I went straight to the reception desk and let them know my sister was expecting me. We decided to stay at the same suite in Portofino, for old times’ sake, when Vicky and Sophie used to be inseparable. I smiled and loudly knocked on the door of suite 220. The smile left my face as soon as I saw Nicholas open.
“Oh, you are here?” I just wasn’t able to hide my disappointment.
“Nice to see you too, Sophia!” Nicholas acted offended. “Don’t worry. We flew in from Paris together yesterday, but today I am leaving for Como. See you in a couple days.”
Suddenly Vicky came back from the patio and rushed to embrace me. “Finally, you are here. I’ve been waiting and waiting.” Then, turning to Nicholas and putting her hand on his shoulder, she said, “My dear future husband. Now you can leave for Como. Tomorrow morning you are meeting our wedding planners. Hope everything is ready. In the meantime, Sophia, our friends, and I will go out on the town tonight!”
Nicholas put his arm around Vicky’s waist and pulled her towards him. “Remember, you are almost married, so you have to behave! Sophia, will you keep an eye on her for me? I will go check if the villa is ready for the wedding. If not, we can always fly to Vegas; it’s not any less romantic.”
“You don’t understand. The Como wedding is my childhood dream.”
“Okay, then I’ll go make sure this dream is ready to come true.”
He hugged Vicky even tighter and whispered, “I love you and will make all your dreams a reality.”
“I love you too, Nicky, and our future life together is all I ever wanted,” joyfully announced Vicky, her eyes shining with love.
It looked like they could keep cooing at each other forever, without paying any attention to me. I could see how strong, effortless, and cheerful their love was, so I even felt guilty for not liking Nicholas. He’s a good guy and he loves Vicky. Even their names rhyme; Vicky and Nicky. They are almost the same age, so young and happy.
Nicholas left, and we went to the patio to sip on Bellinis before the arrival of our stylists that were going to do our hair and makeup for the bachelorette party.
The view from the patio was simply breathtaking thanks to the hotel’s location on a green hill with the turquoise sea meeting the sky on the horizon. The place hadn’t changed at all since the days of our youth, with all the blossoming juniper plants, palm trees, and umbrella pines. That romantic magic atmosphere had never left the area.
I was just sitting there and enjoying my time at the hotel. That midday rain left no traces, the sun came out and quickly dried it all up.
Just an hour earlier, I had been riding in the car with Alex, with all that rain and gray skies around us. I took a sip of my Bellini. And now I was in my fairytale hotel on a sunny day, but he wasn’t with me anymore. Would I even see him again?
“Are you daydreaming?” asked Vicky cheerfully.
“It’s just that this hotel is absolutely unreal. I am so glad you chose it for the bachelorette party.” I wasn’t ready to tell her about Alex, and there wasn’t much to tell anyway.
Someone knocked on the door. “Must be my dresses delivered from Monaco.”
However, it was our mom. “Mom?” I asked, surprised. “I thought you and Dad and Nicholas all went to Como. Are you all still here?”
“Hello, love.” She hugged me tightly and gave me a kiss. “Dad and I decided to spend a night at Splendido and to travel to Como all together tomorrow.”
Vicky also tenderly hugged Mom. Despite being in her sixties, our mom was still quite youthful thanks to taking great care of herself. It was the general belief in our family that Mom was the most beautiful of us all, and Dad got incredibly lucky with her. We always said it jokingly, but that was, actually, true. Mom was still beautiful, and our parents still loved each other like in their young days.
“Mom, maybe you could join us at the bachelorette’s party after all?”
“Thank you for the invitation, honey! I would love to, but Dad and I have planned a romantic dinner down at the seafront. He is about to have a meeting now; that’s why I stopped by.”
There was another knock on the door. “Hope these are my dresses this time! It would be too much for me to lose my second set of dresses,” I quipped.
Those were my dresses, indeed. A hotel employee brought them in two large, beautiful garment covers.
I opened the first one to discover the pink Valentino dress, perfectly steamed and pressed. Vicky and Mom expressed their delight. I felt shivers down my spine when unpacking the other dress. The image of me trying it on in front of Alex popped up in front of my eyes and I remembered his words. “Wear it tonight; and I will think about the beautiful girl somewhere nearby, wearing a small black dress.”
“Wow, Sophia! Will you really wear this? Hello? Are you listening? Mom, have you seen that? Sophie, are you sure you want to dress like this tonight?” Vicky seemed truly stunned by my extravagant choice.
However, I exude confidence. “I am sure. Except I need some shoes. Since my suitcase is on the way to Nepal, maybe I could borrow some of yours, Vicky?”
And that’s how things got started. The stylists arrived to help us get ready for the night, then all our friends and cousins joined in. They flew in from the US and Russia, and our party probably took over half of the Splendido hotel.
An hour and three glasses of champagne later I was looking at myself in a mirror, while wearing the same black dress with super high heels offered by Vicky. A young Italian styled my hair wonderfully, and now they were adorning my open back in pretty waves.
“Sophia, let’s go! Everyone’s waiting downstairs. Stop checking yourself in the mirror. I am not letting you change your outfit. You look incredible!”
Vicky, me, and her best friend, ironically named Sophia as well, left the suite to join the party downstairs.
The small ballroom was smothered in white and pink peonies, with a large oval table in the center of the room beautifully set with silver, crystal, candles, and more peonies. Vicky’s favorite flowers were flinging their intoxicating scent. All our friends were there, and they began welcoming us cheerfully. Waiters immediately served us flutes of champagne.
“To the bride, the future Mrs. Barrett! Hurray!” everyone toasted in unison.
It was a fun night. Our cousins reminisced about some funny stories from our childhood, like the one about Vicky stung on a lip by a wasp. The lip got so swollen, my poor sister was crying all day and telling us she would never be able to get married with such a huge lip. Her sobs were so loud, that Diego, son of our gardener, who was helping his dad every summer, promised the girl to marry her if no one else would, in order to calm her down. It impressed little Vicky so much, she would blush and run away all summer, when seeing Diego.
I also remembered that summer quite well. That was Vicky’s first crush, and she was torturing me with her Diego talk every night, all night long. She had their housing arrangements, the number of children, and the date of their wedding all planned out. Fortunately, when the summer was over, Diego went back to high school, and Vicky’s crush evaporated.
Now Diego is a leading biologist in my dad’s company. Being quite well-off, my parents felt like it was their duty to provide education for all the children of their hired help. Diego Rodriguez turned out to be a talented student; he graduated college with honors, so my dad gladly offered him a position with his company and never regretted it. Diego became a close friend of the family and was going to join us at Vicky and Nicky’s wedding.
Except I thought my dear sister Victoria had broken the gardener’s son’s heart after all. I saw sadness in his eyes when she handed him a wedding invitation.
“Another toast! For the sisters! For Sophia and Vicky!”
Vicky came up and gave me a warm hug. “For you, Sophia, Fifi, my sis! I love you!”
I smiled and pecked Vicky on the cheek.
“I love you too! Be happy, Vikusya!”
I said that in Russian. That’s what Mom called Vicky when she was a kid.
“You don’t really seem to be present,” said Vicky quietly. “Are you still not fond of Nicky?”
“What makes you think so?” That question surprised me.
“I am your sister and your best friend. I noticed that you were not thrilled about Nicky, and honestly, it offends me a fair bit. Believe me, he’s a good man. He loves me, and I love him. But I am grateful to you for never mentioning this topic. You’ve never tried to tell me you didn’t like him.”
“No, Vicky! Maybe I had some doubts initially, but I see that he loves you. I totally see it.”
“What’s wrong then? You seem kind of sad. Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “It’s about that Russian guy. I can’t stop thinking about him.”
“The one who brought you here?”
“Yes. I’ve never liked anyone that much before. But he didn’t even ask for my number. That’s why I am sad.”
“Where is he now? Staying in Portofino?” asked Vicky.
“Yes, he had a business meeting and then dinner with friends. He’s staying at their yacht.”
Vicky gave me an inquisitive stare. Probably my sad eyes and all the champagne she drank did the job, so she quietly suggested this.
“Let’s ditch the party, walk to the quay and check all the popular places, restaurant patios, and bars. What if we run into him? Portofino is a small village. He just has to see you in this dress. Then he will ask for your number, believe me. Your mobile, your work number, your landline, and your email address. He will even ask for my email address, as well!”
“Why would he ask for your email address?” I asked, chuckling. I was pleased to see how much Vicky loved me, since she was ready to leave her own bachelorette party to make me happy.
“The thing is, Vicky, he has already seen me in this dress,” I said softly.
Vicky glanced at me in surprise, but then her eyes lit up, since never giving up was her motto. Vicky is a fighter who loves to argue and take up challenges. She is especially brave after a couple glasses of bubbly.
“He saw you in it and he didn’t ask for your number? Maybe he’s gay?” asked Vicky in astonishment.
“Definitely not gay,” I replied with a faint smile. My sister is funny. “Then let’s get our cousin Sophia and go out. He has to take a look at you again!”
On the one hand, it seemed to be a silly escapade to me. I don’t scheme and follow people to pretend I run into them by chance. On the other hand, I truly wanted to see him again in Portofino or anywhere else. I am just not able to stop thinking about this Russian.
“Okay, let’s go!” I suggested quietly.
“Come again?”
“Let’s go!” I repeated loudly.
Vicky observed me closely. “Sophia! That sounds serious!” she exclaimed.
“No, Vicky! It’s just a serious amount of champagne,” I quipped, to hide my feelings.
But how could I hide anything from my dear sister?
Ten minutes later, Vicky, Sophia, and I got into a taxi. “Vicky, this is crazy. We just escaped from your bachelorette party that you were always dreaming about and were planning for a year!” I exclaimed worriedly.
“Didn’t we just have a party? Yes, we did. All the toasts have been made, champagne consumed, photos taken! Now we’ve moved on to our new project!” confidently argued Vicky, while the taxi was rushing us to the boardwalk.
“New project?” This phrase sent shivers down my spine. It reminded me of Alex’s words about his new project being his only interest right now, without any desire for a new relationship.
I wanted to stop the taxi. All the champagne had evaporated from my system, and there was not a trace left of my bravado.
But the taxi trip was over anyway, right by the sea. Only a narrow quay separated noisy restaurant patios from the dark nighttime sea. Once we got out, I turned to Vicky.
“This is unlike me. You know me. I feel uncomfortable. Let’s go back.”
Vicky took my hand and led me towards the restaurants.
“Just a small promenade, nothing more. Maybe he is not even here. We will be on the way back in 20 minutes. No one will even notice we left.”
We started walking down a busy street, with Vicky and Sophia ahead of me, laughing loudly. Excited, beautiful, buzzed girls were passing the crowded patios, attracting everyone’s attention. People waved at them, some even inviting them to join their party for a glass of champagne. I was just quietly following them, and no one was waving at me, but men stared at me in admiration, so my black dress was definitely doing its job.
We made it almost to the end of the quay. I felt relieved about not running into anyone and knowing that now Vicky would agree to return to the hotel. We just had to flag a taxi down as soon as possible. I was about to tell Vicky about it, when I saw a woman in the last restaurant. There couldn’t be any other opinion on who it was. She was sitting there with her perfect legs crossed, wearing a little black dress, as well. She was barefoot, and it only added charm to her whole image. Her shiny black hair was styled in incredible waves. This woman was simply radiating beauty. It was impossible not to look, and you just wanted to keep staring at her. I was doing exactly that, just like her former husband sitting next to her and immersed into a conversation with her. Alex… My heart started beating a million times faster. I had never felt so frustrated before. What was I even thinking? So silly. No one could ever compete with Irina Rodionova. They are such a beautiful couple.
Suddenly Vicky and Sophia burst out laughing, and again all the eyes were on them. Alex also turned to us, and our eyes met. I had a choice to make in such an awkward situation. Should I keep walking or come up and say hi? As a well-mannered person, I made a step towards him. After all, we had spent a good part of the day together, so it would have been impolite not to acknowledge that. When he saw me approaching, his eyes immediately turned cold as steel, and he barely noticeably shook his head. The move was quite imperceptible, yet such a distinct “no” for me, that I stopped in my tracks, and he moved his glance to Irina and continued talking to her.
I ran back down the quay, my eyes filled with tears. Yet I couldn’t allow them to run down my cheeks. I didn’t want Vicky and Sophia to realize that I had seen Alex after all.
When will I stop believing in my naïve childhood dreams? It was so pathetic to even imagine that something romantic could be possible between me and Alex.
