Chapter 33 #2
I look at Giovanni, rivulets of water running down his face, both of us breathing heavily, then laughing. All three nonna s are staring at us, and I feel I’ve taken a very different direction from the one I was travelling in hardly any time ago.
Someone puts on some music, bowls of homemade gelato are passed around, and now the tables, under Stella’s guidance, are being pushed back and there is dancing while the storm whips around outside.
Giovanni grabs me for a dance, before he’s hijacked by Glenda, to his surprise and my amusement, and Sebastian steps in to dance with me.
It’s fun, but it’s not magnetic. It’s not how I felt with Giovanni, and I’m not sure I could settle for living without that sensation.
By the time the minibus comes to take the students back to their villa, the storm has passed, and everywhere outside is soggy and wet. We hear the toot from the driver on the square and show the students out.
Sebastian is beside me as we step out of the gates and walk up towards the main square. ‘We were interrupted, before the storm came,’ he says. ‘You were about to tell me what you thought of my suggestion. Hopefully what I’d like to hear.’
I open my mouth to speak when Nonna Lucia is suddenly between the two of us.
‘It has been a wonderful day,’ she says, linking arms with Sebastian. ‘I am so looking forward to tomorrow. We have so much to prepare for Sunday’s lunch. Promise you’ll be on my team, Sebastian,’ she says, flirting outrageously.
‘I saw him first! I have seen how he can stir sauce. I will have him for my team,’ says Nonna Rosa.
‘We should take it in turns,’ says Nonna Teresa, coming up the hill. ‘He can choose whose team he wants to be on.’
Sebastian is evidently bemused, almost scared. I can’t help laughing as they escort him to the minibus waiting there.
‘ Grazie, Leonardo!’ I wave to the driver. ‘Join us for lunch tomorrow.’
He waves and nods.
‘See you tomorrow,’ I say to Sebastian, as he’s escorted to the steps by the nonna s.
He attempts to kiss my cheek but misses and kisses my ear.
‘Oh, sorry, sorry,’ I say, embarrassed. ‘We’ll see you tomorrow.’ I step back, flanked by the nonna s and wave as everyone pours onto the minibus.
As it leaves, we turn and wander down the hill towards La Tavola.
‘Would anyone like a drink? I think you deserve one. A limoncello, perhaps, ladies?’
‘That sounds lovely,’ I say. The children are playing with the kitten and Stella in the courtyard, in and around the puddles left there from the storm.
‘No, no. I’m very tired,’ says Nonna Teresa, stretching and yawning.
‘I would love some limoncello!’ says Nonna Lucia.
‘No, we have a big day tomorrow. You need your beauty sleep!’
‘But—’
‘Believe me, you need it!’ says Nonna Rosa, nudging her.
Nonna Lucia looks from her to Nonna Teresa. ‘Ah, yes … of course. My beauty sleep!’
‘You two, enjoy!’ says Nonna Rosa. She stops and turns back. ‘It was a very good day,’ she says, and a brief smile illumines her usually stern, lined face.
‘Can I walk you home?’ Giovanni calls after her.
‘No, we’ll be fine!’ she says, linking arms with the other two nonna s and they walk down the narrow cobbled street together, bouncing off each other’s hips, heads together, deep in conversation.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll see they get home,’ says Stella, hurrying after them, making me smile.
I breathe in the night air.
‘So, limoncello?’ Giovanni asks.
‘I’d love that.’
We step into the courtyard where the bunting is sodden and the jars hanging from the tree are filled with water.
‘Shame about the weather,’ I say.
He laughs as we head back into the kitchen. ‘They had the full Tuscan experience!’ He takes a bottle of limoncello from the dresser and pours two glasses. ‘It was good to see Stella here tonight,’ he says, putting the bottle on the table and handing me a glass.
‘It was.’ I accept it from him. I can smell the lemons before I’ve tasted it. I take a sip of the sweet, zingy liqueur.
‘And they seemed to have enjoyed it?’ he says.
‘I’m sure they’ll want to book more events. Luca’s filmed some of the workshops so we can make a reel and put it on social media. You’ll be inundated with students –work outings, hen weekends, big celebration birthdays …’
He looks down. ‘ Grazie , Thea.’
‘No, thank you, Giovanni. Now I have a house I can sell.’
He sips. ‘And you and Sebastian, you have made a connection again?’
I stop mid-sip, in the simple orange glow of the under-cupboard lights in the kitchen.
‘Yes … It’s … good to see him again.’
‘And he is very pleased to see you. He told me you and he were together before you married your husband.’
‘Yes, we were. A lifetime ago!’
We fall into a silence.
And then, ‘And now?’
I swallow the limoncello.
‘Seems he would like you back in his life.’ He tilts his head.
‘He said as much.’
‘And what are you thinking?’
‘I … I don’t know.’
‘It’s good to have people in your life to love you, isn’t it?’
‘It is.’
‘It’s what we all want? No?’
He’s right. ‘He’s a kind man, I can see that.’
‘He is.’
‘And what about you?’ I ask.
He lets out a long sigh. ‘I know I don’t want to go back to where I was, who I was, who I was with. This place has been good to me. But who knows? Maybe it’s not the end of the journey.’
‘ Mamma , can we go to bed now? Snowy is sleepy,’ says Aimee, coming in with the kitten under an arm.
‘Of course, sweetheart.’ I stand up and, as I do, Stella arrives back at La Tavola. ‘All safe and sound,’ she says and, with her free arm, Aimee clasps her waist.
‘You were great today, Stella,’ I say. ‘Really great. You have a career in hospitality if you want one. Although it’s a hard life,’ I add.
‘I enjoyed it,’ she says, beside Aimee, her hands on my daughter’s shoulders.
‘Can you tuck me into bed?’ says Aimee, gazing up at her pleadingly, and Stella looks at me.
‘It’s getting late,’ she says, surprising me. From what I’ve experienced of Stella so far, she acts first, asks later. ‘Maybe another night, if it’s okay with your mamma .’
‘Is it, Mamma ?’
‘Of course!’
‘Er … where are you staying, Stella?’
She waggles her head from side to side. ‘I’m sofa-surfing right now.’
I frown, wondering again what will happen to her when we go. ‘But you must have had somewhere to live when you were here.’
‘I did.’ She raises an eyebrow.
‘Of course! You were staying at Casa Luna.’
She lifts an eyebrow. ‘I said I’d keep an eye on it for Marco. Be an unpaid caretaker, so to speak. Just until he got back …’ She trails off.
‘And now?’ I say.
She shrugs. ‘I’m not sure. Back to sofa-surfing, I guess. I’ll be fine.’
Although it was never Stella’s house, for a time it was her home. A place to come back to, anchoring her. And now it’s gone. The estate agent will be here tomorrow. And I’m worried about where she will go, despite her assurances that she’ll be fine.
Aimee yawns. ‘We’d better go,’ I say.
‘ Buonanotte, Aimee ,’ says Stella, bending to kiss her on each cheek.
‘ Buonanotte ,’ Aimee says, and I do too. Stella ruffles Luca’s hair. He pulls away from her, laughing. Then he and Pietro perform an extravagant handshake and hug, making me smile.
‘ Buonanotte ,’ I say, to Giovanni, who smiles, making my stomach flip in a way that Sebastian doesn’t. I wish he did …