-October 19th 2022-
"Beep"
"Beep"
"Beep"
I hear my alarm clock going off on my nightstand. Why did I decide to get up this early again? Before I can even shut my alarm clock off, I hear my bedroom door open and someone jump on my bed.
"Wake up Nat!!!! It's my birthday!"
I roll over and am met with Bella excitedly jumping up and down on my bed.
"Five more minutes." I mumble.
"Come on, Nat! It's my birthday, and you said Gabby would be here soon to hang out with me! Plus, mom made pancakes, and she said we couldn't eat them till you came down." Bella whines.
"Fine! Fine! I'm coming." I say, getting up and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
When I walk downstairs, I am met with the delicious smell of chocolate chip pancakes, strawberries, and maple syrup.
"This all looks amazing, Aunt Stella." I say, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
"Of course they look yummy. Mommy used your recipe." Bella says, digging into her food.
"What and my recipe isn't good?" Aunt Stella snaps.
"No, yours is good. Nat's is just better." Bella says, continuing to shove the pancake into her mouth.
Aunt Stella smiles, "Leave it to an eight-year-old to keep you humble."
We all finish eating our pancakes, and Aunt Stella and I clean the dishes.
"WHERE IS THE BIRTHDAY GIRL!" I hear someone yell from the front door. And that would be Gabby.
"WE ARE IN THE KITCHEN GABBY!" I yell back.
"Hey Mr. and Mrs. Bellini, hey Matteo, hey Nat." Gabby greets.
"Hey Gabby. We have some extra pancakes if you want some." I say, putting the last plate in the dishwasher.
Gabby shrugs, "Sure, I'll have one. Now, where is the birthday girl?"
"I'm right here Gabby!" Bella squeals, running into the kitchen.
"Hey there, squirt! How is your day going?" Gabby says ruffling Bella's hair.
"It's good! Are you here to watch me while Matteo and Nat set up my birthday party?" Bella asks.
"I am. What do you say we go upstairs and get you dressed and do your hair? We should probably stay out of the kitchen so we don't interrupt Nat while she bakes? Oh, by the way Nat Amara texted saying she is on the way, she's just stopping at the store to grab stuff and I have heard nothing from Rafael or Anita."
"Okay."
"Come on, Gabby, let go to my room." Bella whines.
"You should go with her Gabby before she has to pull out the puppy dog eyes." I laugh.
Gabby laughs too. "Alright squirt, let's go."
I watch as Gabby and Bella make their way upstairs before turning to Matteo. "So, heard anything from your best friend?" I ask sternly.
"So, heard anything from your boyfriend?" He asks in the same tone.
"Touche, but seriously, has he texted you or anything?"
"Yeah, he said he would be here in 5 minutes. He just needed to finish wrapping Bella's present." Matteo says.
"Great. When he gets here, you two can go down to the beach. Aunt Stella, are you staying here to cook or going to the restaurant?"
"Uncle Ricco and I are going to the restaurant. That way, you have the kitchen to yourself. Which reminds me, Ricco, we should probably get going. See you two at 3 o'clock."
"See you two at three!" I say and then turn back to Matteo. "Okay, so when Rafael gets here, you two can go down to the beach, and I will send Amara there when she gets here. Got it?"
"Got it." Matteo sighs. "Why are you so serious about this, anyway? It's just Bella's birthday party."
"Exactly! It's Bella's birthday party. We got to make them fun for her while she still wants to have parties. Soon she'll grow up and not want parties we plan."
Matteo rolls his eyes. "Yeah, but by then, you and Rafael will probably have kids to plan parties for."
If I was drinking something I would have just spit it out. What did Matteo just say? He's joking, right? No way he thinks Rafael and I will last THAT long.
"Your joking, right?" I ask, trying to swallow my spit before I choke on it again.
"I'm dead serious. No way in hell is Rafael stupid enough to let go of you when you guys have something special." Hate to break it to him but that something special is called acting.
"Nah, Rafael probably is stupid enough to do something like that. I mean, unless he's smarter than he acts." I say, stifling a laugh.
"Believe what you want, Nat."
Before I can respond, I hear the front door open and Rafael walks into the kitchen. At least I don't have to have the terrible conversation with Matteo anymore.
"Hey guys. So where is the birthday girl?" Rafael asks setting her present down on the table.
"Upstairs with Gabby. Now you two should probably start heading down to the beach. Amara will be there soon."
"Wow, you trust us enough to leave us unsupervised for 10-20 minutes?" Rafael asks sarcastically.
"No, I just don't want you to be in the kitchen while I'm baking, because that's an extreme safety hazard." I reply, matching his tone.
"I'm hurt DelGatto." Rafael says fake pouting and holding his hand over his chest.
"You'll live. Now you two should go. The tables are in whatever you people call the garage."
"Box Auto." Matteo corrects.
"Yeah, still sounds stupid. Now shoo." I say, pushing them out of the kitchen.
Finally, I can bake in peace. I have to make Bella cake, per her request, sugar cookies, and biscotti. I should probably start with the cake and sugar cookies first because they need to cool in order for me to decorate them.
——
I finished baking everything! Yay! Now I can do the fun part which is decorating. I am about to decorate the cookies when I hear my phone ring.
I look at the caller ID and see it is Rafael.
"Hey Rafael." I say, answering the call and putting it on speaker. It's currently two o'clock and I need all the time. I have to finish decorating everything.
"So umm. Anita's not coming over to help you."
"What do you mean she isn't coming to help?!?!? No way I can finish decorating the cookies and cake and get them to the beach before 3 o'clock"
"She was spending the night out of town at some baking convention in Rome and my mom just texted me, saying they were stuck in traffic and wouldn't make it back till after 3 o'clock. I could have my dad and the twins come help, but do you really want Carlo and Clarisse helping? I mean, Clarisse might be helpful, but Carlo would definitely drop something. Can't you have Gabby bring things over?" Rafael asks.
"No! Cause she left with Bella an hour ago to go to the park before heading to the beach. I am the only one home." I sigh.
"Okay. Well, we are done setting up here. And Matteo already left to help your aunt and uncle bring over all the food. So I could have Amara watch the tables and I could come over and start carrying to the beach while you finish decorating."
"I'm going to be decorating right until three."
"I'll be there in 5." He says and then hangs up.
Well, this is just great! How am I supposed to finish all these cookies and still have time to assemble and decorate the cake in under an hour?
5 minutes later, I hear the front door swing open. Rafael wasn't kidding when he said he would be here in 5 minutes.
"Okay, so what desserts are done?" He asks, walking into the kitchen.
"The biscotti and that tray of sugar cookies." I say, pointing to two plates on the table.
He gives me a thumbs up. "Got it. I'll take those down. Will the rest of the cookies be done by the time I get back?"
"Hopefully... Now go! And go slow. I swear if you drop something-"
"I will not drop anything, Natalia." He says, rolling his eyes and walking out the door.
I swear that boy is going to give me a heart attack. If he drops something, he won't have to worry about Matteo killing him when we 'break up' cause I'll kill him myself.
I finish the cookies and move on to the cake. The cake is Bella's favorite, chocolate cake with strawberries. I put a layer of frosting on top of the first cake layer and then place freshly cut strawberries on top of the frosting before putting the second layer on. I then cover the sides and top of the cake in a thin layer of white buttercream. This would have been so much easier if I was smart and made the cake and did the crumb coat yesterday. But nooooo, I had to go out with Rafael instead.
"Okay, I'm back!" Rafael says, walking into the kitchen.
"Good. What took you so long?"
"I was being careful like you said."
"Smart answer. The rest of the cookies are on the table. I will bring the cake over when I finish." I respond, not looking up from the cake. Why did Bella have to pick such an intricate design? She wanted flowers on her cake, lots and lots of flowers. Which makes my job of decorating even harder.
"Alright. See you in 35 minutes!"
"Wait! I only have 35 minutes??" I panic. There is no way I can get to the beach on time!! I guess I just have to keep decorating and hope I can make it.
I finish decorating with 5 minutes to spare. That means I only have 5 minutes to get to the beach before Bella and all the guests arrive. I slip on my sandals and grab my purse and the cake.
It's not that long a walk to the beach. I should be okay.
I make it to the beach without dropping the cake. Now I just have to find where they set up the tables.
"OVER HERE NAT!!!" I hear Amara yell. I turn to my left and see a bunch of tables and balloons. Guess that's where I need to go.
I slowly make my way over and place the cake on the table.
"Phew, made it in time." I say, wiping fake sweat off my four head.
"Told you, you could do it." Rafael smiles.
I roll my eyes. "You didn't tell me anything. You made me panic more."
"Guy's stop fighting, I see Bella and Gabby!" Amara says from behind us.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" we all scream as Bella comes running towards us.
"This is awesome!" Bella gushes, "Thank you! Thank you! Nat, the cake looks so pretty! I love it!"
"You're very welcome. Anything for you." I say ruffling her hair.
Bella quickly reaches up to fix where I touched her hair. "Stop don't mess it up."
"So, when are my friends coming?" Bella asks, her excitement coming back.
"They should be here soon..." Aunt Stella says, however I can tell she's lying.
"Are people actually coming?" I whisper to her.
"Not many. Only Viola and Gia's moms responded yes. All the others either said no or didn't reply. I'm hoping the ones that didn't reply still saw the email and are coming."
"That sucks. Bella's gonna be crushed."
"Hey everyone, sorry we're late!" I hear Mrs. Russo say. At least they still showed up.
"Hey Nat!" Anita says, walking over to me. "Sorry about not making it in time to help. When Rafael texted me about it yesterday, I thought I would be home before three o'clock."
I wave her off. "It's fine. I got it all done in time."
"That's good. The cake looks amazing, by the way. You should teach a class or something."
"Maybe... anyway, how was the convention? I wanted to go, but I thought it was better to stay home and plan the party.."
"You didn't really miss much. We just got to try other people's stuff. And to be honest, none of it compared to your desserts."
"I highly doubt that."
Before Anita can say something else, Bella calls me over.
"Hey Bella, what do you need?" I ask kneeling down next to her. I really should have worn shorts and a shirt instead of a sundress.
"Oh, I wanted to introduce you to Viola!" she says, gesturing to the girl standing next to her on the right. Viola had curly, dirty blonde hair and bright green eyes. Except for the hair, she almost looked like a mini Gabby.
"Hi Viola. I'm Natalia."
"Hello..." the girl says shyly.
"Your name is unique. It's pretty."
"Thank you. Your name is pretty, too. I like your dress. You look like a princess." Awww, this girl is so sweet.
"That's very sweet of you, but I don't think I could live up to being as pretty as a princess."
"That is such a lie Nat and you know it." Amara laughs from behind me.
I turn around to look at her. "I thought you were talking to Matteo?"
"I was. But my sisters texted me, telling me to tell Bella Happy Birthday, and that they wish they could be here." Amara has two older sisters, Giulia and Luisa. Luisa is currently at college in Venice, and Giulia is a senior at our highschool, but right now she is in France for a 3-day trip for her art history class.
"Tell them I said thank you and that when they come back home, they should come visit!"
"I will Bella. I'm going to go grab some food, Bye." Amara says and then walks off to the food table where Gabby and Matteo are.
"Bye!"Bella and I yell as Amara walks away.
"Nat, can you twirl for us? Please!!" Bella asks.
Viola and Gia's face lights up. "Yeah! Can you do a princess twirl?"
I laugh, "Sure. But I'm no princess." I get up from where I am sitting and dust the sand off me. I twirl around in a circle, letting the fabric of my dress fall around my thighs.
"See, you are a princess!" Bella, Gia, and Viola protest.
I just shake my head. "You girls are so sweet. But-"
"But they're right." Someone says, grabbing my waist.
"Where did you come from?" I ask, looking up at Rafael.
"From behind you." He replies with a 'duh' tone. "Anyway... Want to grab some food?"
"Oh... Um... Sure. Bye, girls." I wave to the three girls and walk with Rafael to the food table.
"You know, you look really beautiful in that dress, by the way."
"You say I look beautiful in everything. So for obvious reason, I know you're lying. Though I have to admit you are doing a pretty good job at acting. "I say, whispering the last part so only he can hear.
"I'm not lying. You just always look pretty." He whispers back.
I roll my eyes, "Sure... And I'm not short."
"Whatever. Let's just go get some food." Rafael says and walks away towards the food table where Matteo, Amara, and Gabby are. I guess I should get something to eat as well.
I grab a plate and take some pasta, breadsticks, and meatballs. I walk a little and sit down facing the ocean.
"Mind if I sit down?" Rafael asks. Why is he asking? He can sit where ever he wants. I just nod my head. I'm too busy eating my pasta.
We both eat in silence, neither of us wanting to talk.
"RAFAEL, NAT CAKE!!" I hear Matteo scream. Guess it's time for dessert. I stand up and rush the stand off my butt before walking over to the table.
"Everyone ready?" Aunt Stella asks lighting the candle. "3... 2... 1"
We all start singing happy birthday and different pitches and volumes. Matteo is literally screaming it.
"Buon Compleanno (Happy birthday)!" We all shout at the end. Aunt Stella then cuts the cake and hands out pieces to everyone.
"This is so good, Nat!" Bella says, shoving forkful after forkful of cake into her mouth.
"Glad you like it. I'm guessing this was a wonderful birthday, then?"
"The best!" Bella exclaims. "Now I'm excited about Halloween."
"Me too Bella."
Looks like today was a success. Next year I need to plan ahead though. Can't be making a cake 5 minutes before the party again.
****
Woohoo another chapter finished. I am definitly not writing this super late at night..... I had a ton of fun writing this chapter though! I did however realize as I was writing this that my dates haven't exactly been lining up with the year. Sooo starting now 2 things are gonna happen:
1) I am going to put the date at the top of each chapter. If there is no date that means it's the same day as the chapter(s) before. I might go and put the dates on other chapters, but as of right now I'm just gonna do it to the ones I write after this one.
2) I am gonna start lining up the correct dates with when they are in 2022. In order to do that the next chapter will probably be a week or so away from this one to get it straight.
So yeah there's that. Anyway this is what Nat's dress looks like and the cake she made. Obviously the cake said Happy Birthday Bella, but this is juts like the design.
Sorry about the picture being from the back. I couldn't get the front ones to upload.
Thank you all for reading!!!!
-Ari