Sebby finished with Gino’s tie and straightened his lapels. He stepped back and joined the other men, who were all watching Nova carefully.
“So? How do I look?”
“Very—” Nova stopped and cleared her throat. “Very nice, Mister Squitieri.”
“Hey, thanks. Listen, I gotta tell ya, I was never a hundred percent on the idea of a weddin’ planner, but you did a beautiful job. Just beautiful.” Gino turned to the other men in the room. “Didn’t she do a beautiful job, boys?”
The men murmured their assent. Gino crossed the room to one of the windows and opened the blinds. Bright sunshine poured into the room.
“They said you were the best, and they were right. I mean lookit that! The tables set with my grandmother’s—God rest her soul—special linens. The Stargazer lilies. You even managed to get those albino peacocks my fiancée is so crazy about.”
He turned back from the window to face Nova again.
“It’s gonna be a perfect day, and I have you to thank for it. So thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Mister Squitieri,” Nova said. She wrung her hands as fresh tears built in her eyes.
“Somethin’ else on your mind?” Gino asked casually.
“I was . . . I wanted to know when I might have my daughter back.”
The mood in the room immediately darkened.
“Have your daughter back?”
“Y-yes,” Nova stammered.
Gino crossed the room and was suddenly very close to Nova, who cast her eyes downward.
“Your daughter has been my guest,” Gino said, his voice heavy with menace. “I only had her removed from your home so that you would be motivated to focus all of your energy on helpin’ to plan my weddin’.”
“I know,” Nova nodded. “I just . . . I just need to know that she’s all right.”
“Of course she’s all right. And she will remain all right as long as my weddin’ day goes off without a hitch. If something should go wrong, well, whatever happens to her will be on your head, won’t it?”
Nova looked up in alarm and locked eyes with Gino. It was very clear he meant it.
“Nothing will go wrong,” she said, her voice leaden with fear.
“It better not.”
Gino stepped back and resumed his previously convivial attitude.
“Hey, you’ll be happy to hear that your daughter’s made a new friend. She’s been playin’ with Sebby’s daughter. How old is your girl, Sebby?”
“Ten,” said Sebby.
“Ah, see that? They’re the same age. I bet they’re havin’ a ball.”
Nova nodded.
“Thank you for your time, Mister Squitieri,” she said. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some last-minute details to tend to.”
“Of course,” said Gino, now smiling. “We want everything perfect, don’t we?”
“Yes of course we do.”
Nova turned to leave, but stopped at the sound of Gino’s voice.
“Oh, actually, that reminds me,” he said. “One last minor detail.”
Nova turned back. “Yes?”
“When I watch my bride-to-be walk down the aisle, I want her to be perfect as well.”
“I . . . hired the best makeup people in the business,” Nova said. “Found the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen.”
“And that’s all well and good,” Gino said. “But she’s been stayin’ with my mother and her sisters for the last month, learnin’ how I like my shirts folded, how to shine my shoes . . . and how to cook all my favorite foods. I’m afraid she might have put on some weight, y’know? So I need you to make sure she’s under, say, 120 pounds.”
Nova’s eyes went wide, and she rushed forward, forgetting herself.
“That was never—!”
She stopped short as Sebby and the other men reached inside their coats with an almost synchronized motion. She took a step back.
“That was never part of the deal,” she said, her voice strangled with sobs.
“Yeah, well, now it is.”
“But . . . but what am I supposed to do if she has gained weight?” Nova cried. “It’s too late now! The wedding is today! I’m not a trainer! I’m not a nutritionist! How can I possibly—?”
“Hey, you’re the hotshot wedding planner,” Gino cut across her. “I’m guessin’ you’ve had to think on your feet before. You’ll come up with somethin’.”
He pulled out an ornate gold pocket watch and checked it.
“You’ve got about ninety minutes ’til showtime, Ms. DeSantos. If I were you, I’d use the time wisely.”
Nova looked hopelessly from one face to another, but there was no compassion and no help. She backed out of the office with every eye upon her and broke into a run, up the grand staircase to the second floor.
As she stopped outside the double doors to the master bedroom, she took a deep breath, furiously wiped fresh tears from her eyes, and then knocked. A voice called for her to come in.
In the bedroom, in front of a full-length mirror surrounded by attending bridesmaids, stood Lisa, a radiant, dark-haired beauty. Her makeup was flawless and her ornate dress breathtaking, but the one thing Nova cared about was the one thing impossible to tell. Lisa might have been under 120. She might not.
Lisa spotted Nova in the mirror and squealed with glee.
“Nova!”
She ran across the room and enveloped Nova in an enormous hug. After a few moments she released her, glowing.
“You’ve done such an amazing job,” Lisa gushed. “Thank you thank you thank you!”
Nova tried to smile, but it wouldn’t come. She swayed a bit, and Lisa held her by both arms.
“Are you all right?”
“Oh. Yes. Yes, I’m fine,” Nova said unconvincingly. “Just . . . running through some last-minute stuff in my head. You know. You look beautiful.”
“Thank you!” Lisa said as she spun around so Nova could take in the full effect of her finery.
“That’s . . . not the original dress you had. Is it?”
Lisa’s smile faltered the tiniest bit.
“Well . . . no, actually, it isn’t. I loved that dress, but . . . well, after a month with Gino’s family, I couldn’t fit into it.” Lisa laughed in an embarrassed sort of way.
“And there wasn’t time to alter it, so I got this one. But you know what? I think I love this one even more.”
“Yes. Yes, it’s lovely. Lisa . . .”
Nova hesitated, debating exactly what to say next.
“Do you happen to have a scale handy?”
Lisa looked at her quizzically.
“Um . . . sure. Why?”
Nova thought fast.
“Oh, I . . . have a bet with the caterer. He insists his samples have put ten pounds on me, but I say he’s crazy.”
Lisa smiled and pointed toward the en suite.
“You’re going to win that bet,” she said, smiling. “You look great! It’s right in there.”
Nova hurried into the bathroom. She looked around frantically, next to the shower, next to the sink, behind the toilet, but there was no scale to be found. She rushed back out into the bedroom, where one of Lisa’s bridesmaids was fitting her veil.
“There’s no scale in there.”
Lisa only had eyes for her reflection.
“There isn’t? Huh. It was there this morning when I took a shower.”
The bedroom door opened and Lisa’s mother poked her head in.
“Sweetheart?” she said. “It’s time.”
Lisa and her bridesmaids gathered their things and, beaming, headed out the door. Lisa noticed Nova rooted to the spot.
“Nova? Aren’t you coming?”
“Yes,” Nova said blankly. “Be right there.”
Lisa left Nova alone in the bedroom. She slowly sank to her knees and sobbed uncontrollably.
In the sumptuous living room a short while later, the bride and groom, the bridesmaids and groomsmen, family members, and friends gat
hered near the French doors that led out to the backyard amid a buzz of excited conversation. Nova entered the room, visibly shaking. She didn’t even bother wiping the tears away, but in the general hubbub, no one noticed.
Finally, Gino held his hand up for quiet. He smiled at Lisa.
“Before we head out there and take our sacred vows before the good Lord and my grandmother—God rest her soul—there’s one last thing I’d like you to do.”
“Of course!” said Lisa. “Anything.”
Gino snapped his fingers and Sebby magically appeared, holding a digital scale. He placed it on the floor next to Lisa, glanced up at Nova, and then stepped back.
“What’s this for?” asked Lisa.
Gino smiled. “I’d just like you to weigh yourself, that’s all.”
“What? Why?”
“An old family tradition,” Gino said, his smile slowly fading. “Call me superstitious.”
Lisa looked around the room, which had gone deathly quiet. No one seemed to understand what was happening.
“Gino, this is silly,” Lisa said. Then in a softer voice, “I don’t want to weigh myself in front of all these people.”
Gino’s expression darkened, just as it had in his office earlier.
“When I tell you to get on the goddamn scale, you get on the goddamn scale. Do you understand me?”
He grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her up on the scale. There was absolute silence in the room. Gino gathered up the front of Lisa’s dress so he could see the display. Nova quietly angled around so she could see it as well.
The numbers counted up. 109. 111. 115. 117. Nova felt like she was about to vomit or pass out. Or both. 119. The moment froze in time, and then the display began to flash, indicating 119 as Lisa’s final weight.
Gino’s demeanor once again turned on a dime. He gave a joyful shout, and indicated everyone else should do the same.
“One hundred nineteen!” Gino cried. “That’s good luck on a weddin’ day!”
Everyone hesitantly joined in, except for Nova, whose legs had given out. She fell into a nearby chair and took a deep, shuddering breath.
At the country club later, the reception was in full swing, echoing with music, excited conversation, and laughter. Nova stood by herself in an empty coat room, anxiously chewing her fingernail.
After a few moments, a door at the end of the coat room opened and Sebby walked in, guiding a young girl by the shoulder. The girl lit up at the sight of Nova.
“Mommy!”
The girl ran over and Nova swept her up in her arms.
“Baby! Oh my sweet baby. Are you all right? Let me look at you. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” the girl said. “I made a new friend. Her name is Angelina. Can she come over and play?”
“Well . . . we’ll see, honey. We’ll see.” Nova locked eyes with Sebby for a moment. Sebby nodded his head, indicating they should leave.
“Come on, honey. Let’s go home.”
The girl took Nova’s hand and they walked quickly out the front door. Sebby watched them go, and in a few moments was joined by Carmine Ciaffoni, who was short but tough-looking. He was one of Gino’s men.
“Hey,” said Carmine.
“Hey yourself.”
“So. I take it Gino don’t know that you tampered with the scale.”
“No,” said Sebby. “He don’t. And you ain’t gonna tell him, you understand?”
Carmine nodded. He thought for a few moments.
“Why’d you do it?”
Sebby turned and stared at Carmine.
“You think I’m gonna kill a 10-year-old girl over a few pounds? Jesus, Carmine. My girl is 10 years old. It’d be like pulling the trigger on my own daughter. No way.”
“Fair enough,” Carmine nodded. “Hey, ya know, me myself? A few extra pounds don’t bother me none. I like a girl with some meat on her bones.”
Sebby thought for a moment and then smiled.
“In that case, c’mon. Lemme introduce you to my cousin Annalisa.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen Lomer is the author of the short story collection Stargazer Lilies or Nothing at All and the wildly popular Typo Squad. A grammar nerd, Star Trek fan, and other things that chicks dig, Stephen is the creator, owner, and a regular contributor to the website Television Woodshed. He’s a hardcore fan of the Houston Texans, despite living in the Hub of the Universe his whole life, and believes Mark Twain was correct about pretty much everything.
Stephen lives on Boston’s North Shore with his wife, Teresa.
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