Page 85 of The Sweet Life

Sage laughed. “It really did sound like I was asking you to marry me.”

“Hey, I said yes. You can’t back out now.”

“You’re getting married?” Willow squealed. “Everybody, Sage and Jake are getting married!”

Sage sighed as her sister took off in search of the family, sharing their news with anyone who cared to listen. Apparently, everyone did, because they were inundated with congratulations as they joined their guests on the walk to where they would release the sky lantern on the plot of land where Alice’s House would eventually stand.

They’d considered doing a group release but had decided that they’d release only one lantern in Alice’s honor. Their guests had been invited to write a message to Alice or a word that symbolized what she’d meant to them. Sage and Jake had decided on their message together.You were and always will be our guiding light.

Sage’s family joined them. “Okay, guys,” she said when they began asking for details about their wedding. “It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, so we’ll get back to you when we know more.”

Jake laughed. “You’re such a romantic.”

“It’s Alice’s memorial,” she said, a little embarrassed at how unromantic she’d sounded.

“No, it’s a celebration of her life, sweetheart. And trust me, nothing would make her happier than you and me getting married.”

Together they stood out in the open under a star-littered sky with a half-moon shining down on them surrounded by the people who’d known and loved Alice. They sang “You Raise Me Up” with Josh Groban as she and Jake released the lantern. Watching the flame flicker as it floated up into the night sky, Sage whispered, “Thank you for loving us and for trusting us with your dream, but most of all, thank you for guiding me back to Jake.”

Epilogue

One month later

Carmen turned the knob on the stove to low, giving the pot of sauce a quick stir before turning to study her granddaughter. She patted her cheek. “You’re pale. Are you sure you’re feeling up to doing this?” she asked Lila.

“Don’t worry about me, Nonna. I’m fine, and I think this is a great idea. Your followers are going to love it.”

“Our customers seem to, so I thought, why not invite our followers to join us for a family dinner at La Dolce Vita? Not all the time, just once in a while, on a special occasion.” She gestured out the restaurant’s front window at the line of people waiting to get inside. “It’s been like this for the past two weeks. Ever since we reinstated our family dinner tradition, the restaurant is packed on Sundays. We’re booked solid for the next three months.” She nodded at the window. “They’re hoping for a cancellation. They’ve even taken to trying to bribe Bruno. He was accosted at the farmers market yesterday.” She shook her head, reaching up to untie her apron.

“They’re hoping for some good old-fashioned Rosetti family drama.” Lila grinned. “No pressure, but I think your followersare too, after your last Instagram Live. They’re still posting memes of Zia Gia and Zia Cami’s food fight.”

“They might just get some.”

“Oh no, don’t tell me Gia and Cami are fighting again. Mom will be so disappointed. She says it’s just like old times. The three of them have been having so much fun together.”

Carmen smiled, thinking about her daughters. Her girls were acting like sisters again, and she couldn’t have been happier. About them being close again, si; about what her Gia had been up to, not so much. “Gia and me, we might have some drama.” She gestured at the camera in Lila’s hands. “Don’t tell me when you start filming. We’ll let it unfold organically, naturally.”

“I, uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea, Nonna. Instead of live, why don’t I film and edit and then post.”

“No, I want it happening in real time. Now I’m going to pretend you are just looking at yourself in your phone and not filming. You have a little chat with our followers and tell them what’s up.” She waved her hand. “Do it now.”

“All right, but I’m not taking the rap for this, Nonna. It’s all on you.”

“Si, si.” She walked over to one of the tables in the corner and straightened the silverware, doing the same at several other tables before waving Lila over. The time for the reveal had come. She couldn’t put it off any longer. “Come, it’s time for Gia’s big surprise.” She rolled her eyes.

“Why are you acting like that, Nonna? Zia Gia has worked really hard on this.”

“I know, I know. But what, do they think when you turn seventy-four, you’re suddenly clueless, you don’t see and hearwhat’s going on around you? Seventy is the new sixty.” She tapped her red-framed glasses. “I also have twenty-twenty vision, but more than that, I know my Gia. I know her brushstrokes, the way she blends her colors… Her heart, it comes through her paintings.”

“Um, what are you saying, Nonna?”

“Her big surprise. Her big reveal.Bah.I knew she was this street painter, this J.R., from the very beginning.”

“Then why did you say all those things? Why did you threaten to have her… J.R. arrested for destruction of public property?”

“Because I wanted her to stop wasting her talent painting for free on the streets of Sunshine Bay!” She opened the door onto the deck, the gentle breeze off the ocean, the rhythmic slap of the waves on the shore doing nothing to ease her temper. “God gave her a gift, and she’s squandering it giving it away for free.”

“Another way to look at it, Nonna, is that she’s sharing God’s gift with everyone.”

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