Same Experiences

Chapter Twenty

George

"So what kind of dress do you want, Alessandra?" I asked. The woman sitting in front of me had the same black hair that every one of the Morettis had.

The old woman, my grandmother, Glenda explained to me that she had just two sons and Uncle Halford married Maria, with which she not only got one daughter but two sons and a daughter as well.

"I've always wanted something in deep blue," Alessandra said sheepishly. I smiled at her and said,  "Look, you don't need to be embarrassed. It's your wedding. It's your day. Wear whatever the fuck you want. Y'know, there was actually a wedding for which I designed a Disney gown. And it was a Disney-themed wedding. So it's not a problem or anything."

She nodded confidently and said, "Okay. Well, I've always envisioned my dress to be deep blue with little white stars embroidered in it."

I nodded thoughtfully and sketched in my notebook. I drew little diamonds for stars at the bottom of the dress, at the chest, and then looked at her. "Full-sleeved or half?"

She thought about it and said, "Maybe till a little below the elbow."

I nodded again and drew hands and in the end, tiny little stars.

This was just the initial sketch, but I showed her and she smiled. "It's looking really good."

"Yeah. It's just a rough sketch. I'll put colour and stuff in and then show it to you," I said.

She smiled again and said, "So, how are you liking London? I was told you wouldn't want to come."

I shrugged. "It was the initial reaction. But I guess, London's growing on me now."

"I'm glad. Gran was very sad when you left. I was very little, but I remember everyone panicking and being worried about you," she said.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," I said. She shook her head and looked me straight in the eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to run away," she said softly, grasping my hand and squeezing.

I smiled at her and squeezed her hand back.

When I went out into the hall, the kids crowded around me.

The youngest, Anna, pulled at my green skirt and asked, "How do you draw so nicely? I can't even draw an apple."

The kid in the middle, Karina said, "I wanna have pretty hair like yours!"

"Alright, that's enough, let's let her sit down first and then she'll tell you her secrets," the eldest of the lot, Marina said.

All three of them had their mother's grey eyes and their father's black hair.

I sat down at the dining table as all three girls sat across.

"Well, about the drawing, even I was bad at it when I started. But you just have to keep trying. And I comb my hair every day."

Then I drew my final sketch of the dress and colored it. Then I showed the drawing to the girls. Anna and Karina gasped in surprise and gushed about it while Marina complimented my drawing skills.

I ruffled Anna's hair when she said that she too will learn to draw.

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"Hey. How was your day?" Dave said on call at night. I sighed happily and said, "It was filled with three kids and a whole lot of Italian food."

"Damn. I'm jealous," he said. I chuckled and said, "You have Brent there, you could ask him to surprise you," I said.

"Yeah, I guess," he said. His voice was a bit sad.