Kwan Kevin - Sex and Vanity

Olivia frowned, not sure what to make of this outburst. She hadn’t known Charlotte Barclay very long, but they had become thick as thieves over the past week, and Olivia would never have imagined that this unflappably poised woman in her early forties would suddenly, apparently, lose it. “Charlotte, how many glasses of champagne did you have at dinner?” Olivia delicately inquired.

Straightening up and brushing off the stray twigs caught on her Oscar de la Renta gown, Charlotte said furtively, “Olivia, can I trust you? Can I count on your help?”

“Of course you can.”

Charlotte continued. “You know I’m only at this wedding as a favor to Lucie’s family. I’m just the plus-one here, and my only job was to keep an eye on my young cousin. But I’ve failed in my duty. Utterly, epically failed. We should never have come to this wedding. We should never have come to Capri. Jesus Christ, her mother’s going to lose her shit when she finds out! And my grandmother’s going to skin me alive!”

Charlotte buried her face in her hands, and Olivia could see that she was legitimately anguished. “Find out what? And where is Lucie now?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to know. I don’t know how I’ll ever look her in the face again.”

“Charlotte, please stop being so cryptic. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s happened.”

Looking her dead in the eye, Charlotte said, “You’ve got to promise you’ll never tell a soul.”

“I promise.”

“Swear on it. On your mother’s grave.”

“Mother still lives and breathes, but I’ll swear on her life.”

Charlotte exhaled. “When did you last see Lucie?”

“I’m not sure … on the dance floor with the bridal party? She was dancing with Sandro, and I thought they looked like such a lovely pair—him with those long Botticelli curls, and Lucie in that gossamer dress, dancing amid all those candles. It looked so gorgeous, I almost wanted to take a picture to remember it for a future scene.”

“Yes, they were dancing. But after the fireworks, I noticed that Lucie had disappeared. I heard that some of the young ones had gone up to Villa Jovis again, so I went up to the ruins looking for her.”

“You trekked all the way up the hill again? In my Viviers?” Olivia reflexively peered at Charlotte’s feet, wondering how obliterated her shoes were.

“This fellow in a golf cart drove me up. Anyway, when I got up there, would you believe what I found? A whole bunch of kids smoking weed in the chapel. It looked like a drug den in Tangier!”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “Charlotte, please don’t tell me you are upset because Lucie was doing that. All the kids have been smoking every night behind the pool. That kid whose family owns Ecuador brought a whole trunk bursting to the brim with goodies, so I’m told.”

“Olivia! Do you really think I’m that much of a square? I went to Smith,fn1 remember? Lucie’s nineteen years old, and I couldn’t care less if she wants to get baked as a Pop-Tart. Let me finish! I went through the great hall, and then I climbed up to the watchtower, but I couldn’t find Lucie anywhere. I was wandering around those godforsaken ruins lit only by lanterns, and just when I thought I was completely lost, I found a passage leading outside to the cliff walk—that precarious path right by Tiberius’s Leap.”

“Dear God, please don’t tell me Lucie fell!”

“No, it’s nothing like that! I went out to the edge and saw some steps leading down to a little grotto, so I went down and that’s …” Charlotte paused for a moment, steeling herself. “That’s when I saw them.”

“Who is them ? What were they doing?”

“Olivia, I couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t believe my eyes,” Charlotte moaned.

“Let me guess … were they doing bumps?”

“Noooo!” Charlotte said dismissively.

“Sacrificing goats?”

“Olivia, it was … unspeakable!”

“Oh, come on, nothing is that unspeakable.”

Charlotte shook her head vehemently. “I’m so mortified. Lucie, my poor little cousin, has ruined herself. She’s absolutely ruined her life!”

Olivia wanted to shake her. “Charlotte Barclay! Tell. Me. What. You. Saw!”

Looking around again as if she had been caught committing the most cardinal sin, Charlotte leaned toward Olivia’s ear and began to whisper.

Olivia’s eyes widened. “Who? Whaaaat?! What the fuck?”

“What the fuck is right. I was so alarmed, I couldn’t help myself. I blurted out, ‘ Stop it! ’”

Olivia threw her head back and let out a shriek that sounded like murder.

I

CAPRI

2013

Dearest Lucie and Charlotte,

Our wedding weekend is almost here, and we thought it would be helpful to give you a quick rundown of the festivities so you can better plan your travel schedule (and your outfits!):

Tuesday, July 16

5:00 p.m.

Welcome cocktails at the Gardens of Augustus

hosted by Marchesa Marella Finzi-Contini (Dolfi’s aunt!)

Dress: Informal

Wednesday, July 17

1:30 p.m.

Lunch at Da Luigi Beach Club

hosted by Isabel Chiu

Dress: Beach chic

9:00 p.m.

Dinner at Ristorante Le Grottelle

hosted by Dolfi De Vecchi

Dress: Informal

Thursday, July 18

10:00 a.m.

Hike the historic “Passatiello” path from Anacapri to Capri

led by Auden Beebe

Dress: Walking shoes or hiking boots

9:00 p.m.

Dinner at Il Riccio

hosted by Constantine and Rebecca Chiu (my big brother & his wife!)

Dress: Cocktail

Friday, July 19

11:00 a.m.

Excursion to Villa Lachowski in Positano

led by Mordecai von Ephrussí

Dress: Informal

7:30 p.m.

Sunset music recital and banquet at the monastery of Certosa di San Giacomo

hosted by the Conte and Contessa De Vecchi

Dress: Formal

Saturday, July 20

5:00 p.m.

WEDDING CEREMONY

Villa Lysis

WEDDING RECEPTION

Villa Jovis

Dress: Formal

Sunday, July 21

2:00 p.m.

Farewell lunch onboard the super yacht Bravo Olympia

Dress: Resort chic

Please choose to arrive on the day that’s most convenient for you, and our wedding coordinator, Gillian (gillian@devecchichiuwedding.com), will contact you to coordinate your VIP transfers and arrival to Capri. Of course, we hope you’ll be able to make it to all the events, beginning on Tuesday. We are so honored that you’re able to take the time out of your busy life, and we can’t wait to share every special moment of our wedding week on the enchanted island with you!

xoxo,

Issie & Dolfi

CHAPTER ONE

Anacapri

Isola di Capri, Italy, 2013

The midmorning haze cleared a few miles outside of Naples, and from the helicopter, Capri suddenly appeared like a glistening rock, as if the gods had cast a giant emerald down into the middle of the sea. Lucie (92nd Street Y Nursery School / Brearley / Brown, Class of ’16) glanced down at the deep blue waters, wondering how warm it was and how soon she could jump in. She loved the feel of ocean water on her skin.

Turning to her cousin Charlotte (Rippowam / Miss Porter’s / Smith), she asked excitedly, “What’s the first thing you want to do?”

“There’s this restaurant, Michel’angelo, which has a spaghetti with fresh Campania tomatoes and burrata that’s supposed to be out of this world.”

“Yummy!”

“How about you?”

“I’d like to swim in the Blue Grotto.”

“Can you swim in it?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Hmm … isn’t it very deep?”