Chapter 8 #3
“You mean snowshoeing?” she corrected him.
“Either way, you promised you will never do it again.” Giovanni reminded her of the fiasco in Lake Tahoe when she went snowshoeing alone, got lost, dropped her phone, and twisted her ankle. “You had me so worried when we could not find you.”
“I know, and I am sorry. Believe me, I do not want to repeat anything like that again.”
“ Molto bene ! I don’t want to repeat that also.”
“You have your instructions, Signor Lombardi?”
“ Assolutamente, pantaloni prepotenti ! Yes, Bossy Pants!”
“You really like that nickname, don’t you?” Frankie said and smiled.
“Si, cara mia,” Giovanni answered in his native tongue.
“I prefer cara mia better.”
“And you are. My dear one.” This time he answered in English.
“Okay. I’ve gotta get going. I have a few things I have to do here. What time do you get off work tonight?”
“The usual. Eleven.”
“Ok. I’ll see you at the restaurant. Eight o’clock, okay?”
“Si. Ciao, bella!”
“ Ciao , Giovanni.” Frankie ended the call.
Never in a million years would she have guessed she could find someone as loving, kind, generous, responsible, and loyal.
It was usually Pick one. Two if you’re lucky.
If you get three, you live a magical life .
She honestly believed she was blessed. She also believed, in some karmic way, she’d earned it.
She didn’t like the word soulmates . It was terribly overused, and not fully accurate, for the most part.
She preferred to think they were soul travelers on a loving journey together.
Frankie spent an hour drawing a layout of what she hoped would become Rosevita’s memory book.
Finding the pieces would be the challenge.
She checked the time. It was almost eleven, which meant it was seven in the evening in Salerno.
She wondered if Lucia and Rosevita were together and hesitated to reach out to her at that moment.
She had another idea: call Giovanni and ask him to call his mother.
This way, she would be distracted, and Lucia could read Frankie’s text without having to explain why her nephew’s girlfriend was contacting her.
Frankie hit the redial button. “Gio, can you call your mother now?”
“Now? Perché ?”
“So I can text Lucia, just in case they are together. This way your mother will be on the phone with you. Capisce ?”
“Ah. Capisce ! I’ll do it right now. Ciao !”
Frankie waited for about a minute and then sent a text to Lucia and explained her idea and asked if she could help. Another minute went by, and she got a reply telling Frankie to call her in an hour.
Capisce! Frankie texted back.
Frankie began making a list, one of many.
This was for Thanksgiving. She offered to make Thanksgiving dinner for her parents, Giovanni, and any orphans from her gang.
She planned to commandeer her mother’s kitchen.
Nina was going to be in town and offered to help.
Richard was still on the fence about where he should go.
His brother was going to be in town, and they hadn’t seen each other in almost two years.
Regardless of the number of guests, there would always be more food than anyone could consume.
This year she planned on getting some takeaway containers from the restaurant so everyone could go home with leftovers.
She decided to check in with her pal. The last time they spoke, Nina was feeling a little glum about the project with Jordan. Frankie hoped things were moving ahead.
Nina answered on the first ring. “Babycakes!” Regardless of her mood, Nina always sounded cheerful. Frankie attributed it to her acting ability, but Frankie could tell when Nina wasn’t as bubbly as she appeared.
“Alright. Spill. What is going on?” Frankie urged her friend.
“Oh, the usual stops and starts. We got a commitment from a young, talented director, and Gail Edwards is on board. It’s the financing part that is still nebulous. And now Jordan thinks we should break it up into episodes and pitch it as a series.”
“That sound like a great idea, actually. And it’s exciting you have Gail. She is really talented,” Frankie said, then paused. “I remember you both played sisters in both of your sitcoms. That was pretty cool. How did all that come about?”
“We were both pulling into the studio lot and parked next to each other. We had never met before, so we both did a double take at the resemblance. Must have been the hair that convinced the show runners,” Nina said, and then chuckled.
Both women were known for their full, curly locks, which Nina often tied back with a bandanna.
“Ha. I think it had to do with talent,” Frankie replied.
“You can be rather sweet when you’re not being bossy,” Nina said, teasing.
“Nina Hunter! You must stop turning compliments into something self-effacing.”
“Stop using big words,” Nina said, and cackled. “You know I can’t manage more than three syllables at a time.”
“There you go again. You’re an accomplished writer,” Frankie said, then sighed.
“I do it because I know you’ll always have something nice to say.”
“You sound a bit insecure. What’s up?” Frankie had good instincts when it came to reading people’s feelings, even if it was over the phone.
“Oh, Jordan mentioned my relationship with Richard. Well, he didn’t actually bring it up, but when we started talking about the holidays, it took a left turn into ‘did I love him? Are we committed?’”
“Whoa. Heavy,” Frankie replied.
“Yep. So, I guess I have that cranking in the back of my head.”
“I take it you haven’t had the talk ?”
“Correct. Let me ask you something. Does every couple have to have the talk ? If things feel good and are working well, why does there need to be the talk ?”
“You have a point. I suppose it’s some unwritten rule that couples need to have a set of rules to follow, maybe?”
“What about you and Giovanni?” Nina paused, then said, “Have the two of you had the talk ?”
“Not exactly.”
“See? Nobody wants to do it.”
“I am happy to say, Gio has expressed his love for me, especially when I went missing in Tahoe. I can’t think of any ex-boyfriend who would have done what he did.”
“That’s true. He went straight to the airport and hopped on Mateo’s air-share,” Nina said in agreement. “I laugh every time I picture Giovanni traipsing through the slush in his beautiful Italian leather shoes.”
Frankie snickered. “That must have been a sight. But listen, Richard caught up with him in Denver. It has to mean something, Nina. It was quite a team effort trying to figure out what happened to me.”
“Don’t remind me. I was petrified.”
“So was I, but it all ended well. For everyone.”
“It did, and in spite of the angst, the storm, the power failure, and the assortment of people stranded at the hotel, it turned out to be fun,” Nina said, as she reflected on the trip from two years before.
“Before we go too far down memory lane, tell me more about the project and Gail.”
“Yes, and she and I were faced with the same ageism junk. She walked away from it and moved to Sedona, but I thought she would be good for the part.”
“Mother-daughter thing?” Frankie was trying to remember the synopsis.
“Yeah. And I think it will work. Jordan’s spin is that it takes place in various parts of England, with each episode in a different town.”
“Sounds like it could be a hit, Nina.”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” she replied.
“When Jordan first mentioned it, I was almost sick to my stomach, but when he explained it further and how the location is part of each episode, I got psyched. So, that will be my homework assignment over the holidays: breaking the script into eight parts.”
“If anyone can craft it, it’s you, honey pie,” Frankie said reassuringly. “Speaking of the holidays. What’s the plan?”
“I’m flying back next week. Still not sure what Richard will be doing for turkey day, but it’s really fine. I know he’s missed his brother, and it will be nice for the two of them to spend time together.”
“Is his brother married?” Frankie asked.
“Divorced.”
“Ooh. A playmate for Rachael? Not that she needs another one.”
“Another one? What about Salvatore?”
Frankie proceeded to explain Rachael’s disappointment. “But of course she met someone in the parking lot at the senior center.”
Nina burst out laughing. “How does that girl do it?”
“She’s a dude magnet,” Frankie said, chortling.
“I had a ‘sit-down’ conversation with her the other night. I told her to try a different approach with Salvatore. Instead of giving him a hard time, wish him well. Tell him to have fun. At first, she vehemently protested, but I urged her to try it. She had nothing to lose.”
“And did she?” Nina asked, but was skeptical.
“Yes, she did. I explained my mother’s words of wisdom.”
“You mean the ones we never followed?” Nina asked.
“Yep. Make them run after you. Be blasé.”
Nina began to laugh. “Rachael? Blasé? That would be something for the books.”
“Right? But after she tried it, she told me it was empowering.”
“Exactly. Why do we have trouble pulling up our big-girl pants to stand in our own power?”
“Because we’re not supposed to. Remember, strong women get accused of being bitchy, while men are rewarded with words like powerful . Dynamic .”
“So true. I’m glad we’ve pushed past that.”
“Me too. But why did it take us so long?” Frankie asked rhetorically.
“It must have been the sea air,” Nina mused.
“True. The cruise was a turning point in all of our lives.”
“Thankfully, in a good way,” Nina replied.
“That’s because we had positive attitudes, with little expectations. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but think about it. If you have an intention but don’t attach yourself to the outcome, then you can enjoy the experience. A positive outcome is gravy.”
“Speaking of gravy … what time do you want me at your folks’ place?”
“Early-ish. Like ten? I’m getting a ten-pound turkey that will take about three hours.”
“What else is on the menu?”