Blue Smoke

it.
    “Now, it’s not make-believe anymore. I know Dad was freaked about how much the dress cost, but the bride’s the showpiece on her wedding day, after all. And I can’t be the showpiece in some knockoff. I want Vince dazzled when he sees me in it. Oh, wait until you see what he gave me for my something old.”

    “I thought you were wearing Nuni’s pearls.”
    “No. They’re sweet, but they’re old-fashioned. Besides, they’re not real pearls.” She opened the drawer of the vanity, took out a small box. She brought it over, sat on the side of the bed. “He bought them for me at an estate jeweler.”
    Inside were earrings, sparkling drops of diamonds and filigree so delicate they might have been spun by magic spiders.
    “God, Bella, are those real diamonds?”
    “Of course.” The square-cut solitaire on her finger flashed as she gestured. “Vince wouldn’t buy me paste. He’s got class. His whole family has class.”
    “And ours doesn’t?”
    “I didn’t mean it that way.” But Bella spoke absently as she held up one of the earrings so it could catch the light. “Vince’s mother flies to New York and Milan to shop. They have a household staff of twelve. You should see his parents’ house, Reena. It’s a mansion. They have full-time groundskeepers. His mother’s so sweet to me—I’m calling her Joanne now. She’s taking me to her salon on the morning of the wedding, for the works.”
    “I thought we—you and Mama and Fran and I—were going to Maria’s.”
    “Catarina.” Bella smiled gently, patted Reena’s hand before she rose to put the earrings back in the drawer. “Maria’s doesn’t make the cut for me now. I’m going to be the wife of an important man. I’m going to have a different lifestyle now, different obligations. To meet them I have to have the right haircut, the right wardrobe, the right everything.”
    “Who says what’s right?”
    “You just know. ” She fluffed at her hair. “Vince has a cousin, he’s really cute. I thought you might like for him to be your escort at the reception. I think you’d hit it off. He’s a junior at Princeton.”
    “Thanks, but I have a boyfriend. He’ll be coming to the wedding. I cleared it with Mama.”
    “A boyfriend.” Forgetting her primping for the moment, Bella droppeddown on the bed. “When, where, how? What’s his name? What does he look like? Tell me everything.”
    The seeds of resentment blew away, and they were sisters again, huddling together over the serious priority of boys.
    “His name’s Josh. He’s so sweet and he’s a major hottie. He wants to be a writer, and I met him at college. We’ve been seeing each other a couple of months now.”
    “Months? And you didn’t tell me?”
    “You’ve been a little preoccupied.”
    “Still.” Bella pouted a moment. “Is he from around here?”
    “No, he grew up in Ohio. But he’s living here now. He’s got a job in a bookstore for the summer. I really like him, Bella. I’ve slept with him. Five times.”
    “Jesus!” Bella’s eyes went saucer-wide as she bounced her butt on the bed. “Reena, this is huge. Is he good at it?” She popped up, closed the door. “Vince is amazing in bed. He can go for hours. ”
    “I think he’s good at it.” Hours? Reena wondered. Was that really possible? “He’s the only one I’ve ever been with.”
    “Make sure you always use protection. I stopped.”
    “Stopped what?”
    “Birth control,” she whispered. “Vince said he wants to have a family right away, so we tossed away my pills. It’s so close to the wedding, it won’t matter if I get pregnant. We threw them away last weekend, so I might already be pregnant.”
    “God, Bella.” It gave Reena a jolt, a hard one, to think of her sister going from bride to wife to mother in one big rush. “Don’t you want some time to get used to being married first?”
    “I don’t need time.” When she smiled, everything about her went dreamy. Lips, eyes, voice. “I know just how it’s all going to be. And it’s going to be perfect. I have to finish getting ready. Vince will be here any minute, and he hates when I’m late.”
    “Have a good time.”
    “We always do.” Bella sat down at the vanity again when Reena wentto the door. “Vince is taking me to a fabulous restaurant tonight. He says I need to relax and take my mind off the details of the wedding.”
    “I’m sure he’s right.” She went out, closing the door just as her brother came