Page 41 of It's All Sun and Games

‘Go, have your silly competition,’ Lucia tells Andrea. ‘Mamma and I will look after Robin.’

Andrea hesitates so I flash him an encouraging nod, silently letting him know that it’s okay to go.

‘I will be fast,’ he promises before darting off eagerly.

Antonia says something to me.

‘Mamma says they’re always like this,’ Lucia explains with a light-hearted roll of her eyes. ‘She says you get used to it.’

Four plates of food before four more plates of food? I could definitely get used to that.

As we chat, a small elderly lady approaches us with a wide smile. As she lays eyes on me, her grin grows even wider. She turns to Antonia, to talk to her.

‘Sì,’ Antonia replies, confirming whatever she asked.

‘Robin, this is Nonna,’ Lucia introduces her, her voice warm with affection. ‘Our grandma.’

‘Ciao, Nonna,’ I greet the elderly lady as I lean in to kiss her cheeks. I’m getting good at this now, it’s like second nature already.

‘Nonna is ninety-nine,’ Lucia explains, widening her eyes for emphasis. ‘Her birthday is the day after the wedding. So we’re having two big parties next week.’

My jaw practically hits the floor. Nonna is about to turn one hundred? She looks so good, more like she’s in her seventies or eighties, but not a hundred! I’m seriously amazed and impressed – and I need to know her secret.

‘That’s incredible,’ I reply.

‘Nonna says you are very beautiful,’ Lucia translates with a smile. ‘And that Andrea is a lucky man.’

‘Aww, thank you,’ I say, a blush creeping up my cheeks. Oh, actually, I know how to say that one. ‘Grazie.’

‘Nonna says you will come to her party, won’t you?’ Lucia translates again.

My breath catches in my throat. I said I would attend the wedding with Andrea, obviously, and this is just the day after so, if this were real, I would be there, right? We haven’t discussed our fake break-up yet – how we’ll do it or when and where it will take place – but… hmm… I think the best thing to do is say yes. Only a monster would tell a ninety-nine-year-old that she won’t go to their hundredth birthday party.

‘Of course,’ I say. ‘Tell her I wouldn’t miss it for the world.’

Okay, maybe that was a bit too full-on.

Soon enough, the four men finally emerge from the kitchen, each bearing a portion of bruschetta. The other man must be Nuncio, I’m guessing, because he’s wearing chef’s whites.

‘Okay, so, seeing as though only Lucia knows what I’m saying to you right now, and I don’t think she cares who wins, let me ask you this,’ Andrea starts with a mischievous look. ‘Do you want to cheat and pick mine, or do you want to actually see which one you prefer?’

Lucia practically cackles with amusement. You can tell that the two of them really like having their secret language.

‘Oh, I want to do this fairly,’ I reply, determined to keep the competition honest.

‘Okay then,’ Andrea says, nodding in approval. ‘So, there are four plates, and we didn’t carry our own so… have a try.’

I examine the plates like a pro – not that I’m any sort of expert, unless you qualify as a food expert by simply eating a lot.

At first glance, all of them look pretty much the same to me. I mean, they’re all the same dish, right? But then, as I look closer, I notice that they all have their own little differences. You can definitely tell that different chefs made them.

Okay, time to taste them. Wow, every single one is amazing. Just… incredible. None of them disappoints. It’s crazy, they’re all made with pretty much the same ingredients, but the flavours are all so unique.

It’s the last one that steals the show, though. I can’t quite place what it is – a particular herb, perhaps – but there is something that is adding an irresistible twist to the dish.

‘That one,’ I declare confidently, pointing to my favourite.

A grin spreads across Andrea’s face – he looks over the moon right now.

---