Chapter Text
Peggy was borderline pouting.
“But why do I have to go to Italy?”
She was debating stomping her foot by this point, torn between being a mature grown-up and actually expressing her feelings.
Miss Harrison sighed.
“Margaret, we all have to go. It’s a school trip.”
She crouched down so she was closer to the little girl’s height.
“C’mon Pegs, it’ll be fun.”
She knocked Peggy's shoulder and winked before standing up straight again, completing missing her disbelieving look. Normally the girl would have loved to go away on a trip. She would rather be anywhere than the same musty, old boarding school she felt like she spent every second of her life in. But this weekend, she wanted to be at home. It was the last weekend before Michael would be leaving to join the army and her parents had even specially arranged to let her come home for a few days to say goodbye.
All until this abominable, intolerable, downright unfair school trip came up.
Her older brother was going to join the army, be in a whole other country! For ages!! Did no one get that?!
She sighed, kicked the wooden floorboard with her shoe and resigned to her fate. Shy of running away there was nothing she could do.
She paused, before a slow smile hooked into the corner of her lips and left her trying to conceal a grin.
~Not long later~
“Climbing over the garden wall is not acceptable behaviour for a proper young lady Margaret.”
Peggy’s head was hung. Equally because she was trying to appear disheartened, but also because she was bored and the old battleaxe headmistress would notice the expression on her features instantly if she saw it.
“…and all to what end? To go frolicking around the countryside with the sheep, or did you simply forget we're twenty miles from the closest town?”
Peggy was trying to pay attention. She really was, but it was the same old spiel… ‘broken trust blah blah’, ‘stop pulling pranks with Gretchen blah blah’, ‘proper behaviour blah blah’…. She was pretty sure Ms Vaux had it memorised by this point. They both did.
“…this is your final warning. If you don’t behave yourself for even an instant on this trip, you will be put in with to the teachers bunk with them.”
That made it easier to pay attention. She heard the Maths teacher who had caught her, Miss Price, damn near squeak before trying to cover it up with a cough.
“Do you need a breath mint dear?”
For a second Ms Vaux looked almost kindly at one of her favourite colleages, but when Miss Price shook her head, her eyes turned sharply back to the girl in front of her.
“Well, what do you have to say to yourself?”
Peggy tried to focus, she had to pull out all the stops and try to look as sorry as possible. If they had her in with the teachers, she’d never escape.
The words came out a tiny, determined voice.
“I’m sorry Ms Vaux. It won’t happen again.”
~Half a world away in Brooklyn~
Angie had crept downstairs in the early morning, hoping to nab one of the little pastries her aunt had been up making ‘til it was past her bedtime. When she'd caught Angie yesterday evening, Maria told her it was for family day, and Angie reasoned it was most definitely family day now. Aunty Maria didn’t say anything about the time of day. Besides, there were worse things she could have for breakfast… all sorts of excuses were preparing themselves in her brain in case she got caught. Better safe, she figured. But as it turned out, she didn’t need a single one. Angie didn’t get past the corridor to the living room.
“THIS IS WONDERFUL!”
Angie winced. Early mornings were not made for overexcited family members.
Giving up her stealthy mission, she walked into the living room to find her mother close to crying while hugging everyone in sight. That being her uncle Roberto, who for once in his life seemed a little out of his depth. She’d seen him looking happier in the middle of mafia meetings. Which is a whole other story, let’s just say Angie's incurable sweet-tooth that often led her into strange circumstances.
“What-”
The word was barely out of her mouth before her mum was picking her up and swinging her round like she hadn’t done since Angie was four years old and an even tinier kid than she was at the moment.
Angie looked to her uncle inquisitively, but he just shrugged and sat back in the usual recliner he'd occupied every Sunday since before Angie could remember.
“Mama”
But she was too caught up in happy squeals of joy and more excitement now that the dog was awake and joining in, and her brother’s were starting to make bleary-eyed appearances in the doorway.
“Mama!”
It was no use. Angie eventually gave up when she was put back down, and sat next to her uncle on her usual stool, bringing her legs up to her chest and trying not to fall asleep again until she found out what exactly was going on this morning.
“Violetta’s getting married!!”
Angie jerked up. That was unexpected… of all Ma’s sisters, she was the youngest and had not shown any interest in marriage nor men before. None whatsoever, in all the phone calls they had shared in the eleven and a half years of Angie’s life.
“We’re all going to Italy!”
There was more than a moment of stunned silence before everyone in the family started their own joyous celebrations. Although the details weren’t quite all worked out, Angie’s mother essentially told everyone her baby sister was getting hitched to some rich Italian that was happy to fly the whole family all over to Italy for the wedding in his private plane. And this was all happening in a few weeks. The celebrations quieted down a little as discussions began on who should arrange what, and should they invite Eduardo even though he was essentially estranged from the family? He was still blood, after all... They talked and laughed and revelled in the mere idea of the upcoming trip. Many of the youngest generation had never been to Italy before and many of the oldest generation missed home terribly. The ones in between, such as Angie’s mother, had vague memories of vineyards and sunshine and the cobbled roads the neighbour kids used to play in behind the church. Everyone was caught up except for Angie that is; with the mystery happily solved and no chance of heavenly little pastries, she was quite content to curl up and go straight back to dreamland.