La Rosa Gialla

Chapter 41

August 2024

"Adri, we have to hurry!" Charles yelled at me from the hallway as I struggled with the tangled laces on my yellow dress. With lacing that was only for decoration, and which Charles managed to mess up even more thoroughly than the wire from his headphones. "We'll never make it in time and it's your fault," I yelled at him, tears welling up in my eyes out of desperation. We won't be in time for Enzo and Charlotte's wedding. Charles will not arrive in time for his older brother's wedding. "Show me," he ran over to me, fully dressed and wearing shiny ankle boots, and bent over the yellow pile of misery. "Do not cry. You'll smudge your mascara," he muttered, tugging at one end of the ribbon. I glared at him, but finally took a deep breath and watched as he stuck out the tip of his tongue and, with careful, well-calculated movements, slowly untangled the ball. When he finally managed to find both ends, I quickly threaded the ribbons back into the eyelets and tied a neat bow. I slipped into the dress, grabbed my purse and we sprinted to the garage to Pista, which we drove to the wedding venue.

The wedding took place on a peninsula not far from Nice in a beautiful villa from the beginning of the 20th century with an absolutely magical garden with lots of romantic corners, perfect for wedding photography. We arrived at five minutes to twelve, literally. "Where the hell are you?" Arthur fumed, gesturing aggressively at Charles to hurry to his witness stand. I joined Arthur's girlfriend Carla and together we went to sit in our seats. The ceremony was held on the shores of a man-made lake with the villa, garden and views of the Mediterranean Sea in the background. I finally had time to take a look at Charles. He was standing next to Lorenzo, who looked completely calm and composed. His younger brother, on the other hand, was desperately biting his thumbnail and looking around. He looked beautiful as always. It might be strange to say that a guy is beautiful, but...have you ever seen Charles? He was wearing a light linen shirt with two buttons undone, and I suspected that I would be focusing on nothing but his collarbones for the rest of the day. A light beige jacket with a soft white stripe and matching trousers, messy hair, and light stubble. His gaze landed on me, and a smile appeared on his nervous face. I smiled too, shook my head and pointed at his hand, which he immediately removed from his mouth and hid in his pants pocket.

I didn't cry during the ceremony, even though I was very close a few times. But Charles was crying like a baby. Half an hour after it was over, he was desperately wiping his eyes and I used a handkerchief to wipe his nose. Guys who can show their emotions have always been my weakness and this guy shows so much at times that I feel like a heartless jerk compared to him. I took his face in my hands and kissed him on the lips. "Do not cry. You're going to smudge your mascara," I whispered and he laughed.

"Adri, come too. Bouquet will be thrown," Carla grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the garden, where a group of unmarried girls and women had already gathered. "I don't want to," I whimpered, but Carla and I were already standing among the others and Charlotte turned her back to prepare for the throw. I didn't want to catch it, I really didn't. But if I hadn't put my hands in front of me, I would have gotten hit with that huge, about twenty-kilogram, flower straight in the face. I looked at it scared and it looked back at me as if to say: "What are you staring at? I'm yours. You're next in line." Even more frightened, I looked up and found Charles in the group of men, looking...satisfied?! He looked just as calm as Enzo had before. He was even half smiling and staring right at me. "Whoah, Adri. That's great," Carla said and I shook my head. "It's just a silly tradition, it doesn't mean anything," I replied, but she just shrugged and skipped back to Arthur.

"Adri? Why are you so quiet tonight?" Charlie asked me as he pulled me off the table and onto the dance floor. He grabbed me around the waist and I grabbed him around the neck. I lowered my eyes, not knowing how to answer his question without sounding stupid. "That's because of the flower," I admitted quietly.

"What is wrong with it?"

I sighed and finally looked into the most beautiful eyes in the world. I can tell him anything. We already clarified that a long time ago.

"I guess I was just a little surprised at how calmly you reacted..." I admitted and he raised his eyebrows incomprehendingly.

"Does it bother you that I was calm when you caught the wedding bouquet? Was I supposed to run away or what?" I could see that he was trying not to laugh and to take me seriously, but his corners were still twitching.

"It doesn't bother me," I told him. "I was just a little surprised. We haven't been together very long."

"Adri," Charles laughed. "I've been imagining marriage with you ever since you gave me a second chance. It's probably the last thing in the world I'd be afraid of. I love you and I want to be with you forever. The flower doesn't change anything, I'll marry you sooner or later anyway." I felt butterflies in my stomach and tears in my eyes at the same time. I fell into his arms and buried my face in his chest. I rested my face against his damn collarbone which works wonders for me and then I laughed. "What?" he chuckled and pulled back a bit to look me in the eye. I was almost crying with laughter because of the memory I was about to tell him.

"Do you remember when we first met?" I smiled.

"July 2011, Carasco karting circuit," he answered without hesitation.

"Then I thought you were the most handsome boy in the world..." "You still think that," he cut me off and I nudged him gently in the ribs. "When me and my family came home from the circuit in the evening, I put on a little show in my room. I put a stuffed lion next to me, which was supposed to represent you, threw a curtain over me and acted out the whole wedding ceremony, including the first conjugal kiss."

The thought of explaining this to anyone else would make me faint with shame, but Charles grinned contentedly and instead of any more substantial question, he blurted out, "Why a lion?"