The Chronicles of City Lights and Modern Love

The car trip from the hotel to the secret location of the ball was surprisingly short. The car seemed to come to a stop and Carmine took off the blindfold.

“Oh, I forgot to mention...it’s masquerade,” Carmine told me.

He got out a pair of masks and we put them on.

“Masks come off at midnight,” he explained.

The door closest to Carmine was opened from the outside and a cool breeze caressed my bare skin. I shivered and suddenly began to feel very self conscious. There was a crowd of people waiting to go inside and they had all turned to see who was in the stretch hummer. I looked at Carmine apprehensively and he stared back at me kindly. He sighed as he latched onto my hand and we stepped out of the car. I really hated to admit it, but having Carmine there had become comforting. In a situation of bad or worse, he was the good guy.

He let go of my hand and put his arm around my waist and led me inside where there was a doorman who announced over a loud speaker, “Carmine Matthew Moretti and Alessandra Bella Evangelo.”

We walked through a second, larger set of doors that led to a great hall filled with over 500 people, all of them quiet and looking toward us.

“Why are they looking at us?” I whispered to Carmine.

“They’re all here for you, remember? No one here has met you, but they’ve all heard about you. Some even thought you were just an urban legend,” he explained.

“An urban legend? How can I be so special that people have actually doubted my existence?” I asked. “More to the point, why do they care?”

Carmine chuckled. “After your father, who disassociated himself years ago, you’re the next Evangelo in line to your granddad’s position. You’ll hear more about that later though.”

We walked through the crowd, who had parted to form a path. On either side there were men, women and children of all shapes and sizes. It was slightly foreboding walking through this crowd of masked strangers, their eyes highlighted eerily against the starkness of their masks. Some looked so old that they could drop dead at any moment, some were barely old enough to speak and all of them were staring intently, some whispering things to their neighbours behind heavily jeweled hands. I kept hearing snippets of conversation.

“Stunning,” one woman said.

“Yes, isn’t she just,” her neighbour replied.

“What a beautiful couple,” an elderly woman with wandering eyes said. The man beside her whipped around and told her to shoosh.

“Damn,” a boy in his late teens whispered to the slightly older guy next to him.

“Moretti?!” the other said in a dismissive tone. “What’s so special about him?”

We walked all the way to the other side where my grandfather was standing with his arms outstretched.

“Have you got a hug for your grandfather?” he asked.

“You're joking!" I said incredulously "I want a full explanation first, at the very least. Until then, I'd prefer to refrain from even shaking your hand...”

He looked a bit taken aback but said, “Of course. Follow me” and in response to Carmine’s disappointed expression, he added, “and Carmine, when we get back you can have the honour of the first dance. Thank you for your troubles.”

“No trouble at all sir. She wasn’t too difficult,” he assured Neil before catching my eye and winking.

My grandfather led me through a side door into a dining room where he indicated a chair for me to sit in.

“I know you must have many questions and I will answer them to the best of my ability and, of course, within reason.”

“Ok. First: why am I here now? Is there a specific reason?” I inquired.

“Yes there is a reason for now. It is because you have now passed the age of 16 and in Italy that means that you are of legal age. I would have made contact sooner but it was during school term and I did not wish to disturb you then. Being of legal age means you are eligible to be married and although I am not going to force you to get married, I suggest you think about what I am about to offer,” he recited in a somewhat political manner. I was sure he had rehearsed this speech.

He certainly wasn’t finished either. “I am very well respected among many of the Italian families, meaning that many of these families have come to me asking that you accept their son’s hand in marriage. I know you might think of this as ridiculous, but there may be attempts to abduct you by families that are not, what we might call, friendly. Marrying a man in my circle of trust will afford you a level of security that I cannot guarantee otherwise.”

“So are you saying that you are, "what we might call, friendly"?” asked skeptically.

“Compared to the people in question – yes I am. Now I am going to ask you to come out here with me and meet some of these young men even if you have no intention of taking up my offer. You may be pleasantly surprised; there are many fine young gentlemen out there. They are not your stereotypical mafia sons; many are quiet intelligent. Now if you please,” he finished, pointing toward the door.

“Fine, but in Australia the legal age is 18 and I am nowhere near ready to be married,” I said as I walked out the door.

“Maybe you should try telling that to the Moretti boy...I hear he is quite a go-getter..."

I rolled my eyes and turned around to come face to face with Carmine.

“Would you like to dance?” he said, a wide grin spread across his features.

“I don’t have much of a choice do I?” I replied as he led me towards the dance floor.

"Just what every man wants to hear from the young lady he is courting..." he said with a laugh as he dragged me into the very centre of the crowd of dancing people.

I felt a small smile crawl onto my lips.

Why am I smiling? I shouldn't be enjoying myself.