Pennies From Heaven (The Bella Novella Collection Book 3)

  “Wait. . .what did you say, Jolene?” Twila looked flabbergasted by this statement. “Who’s too big for her britches?”

  “I’m not talking about you, Twila, though I can certainly see why you might think I was, what with those Spandex pants stretched to capacity. I’m referring to the town.” Jolene rolled her eyes. “Would someone please pass the chocolate cake?”

  This, of course, led to a major squabble between the two ladies. I used the excuse to check on the children, who were eating cupcakes at a nearby table with my sister, Sophia and her husband. Their chatter felt tame in comparison to the adults. From a distance I caught a glimpse of Mrs. Davidson. She whispered something in her husband’s ear and then the two of them walked across the lawn, away from the chaos. I didn’t blame them.

  A couple of minutes later, Lily and Cecil joined me at the children’s table.

  “Great. This is just great.” Lily shook her head. “Our parents hate each other.”

  “No they don’t.” Cec spoke the words but I noticed the strained tone. “I’ve never know my parents to hate anyone.”

  “Till now.” She sighed and plopped down onto the picnic bench.

  “Everything will work out okay. And don’t worry about the honeymoon thing. We can go to Gulfport any time, Lily. I don’t mind.”

  “Are you sure? Your parents won’t be offended?” Her gaze traveled to his mother, who swiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

  “Last I checked, they weren’t coming with us on our honeymoon.” Cecil’s cheeks flamed pink. He reached to take Lily’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

  “Well, I know, but the very last thing on the planet I’d want to do is upset my future mother-in-law.” Lily looked my way. “What would you do, Bella?”

  I hated to cause more confusion, but spoke my mind. “Girl, I’d go to Paris, but that’s just me. I can’t tell you what to do. Surely his parents will forgive you.”

  “Listen to Bella, Lily.” Cecil slipped his arm around his bride-to-be’s shoulder. I’m guessing Mama’s a little jealous that we’re going to Paris. That’s her motivation for reacting so strongly. But even at that, she wouldn’t keep us from going to see the Eiffel tower in person. And just for the record, they told me that they’ll give us some traveling money. That will be their gift to us.”

  “Really?” Lily’s eyes glistened. “That’s so sweet of them.”

  “Yep. So, settle in, Mrs. Davidson. You’re going to see the Seine, traverse the tower and amble the art museums.”

  “I can’t wait.” The dreamy expression in her voice shared her thoughts on the matter. “I’m looking forward to every single minute.”

  Cecil’s nose wrinkled and I could tell he had something else on his mind. I was just about to step away and give the couple some privacy when D.J. approached.

  “I do feel like we should talk about my parents, though.”

  “What about them?” Lily asked.

  “Nothing to do with the honeymoon. Just something. . .in general. I hope you won’t take this the wrong way.” Cecil raked his fingers through his hair. “But all of this will just take time.”

  “What will take time?”

  “The stuff with my parents. This is all quite an adjustment for them.”

  “All of. . .what?” Lily looked genuinely confused.

  “It’s hard not to just state the obvious, babe, but my family doesn’t, well, come from money.”

  “Huh?” Lily looked more perplexed than ever.

  “I’m just saying it’s hard not to compare yourself to others when the others live a completely different lifestyle than you. That’s all.”

  “I. . .I. . .” Lily shook her head and I could read the confusion in her eyes.

  I tried to think of something helpful to say, but nothing came to me. I’d just opened my mouth to attempt something reasonable when D.J. stopped me.

  My sweetie put up his hand and said, “Let me take this, Bella.” He gestured for Cecil to take a seat and then rested his hand on the back of the chair. “I know exactly what you’re going through, Cecil.”

  “You do?” Cec and I spoke in unison.

  “Yes.” D.J. nodded, his gaze on me but his words directed at Cecil. “When I married Bella I was a nervous wreck. The Rossi family was, well. . .”

  “Crazy?” I tried.

  “No, they were—”

  “Off their rockers?” I suggested.

  “Bella, what I’m trying to say is, your family had money.”

  “Wait. We did?” I tried to get my thoughts to reel backward in time, but they would not. D.J. thought we were well off?

  “C’mon, Bella. You guys owned that huge house on Broadway and the big Victorian wedding facility next door. Your family also owned the most popular Italian restaurant on the Island. You might not have considered yourself a rich kid, but that’s kind of the assumption I came to when I first met your family.”

  “You thought we were snobs?”

  “No. It’s not that. I’m telling you, it was just an image I’d dreamed up in my head. And I think that’s the same thing Cec is facing.” He looked at our friend. “You have it planted in your mind that you’ll never measure up to the kind of man the Rigas family was hoping their daughter would marry. Am I right?”

  “Wait. . .what?” Was that how D.J. had felt about my family, like they didn’t think he measured up? I put my hands on my hips, ready to dive back into the conversation but a gentle nudging from the Holy Spirit stopped me in my tracks.

  “Hate to say it, but you hit the nail on the head.” Cec paused and gave a little shrug.

  “Nail on the head.” D.J. grinned. “Coming from a carpenter, that’s pretty good.”

  “Aw, you know what I mean, D.J. You read my thoughts.”

  “It’ll get easier with time, Cec. That’s all. It’ll get easier with time.” The two fellas dove into a conversation about in-laws and before long I turned my attention to Lily.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “I really don’t know. Hadn’t expected any of this to be so. . .weird.”

  “Hey, you’ve lived in Splendora all of your life, right? You’ve seen just about everything. This is one more bump in the road.”

  “Yeah, but it’s a pretty big bump.” She paused and appeared to be lost in her thoughts.

  “You okay over there?” I asked after a few moments of silence?”

  “Yeah. Just thinking about Splendora. So strange to think we’ll be leaving the town where I’ve spent my whole life. It might be crazy here, but it’s my kind of crazy.”

  “What?” I could hardly believe this news. “You’re leaving Splendora? Why?”

  “Because Cecil’s work is mostly in Galveston and League City. South of here. But don’t worry, Jasmine’s going to keep things going at the wedding facility here. And I can always come back up for the really big events. Besides, this’ll mean we’re going to be neighbors. Cec and I are looking at apartments in Galveston soon.”

  “Really? Well, that’s good.” I hated to give her even more to fret over but the idea of losing Lily as co-director of the Splendora wedding facility made me sad. Really sad. She and Jasmine were a great team.

  “Don’t worry, Bella.” Lily gestured across the lawn at the townspeople, who still squabbled—loudly—over politics. “We’ve always got Twila, Bonnie Sue and Jolene to help.”

  True. Only, from the looks of things, Twila, Bonnie Sue and Jolene were going to need to simmer down a bit before they could be trusted with anything as important as a bride’s big day. Until then, well. . .until then I’d be drinking a lot of sweet tea to cool down, myself.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Faire l’andouille

  Translation : to make the sausage

  (To do something ridiculous)

  On the first Tuesday in April I dropped off Tres at school, left the twins with my sister Sophia, and took Rosie to preschool. Then I headed to Club Wed, our family’s large Victorian wedding facil
ity on Broadway. I walked in the door to the sound of our family parrot, Guido, singing Amazing Grace. The words calmed my spirit. Well, until Guido switched gears and started singing All My Exes Live in Texas.

  I remained in a jovial frame all morning, until I received a call from Lily around eleven o’clock. The bride-to-be released a long, exaggerated sigh.

  “What’s wrong, Lily?”

  “I don’t know what to do, Bella. I count on Twila, Bonnie Sue and Jolene for so many things, but now they’re not really on speaking terms with one another. I think Jolene hurt Twila’s feelings. All that stuff about her Spandex pants? You remember?”

  “Right. But they’ve squabbled before. You know that. They always kiss and make up.”

  “Hopefully in time for my wedding. You’ll never believe this, but Twila’s somehow got the people at City Hall involved in her argument with Jolene. I only know this because my dad’s the city planner now. And you wouldn’t believe the stress this is putting on my mom.”

  “All of this because my uncle got Earline riled up.” I groaned. “If he’d left well enough alone, she wouldn’t have over-reacted. And if she hadn’t overreacted, none of the rest of this would’ve happened.”

  “Laz was somewhere in the lineup of craziness, but it really involves the folks on this end. And don’t even get me started on Earline. Point is, the drama somehow landed in Twila’s lap and she’s definitely run with it, all the way to city hall.”

  “I’m so sorry. I’ll be happy to call her and see if she’ll make peace with everyone. She’s a Christian woman. Surely she’ll see the error of her ways.”

  “While you’re at it, ask her to call my future mother-in-law. Moggie’s not speaking to me.”

  “Wait. . .really?”

  “Really. I pictured this peaceful garden scene on my wedding day and so far it looks like it’s going to be anything but. Remember that thing my dad said about pennies from heaven? I feel like they’re falling all over the place and taking people out, one by one.”

  “We’ve still got a couple of weeks. Twila is a sensible woman and Uncle Laz. . .” My words drifted off. He wasn’t exactly a sensible man. But someone needed to put him in his place, not just politically, but in other ways, too. “I won’t say Uncle Laz is completely innocent, but he’s just bluffing. He’s not even political.”

  “But all that talk about running for president. . .”

  “He has an overactive imagination.” I paused and tried to figure out the best way to phrase this without incriminating Laz. “Look, my uncle is a goober. And he’s getting a little, shall we say. . .nuts in his old age.”

  “I read an article about that not so long ago,” Lily said. “According to statistics, older people are much freer with their thoughts.”

  “Which explains half of Splendora. And your parents, too. And my parents. And, well, most of the people we know. We live among free-speaking older folks. And who knows? Maybe we’ll be that way when we’re their age. You never know.”

  “True, that.” She didn’t say anything for a moment and I wondered what was going through her mind. “The only people who aren’t speaking freely are Cec’s parents,” Lily said at last. “I definitely don’t think they care for my family.”

  “What have they done?”

  “It’s more what they haven’t done. My parents invited them to dinner at that new steakhouse in Kingwood, but they said they had other plans. And Cec and I asked his mom if she’d help us pick out our registry items at Macy’s. She said she had a headache. Seems no matter what we ask, they’re never available. How can I get close to them if they refuse to show up?”

  I paused before adding my two cents’ worth, in part because I wanted to phrase things correctly, and in part because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “Lily,” I said after a moment, “Could I suggest something?”

  “Sure. Anything. I’m wide open to ideas.”

  “I think Moggie Davidson is a great woman who loves her son and who will grow to love you very much. I mean, what’s not to love? You’re amazing.”

  “Thank you, Bella.” Lily’s voice quivered.

  “When it comes to the Davidsons, though, I think you need a different approach. They’re from a quiet, simple background. Rustic. Nothing uptown. I’d be willing to bet she just felt uncomfortable going to a high-end steakhouse with your family. If you’d said, “Meet us at Bubba’s BBQ she probably would’ve agreed, no problem.”

  “You think? So, this goes back to what D.J. said at the engagement party? You really think they’re intimidated by my family?”

  “Well, by your financial status, anyway.”

  “That’s just silly, Bella.”

  “No, it’s not. I honestly think they don’t know how to react to their son marrying into a family that they can’t relate to. And the only reason they are hesitant to get to know all of you is because they somehow feel less than. It’s just what D.J. said. They’re out of their element.”

  “We’re normal people. We live in Splendora, for pity’s sake.”

  “Right. You know that, and I know that, but I’m trying to see this through their eyes. Their son is marrying a businessman’s daughter. That businessman gave his daughter and future son-in-law an amazing trip to Paris as a wedding gift. It’s something they could never afford to do. It’s got to feel. . .awkward.”

  Silence followed on Lily’s end.

  “How do I fix this?” she said at last. “I’m the least pretentious person I know, so I never meant for them to feel intimidated. And I know my parents would never want that, either.”

  “Right. So, invite her to help you register at Target or Wal-Mart. Ask them along for family stuff. Go fishing.”

  “Fishing?”

  “Eat barbecue. Take them to Bubba’s for ribs and banana pudding. Wear jeans and a t-shirt when you take them out. Tell your Mama to put away her Chanel #5 bottles until the wedding day. But most of all, just get to know them. Let them feel comfortable in their own skin around you.”

  “I love you, Bella.” Her girlish sigh caught me off-guard. “I want to be just like you when I grow up.”

  “Girl, I have four kids, two wedding facilities and one of the craziest families on Galveston Island. I might be willing to swap places with you for a day or two, but I’m 99% sure you’d beg for your old life back.”

  Lily laughed. “Okay, okay. No swapping. Besides, I’m too excited about getting married to swap lives with anyone at the moment. And despite all the chaos, we really are making progress.”

  “I’ve covered some ground on this end, too.”

  This led to a focused conversation about her Paris-themed wedding. We fine-tuned the details for the ceremony and the reception. When we finally came up for breath, Lily gasped.

  “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you something, Bella. Bonnie Sue had the cutest idea.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It started when she heard that we wanted to use Cec’s little basset hound in the wedding.”

  “In the wedding?”

  “Sure. We don’t have a ring-bearer, so a dog would be so cute and sweet. Problem is, this particular pooch isn’t terribly obedient, if you catch my drift. In fact, he’s downright naughty.”

  “That could be problematic.”

  “Right. So, Bonnie Sue suggested we use her French poodles. You’ve seen them, right? They’re gorgeous. Coquette—she’s the white one—is as gentle as a lamb. And Jacques—he’s a black beauty—is wonderful with children. I think they would be lovely. They’re standards. Large. Very stately.”

  “Hmm. Well, I have to admit, the black and white combo goes with the rest of your color scheme. Maybe we should put a soft pink bow on Coquette.”

  This somehow led to a conversation about wedding colors, which led to some chatter about the table linens, which brought us back around to the dogs.

  “So, what do you think, Bella? These will be ring bearers no one will ever forget.”

  “That’s puttin
g things lightly. I hope they come with a trainer.”

  “Bonnie Sue says we won’t need one. They’re very sweet and obedient. Never knew an enemy, she says.”

  “Great. Could you get the dogs to counsel Twila and the rest of the gang before the big day? Maybe they could share their secret.”

  I busted into laughter and before long Lily joined in.

  Yes, I could almost picture it now. The folks in Splendora would mend fences, Lily would win over her in-laws, Coquette and Jacques would charm the wedding guests, and everyone who attended the big day would live happily ever after.

  I hoped.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Donner sa langue au chat

  Translation : to give one’s tongue to the cat

  (To give up)

  As soon as I hung up the phone from talking to Lily I headed next door to my parents’ place. I didn’t need to talk to Mama or Pop.

  Nope, scratch that. I needed one person and one person only.

  I found Uncle Laz in the kitchen next to Aunt Rosa, surrounded by a full camera crew from The Food Network. Ack. I’d forgotten they were filming an episode of The Italian Kitchen today. Oh well, I’d just wait till they were done.

  Or not.

  About five minutes after I arrived the director called for a lunch break. Rosa and Laz dished up the foods they’d just prepared and soon everyone was gabbing and eating. I’d never seen so many happy people in one place before. While I had my uncle in pleasant spirits I decided to snag him for a chat.

  “Come with me for a minute?” I asked. “To the backyard?”

  “Uh oh.” He set down the plate of Eggplant Parmesan. “Someone must be in trouble.”

  “Not trouble, really. Just need to talk.”

  “You’re sneaky.” He gave me a suspicious look. “You’ve got something up your sleeve.” He pointed to the back of the kitchen. There, behind the flour container, I spied a Laz for Prez poster with the words Join the Food Party written in red ink. “Speaking of sneaky, do you see what I did? Think anyone’ll notice?”

  I couldn’t help myself. I sighed aloud. “Actually, that’s kind of what I want to talk to you about, Uncle Laz.”