The happy couple kissed passionately and everyone cheered, clapping enthusiastically. Celeste wiped her tears surreptitiously, a bittersweet smile on her face.
'Will I ever get my happily ever after or will I get stuck on this sill
y unrequited love of mind' she wondered.
Everyone started leaving the church, each person trying to get a picture of the couple. Celeste's eyes moved at their will as usual, seeking out a familiar towering gorgeous man in a navy blue suit.
There he was talking to Rosa's husband with his arm around Lucia, she whispered something to him and he laughed heartily. Celeste sighed as she took out her phone to take pics of herself to send to her mother and Isabella.
No sooner had she sent the pictures, than Isabella called her.
"My gosh Celeste you look so beautiful" she gushed, Celeste could almost hear her pacing around the room the way she did whenever she was excited.
"Thanks, Isabella though I feel like trash now" Celeste sighed, Isabella immediately picked up on the depressing tone of Celeste's voice.
"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly,
"It's nothing just tired and down-hearted and I can't wait to be back in New York" Celeste muttered.
"Did he reject you?" Isabella gasped and Celeste laughed bitterly, surprised at how Isabella guessed accurately that her problems lay with Marcello, was she so predictable yet he was unaware of her feelings?
"How can he possibly reject me when he is oblivious to my feelings" she complained,
"tsk tsk tsk Celeste men are wired differently, unless you blatantly voice your feelings or seduce him I doubt he would realize it even if it stared at him straight in the eye" Isabella cautioned.
"I guess that's what she is doing" Celeste sneered, there was a brief pause on Isabella's end.
"Oh...I see...there is a rival? Why didn't you say anything" Isabella laughed,
"it's hardly going to change anything or stop her from sticking to him like a leech"
"This is deeper than I thought, tell me the whole story now don't withhold anything" Isabella warned.
Celeste hesitated at first but after much coaxing from Isabella, she narrated everything.
"Then what are you waiting for? Tell him how you feel" Isabella shouted,
"Dumbass, I can't do that, didn't you listen to a thing I said?" She groaned in frustration.
"I'm not deaf I'm just saying for her to try warning you off, then she is insecure in whatever that's going on between her and him"
"What's your point exactly?" Celeste asked, suddenly curious about what Isabella said.
"I think she knows something you don't, something that makes her perceive you as a rival or maybe it's possible he may have the slightest interest in you and trust me when I say she knows about it and doesn't like it" Isabella affirmed.
Celeste thought about it, and slowly she felt a glimmer of hope as what Isabella said started to make sense to her, but she was still skeptical about it.
"What if you're wrong?" She asked reluctantly,
"The only way to find out is by confessing your feelings to him, girl it's been four years now and y'all are adults so if he rejects you at least you know where you stand and can get on with your life," Isabella said.
Celeste shuddered at the thought of being rejected, "I think I rather wait it out" she mumbled,
"Yeah please do, until he invites you to a wedding with that bitch" Isabella scoffed.
Celeste began nibbling her lower lip out of agitation. What if Isabella was right? Even if he rejected her it's not the end of the world, right?
"Darling a minute of your time" a soft motherly voice interrupted her thoughts, Celeste turned to see Aunt Amelita approaching her cautiously.
"I'll talk to you later Bella," she said,
"Think about what I said," Isabella said before the call ended.
Aunt Amelita soon accosted her and drew her aside. Celeste was surprised at the older woman's urgency. Aunt Amelita has been nothing but super sweet and kind to her throughout her stay and she wondered why she looked worried now.
"Cara please I know this is too much to ask but I want to send Marie and Antonia to deliver something for me but I'm afraid no one can keep an eye on them, could you please do that for me" Aunt Amelita begged earnestly as her husband kept beckoning on her to come and join the picture.
Celeste nodded then went in search of Marie and Antonia. She spotted them about to get into the car, they were each carrying a parcel in their hand. On sighting her they waved at her excitedly, causing Celeste to smile.
The car stopped at a small and quaint house that had a lovely garden out front. The girls alighted followed by Celeste who looked around, admiring the little lovely detailing of the house and mosaic floor which bore the semblance of the Martino family crest.
'Must be a family member' she thought as she walked through the small door causing her to bend despite her 5ft and 4 inches height.
"Uncle Viscuso we are here" Marie called out, Antonia dropped her parcel on the table and joined Marie to search for their Uncle Viscuso.
Celeste not wanting to parade around a stranger's house decided to sit and wait for them. While waiting she began plotting her confession and how she'll go about it.
The two ladies walked into the living room with a fragile-looking old man in tow.
"Celeste meet our distant Uncle Viscuso, he is a sweetheart," Marie said and Antonia nodded
Celeste quickly got up and bowed as she didn't know how to react.
"Good Afternoon Uncle it's my pleasure to meet you," Celeste said with a smile.
Uncle Viscuso who was nearly blind in one eye, waved at Celeste to come closer while the other two helped him into his rocking chair.
"Welcome to the family little one", he said patting Celeste's hand.
"She isn't getting married to anyone in the family Uncle, she is just a guest," Antonia said laughing.
Celeste laughed with them, but deep within Antonia's statement struck a cord that resonated deep within her.
'Confess your feelings' Isabella's voice seemed to mock her.
After they had delivered the parcels, the ladies decided to take a shortcut to one of the famous spots in town and get ice cream. Celeste was against it, reminding them that they had to head back for the wedding reception, but they begged her to give them a few minutes.
From that, they got distracted by a handsome local who played in the streets on their way to the car. He was really talented, but all the time he played and sang, his eyes were on Celeste and soon his lyrics started praising her beauty which got everyone turning to her, giggling and teasing her.
"He likes you" Marie whispered as the guy finished the song. Unexpectedly, he produced a single rose with clipped thorns from a box beside him and then called Celeste.
She was surprised and reluctant at first, but Antonia gave her a little push that had her stumbling still as she got closer to him.
"Hi," she said with an awkward smile and a small wave.
"Hi beautiful one thank you for being my muse today, a true goddess sent to bring internal peace to me," he said with a tender smile.
Celeste at the loss of what to say offered her thanks and hurried back to the others.
"Why did you run like he was going to haunt you?" Marie laughed,
"He would probably appear in her dreams at most" Antonia teased.
"I think I already have someone who occupies my dreams regularly so I'm sorry about our handsome stranger even though this rose is probably the sweetest thing a guy has ever given me" Celeste sighed dramatically.
Marie and Antonia's eyes widened as they sandwiched her immediately,
"Harold? My goodness, is it Harold?" Marie gasped turning wide eyes to Antonia who suddenly looked ashen.
"What the fuck are you guys talking about?" Celeste asked,
"Are you talking about Harold?" Antonia asked in a withdrawn voice, Celeste shuddered.
Harold had been sweet that first night, but afterward, he had just been trying to get in between her legs until she turned him down firmly and he began avoiding her like a plague.
"Hell no! Harold and I are barely civil" Celeste said, hands on hips and hanging by a thin thread due to the interrogation.
"Oh I saw you guys that night and the day after, you seemed so sweet with each other that's all" Marie shrugged,
"No they did not" Antonia muttered sulkily, but no one heard since Marie had switched to her newer questions.
"Anyway who is this guy you dream about, I would've said your boyfriend but Rosa said you're single...we were hoping for a little something between you and Marcello but Lucia is already calling the shots," Marie said thoughtfully.
Celeste's heart skipped a bit at those words. They really tried to play matchmaker for her and she let Lucia snatch him?!
" My gosh it's getting late let's get going before Aunt Amelita decides to come find us herself...and Celeste whoever he is don't let him slip through your fingers if he is worth it," Marie said as she dragged them into the car.
Celeste's thoughts were muddled during the car ride back.
'Is the universe trying to tell me something?' She wondered.
Maybe it was time she stopped acting like a middle school girl getting her first crush and pursued the man she loved.
With that resolve set, she began impatiently hinting that the car should speed up before Aunt Amelita got worried. She was definitely going to confess to Marcello tonight.