Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
L eonardo brought us our breakfast at exactly seven thirty the next morning, smiling as always. I was glad he had survived the night unscathed. On the tray, along with our coffees, bread, fruit and pastries, was another plate covered with a napkin. He placed the tray down on the table, and winked at me with a cheeky grin, putting his finger over his lips.
When he was gone, and the door was firmly shut, I pulled back the napkin and saw half a dozen chocolate biscotti. I giggled and shook my head at his daredevil activities. When Sarah had got back the night before, I’d explained ‘biscotti-gate’ to her and that we would be avoiding Maria as much as possible between now and when it was time to go home.
I poured us both some coffee and had a nibble of the biscotti before preparing our little picnic for the day. There was a hint of coffee mixed in with the chocolate flavour this time. I needed to take some of these home with me. I’d need to ask Leonardo for the recipe. I could bake a batch and impress my mother with my new European culinary skills.
Sarah emerged from the bathroom, smiling to herself.
“Still smiling from last night? Must have been a good one.”
“Alessandro has just texted me, wishing me a good day. That’s all.” She slid her phone into her back pocket.
“Are you seeing him again?”
“I think he wants to take me out for dinner tomorrow night. He’s checking his work schedule… but it will be our last night here so I’m not sure I should. It should be us girls doing something special.”
“ We can go for dinner anytime we want to back home. If you want to see him, go and see him.”
“I’ll see.” She picked up a biscotti and dipped it in her coffee. “Oh, that reminds me.” She put her drink and biscuit down and went over to her bag, pulling out some pieces of paper. “He gave me these bus tickets.”
“Okay, I suppose flowers and chocolates are rather old school.”
“I told him we were going to attempt the buses to get around today, and he said you need to buy tickets before you get on the bus, or you can get fined. He buys loads in advance so he’s never short of one. He just said to make sure we get them validated on the buses, or something along those lines, and we’ll be fine. Didn’t sound too complicated when he explained it so it should be easy enough.”
“Oh, great stuff. Well, I don’t fancy spending the night in an Italian police cell, or walking any further on my poor sore feet. Keep those tickets safe in your bag.” My feet, although all right in appearance, were feeling very tender.
“Did you ask him which bus we need to get to the Colosseum?”
“Yes, I wrote it all down in my phone. I’ve got the entry tickets downloaded to my phone too – and I’m fully charged.” She had a little giddy spring in her step. “Let’s eat quickly, I booked our entry time for nine thirty and we need to be at the ticket desk thirty minutes before that, according to the app.”
I picked up another biscotti.
“Eat something proper for breakfast, or you won’t have any energy. I imagine we’ll be wandering around the colosseum for ages. Especially if it’s busy and we’re in a crowd of people.”
“Yes, Mum.” I picked up another biscotti and shoved it into my bag along with the sandwiches.
Sarah, being the more sensible of us that morning, picked up the pastries and wrapped them in tissue, putting them in her bag for us too. Her phone buzzed again. She pulled it out of her pocket to read the message. Judging by the grin on her face, it was a good one.
“It’s Alessandro. He can’t do tomorrow after all, but was wondering if I want to have dinner with him tonight instead.” She bit her bottom lip and sat down on the bed. “What do I say?”
“You say yes!”
“Are you sure you don’t mind? It is supposed to be our girly getaway. I feel awful abandoning you.”
“Well, why don’t you suggest that we all eat together? Then I can come back here with an excuse of being tired or something.”
“No, I’ll tell him that you and I are eating together, but we can meet for drinks afterwards.”
“That sounds perfect. A good compromise.”
She made her arrangements with her Italian man-friend and then we finished getting ready for our outing and set off to find a bus stop. Sarah had all the information on where we were going, so I was just following her. Her mood had definitely lifted since arriving here. Max The Wanker had done a good job at breaking her spirit.
I’d arrived home from work later than normal. I had been stuck with a customer who just wouldn’t stop complaining about everything. Eventually, Samantha had stepped in to finish the meeting for me so I could leave, as the caretaker had arrived to start locking up the building. My drive home was no better. I hit every set of roadworks possible on the way. It was as though all the temporary traffic lights saw me coming and switched to red. Why do they all come at once?
“ Sorry I’m late! ” I called to Sarah. She had been staying at my house for the previous three weeks since being forced to leave her home. I had been working overtime, trying to keep her spirits up as much as possible. It was a big change for her, downsizing from her three-bedroom detached house and into my spare room. We’d had an amazing Christmas, despite the Santa incident, and we threw a New Year’s Eve party together. It was just like when we were living together at university. “ How about fish and chips for tea? I can nip back out. ” I hung my coat up in the hallway, and walked into the living room, but she wasn’t there. “ Sarah? Are you in? ” I was sure I’d seen her car parked on the road.
I walked into the kitchen, but she wasn’t there either.
“ Hello? ” I called out again.
“ Here. ” A muffled voice came from upstairs.
My first thought was about the house she was trying to buy. She had found a bungalow not far from here that she loved. It was the perfect size for her, affordable thanks to the bank of Mum and Dad, plus the small amount of equity she had been paid from the sale of the old house. I hoped her offer hadn’t been declined. That was not the kind of news she needed.
“ Where are you? ” I walked up the stairs and into the spare room. She was sitting at the end of the bed. Her tear-stained face was red and blotchy. “ What’s happened? Is it the house? ” I sat down next to her and put my arms around her, but she didn’t say anything. She just stared at the wall. “ Sarah, talk to me. What’s happened? ”
“ It’s not the house. ”
“ Then what is it? ” I was wracking my brain, wondering if she had told me that her elderly grandma was ill, or if it was that time of the month.
“ Max. ”
“ What has that wanker done now? ”
“ She’s pregnant. ”
“ Who’s pregnant? ”
“ The child bride he left me for. He’s got her pregnant. Stupid, fertile child. ”
Ah. Max’s twenty-three-year-old girlfriend was knocked up. Damn.
She handed me her phone, which had Facebook open. A mutual ‘ friend ’ had shared Max’s post announcing the news, with a photo of the happy couple holding a sonogram picture together.
“ Oh, I see. ”
“ He told me he didn’t want children. Not for years, anyway. ‘ They tie you down, ’ he always said. Didn’t want them interrupting his precious career, so I was the moron who had the implant all those years to keep him happy. I wanted kids. I couldn’t wait to have kids. I put it on hold for him and his fucking job, which he’s packed in now, apparently. He’s not even moving to Canada anymore. They’re staying here to raise their mutant baby and I am just single, thirty, childless and homeless. ”
How can a man be so determined to do one thing and live a certain way, and then so easily change his mind as soon as he gets into a new relationship?
“ Look, you can’t think about that now. ” I put her phone out of reach. “ Firstly, you will never be homeless. Too many of us love you too much to let that happen. And don’t get worked up over what he’s doing. I told you at the start of this break-up that things will likely get worse before they start to get better, but they will get better. You’ll see. ” I pulled some clean tissue from my pocket and wiped the tears from her face.
“ Losing the home that I worked so hard for was supposed to be the worst part of all this. That should have been it. Things were supposed to be on the up by now. I’m this close to getting a new house. A house all of my own. I even got that promotion at work last week. Karma seemed to be working in my favour. And then it’s two steps forward and ten steps backwards. ” She scrunched up the tissues which had been clenched in her hands, and threw them at the bin, missing.
“ Hey, you have taken a hundred steps forward over the last few months. Look at you! You’re going to own your own house, that’s huge! Plus, you’ve just been promoted with a huge pay rise. That’s amazing! Yes, you want kids, but can you imagine if you’d had them with that wanker? He still would have betrayed you. You’d now be a single mum, sharing a bed with a baby in my spare room. And the best news is, now he’s no longer your problem. ”
She sighed, so I continued.
“ You shouldn’t be upset that he’s going to be a dad, you should be sad because that poor child will be raised by them on that awful estate. And it doesn’t matter how young she is, if she can live with herself, knowing how he is treating you, then it says a lot about her. They’re welcome to each other. ”
She managed a little laugh.
“ Look at the bigger picture. Look at what is going on in your life at the moment. That should be your main focus. We need to plan on decorating your new house when you get the keys, shopping for furniture and knick-knacks. But most importantly… ” I had a serious look on my face and waited until she took notice, wondering what I was going to say. “ Most importantly… ” I brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “ What do you want from the chippy, because I am bloody starving? ”
I am pleased to report that the Italian buses felt a lot sturdier and safer than the taxi ride we had experienced from the airport. The first bus we got on was packed full of people, but we managed to find two seats together at the back. It was warm and sticky with all the bodies exuding heat around us, so I pulled out my trusty fan whilst Sarah seemed to be engrossed in something on her phone.
“Don’t forget, you’re the map,” I reminded her. “I don’t know where we’re getting off. Keep your head up.”
“That’s what I’m doing.” She showed me her phone. “The blue dot is where we need to get off. Anywhere near there will do.”
“Great. Although it’s so bloody warm in here it might have been cooler if we’d walked.”
“Don’t say that now, we have all these tickets to use up.”
It took only five more minutes to arrive at our destination. We pushed our way through the sweaty folk crowded onto the bus, and finally made it out into the fresh air. We were in the shade and a welcome breeze blew under our arms, relieving us of some of the early morning heat.
We had exited the bus onto one of the older, less touristy streets of Rome, so we were glad when we found a small shop that did not charge us the earth for a bottle of water. We grabbed one each, and after a difficult attempt at a conversation with the Italian owner, he convinced us to buy a hat each too.
“No roof!” he managed to say, talking about the Colosseum after we’d double-checked with him that we were heading in the right direction. “The sun, on your head? Hot. Bad.”
Two bottles of water, two hats and a handheld fan for Sarah later, we were ready. We thought he had just conned us into spending more money, and then we saw the Colosseum. He was right. There was no sign of shade anywhere, so we would have had the sun beating down on us for our entire visit.
We had ten minutes until we needed to be at the ticket counter, so we stood and stared at the impressive structure. I am not a fan of history, it never interested me at all in school, but even I could appreciate this sight. It took our breath away. Once again, there was a wave of cameras and selfie sticks around us. Even though it was early, there was a huge queue of people wanting to get inside.
“And that is why we booked our tickets,” Sarah said, pointing to the snaking queues. “Come on, let’s head to the ticket counter. I want to see if there is a guidebook I can buy. Ooh, I wonder if that old married couple are still arguing.”
“Hmm, maybe he locked her in the pits below and jetted off to a peaceful remote island.”
“Ha, possibly. As long as they’re not on the tour with us. Last thing we need is to hear someone else’s marital problems.”
My thoughts went back to Leonardo as we walked to the ticket counter. I wondered if he had ever been tempted to lock Maria in an ancient cell.
“Jenny, you would love my village,” Alessandro said while we were having our drinks together that evening. “It is a small village, but everyone is like family. And they all want to feed you. So, if you want to go for a nice, simple walk, go at night so no one see you. Or else, you must eat another bowl of pasta.” Sarah and I had been laughing at his stories all evening. “That is why I leave to come here to the city. My health! You cannot say no to a nonna with food. She will do this,” he pretended to hit the back of his head, “very angry if you say no.”
“Well, tell me how to get there,” I said with a laugh. “Food on demand? That sounds like my perfect holiday.”
“If you love food, move to Italy. Everyone want to feed you.”
“There’s my life goal,” I said. “I’ll need to convince Zack to move with me, though. Oh bugger, what time is it?”
“It’s almost nine o’clock.”
“I said I’d call him at nine. I’ll leave you guys to it, if that’s okay?”
“We can walk you?” Alessandro stood up.
“No, no, it’s fine. It’s only down the road.” I stood up and grabbed my bag. “Thank you so much for the drinks again, it’s been great meeting you.”
“You too, Jenny.” He kissed both of my cheeks.
“I’ll see you back at the hotel.” I winked at Sarah before leaving the bar. Then I pulled my phone out of my bag and called Zack, so he could keep me company as I wandered back.
“Hello.” I loved hearing his voice. I couldn’t wait to see him.
“Hey, you.”
“Hey, you too, not long now. It feels as though you’ve been gone for ages.”
“I know, tell me about it. I can’t wait to see you. Have you missed me?”
“You know I have. Being in your bed isn’t the same without you here too. Bing is all right for company, but his services as a cat are limited.” I was relieved that Zack had agreed to stay over some nights, so Bing wouldn’t be alone for too long.
“Aw, Bing! I’ve missed him too.”
“Why are you out of breath?”
“I’m on my way back to the hotel.” I had a slight sprint to my step. “We met Alessandro after dinner for drinks at the bar again. I’ve left Sarah with him. He’s so funny. They’re really getting on. You won’t believe how much she’s changed since meeting him.”
“She likes him then?”
“Yes, I think so. They look good together, too. I think he is just what she needs to bring her out of her slump.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Are you back at the hotel yet?”
“Just about, I’m walking up the steps now. Need to try and avoid Maria if I can. I don’t want to start another matrimonial war. I don’t think the Catholics favour divorce very much.”
I opened the door slowly, and peeked in to check if it was safe to enter.
“There’s no one here,” I whispered. “I’ll make a run for it up the stairs. Hang on.”
I had just managed to close the door when Leonardo appeared.
“Oh, hi…” I began.
“Shh.” He put his finger to his mouth and handed me a small package. “Put in your suitcase.” He finished handing over the illicit goods and then quietly shuffled back through the kitchen door.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Zack asked.
“Yeah, my new adopted grandad appeared, and has given me a small parcel.”
“What’s inside it?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion.” I sprinted up the stairs and made it into my room, almost dropping the phone while fishing about in my bag for the key. I sat down on the couch and put the parcel on the coffee table, along with my phone on loudspeaker. I unwrapped the thin cloth and there was a large batch of chocolate biscotti. “Ha! Amazing.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a load of chocolate biscotti. Bless him! Now you’ll be able to try some, if I don’t eat it all tonight. There is a lot of it, though, it might push my luggage allowance over the limit. I’ll have to give Sarah half of it. Unless he has another batch for her too.” I secretly hoped he did.
“So then, how much have you eaten on this trip? More or less than you’d expected?”
“More. Absolutely more. You won’t recognise me. I’ve gained enough weight to throw the plane off balance.”
“Well, I hope you will be sharing that biscotti with me. We can gain weight together.”
“I’m sure we’ll find a way to burn it off.”
“Ha, I’m sure we will.”
I loved how much I could laugh with Zack about anything. He wasn’t insecure in any way, and the way he treated me made me feel really confident about myself. However, I couldn’t get Sarah’s words out of my mind about the twenty-something-year-olds. They’re young, gorgeous and obsessed with image, with special thanks to TikTok, Instagram and Love Island . Do I still need to compete with them? Look at Max The Wanker. He was in a happy, secure relationship with my amazing friend, Sarah, who would have done anything for him, not to mention she’s absolutely stunning, but his head was still turned by a twenty-something. What guarantee do any of us have of a happy ever after?
I wrapped the biscotti back up and decided to skip on more indulging this evening.
“So, what have you been up to today?” I asked.
“I called back at home today to make sure the place is still standing, which it is. My housemate hasn’t burnt the place down yet. It’s been a boring one, really. Miserable weather over here too, if you can believe that. How was the Colosseum?”
“Oh, it was amazing. There was some serious eye porn. I took so many photos. I’ll have to show you when I see you, but they just don’t do the place any justice at all. You won’t believe how big it is. We’ll have to come sometime, so you can see for yourself.”
“Well, actually…”
“What?”
“I’ve got a confession. I’ve been before. Years ago, we went as a family and did the whole touristy thing.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve been bragging about how much of a good time I’m having here, and you’ve already experienced it. I bet I’ve sounded like a right idiot.”
“Well, you can’t help that.” He laughed as I swore at him. “But it’s fine. Rome is just… there are no words for it. Everyone needs to visit Rome at some point in their lives. And I love hearing how much you’ve enjoyed your break. We’ll definitely go together one day. Did you see the Vatican too?”
“Yes, we went after we had our little picnic. That was a strange experience. I probably can’t describe it properly, which doesn’t matter as you’ve already been. But it felt quite eerie.”
“I thought that too.”
I took the phone out to the balcony and sat down at the table. The air seemed cooler tonight. There was a refreshing breeze. I put my feet up on the other chair and relaxed, talking to Zack about next week when we would both have the week off together. At least one of those days would be spent in bed.
I heard a familiar laugh and looked down over the balcony.
“I think I can hear Sarah,” I whispered to Zack, as I leaned forward to watch the people below. “Yes, they’re back, he’s walked her home. Shh.”
“Why are you shushing me? They can’t hear me.”
I spied on Sarah and Alessandro as they gazed into each other’s eyes at the bottom of the hotel steps. I could only see the tops of their heads, but I knew they were smiling. He then raised his hand and stroked her cheek before leaning in for a kiss. Wow. I felt like I was in it. I could almost feel their body heat rising and ruining the breeze keeping me cool. He slowly pulled back and stroked her face one last time before stepping back to walk away. He made it only ten steps before he looked back to give her one final wave.
“I’ll have to go, she’s on her way up.”
“Are you going to giggle and gossip about kissing boys, over biscotti?”
“Yes, in our pyjamas, right before we have a pillow fight.”
“Well, just make sure to save me some biscotti, don’t eat it all. Okay, baby, I’ll speak to you tomorrow. Love you.”
“Mwah, I love you too.”
I stayed on the balcony waiting for Sarah to get to the room. I watched as the knob turned on the door and in she came, rosy-cheeked (finally!), eyes glistening and a smile from ear to ear. She hadn’t noticed me staring at her from the balcony.
“Ahem,” I called out, finally getting her attention. “Did you have a good evening?”
She didn’t answer. She just nodded her head. No words were needed. Her sheepish smile said it all.
Sarah was back.