A. Michael - Nice Day For A White Wedding

And sure enough, Kit raised his arm dramatically, showing her the scenery and threw back his head.

‘Just one Cornettoooooo!’ he sang loudly, imitating the operatic style ridiculously well. ‘Give it to meeee!’

Chelsea rolled her eyes, wondering how many poor Venetians had been subjected to such terrible renditions by drunk English tourists. She felt her cheeks colour as passersby smirked, laughing at that silly Englishman. They seemed to stop and hover to look at him, forming a relaxed semi-circle.

Chelsea looked back and saw Kit kneeling on the ground at her feet. He had stopped singing and was simply staring at her, a desperately hopeful look on his face as he held out a small, velvet box. The ring was obnoxiously huge, catching the light of the shop fronts and reflecting back into her dazed eyes. Three huge circular diamonds sat in a row, and a small smile graced her lips as she remembered him buying her a necklace years before, three small drops, and she’d said, ‘I love things in threes. It’s so symbolic, past, present and future,’ and he’d nodded like he was making a mental note. And he had.

‘Say something, Chels!’ he whispered through gritted teeth.

‘You haven’t asked anything, Christopher,’ she teased.

Kit looked at the crowd, hamming it up as he grinned and projected his voice.

‘Chelsea Donovan, light of my life, centre of my universe, apple of my eye – marry me, or I shall perish here and now!’

Chelsea rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, tapping her foot as the crowds gathered to look at the silly Englishman’s idea of romance. ‘Ask properly.’

‘I love you, Chels.’ He smiled that gleaming, white smile. ‘Will you marry me or what?’

‘Yes.’ It exploded out before he could finish asking and he nodded, like he wasn’t sure she was serious.

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah!’

Kit jumped up and kissed her as the crowd erupted into applause, his arms holding her tight, rocking her back and forth as she laughed against his lips. When she pulled back she felt his tears on her cheeks, and cupped his face, wiping them away.

‘You big softie!’ She kissed his cheek, feeling her own eyes water. Just a little.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur, and none of it was the painful extravagance that Chelsea had dreaded. They strolled through cobblestone streets, hands clasped, occasionally bursting into giggles. They sat in a square eating pizza, drinking Prosecco and commenting on how wonderful everything was, and how amazing their life was going to be.

They drunkenly stumbled back to their room, excitedly showing the doorman, receptionist and bellboy her ring and receiving smiles and pats on the back in return.

Finally, Chelsea collapsed on the bed, arms out like a starfish. She closed her eyes and smiled.

‘I don’t think tomorrow can beat today. Today was perfect.’

‘Well actually, I do have another question to ask you.’ Kit plonked himself on the bed next to her. ‘I mean the first one was worse, but…’

‘Oh God, what?’ Chelsea groaned dramatically, not bothering to open her eyes. ‘You’re secretly a Mormon and you’re wondering if I’m okay with sharing.’

‘No,’ he laughed, and she could feel the bed springs bounce. She opened her eyes.

‘Okay, shoot.’

‘ Well , it just so happens that my parents are at their place in Garda for the summer, only a short train ride away…’

‘You want me to meet your parents,’ Chelsea said simply, feeling the fear rise from her stomach, the sparkling wine suddenly turning on her.

‘Well, you agreed to marry me,’ he shrugged, looking at her with wide, hopeful eyes, ‘it’s got to happen eventually.’

‘Does it?’ Chelsea sighed. ‘You hate your parents. I kind of thought we’d make it through to our first wedding anniversary before I had to meet them.’

Kit frowned. ‘I never said I hated them…’

Chelsea rolled over to face him and raised an eyebrow.

‘You said, and I quote, “my mother is a vindictive harpy and my father hasn’t been sober since 1993”.’

‘All said with love,’ he laughed, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her closer, till they were nose to nose. ‘Look, we’ll go, we’ll tell them we’re engaged, we’ll swim in the pool, drink their expensive Champagne, and then we’re gone!’

He kissed her neck and she could feel herself softening, the exhaustion of an exhilarating day and too much wine catching up with her.

‘Okay, we’ll drink their pool and swim in their wine, and then we’re out of there.’ She nodded sagely, then frowned. ‘Wait, where are we going after that?

‘Wherever my future wife wants.’ Kit kissed her shoulder. ‘Rome? Sicily? Leave Italy and jump over to somewhere else? Or go home and plan the wedding?’

Chelsea wrinkled her nose and made a face. ‘Rome, and then wherever you want. We’ll take turns until the holiday is up.’

‘We’ll be like backpacking teenagers, making it up as we go.’ Kit snuggled against her.

‘I never did that as a teenager,’ Chelsea sighed. ‘The idea of being out of control used to terrify me.’ And the fact that I had no money, no skills and had to work. I couldn’t gallivant around Europe cashing in my trust fund.

‘And now?’ Kit murmured sleepily against her skin.

‘Now I don’t feel scared of anything at all,’ she smiled, drifting off to sleep.

***

‘Jez has been round three times this week,’ Chelsea hissed at Ruby as she plonked herself down beside her in the form room.

‘Why?’ Ruby frowned. ‘He sorted it, didn’t he? The guy who –’

‘Yes,’ Chelsea growled through gritted teeth, looking around the room, ‘he sorted it. And now he keeps coming back.’

She looked at Ruby darkly, her overly plucked eyebrows high on her forehead. She smoothed down her high side ponytail, the dark roots almost greasy.

‘Oh. Carly.’

‘Yep. Jez is dating my mum. What’s next? The Krays turn out to be my fucking fairy godfathers?’

Ruby snorted, ‘even I’m not that good, babe. This is a gift. A gift that happened because of me, by the way.’

Chelsea’s eyes hardened. ‘None of this has been a gift. Do you even know what happened to that guy?’

‘Was it worse than someone biting off his tongue?’

Ruby’s eyes were dark, her mouth smirking with no softness around the edges. Chelsea glowered, staring straight ahead.

‘Jez being your stepdad could have a lot of advantages you know,’ Ruby laughed, ‘he’ll scare off anyone who might hurt you.’

Chelsea snorted. ‘You scare off anyone who might hurt me.’

‘Well, maybe it’ll be all happy families and he’ll make your mum a better person. Maybe he’ll end up being that dad-type person who walks you down the aisle at your wedding.’

Ruby fluttered her eyelashes, hands clasped as she stared off into the distance dreamily for a moment, the whole thing a farce. She snorted and shook her head.

‘Married?’ Chelsea hooted. ‘Who the hells shackles themselves to someone for better or worse? No one goes down with a sinking ship, babe, no matter how good a person they think they are.’

She looked old, her nose twitched up in derision, like she knew the answers about the world. She felt ancient, like she’d already seen every stupid thing that anyone could do in this stupid town. That people were essentially bad, and you just had to let it go, because they were too stupid to be better.

Ruby paused. ‘Do you wish your mum had waited for your dad? Done that whole “stand by your man” country music thing?’