"Thanks," Angus said. "If they decide to go, Ill order some groceries and provisions for them, and maybe I can have someone take them to the house the day before Edward and Simone arrive so the house is stocked for them with things they like."
He listened to Ruby talk about ravioli. He had to agree. He liked that too. He agreed to make ravioli, and then, just as an alternative, he decided to make some fettuccini for those who wanted perhaps more of a traditional, long pasta shape. Andrew helped him get out the ingredients for pasta dough, and Angus mixed it and rolled it out by hand. He cut the pasta into sheets, folded the sheets, and cut the dough into thin strips for handmade, handcut fettuccini. He had Andrew spread the fettuccini onto sheet pans to set out to dry. Then he took more sheets and used them to make handmade ravioli. He designed a filling that was a unique filling of half meatball and half of a blend of five different Italian cheese, so that each bite of a ravioli would be a layer of meatball filling on the bottom and a layer of cheese on top of the meat filling, all sealed in pasta dough. He decided to make them small--so each ravioli was a little one-bite perfection. He made them into little bite sized squares, and sealed them, and then cut them with a fluted pastry wheel.
"Angus, those are top notch," Michael said, starting on the tomato sauce. He had made a large bunch of mini meatballs that were only about an inch in diameter, and he was going to make a marinara sauce and an alfredo sauce. "So what are you going to do now?"
"A dessert, I think," Angus said. He made a lemon almond ricotta cake and some fresh lemon ice cream. By then, he was tired. It had been a lot of hard work. Andrew urged Angus to take a break. He suggested Angus change to his swim trunks and go sunbathe on the patio near the pool. The moment Angus got comfortable in the lounge chair near the pool, he dozed off.
Edward and Simone had talked at length about their first marriages, their first loves who had passed--Edward's beloved Caprice, and Simone's precious Maurice. Edward and Simone had both loved deeply and dearly, and now, they were entering marriage again. They wanted to honor their first spouses in a moment of respect. They wanted to travel together, just the two of them, first to Tuscany and then to the Cotswolds, taking flowers, to spend a moment at Caprice's grave and a moment then at Maurice's, to lay flowers and to spend a moment, for them to both honor Caprice and Maurice and acknowledge that they both knew that no one could replace Caprice or Maurice but neither did they want to be alone for the rest of their lives. It was a way of finding closure for their first marriages so they would be free to move on. They slipped away from the estate late in the day, as Angus was resting, to buy the flowers. They would go to Tuscany and the Cotswolds tomorrow after they finished with the wedding designer at Robert's farm in the morning.
They had, together chosen two different bouquets--Edward would leave a bouquet of red roses and calla lilies for Caprice--symbolizing a passionate love, marriage and fidelity. And for Maurice he would leave a bouquet of pink roses and pink carnations--symbolizing friendship and gratitude. He did feel gratitude at Maurice's taking such good care of Simone that now she could be part of the Donohue family. Simone chose to leave the roses and lily bouquet for Maurice and chose to leave the pink roses and pink carnations for Caprice.
Edward had gone one step further. He now sent letters to his two brothers and two sisters, and letters to his five living children, as well as his closest friends to announce his upcoming marriage to Simone and their new house in England and their decision to split their time between England and Tuscany. He also explained Angus's recent near death experience and his current limitations, along with the fact that Angus was, finally, and for the first time, engaged, and was also, for the first time, expecting the birth of his first child and his adoption of Ruby's brothers. He was not asking permission of his children. He felt no need for their approval. He asked his children to spread the word to the grandchildren so he didn't have to write to all 21 grandchildren. He had also asked his siblings to spread the word through their children and grandchildren. If he had written a letter to each of them, he would have had to write 141 letters, and he had no intention of inviting them all. He was clear that he loved them all but because of the size of the family, he was going to simply not have a large wedding. He was going to have just a very tiny wedding and then he and Simone would try to have a casual family reunion/wedding reception at a later date at Edward's main house in Tuscany. Simone had sent family letters to her son, her daughter in law and their two children, and also to her daughter, her son in law and their three children, making sure to address the letters also to her grandchildren, and she had sent letters to her friends as well.
The responses started flowing in immediately. Simone's son and daughter both sent letters, and they appeared to be both surprised and delighted. Their letters were warm and encouraging, and they both said they thought it was high time that she stopped hiding herself away in grief and started living again. They hoped to soon meet what they could only believe had to have been some exceptional man to have finally captured their mother's heart.
Edward's children were also surprised. Edward had noticed something in their letters. Without Benjamin and Eileen to keep the evil going in the family, his children and grandchildren seem to have mellowed and had perhaps started to come to their senses. It apparently had been Evan that had made mention to his aunts and uncles and siblings and cousins that he suspected that Edward had been, basically, driven away from Tuscany back to England because Angus offered him closeness, honesty, love, and a sense of family and belonging. Angus wasn't hitting Edward up for money or anything else for that matter. The family seemed to be completely thunderstruck that there was a new woman in Edward's life at all. Edward's two brothers and sisters were delighted and sent letters saying it was well overdue for him to find love. Most of them had recalled meeting Simone and Maurice at various charity events through the years. They remembered of her being a lovely woman that was kind and charitable, outgoing and very down to earth. They thought she was a perfect match for Edward. They were hoping that perhaps all the siblings could do a long weekend, without all the young people. Edward and Simone loved that idea.
Edward's children were surprised too. They hadn't seen any idea of romance ever being back in his life again. Some of them knew of Simone, a couple had met her and Maurice at charity events. They had not imagined anyone replacing their mother, but Edward had been clear that she was not replacing Caprice. He was clear about how much he would always love Caprice, despite her passing. They were hoping to meet her soon. The grandchildren and great grandchildren were all far more open minded, and they were starting to send letters of their own, congratulating Edward and Caprice.
They were also sending wedding gifts of all sorts. They were arriving in a steady stream. Kate saw at once that between family and friends, the new Donohues were going to receive a literal mountain of gifts. After all, between Edward and Caprice they had almost 150 family members, and that didn't include all their friends. Kate believed they were going to need a room just for holding the gifts until Simone and Edward got to them. Kate decided that they could use the home movie theater in the basement, and she went to Jack.
"Jack, could you and Jessie lend me a hand, please?" Kate asked him. "Edward and Simone sent letters to their family and friends to announce their wedding, and we're going to be drowning in wedding gifts. Edward has about 145 family members, and Simone has a son, a daughter, and five grandchildren. And they both have countless friends. We're going to have an ocean of gifts. I think we're going to have to have one room to somehow put them in and organize them. Can you perhaps shrink the chairs in the movie room downstairs and move them elsewhere? I know there are some of those 6 foot long folding banquet tables in the loft in the barn. Can you get a few of those and set them up along the walls down there? I'll talk to Ruby since she's the maid of honor. She may want to take charge of organizing gifts herself. I did buy them a wedding gift log book so I'll see if she wants to use it or if she has a better idea."
She went to Ruby then, and said, "Ruby, so you know, Edward and Simone have sent letters to their family members and friends telling them about the upcoming wedding, and we're starting to see a steady arrival of wedding gifts. Remember, Edward has almost 150 family members, and Simone has another 6 or 7. And that doesn't begin to count business associates and friends. We're going to be awash in a sea of wedding gifts very, very soon. I've asked Jack and Jessie to move the furniture out of the movie studio downstairs and to set up several of the big six foot banquet tables down there. I bought a wedding gift log book for them to use, unless you've already bought one. Do you want to take charge of organizing the gifts, or do you want several of us to work together on that? Or what are your thoughts? You are the maid of honor, after all. That should be your call."
"Kate?" Michael called from upstairs. "New gift category coming in from Tuscany. 'Happy Gotcha Day gifts for the boys and for Angus and Ruby for their adoption of the boys."
"Oh boy. Hadn't thought about that," Kate said. "Until your duplex is finished, Ruby, we're going to have to separate those out. Maybe we can put them in the same room but on the other side of the room. I don't know. Thoughts?"
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