Chapter VII

It was so loud, my goodness, the ground was vibrating. Joy thought the war must have invaded the Italians' souls and made them hungry for grasping life with all their hands and feet. There were definitely sixty people all around; men, women, girls and boys, all ages. For the engaged couple, it was a celebration of their upcoming nupitals, however, for Joy, it seemed like a celebration of life.

Alma's arm was in Joy's when they started leaving the train station in Florence and it continued to be locked inside Joy's palm until their arrival at the chapel. "You'd think I'd know all of those people around us," she said to Joy quietly "-but I don't, my family is very small. It's Francesca's, the bride's, family most of those folks."

Alma's brother, Antonio and his wife Marzia, the parents of the groom, were quickly introduced to Joy by Alma herself. They were complete opposites, Antonio was loud and broad whereas Marzia was tiny and coy. Joy smiled while looking at them both as the one thing that clearly tied them together was a loving look they had for one another. They all found it funny that their son's name was exactly like Joy's friend Lorenzo's.

Alma wore a lovely, sunshine-kissed dress with lace at her neck and pearls making their appearance and catching everyone's eye whenever they looked at her. Her hair was tied back and its silver strands seemed to sparkle which made Joy smile while seeing at her. Alma told her that she was a bit anxious, she hadn't seen her family in months or met her nephew's bride yet. The crowd of people made her arm wriggle a bit in Joy's, so she squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Think of all the fun this wedding will bring, Alma." Joy said to her encouragingly "It will all be fine, I promise."

Alma smiled at Joy, especially at her red curls which she personally found wonderful and always reminded Joy about their beauty. Joyce looked the most feminine she had looked in years. She wore her dark green, satin dress which she was gifted by Mrs Marshall Elliott back in August, a pair of slippers matching in colour, and a navy blue hat with a magnolia flower pinned on the side. Her hair was loosely tied back, with a few strands floating in the air, and her small brown purse was held tightly in her gloved hands.

Quite frankly, she felt strange in all those elegant clothes, they made her shift back and forth inside them, the fabric was far from itchy but she still scratched her arms and her stomach from time to time, as if she was stuck in her own skin. No one told her to wear those clothes, she decided to do so because she wanted to experience what Di, Nan, Faith, Una, Rilla and Gia all feel and wear on regular basis. She called it an experiment and by the time she and Alma were sitting down in the chapel, she was cursing the garments in her head almost constantly. "I will never, ever wear such clothing again. No wild horses or tigers could make me." she hissed to herself and made Alma chuckle.

"The funniest thing about those clothes is that men design them." Alma told Joy and made her even more frustrated.

"What is wrong with men? They make senseless wars, injustice is their domain on many levels and they create bloody corsets too?" she said the last part a bit louder and made a few wedding guests glance at her with wide eyes. No, she wasn't in her small Pienza anymore.

She politely smiled at them and then turned to Alma and rolled her eyes, making the little lady giggle like a girl. "I'm beyond glad you're here with me, Joy."

"Oh, Alma, I can't tell you how glad I am that…" Joy started merrily, tapping Alma's hand gently but then her gaze caught someone's figure. He was what seemed a rush, directed towards the altar and he wore a very smooth, rich suit. His hair, usually messy, was pressed down and at first Joyce thought it couldn't be him. Was he the best man of the groom? Another guest? Why was he there?

"Alma?" Joy said, her voice low and her gaze not leaving his face "Do you see that man at the end of the altar, the one with a rose pinned to his suit?" she asked and for a second she regretted asking the question, not wanting to hear the answer.

"Oh, dearest, that's the groom and my nephew, Lorenzo! Isn't he handsome?" she chuckled with pride and Joy immediately felt sick with anger.

Her cheeks turned the colour of her hair and she frantically stood up, thunderstorm in her eyes. Without a word and leaving Alma completely bewildered, she speed-walked towards the altar. Lorenzo finally looked at her and his face turned ghostly-white instantly. Before either of them uttered a word, she caught his arm and pushed him towards a sideways corridor, she found a door and opened it to see that there was an empty room with a confessional booth at the back.

She pushed him inside the room and closed the door. Joy turned to face him, her hands on her hips and a scream at the end of her vocal cords, waiting for a command to let it out. Lorenzo, on the other hand, was pale, his hands fidgeting, and his eyes avoiding looking at Joy at all times.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she said to him in English, as quietly as she could but it came out as a hiss anyway "Do you think that simply because you're a man, you can just play with someone's feelings?"

"Joy, please, I…" he started and then stopped as Joy took three steps closer to him and raised her hand.

"Do you know how much I value my pride and my honour?" she continued, firmly "I would rather die than live with either being disrespected or damaged. I know exactly who I am but I can't say the same for you, even though up until five minutes ago I thought I did!"

"Joy, let me explain…" he instinctively reached out for her hands and she slapped them immediately.

"Don't you dare touch me in any way!" she hissed, feeling warmer and warmer in her hands "I'm very interested to hear your brilliant explanation."

His cheeks turned bright red and he smoothed his hair nervously "The truth is that I accidentally got a girl pregnant, so naturally to own up to this mistake, we decided to get married, for the baby's sake." he said, his voice gentle and quivery.

Joy thought she couldn't recognise Lorenzo in that moment. Everything about him was different. His curls were straightened and pulled back, his usually casual clothing was now replaced by a certainly rich and elegant suit, his voice was the opposite to strong and certain… Who was this young man standing in front of her? She crossed her arms and sighed with disappointment "And here I thought you were different." she said, almost more to herself than to him "How awful it is to realise that you are truly like most men."

"Well, I'm owning up to it, am I not?" he said, almost angrily "Do you think I want to marry this girl? Sure, she's nice, but she doesn't have the fire I seek. She doesn't have a personality at all. She's…" he sighed wistfully, looking at Joy sincerely "-well, she's not you." Joyce laughed and clapped her hands together. She then turned towards him, took additional three steps forward and without a moment of hesitation, she slapped Lorenzo across his left cheek. She could see the print of her hand on his face and for a moment she was unsure of who she was either. Lorenzo looked half-stunned, half-understanding, and began massaging his cheek "I deserved that." he agreed and Joy shook her head at him.

"You better stay faithful to this girl." she said sternly "Don't you dare say she has no personality, everyone does. You just don't know her. I pity her, she will have to put up with your falseness for the rest of her life." she turned to the door but Lorenzo quickly touched her elbow so she turned around.

"I am truly sorry, Joy. I am honestly the stupidest man alive." he said and his voice sounded true to Joy's ears "Can we at least remain friends?" he asked and his voice trembled a bit.

She frowned, stunned "I don't know, Lorenzo." she replied "For at least a long while you need to give me space, I can hardly bear to look at you." and without another word, she walked out of the room and came back straight back to her seat next to very confused Alma. Joyce whispered into her ear the story of Lorenzo and herself and Alma listened carefully, with a very calm face. It seemed as if Alma wasn't surprised by this turn of events at all and she even highlighted that Lorenzo was "always a troublesome child, causing my brother all kinds of mischief that he did not care for.".

"I don't understand why he wouldn't just tell me that he couldn't be with me in the first place." Joy said quietly to herself, her hands cuddled up together.

Alma's heart grew greater and she put her hands on Joy's tenderly, smiling at her softly in a way that made Joy return the favour "He's just a silly man, Joy." Alma said to her "He knows exactly what he's missing and now he will pay the price."

Joy chuckled sadly, pushing her tears away before they could fall on her cheeks "Why, oh, why can't my life just be nice and simple?" she asked.

Alma giggled "Oh, dearest Joyce." she shook her head, her eyes glistening "Life would be so boring then. And I've known you well enough to notice that your heart seeks adventures and opportunities at every corner, you will think like this for a few more moments and then you'll realise how entertaining life can be if you let it."

Before Joy could reply, the wedding march filled the chapel, making an echo-like vibration paralise everything it touched. Everyone stood up and the bride started walking down the aisle on her father's shoulder. She was very beautiful, her face bright and flawless, blonde curls perfectly tied together above the sparkling with love blue eyes. Her dress was simple and Joy thought it better as the bride's natural beauty was then the central object of other people's attention instead. In that moment, Joy stopped feeling brokenhearted and confused, she felt genuinely enchanted by the entire ceremony and thought to herself "Maybe I would like to get married myself one day?".

When the vows and rings were exchanged and they were announced "Marito e Moglie", a very awkward kiss was shared for everyone to watch. Joy's heart quickened in beat as she felt responsible for this awkwardness. She quickly shook her head, however, it was not her fault, she repeated in her head. Everyone started walking out of the chapel and without Joy noticing a small bag of rice was placed in her hands and she followed suit of others and started sprinkling the little white beads at the smiling newlywed couple. Joy started to feel more and more out of place, a feeling she never considered to be any problem of hers before. Her thoughts were muddled, her feelings even more so and with every minute she felt like running to the nearest port and going straight back to Glen St Mary into her mother's arms.

However, when she reached the charming villa with all the other wedding guests and saw the beautiful tables and chairs, all decorated with uncountable amount of flowers, an amazed gasp escaped her lips. Alma, who gave Joy some space during the walk across Florence to the villa, now smiled softly at her expression and patted her hand "Think of today as your day, as much of a beautiful day as it is for the brand new Mr and Mrs Cadesso." she whispered.

Joy smiled widely at that, forgetting her heartbreak as if it was all a dream, because nothing but nature could make her become this happy about the world she was living in. The skies were grey at the beginning of the day, however, now they were crystal clear and blue, not a cloud in sight. The air became warmer, and it seemed to have warmed up Joy's heart as well. The grass seemed greener, the world wider and more optainable. Lorenzo and his wife started to prepare for their first dance and Alma tightened her grasp on Joy's hand "You go, dear." she said mischeviously "Go and enjoy this party the way you know you'll enjoy it."

Joy kissed Alma's cheek gladly "I will find you soon and have my first dance with you, dear Alma." she said and then quickly ran off behind the crowds to the back of the villa, making Alma laugh once again at her carefree spirit.

Joy stopped in her tracks as soon as she reached the view spreading in front of her eyes, right at the base of the clearly medieval villa. "No wonder a certainly glorious Italian built their home right here." she said to herself and immediately felt a smile spreading across her face.

Before her was a sunset, a sky of oranges, reds, pinks and purples which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and it hadn't yet reached the front of the villa where the rest of the wedding guests and the newlyweds were celebrating. The hills of perfect green and yellow made their ups and downs like waves frozen in time. Joy was once again reminded that there were grander things in life than a fleeting feeling of being brokenhearted or homesick or simply having a life as a human being. How many people before her gazed at that view and wondered about life? How many of them led the simple life, how many a life filled with tragedies? How many thought about the people before and after them? Often, Joy felt alone in her thoughts such as these, however, in this moment she truly sensed a connection to the entire world, and a certain calmness which she always longed for.

"Would you like a drink, Miss?"

Joy turned around suddenly, as if awoken from a dream. A young man with short, blonde hair, blazing blue eyes and a fervent face had two glasses of wine in his hands and one was extended towards Joy. His eyes enlarged and his breath was taken away at the sight of a red-haired beauty standing in front of the magnificent sunset and his cheeks quickly blushed.

"I would, thank you." she said with a smile and took the glass in her hand "Won't you join me?" she asked him, her voice still dreamy and eyes sparkling with possibility of the sunset she quickly focused her eyes on once again. The man came closer and stood next to her, however, his eyes focused on her freckled face which he observed as if he was witnessing magic. They both took a sip of wine at the same time and then Joy and the man looked at the sky's performance in unison. In that moment, there was nothing else in the air surrounding them, simply an excitement and fear of what life can offer.