“You should give those flowers to Bryan to hold. You’re going to strangle them. Don’t worry, they’ll love you like we do.”
I handed the flowers to Bryan in the back seat and bit my lip instead. Then I realised what Marco had said. Maybe it was just a saying. No one had ever mentioned the “love” word before. Mind you, I knew I was in love with the pair of them. Oh well, time would tell if he had just said it innocently or not.
We pulled up at a large brick house set on a very big block. There were heaps of cars everywhere. We parked across the road.
“I thought you said this was a monthly get-together?”
“It is. I’ve told you plenty of times I’ve got a big family.”
I knew he did, but hadn’t expected something this large. Bryan must have guessed my thoughts as he said. “Relax, Harry, just enjoy it sweetheart.”
Bryan led the way, Marco had got sidetracked by something. We walked into an enormous crowded kitchen. It was filled with delicious aromas, lots of laughter, and lots of people. It was more than huge but there was something so welcoming and friendly about it.
I saw immediately why Marco wanted the painting. There were ropes of garlic hanging from hooks, bunches of herbs hanging and drying, and a huge wine rack in one corner. The background in the painting was similar to the kitchen’s. There was no doubt that the painting would be perfect. I had been worried it was too large but when I saw this kitchen I knew it would fit in.
“Bryan! Come, give your mama a kiss.”
A beautiful woman stepped up to him. She was about my height, full of life and laughter. She reminded me immediately of Lainie Kazan, she had that same jois de vivre. Bryan enveloped her in a bear hug and lifted her off the ground. She was laughing all the time as he kissed her soundly and put her down.
“Where’s that man of yours? He got lost already?”
Bryan moved aside and Mrs. Campione saw me.
“Mama this is Harriet, Harry.”
Before he had a chance to say anymore, I was wrapped in a warm motherly hug.
“Hello Mrs. Campione.”
“Rosa, you call me Rosa, Mrs. Campione is my mother-in-law.”
“Mama!”
Marco came in, he had the flowers. Bryan had given them to me and I had immediately dropped them. Marco said they were safer with him.
There followed a fast-flowing conversation in Italian. I have no idea what was said but I did catch “Harry” once or twice. Rosa kept beaming at me.
What followed lost me completely. I was introduced to what felt like every member of the Italian community in the area. I was lost at the first name. Bryan looked at me in pity and took my hand.
“Marco, come and find Papà.”
Rosa giggled. “He’s in the garden. Says the birds have been eating his olives. Not true, I took some to give to Aunty Ada. Just don’t tell your father, he reckons they’re not ripe yet.”
The boys led me outside. It was enormous. There was a large covered area with the largest table I have ever seen. There were more people out here. I was kissed and hugged by so many. Eventually we made our way past the table and into the yard proper.
One side was a large grassed area, older teenagers and a few adults were playing soccer and running about. The other side was a garden. Every imaginable vegetable and fruit was growing. It was amazing. I had often dreamed of planting a vegetable garden but never had. Seeing this, my mouth dropped.
“Hey Papà. Come stai?”
“Ciao Marco. Dove si trova Bryan?”
“Ciao Papà?”
“Ah Bryan. Come stai?”
“Bene grazie Papà.”
“You speak Italian, too?”
“Don’t worry sweetheart, you’ll be speaking it too soon. It kind of rubs off on you.”
Bryan gave my cheek a peck as a man came from amidst the garden. I could see immediately where Marco got his looks from. His father was about the same height, dark hair touched with grey. He had a gorgeous smile and was very attractive.
He engulfed Marco in a hug, then Bryan. He turned to me and Marco introduced us.
“Hello, Harry. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Please call me Salvatore.”
I looked at my two boys. Marco shrugged.
“Come, let’s sit. Marco, tell your mother the birds have definitely eaten lots of olives. Is she coming out here?”
“Okay, Papà, okay.”
He walked off. Salvatore took my arm in his and walked me to the table. Bryan tagged along behind. We sat, Salvatore at the head of the table, with Bryan on one side and me the other.
“Marco tells me you’re an artist.”
“Yes. I am.”
“One of those modern types?”
“No.” I laughed. “I’m strictly a traditionalist. I’m afraid I don’t really understand much modern art.”
Salvatore leant forward and whispered.
“Thank goodness. Neither can I. I like to recognise what I look at.”
“Harry shares your love of English literature, Papà.”
“She does?”
The next half hour was spent discussing books. I soon found myself relaxing and enjoying the banter with Salvatore. Marco came back at one point and sat alongside Bryan.
“The meat’s ready!” A man who looked very similar to Marco and Salvatore called out. He had checked a large BBQ with a small pig on it.
“Excuse me, Harry. Time for us to eat.” He winked. “Sometimes I don’t have to cook”
What followed was a feast.
In no time at all, the table was groaning under platters of food. There was everything you could imagine. It seemed everyone pitched in and made something to share. Lots of fresh vegetables, salads, steaming platters of BBQ meat and pastas. Loaves of fresh homemade ciabatta bread, focaccia, and rosette rolls.
Rosa came and sat alongside her husband. Marco had moved to sit beside me. Bryan was sitting alongside Rosa. The rest of the family were spread along the table, with some filling their plates and sitting on the grass nearby.
It was noisy, it was loud, but it was the most wonderful meal I have had for many years. It was filled with lots of laughter and love.
By the time we had finished eating and the table cleared, four hours had passed. Marco had two sisters and a brother, the man who had been in charge of the BBQ. The sisters and a cousin made coffee for everyone. We sat, enjoyed the outdoor air and talked of “shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings.”
I can’t recall a better time spent with a family.
At one point in the afternoon, some of the men decided to play soccer again. There seemed an awful lot of cheating going on but everyone seemed to enjoy it. Toward the end of the soccer game, there were raised voices from the other end of the table. A man and women were arguing in Italian. One was the brother of Marco. The woman yelled at him and he shoved her. I looked in horror as he continued to shout. I had no idea what they were saying, no one else seemed to be taking any attention.
I was worried. This was how it had started with Shitface. He would begin shouting and shoving then before you could escape, he would hit or try to strangle you.
My heart started racing. In the past three or so months since we had been together, I hadn’t even thought about him but suddenly it all surfaced.
Why wouldn’t someone stop him?
He would kill her if they didn’t.
“Harry! Harry, are you okay?”
I looked up, unseeing. Focusing, I saw Marco and Bryan looking down, their faces full of concern.
“He’s going to hurt her!” I hissed.
“Who?”
I pointed to the arguing couple.
“No. No, babe.” Marco grinned down at me. “That’s my brother and sister. They’re arguing about movies as usual. They’re twins. They carry on like that all the time whenever they get together. Just sounds worse in Italian. They’re fine, they love each other and would never hurt the other.”
“Are you sur
e?”
My mouth was dry. I was ready to run. Bryan knelt down.
“Deep breath, Harry. They’re fine.”
Marco’s voice rang out. “Hey stop, con il litigare voi due.”
“Scusa.”
His mother looked at me as if I was a little crazy. Maybe I was at that moment. But I just panicked. I stood.
“Um…I need to go to the bathroom.”
“You okay, babe?”
I nodded and smiled at Marco. Marco said something to his mother as Bryan led me to the bathroom.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“I will be. Just let me wash my face. I just panicked a little. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s okay, sweetie. I’ll wait for you in the kitchen.”
He gave me a kiss and I went inside. I couldn’t believe I’d been so stupid. If anything bad had been happening, of course everyone there would have reacted. I just saw my own past and judged the wrong way. I used the toilet then washed my face. Taking a breath, I went back into the kitchen. My two boys were sitting at the table. Their mother was at the coffee machine. They both looked worried. I tried to smile bravely. Marco stood and kissed me, then sat me down.
“Harry would you like a coffee?”
“Um…thanks Rosa, yes please.”
“Go ask your father Marco. Andare con lui Bryan. Voglio parlare.”
“Si Mama.”
Both men stood, they kissed me, then their mother and left the room.
“Do you have milk and sugar?”
“Yes, thanks Rosa.”
Rosa made the coffees and sat with me.
“They are good men. They worry.”
“I’m sorry. I…I misunderstood.”
“Easy done. Especially in this noisy family. The boys were worried.” Rosa patted my hand. “I’m glad they met you.”
“You are?”
“Do you know they’ve never brought a woman to meet us before? You’re the only one.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer, but Rosa saved me.
“I love my son and I love Bryan. He is like another son to me.”
I wondered if she knew exactly the relationship between them. I kept my mouth shut.
“Bryan is good for Marco. He was a wild boy. I worried about him. He got his trade but he was always being crazy. I was scared he’d do something wrong. But then he met Bryan. Overnight he changed. He matured. He got smart.”
“I know they’ve worked together for a long time.”
“Yes. Marco started to work for Bryan. Then he bought into the business and it grew and grew. They’re very successful, and very happy, I think.”
“I think so, too.”
“I like you, I know they like you a lot.”
“They are both wonderful men.”
She looked thoughtful.
“Maybe eight, nine years ago they met a woman. She went out with Marco, then she went out with Bryan. They both like her. I never met her. Anyway, they’re going for maybe a month. Marco, he is unhappy, and so is Bryan.”
“Bryan comes here one day. ‘Mama’ he says, ‘I think I’m losing Marco. I think he’s going to tell me he wants to be with Angela’. I said, ‘he told you this?’
“Bryan, he looked so sad. He tells me he just knows. I ask him is he going to fight for Marco or let him go.”
“You know what he said to me?”
I shook my head.
“He said ‘I love him too much, I only want what makes him happy and if that’s without me then so be it.’”
“I know they have been in love for many years. At first I was disappointed when Marco tells me he only like boys.” She patted her heart. “I love him, but it broke my heart a little. Same with Papà. He was upset. But he’s our son, so if he is happy then what more can we want for our child? Then a few times, he goes out with girls, too. I was very confused.”
She shook her head and giggled.
“I asked him one day and he tells me he like boys best but sometimes he like girls, too. Oh la la, it was puzzle!” She laughed. “Anyway, some of the people he went out with, we didn’t like. He was being reckless but then he changed suddenly.”
“He tells us he met someone special. Said he was in love with Bryan. We weren’t sure but then we met Bryan. He is a good man. If my son wants to be with him then that’s okay. Papà was a little slower but we can’t help but love Bryan. Papà, well, he treats Bryan like his son.”
I felt a tear trickle down my face. It was wonderful to hear this woman so accepting of her son and his partner. Especially when I knew that Bryan’s parents had rejected him because of his sexuality.
“So now it looked like they would break up. Poor Bryan, he was so unhappy.”
She giggled.
“So I ring Marco. I told him a cupboard door had come off in the kitchen. He has to come fix it for me. Before he came, I get a screwdriver and take out a screw, the door falls off the hinge.”
We both laughed.
“So when he comes, he fixes the door. I see he isn’t happy either. Asked him what’s wrong and he tells me Bryan is going to leave him because he wants to be with Angela.”
“What? They both thought the other wanted her?”
“Yes. Neither of them would talk to the other about it. Stupid boys! Trying to be brave. I asked Marco what he wanted. He tells me he loves Bryan and can’t bear to see him leave.”
“Oh no. How on earth did they sort it out?”
“I got them both here on the Saturday for our lunch, like today. Took them both into the sitting room and sat them down. Told them they weren’t to come out until they had been truthful to each other.”
By now, we were both crying.
“I went back in about twenty minutes later, they were cuddling on the sofa.” She looked off into the distance, a sweet smile on her face. “I love my boys.”
“Anyway, that’s the last time they were serious about a woman. Actually, I think she was playing one against the other. She didn’t accept they were a pair and just wanted one for herself. I think she just wanted to be married, thought one of them would fit the bill and she could get rid of the other.”
I reached out and covered her hand with mine.
“Rosa, I’d never want them to part. I can see how much they love each other. Please understand I honestly don’t want to break them up.”
“I know. I know they would never have brought you here if they thought that. You’re all they talk about. They call in here for a coffee and it’s ‘Harry this, Harry that.’ They are both well on the way to being in love with you.”
I had no answer. Rosa looked at me. She stood and carried the empty cups to the sink. Turning back, she asked.
“The question is, can you love two men equally? Two men who love each other and who have a sexual relationship with each other?”
Time to be truthful to this wonderful woman.
“I knew from the beginning they were together, they’ve never held anything back. I...I’m in love with them both. I know if I lost either of them it would break my heart.”
I stood. She wrapped her arms around me and we both cried. At that moment, I knew I was inexorably linked with this family forever. We had a good cry and then dried our eyes.
“Come on. They’ll think I’ve scared you away. They were worried about you.”
“I know, Rosa.” I took a breath. “Something happened to me a long time ago, it was really bad and well, sometimes it comes back.”
“Ah.” She nodded sagely. “The past always comes back to haunt us at the wrong times, but now you have two men who you can lean on when it does.”
“Yes, that’s so true.” She was so right. “Yes, I do.”
We wrapped arms around each other and walked out to join the others. I noticed some people had left. The evening was getting close. When we got to where the three men were, Marco pulled me onto his knee and Bryan lifted my feet onto his lap. Salvatore was sitting on a long stool with a high back and Rosa sat al
ongside him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, “Your little sister said she’ll see you on Monday, they all left.”
“Okay.”
A few other couples came up and kissed everyone goodbye until all that was left was the five of us plus Marco’s brother, Franco, with his family and his twin sister, Helene, and her family. They moved up and sat with us.
“Helene, can you make your Papà a coffee please?”
“Sure, Papà.”
Marco piped up. “Me, too, sis.”
“I’ll have one as well.”
Everyone was shouting orders. Helene laughed and dragged her sister-in-law, Jane, inside. Soon they came out with a tray of coffee for everyone. Marco started laughing when he saw Jane carrying an enormous platter of Italian pastries.
“Are these for Harry?”
“Hey. I’m not that bad.”
He rolled his eyes and grinned. “Of course you’re not.”
Jane laughed as she sat. She placed the platter near us all.
“Don’t forget we know you, Marco. I doubt anyone could eat as many as you.”
The last of the day was drawing to a close. It was lovely to sit and chat, we drank the coffee and ate most of the pastries before finally calling it a day. Rosa and Salvatore walked us out to the front gate. They both hugged me and I felt like one of the family, they had been so warm and welcoming.
“Don’t forget to come again next month.”
“No Papà. We know.”
“Buona serata.”
“Buona sereta, ti amo Mama e Papà.”
Marco kissed his parents goodnight. Bryan did the same and whispered, “Ti amo Mama.”
I got a hug and a kiss from Rosa and Salvatore, with Rosa telling me not to let the boys forget the next month’s family feast. I asked her if I could bring anything but she assured me they had it all organised this time, but next time I could.
Marco laughed and told his mother I was as bad a cook as he was. I poked him in the chest.
We settled into the car, it was Bryan’s turn to drive, and headed for their house. In spite of my near meltdown, it had been a wonderful day and I told them both.
“I’m glad, Harry. They mean the world to us. Mama, well, she’s the best.”
Chapter Twelve
Build a Love (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 10
