One Hundred Seventy-One

“You handled that really well,” Richie complimented quietly as they followed Lani through one of the hotel’s side doors.  She was guiding them to the wedding site and the priest so that they could do a brief walk-through of the ceremony.

David had, of course, filled everyone in on Allegra’s baked spaghetti flambé episode from the band’s last trip to Hawaii and how Chef Lucy had been called upon to bail her out.  And, also of course, Chef Lucy herself had appeared in the middle of the tale, looking blonde, buxom and smug at hearing the recount of her heroics.

Gag.

To her credit, none of that smugness bled through into her oh-so-humble tone as she demurely accepted praise for her food.  Praise which was justly due. 

Refusing to be petty – after all, she had gotten the man – Allegra added her sincere accolades to the mix, thanking the little woman for ensuring that everyone’s meals were to their exact specifications.   Then she placed a hand over her burgeoning baby bump with a smile, telling Richie that Bug was awake and kicking and pulling his hand over to feel.

All of her friends and family hid their snickers behind napkins or in swallows of their drinks.

So sue her. 

After that, Chef Lucy had spirited herself away with the assurance that everything for the breakfast reception would be exactly as requested.

“Thank you,” Allegra accepted Richie’s compliment with a tiny smile as they stepped down the narrow path that Lani took.  “And my ego thanks you for pretending to be so into me that you hardly looked at her.”

His hand curled around the nape of her neck, urging her to stop walking.  When she looked up, it was to find his eyes smoldering like banked embers.  “I wasn’t pretending.”

“Jesus, you’ve only got another ten hours or so.  Down boy,” Jon growled as he and Dot pushed by them.  “Nobody wants to see that shit.”

Richie’s eyes narrowed predatorily.  “It’s only ten hours?”  His hand clamped down on her neck more tightly.  “Think we could skip the breakfast reception?”

“You know we can’t,” she admonished with a soft chuckle, sliding her arm around his waist and hooking a thumb in his belt loop.  They fell back into step, so as not to keep the coordinator waiting.  “In reality it’s more like eighteen hours, after we put in a full day with the families.  But after that…”

“’Scuse me, but we need to see some daylight here,” David loudly inserted himself between their two bodies, pushing them apart.  “There is pre-wedding protocol to be observed.  The consummation ornamentation hasn’t reached the optimal shade of blue yet.”

“Lemma,” came Tico’s warning rumble from behind them.  “When she throws a knee into your nuts, I’m gonna do nothing but laugh.”

“Aww, Legs wouldn’t do that to meeee!” he crowed with confidence, scowling at his wife when she pinched his side.

Tipping her chin upward, she leveled him with an acidic glare.  “You have three kids already.  Push me much further tonight, and yes… I most certainly would.”

Everyone within earshot burst into laughter as they arrived at the secluded site Lani had arranged for their nuptials.

Traditional tiki torches formed the perimeter of the area – seeing as the ceremony would begin under the cover of darkness – and half a dozen long, rattan benches acted as guest seating.  That was it.  Not much to look at, but it ideally suited their purposes. 

Upon further inspection, Allegra noted that there were two gray-haired men milling at the far end of the seating area.  One was tall and one short, but both dressed casually in khakis and tropical button-down shirts.  They had their heads bent together chatting, allowing her abbreviated group – Richie, Dot, Jon, David, Lexi, Tico and her mother – to conduct their brief tour without interruption.  The rest of the ensemble had gone upstairs in an effort to convince the kids that eight o’clock was a perfectly acceptable bedtime.  It was going to be an early morning. 

Squinting in the semi-darkness of twilight, she presumed that one of the men was their priest, but had no idea who the other might be. 

“I know it seems very simple,” Lani apologized, gesturing around them, “But I got the impression that’s what you were looking for.”

“You got exactly the right impression,” Allegra was quick to reassure the woman.  “I didn’t want to invest a lot of time and energy in decorations when the sunrise will give us all the ‘decorations’ we need.” 

Realizing she hadn’t asked Richie’s opinion before giving little area a golden seal of approval.  “I should probably pass that by the groom, though,” she said with a laugh, turning her attention to Richie.  “What do you think, sweetie?”

“If you’re happy, I’m happy,” was his typically Zen response.  He could be so easy to get along with. 

“And I’m happy.”  Allegra nodded to the men in the distance.  “Is one of them our priest?”

“Yes.  The shorter of the two men is Kahu Silva.  I’m not sure who he’s brought along with him though.  Let’s go see, shall we?”

“Kahu?”  David butted in. “Could you clarify for a Jewish boy?”

“Of course.  A Kahu is a priest.  We use it instead of the title ‘Father’.”

“Well, then.  Let’s go say hi to the man who holds our future in his hands.”  Richie’s palm settled in the curve of Allegra’s spine and he gently steered her toward the Kahu and his companion, while the rest of the group made themselves comfortable on the benches.

Evidently hearing their approach, both men lifted their heads with smiles of greeting in place, and Allegra got her first good look at their faces.  It was enough to rivet her feet in the snowy sand for an instant before she backpedaled several steps.

“What the hell is he doing here?” she mumbled under her breath, taking perverse pleasure in the fact that the second man’s smile faltered at her retreat.

Brow furrowed in puzzlement, Richie gave the men his back, placing himself between them and Allegra.  “Do you know that guy?”

To compensate for the couple’s lack of forward momentum, the Kahu and his friend stepped out, quickly closing the remaining distance between them.

“Allegra Castanelli and Richie Sambora…” Lani positioned herself between the two pairs in the role of hostess, and forced Richie to turn for the introduction.  “This is Kahu Silva, who will be officiating your ceremony.  Kahu, I’ll let you acquaint us with your friend.”

“Aloha,” the shorter Kahu greeted them both jovially, dark eyes sparkling good-naturedly in his tanned face.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.  The fine gentleman who has crashed your rehearsal tonight is-“

“Hello, Allegra,” the taller, bearded man interrupted his associate, hand extended.  His storm-gray eyes were cloaked, no doubt uncertain of the reception he would receive, which was no reception at all.  Allegra stubbornly refused to clasp his hand, leaving Richie to attempt an awkward left-handed shake as he frowned worriedly at her intense displeasure.

“Mr. Sambora, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” 

“Uh, I’m afraid you’ve got me at a disadvantage, Mister…”

“It’s Bishop,” Allegra advised him testily.  “What are you doing here, Bishop Mancuso?”

Richie’s brows winged up in shock.  He’d never gotten more than quick glance at the Bishop, and that was from quite a distance away.   “You mean he’s…?”

She nodded slowly, eyes never leaving the Bishop’s face.  No one but Richie knew the Bishop was her father, and she certainly wasn’t going to announce it like this.  Her mother didn’t need or deserve that.  “Intruding?  Yes, actually, he is.”

“I don’t mean to intrude, and I’ll step out of the way in just a moment, but Allegra, I’d like to speak with you privately after your business with Wendell here is concluded.  It won’t take long, but I would appreciate a few moments of your time.”  He gestured toward Richie.  “Your fiancé is welcome to join us if you like.”

She felt betrayed- again.  This part of her life was supposed to be pushed under the rug like the insignificant speck of dust it was, never to be heard from again.  Not only was it crawling out from under the rug, it was threatening to crawl over innocent bystanders and morph her idyllic wedding into a train wreck.

“Is there a problem, Ms. Castanelli?”  Lani’s gaze was flicking uncertainly back and forth between Allegra and the Bishop.

“No.”  She emphatically shook her head, affixing the socially mandated smile to her face.  “There’s no problem.   Bishop, as you can see, we are detaining my guests and family.  If you don’t mind, we should really run through the ceremony with the Kahu.”

“Could you give us a moment please?” Richie excused them from the group, pulling Allegra several feet away and bringing her around to face him.  “I assume this is totally unexpected?  You don’t know what the hell he’s doing here?”

“Yes, it’s unexpected!” she hissed, throwing her arms in the air.  “I didn’t invite him here!  I don’t even know how he found us!”

“Baby, calm down.”  He brought his left hand up to cup her cheek, stroking softly with his thumb.  “This is only a moment in time and we’ll get through it.  But aren’t you a little bit curious as to why he came here all the way from Jersey?”

She didn’t want to be, but she was.  More than anything, she wanted to know how he’d found them – to the point of crashing their wedding rehearsal.  What could be so freaking important that the man that she would hate – even if he weren’t the father who’d never claimed her – would traipse half-way around the world to stalk her.

“Fine,” she relented, after silently counting to ten.  “We’ll meet him in the hotel coffee shop afterward.  But I don’t want anyone knowing who he really is.  I doubt anyone will ask, but if they do, he’s just my former Bishop.  Period.”

“Understood.”  Richie swiped his mouth across hers in a quick kiss. 

It took less than ten minutes to run through the logistics with the Kahu. 

“My dad will walk me down the aisle, and there will be three songs, then our personal vows and the traditional vows.  We’re hoping to start the personal vows about the time the sun rises.”

“Three songs?”  Richie tugged at her skirt, questions dancing in his eyes.  He still didn’t know about her surprise performance, and if at all possible, she wanted keep it a surprise until the last minute.

“David’s been working on something,” she dismissed with a wave of her hand, trying not to let her smile become too smug.  “Does that work for you Kahu Silva?”

“That’s fine with me,” the friendly Hawaiian priest offered his approval.  “According to the weather, sunrise is at six fifteen in the morning.  I think a prompt six o’clock start should put you where you want to be.”

“You guys hear that?” she addressed the band members.  “I’m asking you very, very nicely to drag your butts out of bed by five and be down here with your gear and/or family by five forty-five.  Please and thank you?”  Allegra smiled at them all sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

“How did you let her talk you into this, man?” Jon groused.  “I’ll need a gallon of coffee to get my vocal cords awake at that hour.”

Dot scowled at him.  “Stop whining.  You’re usually tossing and turning by then anyway.”

“I’ll have room service knocking on your door at five,” was Allegra’s peace-keeping compromise before shaking hands with the priest.  “Thank you Kahu.  We’ll see you in in the morning.”

As soon as he bade them farewell, she spent some time talking to her mother and Dot, getting their opinion and last minute bits of wisdom.  They conversed until David and Tico grew bored enough of the wedding chatter to slip away unnoticed, while Jon checked his watch every ten seconds, each time muttering to Richie.

Allegra finally took pity on him and stopped stalling.  Bidding her mother and Jon good night, she grabbed Richie’s hand and told Dot she would be up shortly.

It was time to see what Daddy Dearest wanted.