76. The Wedding (Part 2)-2

Suddenly the door opened and Anna alongside Georgina walked in. They raised eyebrows as they saw Costanzo. Anna spoke "Antonio was looking for you and Angelo. Make your way to the front. You must be ready. Your car would be following ours." Costanzo nodded and smiled at Adele respectfully and slightly bowed as he left. " See you at the church Adele." He then walked outside and Adele turned to the girls "Is it time?" Georgina grabbed a bucket of flowers from a table and handed it to Adele "This is it girl. I can't believe you are Mrs. Rosario in less than an hour." Anna walked around Adele, inspected her dress " You look great. Your dress fits perfectly and all is well Adele. If you need a moment before you enter the church, there is a room for the bride to be alone with her father or anyone she likes. If you were nervous you can have a glass of water there and then come outside when you are ready." Georgina handed Anna a bouquet  of flowers and picked one for herself. "Let's go now ladies. Are you ready Adele?" Adele nodded. The girls took their positions behind her and Adele took a few deep breaths and walked outside the room. The corridors were decorated so nicely and guards were everywhere but they did not look at Adele which helped her not to be intimidated. The men working for the Don looked scary. As Adele walked outside, she saw Arturo leaning to the bonnet of his black Cadillac that was decorated with Ribbons and flowers. He was looking at his watch and looked pleased as he saw Adele leaving the mansion "At last. Francesco must be dying to see you at the altar right now waiting for you. I guess, you kept the guy waiting for ten years and he is used to waiting." He then looked past Adele at Anna "Hello beautiful. Catch the  bouquet of flowers that Adele throws tonight. I will try to distract the other ladies somehow so you will be the one catching it. Try to stand at the front." Adele couldn't help laugh. The teasing look Arturo was giving Anna was in contrast to how he was to other people. The way he spoke to others and he looked at others was so different to how he addressed Anna. As Adele got into the car when Arturo kept the door open, Anna stood next to Arturo "Can you stop going on about the bouquet ? We both know Georgina will catch it since she is the tallest woman in this party." Arturo gave Georgina a look "Thank you for highlighting your competition. I will make her disappear around the time Adele throws the bouquet of flowers." Anna and Georgina both laughed and so did Adele. Arturo could have a sense of humour when he wanted and could make their nerves go down. As Arturo started driving Adele felt excitement and nerves combined together. It was a strange feeling. She was going to be finally married. The drive to the church was not very long actually. So the wait was over quite quickly for Adele. Arturo got off and held the door open for Adele under watchful eyes of Antonio, Costanzo, Angelo and Francesco's uncle Pietro. Adele smiled as she saw her father coming out of the church looking at her with joyful eyes. Adele could see the tears in his eyes. Tears of joy. Adele was just too nervous to even cry. The bridesmaids stood behind her and whispered comforting words to her and Adele's focus was on Francesco and what he was feeling at that moment. She turned to Arturo "Could you please go inside and tell Francesco I have arrived." Arturo nodded " Of course" and he walked inside. He walked upto Francesco and O'Neil who were standing at the altar. He stopped in front of Francesco "Adele has arrived. You don't have long to wait." Francesco nodded as he stared into the distance as he took a sigh of relief. He was worried she might have changed her mind. She kept her promise and that made his heart fill with joy. O'Neil spoke "Finally... Arturo, either that Cadillac of yours needs servicing or it is your driving perhaps that has made these honourable guests wait so long. Adele should have been here 10 minutes ago. I bet it's your driving. Could you drive any slower?" Arturo narrowed his eyes "You can't criticise my driving when you are the one famous for driving like a maniac on the dirt roads in Oklahoma when you went to visit Francesco's uncle once. The residents run for cover when they see you even after all these years every time you show up around their homes..." O'Neil shrugged "The dirt roads in Oklahoma I drove through had no residents living around it. I drive fast but safely." Arturo spoke " Instead of worrying about my driving, watch out for the rings." O'Neil smirked " Do not worry. Francesco knows who is best trusted with his rings. I am his best man for a reason." Suddenly the long awaited music of Wagner's "Bridal Chorus" "Here Comes the Bride" was played and Arturo and O'Neil went quiet knowing it was time for the bride to come. Arturo took his seat at the front and O'Neil took his position with a more serious expression but he whispered " I bet you will remember how she looks right now in that wedding dress for the rest of your life. I surely remember Sancia in her white dress like it was yesterday." Francesco was standing impatiently at the alter waiting for his beautiful angel to make an appearance down the aisle so he could see her in the dress that many had seen her with but he hadn't. The thought of it made him feel jealous that some others had seen his angel before he had in her white dress. He wanted to make sure that from that day onwards, he was going to be the first one to see Adele in any dress. He wanted to be her first in everything she hadn't yet experienced. When he had first met her years ago he had taken her first kiss, her first dance with a boy and she had taken his heart by simply being there. He still remembered the first time he had laid eyes on her. One glance was all he needed to make him feel happy. She just made his heart jump with joy by just smiling at him or holding his hand. The thought of holding her in his arms was all he needed to get through his darkest hours. There she came, his beautiful angel hand in hand with her father. Francesco's breath was taken away as he took in her beautiful form. She looked stunning. She looked radiant. The white dress suited her perfectly showing her curves in her slim figure. The wedding veil was on her face so it was hard to see her expression. By the way she was gripping her father's hand, it showed that she was nervous. She was looking straight and Francesco would have given anything to see her face clearly. He couldn't tell if she was blushing but he was quite sure, that she was. She was truly shy and innocent. As Adele and her father got closer, Francesco took in more of Adele's features. She just was the most beautiful woman he had ever met. She was formidable. He felt so lucky to have her in his life. She could have been anyone's wife but she was in that church marrying him out of all the male population in the world. It made him feel special and relieved. He knew he was not going to be alone any more. All these years, he had dreamt of her standing by his side and now, the dream was becoming a reality. As Adele was hardly two steps away from him, her father stopped walking and turned to her. He lifted her veil and rested it on her hair. For Francesco, it was like seeing the sun shining on him. Suddenly he felt as though the church had been too dark until then and Adele had just brightened the place up. As her father walked away, Adele smiled at Francesco making him want to embrace her in his arms right there and then. She played with the strings of his heart when she smiled at him like that. He had that smile memorised. She gave him a smile that she never gave anyone else. She looked at him differently.