He had no interest in the mafia life. He’s been slowly drawn into it by the violence and conflict of the last few years. I know he shot one of Mikolaj’s men—probably the first person he’d ever killed. I wonder if it eats at him. Or if it felt like an inevitable step. A fate that was always destined to find him, one way or another.

All I know is that he doesn’t look happy today. He sits behind my parents, apart from his own family members.

The cellist pauses, and a different song begins to play, light and hopeful:

First Day of my Life — Bright Eyes (Spotify)

First Day of my Life — Bright Eyes (Apple)

I look down the aisle where Simone and Dante are standing, hand-in-hand. Simone is tall, slim, as bronze as a goddess against her stark white gown. I’m sure any designer in the country would gladly give her their most ostentatious or outrageous gown. Instead, Simone’s dress is simple in the extreme—unadorned, off-the-shoulder, clinging to the figure lauded as the most perfect in the world. Her flat stomach shows no hint of the baby she’s carrying, though I’m sure its existence is one of the factors making Dante look happier than I’ve ever seen him.

Dante can’t take his eyes off Simone. He’s so massive and brutish that usually he looks terrifying in any type of clothes, even a tuxedo. But today Simone’s loveliness radiates with such power that even Dante looks genteel. He looks like the only man in the world who could deserve such a beauty.

They walk down the aisle together, then face each other under the arch. Henry comes to stand between them, looking shy but happy. He’s got the rings in his pocket, and he takes them out even before Enzo Gallo can stand to perform the ceremony.

“Welcome, friends and family,” he says. “I don’t think any union has been more fervently anticipated. And I know no couple has loved each other with greater intensity. Dante, would you like to say your vows?”

Dante takes both Simone’s hands in his own. His massive fingers swallow up her slim hands so they can’t be seen at all from the outside.

“Simone,” he says. “I have loved you from the moment I saw your face. I know that will sound shallow, since I’m talking to the most gorgeous woman in the world. But I promise you, in your face I saw your bravery, your intelligence, and your kindness. As soon as you spoke to me, it was like a door opened into your mind. I saw this whole other universe of creativity and cleverness. A way of looking at things that I’d never imagined. And I wanted to walk through that door. I wanted to live in your world. You made such an impact on me that I never forgot you. Through all the time we were apart, I thought of you constantly. I dreamed of you. I longed for you. To have you back in my arms brings me a joy that I can’t express. The reality of you is a hundred times better than my imagining.”