Page 96 of A Wedding in Tuscany

‘Yeah, for sure. All good,’ I say, volunteering to walk into Medusa’s lair?tipsy and in heels. Not only do I have to convince Cécile to get her skinny French arse down to the vineyard, I have to do it without bitch slapping her smug mug for trying to ruin my sister’s wedding. Well, I acted in high school. I was the lead in the school musical, even though my voice is only okay and the dance teacher I had when I was four asked Mum to find me an activity ‘more suited to my talents’. Surely, I was cast because my acting talent made up for my shortcomings in the other two ‘threats’?right?

I pick my way back down the rows of grapevines, now seriously considering popping on the Havaianas for the rest of the wedding. When I make it back to the loft, there’s a general hubbub of cheer, the small but lively group of guests drinking from flutes or beer bottles and snacking on prosciutto and cheese?the lucky buggers.

Cécile and Louis are next to the large window near where Cat and Jean-Luc exchanged vows and Cécile is looking out?unmistakably at the photo shoot. ‘Bonsoir,’ I say cheerily as I approach. ‘We haven’t officially met yet.’ This is technically accurate considering our only interaction so far is me telling her off right before the ceremony. Under her steely gaze, I soldier on. ‘I’m Sarah, Cat’s sister.’

‘Enchanté,’ says Louis, stepping forward and landing three perfectly executed cheek kisses?three! I like him already.

Cécile eyes me coldly. ‘Enchantée,’ she says, though no cheek kisses and not even a hint of a smile. Do not bitch slap her, Sarah, I remind myself.

‘Um, so, we’re taking family photos down in the vineyard,’ I say, pretending that I didn’t just catch her spying on us, ‘and we’d love for the two of you to join us.’

‘Your parents already asked us,’ she says. ‘Mais, non, merci.’

I’ll ‘mais, non, merci’ you in a moment, I think. I catch Louis’ eye and he seems extremely uncomfortable?uncomfortable and unwilling to do anything to convince Cécile otherwise. Maybe I was too quick to like him after all.

I reckon there’s two ways I can play this?well, probably more but only two that I can think of at this moment. I can placate Cécile and try to get her onside, appealing to her inner human (which must be in there somewhere) or …

‘Well, Cécile, the thing is, this is a family occasion and, like it or not, you and Louis and Alice and Abigail’ ?I mention their daughters’ names, even pronouncing Alice as ‘Ah-leese’, for added effect? ‘are family now. Just like Cat is now part of the Caron family.’ She winces almost imperceptibly at that but, to her credit, she maintains eye contact. ‘And, as it is a family occasion and we’re about to take the family photos’ ?I’m really laying it on now? ‘your presence is required in the vineyard tout de suite.’ I flash a broad smile?one that says, ‘Do not mess with me?I am the Maid of frigging Honour.’ ‘Then, after that, you can continue to sulk the night away like a spoiled child. How does that sound?’

There’s a flash of anger behind those green eyes but she raises her eyebrows?a surrender of sorts?and nods sharply. ‘D’accord.’ Louis visibly relaxes beside her and I refrain from doing a victory dance. ‘Ouvre la voie,’ she says, indicating that they will follow.

Several minutes later, there are surprised expressions all around as I lead Louis and Cécile towards the others. Jean-Luc greets his sister as though she hasn’t been a petulant cow, then Alistair directs us all into position and calls out, ‘Smile!’ for the umpteenth time. He takes several shots and I have no idea if Cécile is smiling or not, but at least we have evidence that she and Louis were at the wedding. And if she continues to be a pill, we can edit her out ‘in post’.

‘And Karen and I have very fond memories of our fifteen-year-old daughter begging us to let her “best friend”’ ?Dad does the air quotes? ‘stay the night.’

‘We were just friends!’ Cat protests.

‘We realised that, love, which is why we said yes.’

‘But I had to sleep in the guest room,’ says Jean-Luc.

‘Well, we were understanding, Jean-Luc, not stupid.’ There is laughter all around, including from my newly minted brother-in-law. Well, mostly, as a glance at Cécile reveals that she is less than amused with Dad’s anecdote-filled ‘Father of the Bride’ speech.

‘In any case, you and Cat were as thick as thieves that year and you became part of our family. We loved you back then. We love you now. We’re thrilled that you two found each other again and Karen and I would officially like to welcome you to the family.’ Dad raises his glass of wine and toasts, ‘To Jean-Luc.’

‘To Jean-Luc,’ we echo. Josh slips an arm around my waist and I lean into him as I sip my prosecco, revelling in the warmth of familial love.

‘And now, I believe I am handing over to my eldest daughter, Sarah.’

Oh, right, my turn. As all eyes land on me, I step away from Josh and collect my thoughts. Maid of Honour-slash-wedding planner duties have kept me busy until now, even with Jaelee doing most of the heavy lifting since the wedding started, but after the toasts, I am slipping off these shoes, piling up a plate from that delicious looking buffet, and letting loose. Well, as loose as one should get at their sister’s wedding when one is forty.

‘Firstly, I just want to say how lovely it is to have you all here. As Giuseppe, our celebrant, said’ ?I motion towards him and, smiling, he dips his head in acknowledgement? ‘there is a lot of love in this room …’ I say this without irony as, even though her behaviour has been atrocious, surely Cécile loves her brother. ‘… with both family and those who we’ve chosen as our family along the way. Jean-Luc, like Dad said, you became part of ours all those years ago. I remember that you were a bright, thoughtful boy with a sharp wit and a gentle heart. It’s no surprise that you’ve grown into the man you have and I am so thankful to have you as my brother.’

I’m toasting through the blur of tears now and I’m not the only one as Jean-Luc wipes under one eye. ‘Cat, you are my closest person, my bestie, my partner-in-a-thousand-crimes?’

‘And the rest,’ heckles Dad. Mum nudges him with the back of her hand.

‘And the rest, Dad, yes, thank you. Anyway, Cat, I love you, I am very happy for you both, and I am so glad we could be here with you to share this joyous occasion. To Cat and Jean-Luc.’

‘To Cat and Jean-Luc,’ everyone echoes.

‘And now I think we’re eating …?’ I look at Jaelee to confirm and she nods. ‘Hooray! Everyone grab a plate?there is plenty of food?and whatever you do, do not miss the truffle risotto. It’s divine!’ Saying there is plenty of food is an understatement, as I’m certain there’s enough for each guest to have brought two guests. I get the sense that we’ll be eating leftovers until we fly home.

Fuck. How can a single thought ambush you like that, obliterating all joy in its path? In a couple of days, we’ll leave Tuscany and head back to Sydney while Cat and Jean-Luc fly to … well, despite my best intentions, I have no idea where. I just know that it won’t be Sydney. This is the hardest part of living across the world from my sister and best friend. And it happens every time we see each other?that tipping point in the trip when it is close to saying goodbye and I can no longer ignore that it’s looming.

‘Hey,’ says a soft American voice in my ear. ‘You look a little …’ I shake my head, hoping a head jiggle will fix everything, and smile up at him.

‘I’m fine.’

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