1698 Bolgheri DOC Pietra Nova wine

Do you remember the day of the pasta bird? Of course you remember that.. it was the day where you had went to the toilet about five times in the ten minutes I had met your mother. Nerves made you pee, was what you had mumbled out. The day you were meeting my family for the first time.

Whereas my family had made it a special, exuberant dinner party, you had kept it low-key, waved it off a little when you glanced between me and your mother. "Mummy, Aurora." You glanced at me. "Aurora, my mum." Your mother had kissed my face, held it between her hands as her eyes roamed over my features.

"Wow, Zev." She had whispered, I could feel her warmth radiating off her. "You're lucky with a woman so beautiful." Her warmth seeped into me- I felt loved and welcomed right away. Your sisters hadn't been home, I knew it was the reason you had quickly taken me inside the house. It didn't matter to me, but I could tell you didn't really like it- but had no choice.

"Zev, it's okay." I had squeezed your hand. Automatically, you had squeezed it back. It went back and forth. "I know you don't feel comfortable with that, it doesn't matter to me."

"I don't want you to think it's something personal. I'm not afraid of showing you. I wish I could show you to the whole world. I just don't want them to.."

I'd waited for a kiss the whole time, but your lips had never touched my skin. It was impulsive, I knew it caught you off guard when I pushed my lips against your cheek. "Stop, Zev. It's alright. I understand you. And I got to meet your mother. She's wonderful."

"Aurora.." You had looked a bit bewildered, as if you didn't understand what had just happened. Rosiness appeared on your cheeks, but your eyes were gifted a confused look. You heart was beating extremely fast, your hand became clammy. "I need to pee so badly."

"You don't." I had laughed, pushed you against the door of your car. "It's an illusion. My Papà is nice, I promise you! My brothers are too, as well as Mamma."

"Do you want to kiss?"

My goodness. My romantic Romeo. You had a lot to learn, but maybe I liked the way you did everything much better than the way it goes in books and movies.

You wiped your face with your hands, rested them onto your steer while you let out a deep sigh and stared outside the window. "Aurora, if you knew how things happened in my mind, I would have kissed you in the ferris wheel when we were watching dawn together. I just.. I couldn't. I don't want to disrespect you, and my feeling of timing is so extremely off. I grew up with women only, but no one ever told me when it is the right time to do such thing-"

"You're so cute when you ramble. Also extremely useless." I cursed in Italian. "Come here. You will feel when it's the right time. Which, indeed, was in the ferris wheel, but I respect your respect towards me. Now, kiss me. What are you waiting for? Little cupido who'll push our faces together?"

The moment you had turned your face to me, I pressed my lips to yours. Oh, how to turn back time to go back to that exact moment. Something happened inside of me. If I hadn't loved you by then, I loved you a million times more after that moment. I knew you experienced the same feeling. It was as if, subconsciously, pieces of me melted together with pieces of yours, becoming one, attaching to each other, not ever wanting to let go of it. And I didn't mind that at all. I trusted you, still do the day now. It was like the soil were our different lives, but the roots and the flower still connected, belonging together until the day death would tear us apart.

You laughed the moment we let go. "Wow." You licked your lips. Stared at your lap. Glanced up at me. Kissed me again. "Wow."

"Wow, indeed." I agreed, felt warm, became quiet for some reasons. Zev, why did you ever fall in love with me? Until this day, I do not understand still.

"Now, hold your bladder together because we're meeting my family."

You glanced at the clock in your car, widened your eyes. "We're too late." I saw how you panicked, how the car wouldn't start because of your haste.

"Zev, calm." I laughed, reached for your hand. "You need to learn something from the Italian mentality. Time isn't an issue. You guys live in a haste here. He probably is still walking the dog, even when he was supposed to start cooking two hours ago. Don't worry. He won't glance at the clock one time."

You let out a breath.

"Relax, Captain Von Trapp."

"Shut up, Maria."

Your features lost their panicky look, made way for something softer.

"One more question."

You gave me a questionable look in return.

"Do I say, Papà meet my boyfriend Zev, or do I say, Papà meet my future boyfriend Zev?"

"We're far past the Austrian Folk Dance scene with Maria and Von Trapp."

"Boyfriend Zev it is."

"It is, indeed."

Idiota.

"I need to pee."

"No, you don't. It's an illusion."

Your eyebrows were furrowed. We had parked in front of my house. Your face turned panicky, I lost my teasing side. "Zev? You'll do great. You got along with Teddy, he was your father figure. Don't act any differently."

"Well, with Teddy I've done-"

"Don't make up excuses. Come on. I'll let you pee." I placed a soft kiss to your cheek.

We stepped out of the car. The door opened. My beautiful Mamma Giulia swung open the door instantly. "Oh, Zev! Beautiful, beautiful young man. Matteo! Guardarlo!" I felt how your hand relaxed, even when you tried to pull it out of my grip. You wanted to be polite, I wanted to hold your hand- simple as that was.

Papà Matteo appeared, too. He laughed, his smile was wide. You relaxed even more. "Papà, wait, he needs to pee."

"No, I don't." You whispered.

"See, it was an illusion."

You pulled an expression, pretended to be mad. Goodness, it looked so innocent, I can still picture it. You do that when I'm right, you do that when I tease you, you do that when I tickle the back of your feet in bed, you do that when I catch you doing something I told you not to. Never lose that expression. It makes me melt, but makes me want to hit you at the same time because of that annoying cuteness, too.

"Well, in that case.." I held up our intertwined hands, which you tried to pull down right after. "Papà, Mamma, my boyfriend Zev." I pushed you forward, you politely stretched out your hand, but Mamma squished you into a hug. "My Mamma Giulia and my Papà.."

"Romeo?" You brought out quietly, but we heard it all.

"Oh, prezioso!" Do you remember Papà's laugh? It was so loud we all needed ear implants after. Goodness, I always hit him in his chest after that.

"Campione. Wow." He shook his head, squeezed you into a hug. You had trouble breathing and when he pulled away, he embarrassed you some more. I still laugh, thinking back. "You are so skinny! You get no food at home? Tell me, what you like to eat amore, I will make you food. Loads and loads of food. Look at menu Papà Matteo Moretti! Loads and loads of good food. Mhm. Buonissimo."

You were so overwhelmed. Your face was flushed red and you were at loss for words. I could tell by the way you looked at my father that you admired him. Found something you had lost years ago. It broke my heart, but it mended back together knowing that from now on, he was your Papà too.

"What do you have to offer?" You had asked politely.

"Oh, amore. Tu sei prezioso." Mamma cried a bit, she hugged you again. "Beautiful. You will marry my daughter? So polite. Aurora, where you find this treasure. Your Papà, no, he could not act this way."

They started cursing at each other. It was loud, I admit it, but I was used to it. We all raised our voices at home, but not in a bad way. It was just the way it went in an Italian household. Also, I knew their English still wasn't too perfect, even when they studied here in England.. I guess roots can be stubborn, as well as quite clumsy when English was something completely unknown before they started to study.

"Papà!" I yelled back, laughed. "Tell him your menu. Where's Rafaelle and Vincenzo?"

"Backyard, Principessa." He waved us through the house, over to the backyard, where the smell of already cooked food hit our noses. My brothers were there, preparing something I don't quite remember. I felt how your nerves came back right after. The table was set, stuffed full of different foods. Vegetables, meat, bread, wine.

"Rafaelle and Vincenzo, this is Zev, my boyfriend." I gestured between them both. "Zev.. my brothers."

You stretched out your hand again, which they both ignored as they pulled you in a hug. "Ciao. You take good care of Aurora, isn't it?"

"I'll do anything to take good care of her."

"Oh, Matteo!" Mamma cried again, held him. "He is the one. He is the one. Our campione."

"Take a seat." Papà smiled widely, made sure everything was perfect for you. Even when it wasn't in Italy, it felt like home. You, in our household. It belonged. It just did.

I'd watched you eat the whole dinner time long. Watched you interact with my parents, with my brothers. Felt how your nerves were traded for something soft, something so.. secure, safe.. home. You talked more and more, laughed, joked around, kissed my Mamma on her cheek when we left the house to spend a little more time together. It was late- too late, but you had won Papà and Mamma's trust- which was more than fair.

We sat at the creek, with our feet in the cold water and our hands intertwined again. Stomachs bloated by the food, alcohol running through our blood by the few wines we'd drank. You were quiet, wiggled your toes through the water. We enjoyed the sounds of nature, saw how the sky started to lighten up already by the very early dawn. The first birds started to sing already.

I smiled down at the water, saw our vague reflections. It wasn't until your hand quickly wiped something from your face that I looked up at you, feeling concerned. "Zev? Why are you crying?" All the insecurities came back, the worst scenarios appeared in my mind. Were you not comfortable? Did you want to break everything off, even when I knew you had felt the same way as me?

You suppressed your crying, quickly dried your watery eyes with your sleeves. You shook your head, stayed quiet.

"Zev, please.."

You stared at our intertwined hands, brushed your thumb over the back of my hand. "How can I ever give you what you have given me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not used to.. to people treating me the way you do. The way your brothers do, the way your parents do." You scrunched up your nose, wiped your face. "I know my mother has always loved me, but there still is the immense pain of my father that always kept some space between us. As if she's afraid she'll lose me too and things will hurt even more- so she tries to avoid that. My sisters despise me, every single day, I despise them, too. I don't speak to my father's family, don't speak to my father, even. My mum barely has any family. I don't.. I'm just.. I have Teddy, you know? But he has his own wife and children, too. How can I.. to who do I really belong? To who, who really wants me to belong?"

"To me, Zev." I stroked your hair out of your face. "You belong to me. God gave us each other. And from now on, you belong to my family, too. They love you, Zev. When they were speaking in Italian when we stood in the hallway, they were talking about you. Mamma cried, she doesn't ever want you to leave, neither does Papà and my brothers wanted to play football with you even though they hate it but they thought maybe you liked it. You belong, Zev."

"I blame growing up with four women to cry about nonsense, sorry." A sheepish chuckle left your mouth, your arm wrapped around my shoulders.

"You're quite emotional." I agreed, but I admired that from you, Zev. "You're not afraid to show your emotions. I like that. I can learn from that. Besides, you have been through something that wasn't exactly.. simple."

You rested your head against mine, played with my fingers. A specific finger at last.

From a distance, a bird had been watching us, singing gently while the orange glow of dawn rested onto the fog above the water. The view was incredible. Do you remember it? You must. The bird hopped our direction, walked a little funny. She looked thin, sick, yet she still sang.

You looked up, stuck out your hand. "Hello, little bird." I watched you. Admired you. "Are you hungry?" You whispered, fished the bag of spaghetti leftover out of your jacket. You zipped it open, reached for a pasta string and gently laid it down in front of the bird. Within a second, the bird had eaten it. We both smiled at each other, laid out more pasta and watched how the bird devoured everything, singing for more.

"You can eat some more." We both agreed. "Come on, spaghetti bird. Build up some strength so you can fly all the way over to the sun."

When she seemed to be full as she left the strings untouched, I pushed her softly and smiled. "Fly all the way to the sun, little bird. Fly all the way over to where the ocean kisses the morning sun."

We watched her spread her wings, taking off in the direction of dawn. I looked at you, reached for your chin with my fingers and kissed you.

•

Aurora's family, do you like them?

Zev opening up a little about his feelings, when it came to his father?

Let me know your thoughts!!

Comments and votes so much appreciated xx

Getting tested for covid today, so scareddd. Ugh.