Gianluca Ginoble and I

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

       The next day marked a week of my being in Abruzzo, and I went out alone for my usual early-morning walk, then returned to the Ginoble house to sit cross-legged on the couch next to my mother, reading To Kill A Mockingbird while she watched T.V.

          Gianluca came down from upstairs and sat next to me.

          “So, ladies,” he said to my mom and me. We both looked up at him.

          “I have a second cousin named Carlotta, and apparently, she is getting married tonight. She asked if Il Volo could sing at her wedding, because the person she hired for music had some sort of emergency. It’s a very sudden arrangement, but we’ve got nothing better to do… So, tonight my parents and I, and the rest of Il Volo are going to a wedding. Would you two care to join us?”

          My mom looked at me, “I’ll go if you want to go, Naomi. I think it sounds fun to see an Italian wedding.”

          I looked nervously back at Gianluca.

          “But…Gianluca, what if I have a-”

          He took my hands.

          “Naomi,” he said very seriously. “Listen to me. It is perfectly okay for you to have a panic attack. I won’t mind, Il Volo won’t mind, and Carlotta won’t mind, but I don’t even care if she does. There is no reason to worry, okay?”

          I gazed at him for a moment, and then I nodded.

          “Okay, let’s go.”

          He smiled and reached out to hug me.

          “Are you and Carlotta close?” my mom asked.

          Gianluca smiled.

          “Honestly, I didn’t know I had a second cousin named Carlotta. But my mom says she’s very sweet, and I talked to her on the phone and agreed to sing. She’s paying us, and there’s free food, and I can’t think of a reason not to go.”

          “Gianluca?” I asked.

          “Yes?”

          “What actually is a second cousin?”

          He smiled brightly and leaned back, arms behind his head.

          “Naomi, I have no idea what a second cousin is.”

          My mom and I laughed.

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          So that evening, I put on my red dress, the only one I had brought with me, and my black heels.

          I put on some eye shadow and mascara, and my mom did some fancy braiding thing on my hair and gave me some pretty dangle earrings.

          I went carefully down the stairs and met the boys of Il Volo at the bottom.

          Gianluca offered me his arm and kissed my cheek.    The three boys complimented me on my looks, and then I complimented them on their handsome suits. Ignazio and Piero struck poses, making me laugh.

          Gianluca was wearing what he had worn during one of the Il Volo PBS concerts: a nice black dress shirt under a blue coat, with black dress pants and smart black shoes.