by MJ Summers
“Shit,” he said to himself. “So much for a backyard wedding.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later, he ran across the field with Tomas in his arms. He hunched over his son to shelter him from the pelting rain. Stepping into the bright warmth of the kitchen, Trey put him down. Alessa got up from the table and quickly started unbuttoning Tomas’s coat and sliding his boots off. “Good morning, rapazinho.”
“Morning, Lessa.” He touched her cheeks with his chubby little fingers. “It’s raining hard!”
“I saw that.” She glanced up at Trey with a worried expression.
Betina reached her hand out to Tomas. “Come, rapazinho, have some pancakes with Tia.”
Alessa stood and watched as Trey finished hanging his coat, which was drenched from his dash to the house. He gave her a confident smile. “You look worried. Don’t be worried. I have a plan.”
“Don’t be worried? This is the first huge storm in over a year! And it happens on our wedding day. What if it’s a sign?”
“A sign? When did you get so superstitious? It’s just rain. I don’t figure the earth chooses weather based on our plans. Do you?” He gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“But—”
“It’s just a little water. Besides, back home, rain on your wedding day means good luck. Or that you’ll have lots of kids. Something like that. Anyway, it’s good. Now, I’m gonna need some coffee, and Carlos. Is he around?”
“He just finished breakfast. Avô!” Betina called as Trey helped himself to a mug.
Carlos appeared a moment later. “Olá!” he said with a smile.
“Olá, Carlos,” Trey said. “Betina, can you help me explain my plan to Carlos? Alessandra, you and Tomas relax and have some pancakes. Then I want you to spend the day doing exactly what you would have if it were sunny out. Take it easy, drink some champagne, get a manicure or whatever it is brides do before a wedding.”
She put her hand on her hip. “How am I supposed to do that?”
“Use your imagination.” He gave her a little wink. “And trust me.”
* * *
An hour later, the first of several trucks started pulling into the yard. Alessandra’s uncles and cousins got out, dressed in rain gear. Lorena sat by the window in her bedroom, watching as Trey led them over to the barn, pointing and gesturing as though giving detailed instructions. He had started erecting a lean-to using a couple of huge tarps and some long poles and was now soaked, water pouring off the rim of his cowboy hat. “What the hell does he think he’s doing?” she asked herself.
The men hurried over to help pull the tarps taut and prop them up using the poles. Large sheets of plywood were brought from the tool shed and set down under the lean-to.
Lorena scowled. “If he thinks my daughter is getting married under a tarp, he’s dumber than dirt.”
Two tractors were driven out and parked under the tarps a few minutes later. “The barn? No, no, no. This is undignified.”
Trey glanced at the house and saw Lorena sitting in the window, her eyes narrowed at him in an unmistakable display of disgust. He tipped his hat to her and gave her a tight smile.
* * *
Miguel backed his truck up to the barn. He had attached a long horse trailer to the truck and the men were now loading the animals into it. When they finished, Miguel gave a little wave and drove off. Soon, clouds of dust billowed out of the barn’s main door. Betina stood at the kitchen window, holding Tomas in her arms.
“I go out,” he told her.
“No, honey. You play with Tia. Your dad said it’s going to be very messy out there while he works.”
“Me like messes.”
“More than cookies?” she asked. “Tia has cookies for boys who stay inside.”
Tomas nodded. “Okay.”
Alessandra’s voice came from down the hall. “What’s going on out there?”
“Nothing!” Betina called to her. “You’re supposed to be in the bath relaxing, remember?”
“I can’t relax. It’s my wedding day!”
“Too bad. I’ve been given my orders: keep you away from the windows and try to make you relax! Now shut up and read a book or something.”
* * *
“Okay, guys, let’s bring the lights in next!” Trey called as he strode over to the wall to take a ladder down. The men unloaded boxes of candles and white Christmas lights they had all been instructed to bring. For the next hour they worked quickly, stringing the lights and setting out the candles. Trey worked with Bruno on setting up a large awning of beige canvas. They attached it over the main doors to the barn, then set down sheets of plywood to make an entrance for the guests. Taking out his measuring tape, Carlos measured the plywood at the front door and made some notes, then got into his truck and disappeared without a word to anyone. An hour later he returned, his truck filled with large black mats. Finding help from a few of his nephews, he began to position the mats on the wood. A long black carpet was the next thing to come out of his truck. They rolled it down the centre of the barn floor to make an aisle.
“Wow! That looks great, sir!” Trey called. He was perched on top of a ladder, stapling a string of lights along the wall. “Obrigado!”
Carlos gave him a thumbs-up and a nod of approval on the work Trey had done. The floor of the barn had never been cleaner and had dried nicely by the time the carpet was rolled out.
“That’s it for the lights. Did anyone manage to find that white cloth I asked for?”
Miguel raised a hand. “My mother sent me to the fabric store to get it. It’s called tulle, and you owe me because I looked like a big sissy walking out with three rolls of it.”
Trey laughed. “Thank you very much! When you get married, I’ll be glad to look like a sissy for you.”
* * *
Alessandra sat on her bed in a bathrobe, staring at herself in the mirror. The sight of Tomas’s little tuxedo hanging in her closet caught her eye. She was about to become his stepmom, and the thought made her heart swell. After today, she would never have to worry about him being taken from her again. She would go from being his nanny to being his mother, giving her the chance to watch him grow up and guide him through all of life’s trials. Raising a child, promising to be there for him for the rest of his life, no matter what, was the biggest of responsibilities. Her heart pounded with the enormity of it, but she wasn’t overwhelmed or scared. Rather, she felt the purest joy. She had glimpsed the sadness of losing him and knew without a doubt that she was ready for this commitment.
Alessandra stood and opened the door.
“Tomas? Where are you?”
He poked his head around the corner of the hallway. “Watching cartoons.”
“Come with me for a minute. It’s time to put on your tuxedo.”
He glanced back at the TV, then, with a shrug of one shoulder, he walked down the hall to her.
When he entered the room, Alessandra knelt in front of him and planted a wet kiss on his forehead. “Tomas, you know that your dad and I are getting married today. But do you know what that means?”
“We get cookies?”
Chuckling a little, she smiled down at him as she lifted his T-shirt over his head. “Yes, but also it means that after today, I will be your stepmom and you will always be my son. We will be a family. You and your dad and me. We will never have to go away from each other.”
Tomas beamed at her as she pulled a white shirt onto him and buttoned it. When she was finished dressing him she shook her head in wonder. “You look so handsome, like a true gentleman. I love you so, so much, rapazinho. You will always be my little boy, no matter how big you get.”
“I love you too, Lessa. I go watch cartoons now.”
“Okay, no more snacks, though. I don’t want you to get your clothes dirty.” She watched as he turned and made his way out of the room, her heart bursting with joy. She couldn’t wait for the day when he would call her Mãe, but she knew she needed to be patient. It would happen whe
n the time was right for him.
* * *
By the time the guests started arriving, the barn was ready. Trey, however, was not. He was covered in both mud and dust. The rain continued to beat down on the yard as Daniela and Ricardo arrived with a small trailer attached to the back of their truck. Trey swore under his breath as he realized it was a carrying a donkey. The other men started laughing, and Trey gave them a wry smile in exchange. “Alright boys, thirty minutes till the ceremony. Let’s get this done.”
Putting on his hat and coat, he stood under the awning, watching as the donkey was set loose in the muddy pen next to the barn.
He stood with his hands on his hips, watching the burro for a moment before heading to the house instead of the pen. The guests who had decided to brave the rain heckled him as he walked away.
“Be right back!” he called.
Knocking on the kitchen door, he waited until Betina answered. “Is it safe to come in?”
“Yes. She’s in her room getting dressed.”
“Good. We’re almost all set. Only three things left on my list. I just need to catch a burro, get your mother to come out of her bedroom, and go have a shower.” He toed his cowboy boots off and hung up his coat and hat before starting down the hall to Lorena’s room.
“Alessandra,” he called as he neared her room. “Don’t come out. It’s me, but I’ll be out of the house again in a minute.”
“Alright. Is everything okay?” she called back, sounding worried.
“Never better, honey. We’re going to have ourselves a terrific wedding.”
He tapped gently on Lorena’s door, then spoke into the wood. “Lorena. It’s Trey . . . Listen, I understand that I’m not a good bet as far as your daughter goes. We only met a couple of months ago, I’m broke, I have no job and I’m a foreigner with a three-year-old. But except for my son, I love your daughter more than anything or anyone I’ve ever met. And I’m going to set my mind to taking care of her for the rest of her life. Once I set my mind to something, I do it. I’m lucky enough that she’s agreed to share her life with me, and I promise you that I’ll never take her for granted and I’ll never ask her to give up her dreams, either. In fact, I’ll fight like hell if she ever wants to give up her dreams. I promise you that.”
He paused, waiting for Lorena to say something. When no response came, he continued. “In about thirty minutes, a moment in Alessandra’s life is going to happen that you can never get back. She has no father. Only you. And if you’re not there, you’re going to spend the rest of your life wishing you had been. Even if I turn out to be a total bum, she’s always going to be your little girl. And she needs you today.”
He stood for a moment, waiting, and then let out a sigh and turned on his heel. Passing through the kitchen, he opened the sugar bowl and scooped up a handful of cubes. Once outside, he walked directly to the pen, where the donkey stood in the far corner, looking wet and miserable. Plucking a rope off the gate, he draped it over his shoulder, then opened the latch and entered the pen. Gently tossing a sugar cube beside the donkey, Trey stood perfectly still, waiting. The donkey stared him down for a moment before deciding to go for the treat. As soon as he ate it, Trey tossed another one a little closer, then another and another, until the burro was close enough. He stood sideways beside the animal with his hand outstretched. When the donkey finally started to nibble the sugar from his hand, Trey let his shoulder drop a little and, with his other hand, pulled the rope off his arm and onto the burro’s neck. Giving the rope a small tug, he turned and led the animal out of the pen and into the back of the waiting trailer.
“Hmph, that was maybe the most boring bumba meu boi I’ve ever seen,” Alessandra’s uncle remarked as he put his video camera away. “I thought for sure he would end up sliding around in the mud for a long time, but there was nothing funny at all.”
Trey gave the guests a smile and a nod as he started toward his house. He turned back and held up his hands. “Thank you, everyone! That was fun but I need to get cleaned up. I’m getting married in a few minutes!”
* * *
Daniela banged on the door to Lorena’s bedroom. “Lorena, you’re being a child! Open the door now!”
Pulling a hairpin out of her mess of naturally curly tresses, Daniela began to pick the lock but the door swung open, revealing Lorena in a beautiful red dress, her hair swept up off her neck.
She gave Daniela a little nod. “I’m here. No need to be rude about it.”
Alessandra opened the door to her own room, and the two burst into tears, hugging each other. Lorena whispered, “I can’t believe I almost missed this. I’m so sorry.” She reached up and held Alessandra’s cheeks in both hands. “You are my daughter and I love you. I want the best in life for you, which includes the best husband. I’ve been watching your man today and I think I may have been wrong about him. You should see what he’s been doing all day. He must really love you to make such a wedding for you from nothing.”
Alessandra nodded. “He does. I know he does. And we’re going to be just fine.”
“I hope so. Either way, I’ll be there for you. Always, I will.”
“I know.” She squeezed her mother before letting go. “Now, I need to fix my makeup again. And so do you.”
“And you need your veil.”
“We better hurry.”
“Not really, the bride is always late. It’s good luck,” Lorena said. Turning to her sister, she said, “Daniela, has anyone made the caipirinha? I think my daughter could use a drink to calm her nerves.”
Daniela nodded. “Of course. I’ll get us all one.”
Twenty-Seven
Alessandra stood under the makeshift awning with her avô and her mother on either side of her. The rain had slowed to a steady, soothing rhythm and the air felt refreshing against her skin. Her heart beat wildly as she looked down and saw her bouquet of lavender hydrangeas and roses shaking. “Breathe, darling, breathe,” Lorena said.
Carlos turned to her and smiled. “You are so beautiful, my little one. You are like the sun. Every day your heart shines straight out into the world, bringing warmth wherever you go. I’m so lucky to have lived long enough to see you get married to such a nice young man. I know you will take care of each other the way your grandmother and I did.”
“Oh, Papai,” Lorena interrupted. “You’ll make her cry and ruin her makeup.”
“She’ll still be beautiful,” he said proudly.
Betina slid open the barn door a crack, then asked the bride if she was ready. Alessandra nodded, her nose wrinkling up with emotion.
“Okay, here we go!” Betina said, sliding the door open to reveal the transformation of the barn to her sister, and that of her sister to everyone who was waiting for her.
Alessandra gasped when she saw the huge space, now somehow so elegant, with tiny white lights strung everywhere and tulle streaming from the walls to a point in the centre of the ceiling to make it look like they were inside a large tent. Simple white folding chairs lined both sides of an aisle, and her family and friends stood facing her. Candles glowed from all sides, and a trail of white rose petals led down a black carpet to the other side of the room, where a wooden arbour covered in tulle had been set up. Trey stood in front of the arbour, looking devastatingly handsome in a black tuxedo, his face full of emotion as he gazed at her. Tomas stood at his side, looking like a miniature clone of his father and grinning from ear to ear. Alessandra was so overcome, her feet forgot how to move. Her entire body shook now as her hand covered her mouth. She tried, with everything in her, to blink back tears but they refused to be denied. Carlos and Lorena linked arms with her and gently nudged her forward. This was it.
Hundreds of eyes were on her but only one set mattered to Alessandra, and his were shining with love. When she finally reached him, Carlos offered her hand to Trey, who took it carefully in his own. “You look so beautiful,” he whispered in her ear. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” she a
nswered back. “I can’t believe you did all this for me. You’re amazing.”
“Oh, this?” he asked nonchalantly. “This is nothing. I’m just getting started.”
Alessandra’s boss, Judge Bathory, stood in front of them, ready to oversee the ceremony. He smiled at her and spoke quietly. “You look very lovely, Alessandra. And you’ve got quite the groom here. I saw how he managed to catch the donkey with sugar cubes. It was inventive, and it made me curious about how he captured you.”
Alessandra glanced at Trey. “It was much the same way, except he used pistachio ice cream.”
The judge laughed. “Are you ready, my dear?”
“I am.”
“Let’s go!”
Trey squeezed her hand as Judge Bathory started his address to the crowd, speaking in both English and Portuguese. He spoke of the importance of marriage, his admiration for Alessandra and his wishes for their future together with little Tomas. When it was time to exchange vows, the couple faced each other. Trey was asked to go first. He took a small paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. “Betina helped me with this, so now we’ll see if she really likes me or not.” The guests who could understand English chuckled at his joke.
Trey looked at the audience. “Um, please excuse my poor pronunciation, everyone. I’m new to Portuguese.”
Then he turned to her and started to read from the paper slowly, glancing up at her often as he made his vows. “Alessandra, sometimes life takes us places we never knew we’d go and takes us completely by surprise. If someone had told me a few months ago that I would be living on a farm in rural Brazil and that I would be madly in love, I wouldn’t have believed them. But here I am and here you are. Life brought you to Tomas and then me to you. And that makes me the luckiest guy alive, because you are without a doubt the most beautiful person, both inside and out, that I’ve ever met. You seem to have enough patience and kindness for the entire world. And it didn’t take me long to figure out that you were it for me. You have the most wonderful laugh I’ve ever heard, and I want to spend the rest of my life making you laugh and seeing your smile and knowing your heart. You make me want to be a better man, and with you by my side, I know I can do that. I believe in you, Alessandra, and I believe in us. I’ll stay faithful to you, honour you, love you and support you for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for the rest of our lives.” Trey’s voice broke a little as he gazed into the glowing face of his bride. “How was that?” he asked in English.
