Page 20 of A Wedding in Tuscany

‘… and by the time we’re thirty, hopefully you’ll have a lot of adventures to write about. And to keep this short and sweet, one final thing. Be amazing.

Love,

Sarah’

‘I like that last bit?and you are amazing.’ Lins jostles me with her shoulder.

‘Thanks.’

‘And you’ve already ticked off most of it,’ she says, folding the letter and handing it back to me. ‘No glaring “shoulds”.’

‘Just a trip to Antarctica,’ I reply, smiling brightly. ‘Oh, and I’m not married, either.’

‘You and Josh may not have the piece of paper, but you’re in a marriage, Sez.’ I nod?I guess she’s right. And I did find the perfect guy for me. I think younger Sarah would be happy about that.

Lins leaps up. ‘You’re off?’ I ask.

‘Yeah, I think I will go to class.’

‘You’re gonna get in trouble,’ I sing-song. Our yoga instructor does not like latecomers.

Lins shrugs it off. ‘Eh, I’ll try and sneak in the back.’ We both know that’s not going to fly with the always-Zen-except-when-you-disrupt-her-class Paula. Lins kisses the top of my head. ‘Call you later.’

‘Okay. Bye.’

‘And forty’s not old!’ she calls out from the front door. I guess she’d know?her fortieth was three months ago.

‘Need a hand?’ calls my dad from the front steps of my parents’ house.

‘Um, yes, please, Dad.’ He jogs down the steps and across the lawn to meet us at the car.

‘What on earth?’ he says, taking in the contents of the boot.

‘Do you mind taking one of these, Ron?’ asks Josh. He hands my dad one of two stacking cubes filled with magazines and folders?portable wedding planning for the sister on the go!

‘I thought it was just going to be a small wedding,’ says Dad, leading the way inside. Josh follows with the second cube, and I bring my laptop bag and a two-bottle wine carrier.

‘I’m discovering that destination weddings are the opposite of “small”, no matter how many guests are invited,’ I tell him. ‘Hi, Mum,’ I call out as soon as we’re inside.

‘Hello, Sarah.’ She emerges from her study to kiss me on the cheek and relieve me of the wine. ‘Just put all that in there,’ she says to Josh and my dad, indicating her study. ‘Glass of wine before lunch?’ she asks me.

‘Yes, please,’ I reply.

‘Josh, wine?’ Mum calls out, making her way into the kitchen.

‘Sure, Karen, thanks.’

‘Or I’ve got beer?’ Dad offers.

‘Actually, a beer would be good. And I’m driving, so …’

‘Light beer coming up,’ says Dad.

Every time we come here, it hits me that Josh is not just my partner, he’s part of the family?even though he’s only lived in Sydney a couple of years. Not long ago, I even heard Mum refer to him as her son-in-law to my aunty. I loved that and I love seeing how at ease he is here, chatting with Dad and doing Mum’s bidding without complaint (as we all do).

And as far as in-laws go, I’ve hit the jackpot. Josh has taken me to Chicago twice since he moved to Sydney and I’ve met his brother and his parents, some extended family. His parents are lovely?we chat with them online at least once a month and they’ve even mentioned coming for Christmas this year, which would be amazing. I feel for Cat not having that relationship with her in-laws. It must be horrible being on the out like that?with family.

Mum hands me a glass of wine. ‘Here’s to your sister.’ It’s a sweet toast and I clink my glass against hers and take a sip. A riesling from Western Australia, it’s flinty and minerally?delicious.