All I Believe (Firsts and Forever, #10)(42)
When Nana sat down for a moment and kicked off her low heels, I brought her a glass of wine and told her as I sat beside her, “So many people are going to end up with a date or phone number, or even a new friend after this. I think what you’re doing is great.”
She said, “Thanks, Sweetpea. So where’s your honey tonight? I thought Luca would be joining us.”
“I have no idea, actually. I haven’t seen him all day.” I’d been trying not to worry since we’d never agreed on a specific time to meet, but he’d definitely been on my mind, especially after the incident I’d witnessed that morning.
Nana patted my hand and said, “You got nothing to worry about with that one. It’s obvious the boy’s gaga over you. He probably just got tied up somewhere.”
“Probably. So, what about you, Nana? You’ve been helping everyone else meet people tonight. Have you found yourself a silver fox?”
“Nah. I don’t have time to think about me, not when there are so many lonely people here, all looking for love.” She tossed back the wine, then stuck her feet back in her shoes. “I gotta crank up the energy level of this party. A lot of people still need to make love connections, we can’t have it wind down yet.” Nana jumped up and bustled out into the crowd.
Sometime later, Olivio Caravetti showed up. He was dressed in a grey wool three-piece suit and a fedora, and carried a bouquet of pink roses. I shook his hand and offered him a drink, and we chatted for a few minutes before he asked, “So, where’s this lady you want me to meet?”
I craned my neck and scanned the crowd. “Nana’s around here somewhere….” All of a sudden a lot of cheering and applause broke out, and I said, “I’ll bet that’s her.”
We waded through the crowd and emerged to witness quite a spectacle. Nana had combined all the acts. The marching band was playing Thunderstruck by AC/DC while the DJ laid down an accompanying beat. The acrobats flipped across a makeshift stage, then started dancing with Rafi and his troupe. The mime, clown, magician, and sword swallower flanked Nana, doing their respective acts with gusto. And right in the middle of it all stood my grandmother and the fire dancers.
They handed her a flaming baton, which looked like a giant Q-tip that had been ignited at both ends. Nana worked it like she was leading the Rose Parade. She didn’t really have the technique down, but what she lacked in skill she made up for with enthusiasm. One of them handed her a bottle, and I whispered, “Oh hell,” a moment before she took a big mouthful of liquid, held up the baton, and spewed a huge stream of fire into the night sky. The crowd went crazy, and fortunately Nana didn’t actually go up in flames.
“What a woman,” Ollie said, taking off his fedora and smoothing his thick, white hair. “Please tell me that’s who you wanted me to meet.”
“It is.”
Nana kept waving the flaming baton around for a couple more minutes as she twerked with Rafi and the troupe. Finally, she handed it off to a muscular fire dancer in a loin cloth, slapped his ass, and left the stage. We went up to her, and I introduced the two of them. When my eyes went wide, she asked, “What?”
“Nothing,” I told her, dragging my gaze away from the part of her forehead where her eyebrows used to be.
She looked Ollie up and down before saying, “You’re kind of short.”
“What, you want to date some big giant? You want to get a crimp in your neck every time you look at him? That’s just heightist. And you know, just because a fellow’s a tall drink of water doesn’t mean he’s packing a big straw, if you know what I mean,” he told her.
Nana started to grin, but then she gave him a stern look and said, “You have a point there. You’re no spring chicken, though. I’m not sure you can keep up with me. The last thing I need is some old fart who’s gonna keel over the first time I get him in the sack.”
“You got nothing to worry about there, sister,” he told her. “I’m like the Energizer bunny. You get with me, you’re gonna need a nap and a bowl of Wheaties afterwards to bounce back!”
“You talk the talk, but I’m not convinced. You gotta know I’m not going to sit around playing bridge and acting like an old person. I need adventure and excitement! If you can bring that to the table, then I might consider going out with you.”
He handed her the bouquet of roses and said, “These are for you. You’re sassy and I like that in a woman! You’re a real hottie, too. Now you just wait here and I’ll be right back. If you say you need convincing, then that’s what I’m gonna do.”
He disappeared back into the crowd and Nana turned to me and said, “You think I need fixing up?”
“Not at all. I just really liked Mr. Caravetti when I met him and thought you might, too.”
“Well, thanks for sending him my way. He’s cute, I’ll give him that. But if he wants to go out with me, he needs to show me he’s really interested. After your granddad, I don’t want someone who’s lukewarm about me, I want some passion! He also needs to prove to me that he’s not gonna bore me to tears, and that the highlight of his day isn’t the early bird special, followed by falling asleep in front of Wheel of Fortune. That shit’s not gonna fly with me.”
I was telling her about my afternoon with him and the fact that he used to own a gallery in New York when some shouting and a loud engine noise caught our attention. We were near the back of the hotel, and both of us leaned over and peered into the lobby. People were scurrying out of the way of something.