It Had To Be You by Janice Thompson Page B

young.” Rosa nodded, rubbing at her crow’s-feet as she gazed at her reflection. “We were all young once. Remember?” She turned back to her sisters with a smile.
    A collective sigh went up, and the excitement fizzled out of the room. Nothing like being reminded of your age to shift things out of slumber party gear. Even Deanna—who couldn’t stop yawning—decided she’d be better off sleeping in Armando’s room.
    After we parted ways, I settled into bed with Precious at my side. The little monster took my comforter in her teeth and began to chew with vigor. Still, I loved her. Couldn’t envision things any other way. Pulling the fabric from her teeth, I scolded her, then gave her a kiss.
    As I rested my head against the pillow, I thought about what had happened earlier, when Sal met Rosa for the first time. The look on his face. The judgment in his eyes. So what if she wasn’t the thin, young beauty that Francesca was? Did that mean she wasn’t as valuable? How dare he formulate an opinion based on appearance only. Oooh, it made my blood boil!
    I found myself growing angry and decided I’d better do business with the Lord about this before it ate me alive.
    My words poured out like Rosa’s olive oil, and I shared my thoughts with God in rapid succession. He, in turn, calmed me down and reminded me that he saw every one of us as beautiful, no matter our appearance.
    When my prayer time ended, I started thinking about Bianca and Bertina in their matching Scooby-Doo pajamas. How fun would it be to reach your fifties and still be best friends?
    As the words best friends flitted through my mind, I thought again of Jenna. Reaching for my phone, I checked to see if, perhaps, I’d missed a call from her during our slumber party chaos. Sadly, no.
    “What’s up with you, girl?” I asked, putting the phone back down. “Why are you avoiding me?”
    I reached to turn off my lamp, then rolled over, ready to put all thoughts of slumber parties and best friends out of my mind.

 

    6
    Band of Gold
     
    On Monday morning, I met with the members of the swing band. They wanted a look at the facility to see how and where they would set up on the big day. I couldn’t help but smile as they pulled up in a renovated school bus with a large gold wedding ring painted on the side and the words Band of Gold emblazoned across it. Looked like their name had a dual meaning. They must play at a lot of weddings.
    I watched in surprise as the band members exited the bus. Truly, I’d never seen so many elderly men in one place before. If I had to guess, I’d say the average age was somewhere around seventy-five. One of the men appeared to be much older, and a few were probably in their late sixties. Approaching the bus, I looked around for Gordy, the leader of the band.
    “Bella Rossi?” A white-haired gentleman approached and extended his hand.
    “The one and only.” I extended my hand and was surprised at his strength as he grasped it. Looks could be deceiving.
    “I’m Gordy. These fellas are my band members. Happy to meet you. I can’t tell you how excited we are about this gig.”
    “Same here. And I know my aunt and uncle are thrilled that you had the evening free on such short notice.”
    “It’s a fluke, really. We were supposed to play a retirement home event that day—a Christmas banquet—but it fell through.”
    “Their loss is our gain.” I offered him a warm smile, wondering about the fact that he still held my hand. Man, the fellow had a tight grip.
    I managed to wriggle free just as I caught a glimpse of Laz and Sal approaching from our house next door. Sal took one look at the band director and nearly hyperventilated. For a minute there, I thought we were going to have to resuscitate him.
    “Gordy? Gordy DiMarco?” he said as he approached. “Is that you?”
    Gordy turned Sal’s way, his brow wrinkled. “Yes. I’m Gordy DiMarco.”
    “You don’t remember me … us?” Sal waved his arms, suddenly