CHIARA
"Sorry. Am I late?" A voice bustled at the entrance. My gaze followed a woman with the bluest eyes I'd ever seen. Her sundress with peach and white prints followed her hasty movements. Her gold locks fell on her shoulders and dimples appeared on her chubby cheeks the moment she saw Junior. Good lord, she looked like a doll. "Babe, shh…" that was all I heard before Junior dragged her to the kitchen. Their height difference was almost comical as the blondie reached only above his stomach. But... babe? Junior has a girlfriend?
I turned to look at my man with a knowing look. "Yeah, Junior finally brought home a woman." He said, smiling. "Never thought he ever would with how he was going around with different colored women every now and then." Marcello shook his head.
"When are these two coming down?" He stared at his watch, looking fed up with waiting. "Stop, we had to look wonderful for the day." Francesca's voice made us all turn to the staircase. "Jesus Christ, honey." Marcelo got up on his feet and headed to the stairs while his wife climbed down like the Queen that she was. Her silk skirt glided with each step that she took. A white shirt tucked underneath it and a shawl draped around her shoulders. A designer bag hooked on her arm, hair in a slick low bun, jewelry, black sunglasses and striking red lipstick.
Marcelo kissed her lips not even caring about the color. Now I see where my man got his madness from. The man looked at his wife as if he was falling for her all over again. Like she was the most beautiful woman. "You look wonderful, honey." Francesca pulled her glasses above her head, "Like always?" The man laughed, kissed her cheek and uttered, "Like always."
"Get a room, you two." Celia descended the stairs and came towards me, leaving her parents hugging and laughing. I stood up as she analyzed me, "You look like a total snack. Sometimes I wonder why you are with my brother." She shook her head.
Carmelo pulled her in a playful chokehold and ruffled her hair. She giggled. "Simple, you little brat. I'm the best." He uttered and winked at me. That, he was. I smiled at him. Celia wore a white jean, a white flannel shirt underneath and a black designer jacket. While I had a floral dress with strappy shoulders picked by Carmelo. She wore her hair in a ponytail, while mine cascaded below my shoulders.
Just in time Junior returned with his girlfriend. "Hi, Chelsea. You're celebrating with us?" Celia blurted excitedly. "Hi, and yes." She smiled. I swear to God people with dimples were made to charm people. And I was amongst the charmed. We were introduced to each other. I found out that she came from New York, owned a flower shop in Milan and was about the same age as Junior. She had this bubbly energy around her but knew when to keep her conversation short or mouth shut. I guess we were going to get along just fine. Apart from Viva and Lia, she could be my other friend. I can feel it.
Marcelo cleared his throat. "Enough with all of this now. Ladies, line up." He said Chelsea and I mimicked Celia and her mother who looked so excited about what was going to happen. What was going to happen? He fished something in his pocket and took out four black cards. Chelsea and I looked at each other before gazing back at him. Girl, I also have no idea.
"For all the new ones… on this day, you get spoiled with an unlimited card, which is a family business's money, as a form of appreciation for your existence in the family. Go shopping and do whatever you want with the money. The rule is don't hold back." I blinked several times. Awed would be an understatement. I had to turn and look at my man because this all was extremely beyond me.
How many more crazy cultures and customs did this family have? Have I woken up in a premium world or something? Carmelo only grinned at me in the back. I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to prepare my racing heart for what was to come for the rest of the day.
With each one of us having our personal cards. We were driven to the village with a number of bodyguards. And when I asked why the men were not coming with us, Celia was happy to tell me that because the men were our personal maids for the day. The usual maids were given a day off and that the men would deal with the kitchen. This family sure had many ways of leaving me speechless. I couldn't wait to see what Carmelo, Junior and their father had in store for us once we returned back.
We began at the spa, where we did all sorts of treatments as Francesca demanded. Then we went shopping. I swear all the boutiques knew who we were once we left. We were treated like celebrities. Each one of us shopped for as many clothes, shoes and bags as possible. Then we headed to the salon which ended up with us having a tea party at this high-end restaurant.
There were also some special treatments for the sake of the day. Either we were gifted mimosas or something else. People were out and celebrating as well. I'd never had this much fun in my entire life. Chelsea whispered to me the same thing some moment earlier. Same girl, same. I always spoiled myself, but let's be honest… getting spoiled hit different all the fucking time.