#juno goldstein

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Round Sixteen: Goldstein

It was a family backyard wedding but the bride dressed for the glitterati.

The dress was traditional; the white of it pierced the eyeballs of the guests (they were good to grin and bear it). Viola chose to offset this effect with a sea green top hat, wrapped in black lace and topped with a tall feather. She was a bit of a theatre kid and just had to do something a little over the top on her special day! Jacob wore a more bone-white shade of suit with teal accents to match Viola's hat. They looked fantastic in their fancy frills; what a thrill it was, to have a wedding!

While the new happy couple honeymooned in Three Lakes (aunt Bianca kindly lent them the keys to Villa de Simoleon), the cats Iago and Juno passed away in their sleep. Both had lived long lives, loved by their family. Still, Bianca mourned the last pieces of her old life with Betty, and leaned on her brothers for support. Antonio and Claudio wore matching suits to game night, and brought a bottle of sparkling grape juice to share.

The Monty generations before them would be full of heart to know that the importance of family being there for each other was not lost in modern times.

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Round Nine: Goldstein

Bianca sat at the breakfast bar and nursed an espresso. The fridge's whirr - and Juno's purr - kept her company.

At five o'clock that morning, Bianca had woken for a glass of water and found Andrew elbow-deep under the dishwasher. He was grumbling to himself as he swept his screwdriver across metal and wires, looking for the culprit behind the dud electronic. "Betty must've overloaded it", Bianca thought she heard under his breath, and then - zzt! The screwdriver shot across the tiles and Andrew was in the air, convulsing like he was at the mercy of an inexperienced marionettist.

Bianca sipped hot brew to calm her nerves as she recalled the scare. Perhaps Betty was sending a message, all the way from Suncreek Cemetery. Stranger things had happened in this village.

Thankfully Andrew wasn't injured, whatever the shock's prerogative. In fact, he bounced back with a renewed vigour to chat up Candy Hart. He probably wasn't mentioning the repairman coming over in the afternoon, but he had a heck of a story to tell nonetheless.

[lasudio]

VeronaHills, Round Eight: Goldstein

Betty's generously applied lavender perfume enveloped Catherine as she floated through her final dream.

The drawing room had been a joyous setting in life and memory; here, eyes were wet and hot and hearts were grievously injured. Betty alone was clutching a piña colada, cocktail umbrella and all - a drink she should have scoffed at, but seemed delighted to embrace now. A sweet pineapple scent hit Catherine. Too sweet. It overpowered the lavender as her friend, her love, became less tangible.

No, Catherine thought. Her funeral's tomorrow. I'll be there to say goodbye. She blinked and the scene smashcut to Betty's bedroom, lush with the clashing floral patterns of real-life choosing. She sank into the plush duvet of the curtained four-poster bed.

Alive and well, Betty conversed with Bianca. The words were delivered in a cobbled stream rather than a constructed sentence (again, out of character).

"You and I... married! But Catherine - we love her."

That selfish dream-delivered admission stung. Betty would never have said such a thing to her wife. How could Catherine's mind even conjur such a conversation when she was in mourning?

Shh. Smashcut to the kitchen, where a skeletal finger reached out from a dark mirage. That's your cue! Catherine paused, then leaned forward to press her lips to the bone. She heard the curtains being drawn on Betty's bed, and tasted pineapple.

I hope Andrew and Bianca will be alright. The unselfish thought caused Catherine to smile, and with that, she accepted the conclusion of her final scene.