got to Castellina around ten. That’s where we were doing hair and makeup. It was just Deenie and me, and my hairdresser, of course—she did my makeup, too—but Melinda, my stepmother, stopped by and brought mimosas. It was so fabulous. Do you know Castellina?”
“I’ve heard of it.”
“It means ‘little castle’ and it’s just so pretty. It’s owned by the Buganzi family, too, like Cahill Winery. It’s kind of a package deal for weddings, if you want to go that way.”
I nodded. Castellina was the Portland estate used as an entertainment venue by the Buganzi family who also owned Cahill Winery just outside the town of Dundee, in the center of Oregon’s wine country. Before the Buganzi family purchased it, it was a rambling, slightly tired, turn-of-the-century old maven of Portland’s West Hill’s architectural scene. Buganzi razed the old home much to a horrendous outcry and a ton of city fees, as he did it gleefully and without permits. Then he built Castellina with its fairy-tale castle design. I’d only seen it from the outside, but people either gush and rave or roll their eyes and wail about its design. Nevertheless, it’s become as popular a place for weddings and parties as Cahill Winery itself, which is about forty-five minutes from Castellina on a Saturday afternoon. Apparently Roland Hatchmere had reserved both venues for his daughter. I’ve heard Cahill produces a more than respectable Pinot Noir, but I’ve never put it to the taste test, its price being outside my budget.
“The weather was just beautiful. We didn’t know how it would be, October and all, but it was just such a great day.” Gigi gulped again and topped off her glass. I chewed on a piece of cheddar and sipped. “I had this great dress, too. It’s a Millie V.,” she added in an aside, looking for my reaction. I had no idea who this designer might be, so I just nodded enthusiastically and sipped some more. I love wine for this reason. Not just drinking, but a whole host of social moves. I can drink and nod and it won’t appear as if I have nothing to say.
“Anyway, everything was perfect. The veil was kind of sucky, actually, but I got rid of it pretty quick. We were having a great time with the mimosas. Melinda brought the champagne, and it was nicer than I expected of her. I mean, we don’t hate her, but she’s not our mother. She never let me have a drop before I turned twenty-one, so I just didn’t think she had it in her.”
“You’re twenty-one now, right?”
“I turn twenty-two in April. Sean’s twenty-four, but I’ve always seemed older than he is. I mean, he’s a complete fuckup, but he is my brother. He used to buy for me before I was legal. We gotta look out for each other.” She said this rotely, without emotion, as if she’d heard it somewhere and thought it might be a good time to trot it out.
“So, Melinda brought the champagne. And…Deenie…was with you?”
“Oh, Deenie’s my maid of honor. We call her Deenie even though her name’s Denise. Everybody does. I’ve known her since third grade. We were having such a good time. I tied my hair up in a chignon but it looked like shit. Had to rip it all out and let it be down. I almost made Shari cry, she was the hairdresser. How was I supposed to know she was so sensitive! God, it was my wedding. Anyway, we got it all straightened out.”
“What about your mom?” I inserted casually. “Was she there?”
“Renee? No way. We don’t get along that great. I mean, she lives in Santa Monica and that’s just fine. I love her. She’s my mom and all, but when Sean and I moved to Portland with Daddy, she just stayed there. I haven’t lived with her since I was a kid.”
“But she came up for the wedding.”
“Yes.” Gigi’s jaw tightened stubbornly. She didn’t like being directed. She wanted to tell the story her way and that was that.
“So, you changed your hair and had mimosas with Deenie and your stepmother.”
“Melinda. Deenie and I had a limo and we were going to meet the other bridesmaids at Cahill for pictures at two. Melinda had her own car, so we all drove off around one o’clock. Deenie and I took a bottle of champagne in the limo. We turned the music up really loud and we were singing. It was so much fun.”
She stopped short, remembering. I could see her face start to squinch up and get blotchy. “So, we got there,” she said, her voice getting small and teary. “And everybody came for pictures but Daddy. It was almost two o’clock. The photographer took some photos of me and Emmett, and then the bridal party, but Daddy wasn’t there!”
“Emmett’s parents were there,” I said, sensing she was about to collapse into sobs.
“Uh-huh.”
“And your mother?”
“Why do you keep saying that! No! She wasn’t invited to the wedding.” Gigi looked like she wanted to throw her glass at me.
“I thought she came up from Santa Monica,” I answered, confused.
“She was disinvited, okay? She was invited. But then she was a bitch at the rehearsal dinner and she was disinvited. Melinda was there and she was being nice so I figured she could be in the pictures. I didn’t care if she and Daddy weren’t living in the same house. They really love each other. In fact, they’d be back together if it weren’t for Violet!”
“Okay,” I said, hoping she’d calm down.
“Want another glass of wine?” she asked, sniffing.
“Sure.”
I handed her my glass and she gave me a refill. It was kind of eerie the way she could throw a fit and then turn around and act like it didn’t happen. Maybe she’d been drinking before I arrived, although it didn’t seem like it.
“So, then…Daddy never showed at all. He wasn’t answering his cell phone, either. Honestly, I was kinda mad. It was my wedding day!”
I shook my head in commiseration, trying to look properly upset for her.
“And then it was three o’clock! Three o’clock! Deenie and I were just crying, holding each other up. It was like…” She shook her head, her nostrils quivering with remembered hurt. “It was like he didn’t care. We didn’t know what was wrong. That’s when we had to call my mother. Just in case she knew something.”
I waited.
Gigi shrugged. “Okay, look, I don’t like talking about my mother that much. It’s no big deal. She just doesn’t know how to act. The rehearsal dinner was a disaster. Big fight between Mom and Daddy, but then what did I expect? They’ve always been that way.”
“They fought at your rehearsal dinner?”
Gigi gestured impatiently. “She brought up Violet in front of Melinda and me and everybody. Asked where Violet was. Why wasn’t Violet there? Wasn’t Daddy seeing Violet? It was all just to bug him. That’s what my mother always does. You’d have to know her to understand. She’s kind of self-involved,” Gigi said with a straight face.
“Ah.”
“We were all at Castellina for the rehearsal dinner. It was a package deal—book the rehearsal dinner and the wedding preprep at Castellina, then go to the wedding and reception at the winery and it was a much better price. You know how expensive weddings are? Daddy got really upset toward the end.
