by Cee, DW
“I’ve no idea, but I’d like to find out. Come on, Jane. Let’s go see what the Taylor women want.”
“Shit,” Donovan repeated. “Don’t you dare make up any embarrassing stories about me,” he yelled out to his sisters.
“Don’t worry, Donny.” Becky yelled back.
“The way your sister said those three words, I’d worry plenty, Donovan Taylor.” Max was loving the Taylor women tonight. “Come on, Man. Let’s go join the men.” He slapped him on the shoulder and the two walked away.
“Yes…Sisters…?” Laney was rightfully wary.
“What’s this we hear about you holding out on our brother? It’s been brought to our attention that you’re as white as snow and intend to stay that way until you’re married?” Rachel asked with such a mischievous glint, we could tell there was trouble ahead.
“Is this a Taylor hazing ritual? Break in the only freshman to enter this tight female bond? If you want me to talk, you all need to confess, first.”
Amanda smiled with a challenging stare. “Donovan told me you were a sassy one. He also said you were the only one who could beat him in an argument. That’s high praise coming from someone who argues for a living.”
Laney’s smile equaled her soon-to-be oldest sister-in-law. “Donovan told me you were the smartest sister. He also said you were his favorite. That’s high praise coming from someone who has four sisters.” My cousin equaled Amanda in tone and challenging stare.
This hilarious situation had us all laughing and hugging one another.
“I’m so glad it’s you Donny picked and not that uppity woman,” Amanda continued to speak. “I knew he’d come around.”
“Don’t mention that name around my cousin. She starts foaming at the mouth and seething in anger,” I teased.
“So, are you going to confirm whether you are holding out on our brother, or not? We are all secretly hoping you’ll make him suffer.” My best friend was always the vindictive one. “All right. I’ll go first with the confession. Al was my first and only and we did it almost immediately after we got together.”
“That was really crude, Girlfriend.” Becky never did like someone keeping a secret from her.
“Whatever. You’re next, Kelley, not that we don’t all know already.”
Kelley sighed. “Jake was my first, and my husband is my second and last.”
Becky turned to Rachel, next. “You all know between backpacking through Europe for a year with women, after high school, and going into a five-year undergrad / PharmD program, I didn’t meet a man until I finished school, right?”
“So are you saying Ed is your first and only?”
“Beck. You know he’s my only—like I ever dated. I wasn’t the popular Taylor sister.” There was a little bit of bite to Rachel’s comment. Only to myself would I admit that Rachel received all the recessive genes and her looks were not the usual Taylor standard.
“Amanda?”
“Becky, you can be so annoying at times.”
“It’s not as if we weren’t all curious.”
“Oh all right. Considering I met Robert my freshman year and only dated him the entire time, he was also my one and only.”
“Laney?” All four women asked at exactly the same time.
Laney shook her head and rolled her eyes. In her most bored voice, she said, “Your brother popped my cherry when we were in Florence, the second time. Since then we can’t get enough of one another. Every freakin’ chance we get, we’re all over one another.” The way she spoke in monotone was funnier than funny. She was like a girl in grade school reading from the chalkboard, “I will not fall asleep in class, I will not fall asleep in class.” We all found great humor in my cousin. “I assume I’ve passed the hazing and I’m in, now?”
“Yeah, Laney Taylor, you’re definitely a part of us, now.” Amanda declared with a group hug.
“How was the meeting of the Taylor women? Donovan was shitting the entire time you were together.”
“It was fun. Laney accused Becky and her sisters of hazing her into the Taylor family.”
“Did they haze her?”
I giggled. “Yeah. They made her recount her sex life with Donovan.”
“What the hell for?”
“That’s the whole point of hazing, isn’t it? Doing something just for kicks?”
“OK…” Max didn’t know what to make of my statement.
“I learned something interesting during that conversation. And I confess, what I learned bothered me.”
“What bothered you, Gem?”
“Aside from Kelley, all those women had only been with their husbands. They have had no other partners.”
“Does it bother you that Kelley has been with Jake?”
“No, that’s not it.” I wondered if I should mention this to Max. This irritation actually began back in Europe when we were on the train heading from Florence to Rome.
“Speak your mind, Gem. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.”
“It bothers me that I’m the only one in the family who’s had multiple partners. Emily, Laney, Amanda, Becky, and Rachel saved themselves for their husbands. I wish I had done the same. I’m feeling like a slut.”
My fiancé laughed. “I like you as a slut.”
“This isn’t funny, Max. I’m being totally serious.”
“So am I. What’s the big deal? It doesn’t bother me. Why does it bother you?”
“I don’t quite know, but it does.” I pouted. “I’m telling you now that I’m not in the mood to have sex tonight. I’m going to be virginal.”
Max rolled right over me and launched a full-scale attack. “I like it best when you role play Virgin Jane.”
I giggled and decided to be Virgin Jane.
Fall
Chapter 1 Max: Planning Be Damned!
Damn. I had no clue how much planning was involved to put on a wedding. After Josh checked out the place introduced to Jane by Laney and Emily, and sent a highlight reel, all was well. The location came with a wedding planner, and she had sent a plethora of information on all the possible vendors available in Tuscany. Since food and drinks had to be ordered in-house, that took care of a major part of the planning. I was told the appetizers, dinner, cake, and all bar items would be included in the set price.
“Gem.” I approached carefully. “I happened to see the invoice on your laptop screen, and I’m alarmed at the cost of our wedding.” Jane tapped her fingers on the computer keys and didn’t know what to say. “I think for the price the villa is charging per head, plus the costs of lodging we will have to shell out for the weekend, that’s comparable to a plane ticket per person. I’m not sure if this villa is worth that kind of money.”
She still tapped the keys with her nails and now pursed her lips. “Whatcha’ doing this weekend? Can you do some homework on the plane?”
“Are these roundtrips to Florence going to cost me more than the wedding?”
“Gimpy is here for business and is taking Laney back to London on Thursday. How about we tag along?”
“Why didn’t you tell me Roland was in town? I’ll start packing.”
Because of the lack of time, we went straight from Heathrow to Florence and took up residence in Roland’s villa.
“It’s nice to have Gimpy around, isn’t it?” My beautiful fiancée mused as we sat on the veranda, sipping a glass of wine until it was time for us to meet with the wedding coordinator. “He has so many beautiful homes everywhere. Laney says his apartment in Amsterdam is to die for; next time we’re in Europe, we’ll have to make a pit stop over there.”
“I’d be happy to settle all matters here, then not come back until right before the wedding.”
“True. While we’re here, I’ve also set up meetings with photographers, florists, musicians, and a few others I can’t remember.”
I guess there was no avoiding these meetings. “We can’t exactly ask your aunt
to plan our wedding for us, can we?”
“Unfortunately, she doesn’t have any contacts here. We can ask her for advice and maybe send her out here after we’ve made all the initial decisions, but for now, it’s all on us. Do you think it was a mistake to get married here? We can change our minds and get married in LA. We can do what Jake and Emily did and not bother with all the planning.”
Did I want to take away my future wife’s dreams of having a wedding in the most beautiful place on earth? “Gem. We will do whatever your heart desires. I really don’t care where we get married. I just want to get married to you.”
My fiancée’s face glowed with my declaration of love. “I knew there was a reason why I loved you.” She reached over and kissed me.
“Your virginal status will be tainted again if you keep kissing me like that.”
“I’ve been thinking more about that.”
Ah, hell. I shouldn’t have brought up that sore topic. “No.” I groaned a loud complaint. “Not this again. It bothers me not what your virginal, or lack thereof, status is. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“Doesn’t it matter to you that it bothers me?”
“No. If it doesn’t bother me, why should it bother you?”
“Why doesn’t it bother you to know that it bothers me?”
What the hell? Why were we even arguing about this? “Are you using your lawyer logic on me? I don’t understand what you’re asking.”
Vexed, with a capital V—that’s what she was. “Never mind! Let’s get to our meeting before we’re late.”
The half-drunken glass of wine was our metaphorical glass half-empty. Everything went to hell from here.
When we arrived at Petruchio Villa, we were stunned at the breathtaking sight. The villa was perched high above the rolling hills, and the view from above was almost worth the price they were charging for food and drinks.
Once we were on the property, Ariana, the wedding planner, gave us the grand tour. She showed us where we’d hold our wedding, with all of Tuscany as our backdrop. The reception sight would flow between the cavernous wine cellar to their “piazza” for hors d’oeuvres, and a stunning open tent would be erected not far from the wedding sight, for dinner. It was ideal.
They had a master list of vendors who’ve all worked numerous weddings at the villa. This place was gorgeous and by the smile on Jane’s face, I knew she was in love. With all these perfect conditions, I wondered what could possibly go wrong. We had found our wedding location and Josh could visit intermittently to do our biddings.
“Do you want to try the food and wine?” Ariana asked, while leading us to a private table set for dining where the reception would take place.
Beautifully set, we were served a simple four-course meal similar to one we could have at our wedding. The food and wine were exceptional, and the service impeccable. I understood now why this place charged the price of a one-way ticket from LA to Italy.
“This place is perfect, isn’t it?” I was surprised it took my bride this long to express her delight.
“It is, Gem.”
“You like it? Can we get married here…I mean, with the high price and all?” She asked as sweetly as a ten-year-old.
“Have you ever had anything withheld from your desiring heart?”
My teasing question did not have the expected result. My bride turned sad and answered, “I wanted your forgiveness so badly after I screwed up with Donovan. When you left for Mexico, I thought we were done. I didn’t think you’d ever love me again.”
I got up from my seat and pulled my bride into my body. So many months later, there was an unnecessary sense of insecurity in Jane’s heart.
“Gem.” I hugged her tight. “That was in the past. I’ve forgiven and forgotten.”
“I know, but I can’t help myself from thinking about those weeks. Sometimes, everything is so perfect, I think there must be a shoe that will drop, or maybe even my entire shoe closet that will drop.”
I chuckled. “Which shoe closet? The one in our house or the one you keep in your old room? You’d die of suffocation if either one of those dropped on you.”
She placed a sweet kiss on my lips. “I love you and I’m glad you’ve forgiven me. I don’t know where I would be if you hadn’t.”
I decided I wouldn’t let go of her kisses for a while. I didn’t give a damn that we were in a public setting, in the middle of a tour. “We would’ve been together, eventually. Living without you was hell and that’s not ever going to happen again.”
“Um, excuse me?” Ariana was back. “If you approve of our place, did you want to finish talking over the details and sign some documents?” Ariana spoke in perfect English with an Italian accent.
“Sure.” We stopped our amorous conversation, and I held my fiancée’s hand all the way back to the office.
“When did you want to have your wedding?” We were back to business.
“May 31, 2014.”
“Oh,” she said with more concern than either of us liked. “I think we might have a problem.”
“What do you mean we have a problem?” Jane’s senses went on high alert.
Ariana sighed. “Give me a moment.” She stood up, presumably to leave the office, when Jane stopped her.
My fiancée searched through her phone and pulled up the original contract. “We paid the deposit and signed the initial contract.”
“If you’ll give me a moment,” she said and hurried out.
“Shit, Max. What do you think is wrong?”
I pulled Jane onto my lap. “Whatever it might be, we’ll still get married, and it’ll be your dream wedding. This is not the only location in Tuscany that holds weddings.” Just in case, I needed to prepare us for the worst-case scenario.
“But I like this place,” she whined.
“I do, too, but this is the first place we’ve visited. There will be more locations, and possibly even better ones.”
“Ugh!” She complained and went back to her seat.
After long minutes of waiting, Ariana walked back in. “I’m so sorry but we cannot accommodate you on May 31st.”
“Why not? We’ve signed a contract. You can’t just push us out because it doesn’t suit your calendar.” Lawyer-Jane was rearing her beautiful, but don’t-mess-with-me head.
“I apologize, but the owner promised a member of the royal family the use of the villa at a date of his choosing. He chose May 31, 2014.”
“But what of your promise to us? Why do you ask for a deposit if you’re not going to honor it?”
The wedding coordinator was very apologetic. “I’m sorry but the agreement does state that until all the documents are signed and half the payment is made, nothing is confirmed.”
I could see Jane about to lose it. An intervention was necessary. “Are there any other dates we could work with? We don’t have to get married on that specific date, though it’s our preference.”
Ariana looked through the villa’s calendar and threw out dates that were either during the school year, or the following year. “Do any of those dates work for you?”
“NO.” Jane ground out her one-word answer. I held her hand in an attempt to keep her calm.
“Ariana,” I tried to reason. “We flew all the way here from Los Angeles to finalize the details of our wedding. You can understand our frustration at the time and money we’ve wasted this weekend.” She didn’t need to know about all of Roland’s conveniences. “After the grand tour and wining and dining us, there must be something you can do.”
“Excuse me one moment and let me call the owner of the villa. Maybe he will have a suggestion.”
By the look in Jane’s exasperated eyes, I could tell she might follow the wedding coordinator out to wherever this conversation will take place.
“Stay patient, Gem.”
“But Max,” she whined with tears in her eyes. “I love this place. I want to get married here.”
She sounded like that sweet ten-year-old again. “What are we going to do if they can’t accommodate us?”
“Gem, there will be another place for us. Do not fret.”
In the end, my calming words did nothing to alleviate my bride’s nerves.
Josh arrived Friday night, and even his presence didn’t cheer her up.
“Worry not, my favorite sister. We shall find another villa to your liking. My buddy, Allessio, will join us in the morning and help us find the perfect villa for you.”
Josh’s words did not hold true. All day, we went from one possible wedding location to another, and Jane turned every one of them down. In her defense, none of the selections was as beautiful as the first one, and she couldn’t help but compare. Even at the astronomical price, we preferred Petruchio Villa to a substitute.
It was on Sunday, on our way to the airport that we caught sight of a location that we somehow overlooked this weekend.
“Stop!” Jane commanded the driver.
“Babe, we’re running late as it is. The plane will not wait for us.”
“I have to check this place out, Max.”
It was a waste of time to convince her otherwise. The smarter man would walk into the villa with his fiancée and take a quick look. Today, I decided to be this smarter man.
“It’s breathtaking.” Jane took in the scenery.
“It is,” I agreed.
This weekend proved difficult to the very end, as there was no one who knew enough of the goings-on at this place to help us. Apparently, the person in charge was on vacation for two weeks and he was the only person who could answer any questions. Though we admired the location, we had no idea whether a wedding could take place here. In the end, we left with a business card in hand, but also in partial-defeat.
“How was the location?” Donovan asked when he caught up with everyone at Heathrow.
“In short, we found the perfect place, but lost out to someone with a higher ranking. Then, after going through what felt like all of Tuscany on Saturday, we found another possible perfection this morning, only to be told the person in charge was not around for two weeks.” I explained to everyone interested.
