Bella Fortuna by Rosanna Chiofalo

Author:Rosanna Chiofalo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2012-07-31T04:00:00+00:00

13

Bridezillas Unleashed

A month has passed since Michael broke off our engagement. I’ve been in a daze, mostly staying home and not doing much of anything. I haven’t been to Sposa Rosa since the day Michael ended it. The thought of being surrounded by wedding dresses and happy brides-to-be is just too much to bear. But I can’t stay cooped up any longer. This is my life: making wedding gowns and making other women’s dreams come true.

On Saturday mornings, the DeLuca custom is to have breakfast together. As I make my way downstairs, I can smell Ma’s special cinnamon French toast, as she likes to call it. You won’t find better French toast anywhere. Her secret is adding a few drops of pure vanilla extract and adding enough eggs so that the bread has an extra-thick coating of batter.

“Hey, Ma.”

“Oh! Valentina, you scared me. I didn’t hear you coming down.”

Ma is working at her usual frenetic pace. The woman does nothing slowly. She’s flipping the French toast with one hand while the other is dunking a slice of challah bread into the egg batter to replace the slice that’s just been removed from the skillet.

Rita is at the table, sipping coffee and sketching a new purse design. I fill my own mug with coffee and sit down next to my sister.

No sooner have I sat down than Ma plops a plate of French toast in front of me. Of course there are too many slices of toast on the plate.

“You gave me too much, Ma. I’m just having one slice.”

“Valentina, you’ve lost too much weight. You’re going to get sick. Eat at least two slices.”

Ma looks at me as if I’m going to break her heart if I don’t do as she says. With the guilt I’ve been feeling over my failed wedding plans, I’ve done whatever she’s asked of me lately, which hasn’t been much, but still.

“Okay. I’ll try to eat two slices.”

“That’s my girl!”

Ma smiles. She’s been so strong for me this past month. I haven’t seen her cry once since the end of my engagement. But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t shed any tears in private.

I woke up one night at three in the morning. I haven’t been able to sleep throughout the night lately. On my way to the bathroom, I heard Ma’s soft cries in her bedroom. Her door was just slightly ajar, allowing me a peek. She was holding her favorite photo of me. It was a photo taken on the night of my high school senior prom. She’d outdone herself with the dress she’d sewn for me. It was a one-shouldered violet dress made out of taffeta. The shoulder strap had little rosettes with sparkling crystals at the center of each rosette. A skinny belt surrounded the waist of the dress. Two glittering combs adorned with crystal rhinestones swept my hair to one side, allowing the long strands to drape over my bare shoulder.

Michael had agreed to be my prom date. We weren’t dating yet, but our friendship had deepened in the year since my father’s death.

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