All I Believe (Firsts and Forever, #10)(28)
Nana waved to Matteo when she saw him, then yelled something to the DJ. A few moments later, an all too familiar song started to play. Good lord. Nana clapped her hands and started doing the Macarena, throwing her entire body into it. The go-go boys and pretty much the entire audience joined in. It was like being flung back in time to the 1990s. I had no idea how Nana or anyone else still remembered that dance (and it was news to me that it had made its way to Sicily).
I just watched at first, but Allessandro saw I was hanging back and exclaimed, “Come on, Nico!” He grabbed my hands and pushed and pulled me like a rag doll until I grinned self-consciously and joined in. By the end of the dance, I was laughing with everyone else, and clapped my hands as the entire club applauded Nana.
She waved to the crowd, looking very pleased with herself, then got off the stage and spoke to the DJ. He let her use the mic, and she made an announcement about the singles mixer on Thursday, then asked for help in spreading the word to the gay community. When she stepped out of the DJ booth, she was swarmed by cute guys, all of whom wanted to talk to her and dance with her. Nana saw more action than I did.
Jessie was getting a lot of attention too, as the cute, ‘exotic’ American who looked like a beach boy. He danced with two guys at a time, throwing his hands in the air and moving to the music. I’d always admired people who could let go of their inhibitions and just have fun, and Jessie excelled at that (so did Nana, who was dancing with the four go-go boys).
After a few songs, Nana came by and visited with us before her adoring public whisked her away again, and later on Jessie took a break and joined Matteo, Allessandro and me at a table by the bar. I made the introductions, and Allessandro toasted him with a beer and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m really drunk, by the way, so if I say something stupid, please forgive me. I was going to go home an hour ago, but then I met Matty’s cousin and home was forgotten.”
“Tomorrow will be miserable,” Matteo told him. “We have to be at the station early, and you’re such a pain when you have a hangover.”
“Are you two a couple?” Jessie asked, mopping his damp forehead with a cocktail napkin.
“Dios, no,” Matteo said. “We’re friends, roommates, and coworkers, which is plenty. There’s no romantic spark between us.”
“Matteo doesn’t do romantic,” Allesso said with a teasing grin. “Even if we wanted to, it’d be impossible for us to hook up, because he only sleeps with men once and then avoids them forever. He’d never be able to dodge me in our little apartment.” My cousin rolled his eyes at that.
“You look like you’re having a good time,” I told Jessie.
“I am! Everyone’s so friendly,” he said, “but we should probably round up Nana pretty soon and head back to Viladembursa. I can tell she’s starting to get tired.”
I nodded in agreement and told my cousin I’d see him later in the week. Allesso said, “It was great meeting you. We’re going to head home too while I can still stand. I hope to see you again.” After we said our goodbyes, Matteo put an arm around his friend’s shoulders to steady him and Allessandro hugged my cousin around the waist as they left the club.
“I hope those two eventually realize they’re meant to be together,” Jessie said.
“I do, too.” I got up from the table and re-tucked Luca’s black button-down into my new jeans as I looked around for my grandmother. When I spotted her, I said, “Oh man, Nana’s doing body shots off one of the waiters. She’s going to be so drunk.”
I wasn’t wrong. When Jessie and I reached her, she yelled, “Hi there, Sweetpeas!” She then gestured at a tall, wonderfully flamboyant guy with short hair, a lot of eye makeup and a sequined t-shirt. “Boys, this is Rafael. Rafael, Nico and Jessie. Rafi’s going to bring his dance troupe to Viladembursa tomorrow to help me promote our singles party!”
We exchanged greetings, and then I told Nana it was time to head home. She hugged Rafael around the waist, swaying a bit, and said, “I don’t want to go. There are so many lovely gay homosexuals here! Look how pretty this one is. I want to keep him!” Rafael smiled at that and reminded her she’d see him the next day.
After a bit more cajoling, we finally convinced Nana to call it a night. As we headed toward the rental car, she stuck her hand out in an approximation of a dance move called the whip and started swaying her hips. Then she began singing, “I’m just a girl! Na na na na na na na, I’m just a girl!” Apparently those four words were all she knew of that song, but what she lacked in the lyric department, she made up for in volume.
*****
She was sound asleep and snoring by the time we got back to the hotel. I carried her up to our suite, deposited Nana in bed and took her shoes off before tucking her under the covers. Jessie was still pretty drunk too, and had stalled out in the middle of the living room, having apparently forgotten what he was supposed to be doing. I guided him to his room with an arm around his shoulders and tucked him into bed, too. He looked up at me and said, “Will you stay with me until I fall asleep? Please?”
I pulled a chair over and sat beside the bed, and he reached out and took my hand. After a while, he said softly, “I miss my family. I don’t know why I’m thinking about this now…maybe it’s because I’m so far from home. I’m so glad I’m a part of your family now, but still, I miss them, especially my mom. Why’d she stop loving me, Nicky?”