Page 57 of It's All Sun and Games

Beppe says something to Andrea. Andrea replies. It seems heated – but doesn’t it always, when Italian men chat to one another.

‘Is everything okay?’ I ask Andrea.

‘It’s fine, it’s fine,’ he reassures me. ‘Beppe just noticed the sauce was different and he wants to know why, so I’m just telling him that it was me, and about my work.’

As Andrea continues to chat with Beppe, I notice a few words that I understand – not because my Italian is getting better, but because they’re the same in English.

‘Hollywood,’ Rick blurts. ‘And LA. I understand those words. What on earth are you two talking about?’

‘I think he’s worried that I am the competition,’ Andrea explains. ‘So I’m reassuring him that I’m not. I might not even be working in Italy for much longer, because I’ve been offered a job in Hollywood. They want me to open a new Italian restaurant.’

Rick’s eyes widen in surprise.

‘Really? That’s incredible!’ he exclaims.

‘They want me to create the menu, hire the chefs, and maybe even stay on to work there,’ Andrea continues, with just a hint of pride in his tone.

I try to keep my game face on, acting like this is not news to me, but this is very much news to me. Hollywood, that’s… wow. That’s a long way from home. Still, it’s none of my business, is it?

As Andrea turns back to continue his conversation with Beppe in Italian, they begin to walk away from the group. Their hand gestures and intense expressions don’t mean much to me but, whatever the conversation may be, it’s certainly animated.

As we all pick at the food, I keep my eye on the pair.

‘Be right back,’ Rick announces, going to join them.

He’s only over there a moment or two before they all leave the room together. Interesting – very interesting.

At least I know that I’ve got a man on the inside. I’m sure Andrea will fill me in later.

With Andrea, Rick, and Beppe out of earshot, Cait wastes no time in pouncing on me, hooking her arm with mine. She is never this pally with me so I’m instantly suspicious.

‘Wow, Robin, Andrea is moving all the way to LA – that must be difficult, right?’ she probes. ‘I know you’re already doing long distance but that’s, like, really long distance.’

‘Yeah, I mean, I can’t believe your long-distance thing works now,’ Liz chimes in. ‘Even making it work between Italy and England must be hard. LA is a whole different ball game.’

James isn’t looking in this direction but I can tell that he’s listening out for my response as he aimlessly stirs the sauce.

I take a subtle deep breath, gearing up to give them the best possible reply I can think of. Well, I am in advertising, darling. Everyone loves a good story.

‘Well, you know what they say, true love conquers all, right?’ I begin, smiling sweetly. Then I sigh contently, for effect. ‘Andrea and I are solid. We’ll make it work because, well, that’s what you do when you love someone, right? It doesn’t matter if we’re in different countries or different continents. We’ll make it work because the alternative isn’t even an option.’

As the words leave my lips, as great as they sound, I feel a pang of disbelief. Sure, it’s a nice idea, but if this were a real relationship, and Andrea and I really had been doing the long-distance thing, there is no way I would be able to do this for much longer. Even having a friend living this far away feels like a waste – I mean, back when I was a teen, and Andrea was my pen pal, I used to wish that he (technically she) was around in real life. England to Italy is a challenge but England to LA is a nightmare. Imagine having a smoking-hot man like Andrea, and him being in Hollywood, surrounded by starlets, and you’re stuck back in Manchester where the only person who ever chats you up is the drunk man outside Tesco.

Still, I push on with it, selling my story to my colleagues, especially Liz, who seems particularly sceptical.

‘I have my life in Manchester, and Andrea is in demand all over the world, so we’ll have to see what happens,’ I conclude, trying to sound convincing. ‘But, wherever he is, I’ll love him forever.’

‘Cute,’ Cait points out.

‘Almost too cute,’ Liz says, low-key repulsed.

James is still trying to pretend that he isn’t listening but his eyebrows are betraying him, as they shoot up and down in time with the conversation.

The real fact of the matter is that I do have my life (for what it’s worth) in Manchester and Andrea is free to go wherever he likes.

So why do I feel kind of sad?

24

---