitello house by a staff member. As her gaze fell on Persephone of all people gathered there, she paused in her footsteps. She felt something very familiar yet strange in the air. It was as if she could feel something yet couldn't pinpoint what it was. She wanted to walk ahead and run back at the same time.
Does it even make sense? Nope, it didn't make any sense to her. She was stuck in a dilemma that even she couldn't understand.
Her dilemma was unravelled when Persephone's eye fell on frozen Calliope and she sprinted to hug her new friend. "You made it, Cali. I'm so glad to meet you here. Come, I will introduce you to everyone."
Calliope smiled at the woman and said, "Thank you for inviting me."
Persephone grabbed her hand and pulled her to introduce him to everyone. "You met my husband that day. However, I will introduce you both once again for the peace of my mind." She took a deep breath and said, "Cali, this is my husband Santiago Vitello. And Santiago, this is Cali."
Santiago was more polite this time to Calliope as he apologized for that day.
"I thought you were organising a party," Calliope said when she noticed how there were only a few people. She could see two young men aside from Persephone's husband, two middle-aged women and two children stuck to Santiago Vitello's side.
"Can you imagine how my and Santiago's friends chose vacation over us," Persephone said in a grumbling tone. "BTW this is Romeo and Emmanuel. This little young master is Santiago's nephew. He is also named Santiago but you can call him Junior to not confuse the two." She stopped before a little girl and introduced the two of them, "This is Emery, my niece. This is my mom, Carina and this is Lara."
Calliope greeted all of them one by one. Even though only a few people were there, it felt as if a crowd of people were celebrating here. This was how loud everyone was being here.
They were seated in their seats while Persephone was entertaining all of them. Calliope was laughing more loudly and freely. She felt alive and whole after such a long time. Maybe, it wasn't bad socializing with everyone or it was always the right company that made you feel as if you belonged there. For the first time in her life, she felt as if she truly belonged to a group of people. Her opinion and views weren't called too deep and unrealistic.
"Where is Eleanora?" Carina asked her daughter.
Calliope looked up to meet Persephone's daughter but she didn't see any toddler. She has heard that the latter had a daughter but hadn't met her yet.
"Her favourite uncle came after so long, mom. Do you think she will talk to us peasants?" Persephone said in a grumbling tone. "Of course not. She is opening all the presents he has brought for her."
Carina laughed as if she could understand something that no one else can.
"Here she is," Persephone said as soon as she heard the voice of her child.
Calliope turned her gaze towards the source of sweet giggles and cheerful laughter but only to stiffen at the unbelievable sight. Callum Facci, all dressed up in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. He was walking towards them with a huge smile on his face. She had never thought that the man was capable of showing such a free and cheerful expression.
He was throwing the toddler in the air making her giggle and then skillfully scooping her in his strong muscular arms.
[He must have worked hard on those enviable biceps.]
She had an urge to groan when she realized how she was thinking about all the wrong things.
[Calm down, Calliope. Don't stare at him as if you can't believe he is here.]
....
Author Note: All those readers who supported the book since the beginning, thank you very much for your constant support. I can't do much for you but there is something that I can do. If you like you can leave some character names in the comment section and I will use them in the future. At every chapter, I will dedicate the chapter to the person who left the character names.