Page 13 of My Lemon Grove Summer
When he emerges from the kitchen again, he is carrying two big wooden boards. He lays them down along the table and all of us take a moment to stare. On the boards are triangles of smooth cream-coloured cheese, bowls of glistening olives with capers and tiny cubes of raw carrot, mounds of thinly slicedprosciutto crudoand small glass bowls of chutney and some sort of amber liquid.
Tabitha takes an olive and turns to me. ‘It’s Zelda and Lennie, isn’t it?’ she asks with a slightly odd smile at the corners of her mouth that makes me think it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. She sips at the white wine Giuseppe has just poured from a jug.
‘That’s right.’ I smile and smooth down the white napkin on my lap.
‘And you’re together?’ she asks brightly.
‘Yes,’ Lennie and I say at the same time. He puts his hand on mine in my lap and we turn to each other and smile, reassuring each other that we’ve made the right decision. I attempt to push any silly thoughts of an attractive Sicilian restaurateur out of my mind.
‘Oh, I didn’t realise,’ says Sherise, reaching out to help herself to bread from the baskets Luca has placed at either end of the table. She rips it in two, putting half on her husband’s plate, but he doesn’t seem interested in it. He looks like all the wind has been taken out of his sails. ‘I thought you were just friends,’ she says with a smile, and there isn’t a hint of malice there, just interest. But inside, I can feel a bubble of panic.
My mouth goes dry. How would she know? Let’s change the subject, I think.
‘The farmhouse, Il Limoneto, is lovely. Has it been in your family a long time, Giuseppe?’ I smile politely.
‘Well that’s the thing,’ Sherise continues. ‘When we got to the farmhouse, I couldn’t work it out, because when I took our bags upstairs . . .’
I suddenly catch my breath, feeling like we’ve been caught out trying to pull a fast one. I know what she’s going to say. I feel like I’m in a speeding car, and the brakes have failed.
‘. . . I noticed you two were in separate rooms.’ She pops a piece of bread into her mouth and looks at me with interest.
‘Really?’ Tabitha’s eyebrows shoot up over her sunglasses.
Lennie and I both look at Giuseppe, and I know exactly what Lennie’s thinking. We put on our application that we were a couple. Couples were given the option of a bigger house, especially a couple who might want a family, and were offered a larger relocation fee. What if Giuseppe thinks we’re trying to scam him?
I go to speak, not sure what I’m going to say, but Lennie tightens his grip on my hand and stops me.
‘We are a couple,’ he says, and then he looks at me and back at the table and takes a deep breath. ‘An engaged couple actually.’
A little voice inside me squeaks, ‘Engaged? I’m only just adjusting to the idea of us being together. We haven’t even . . . y’know, got down to the bed business yet!’ I find my eyes flicking up to Luca again, and feel myself blushing. I have no idea why. I have never even had a conversation with this man. My head is like cotton wool. I just got engaged! Slightly unconventionally, but I think that’s what’s happened.
I look down at my bare ring finger and hide it under the napkin on my lap.
‘Yes, engaged.’ I back Lennie up and attempt a huge smile, swallowing hard.
‘So why the separate rooms?’ Sherise puts another piece of bread into her mouth. I reach for the basket and try to do the same. Act naturally, I tell myself.
‘Well . . .’ I begin. I’m planning to tell them it was just a mistake: I thought we were in one room while Lennie assumed it was the other when we dropped off our bags. But before I can continue, Lennie interrupts, clearly not trusting my runaway mouth to sort this out.
‘We’re waiting,’ he says.
‘Waiting?!’ Tabitha practically shrieks. And all eyes are suddenly on us. Oh God, he’s not going to say what I think he’s going to say, is he? My heart starts pounding.
‘For the wedding!’ he announces with a broad smile. Ever the salesman, he’s beaming, selling his captive audience the dream. ‘Here! We wanted to marry in our new home, here in Sicily!’
There is a moment of silence as I process the information, as does everyone else around the table. Either they’re surprised by such an old-fashioned view, or else they just don’t believe him. I’m holding my breath. Then . . .
‘Oh bravo!’ Giuseppe is on his feet, clasping his hands together. ‘A wedding! I am so happy! You have no idea how happy this makes me. The town needs a wedding. All we have are funerals. We need something to celebrate. Etna needs a wedding,’ he says, and I’m so shocked by the sudden turn of events that I don’t ask what he means. ‘You are what this project is all about!’
He is round the table, kissing me on both cheeks, and Lennie too. ‘The first wedding for our new Città d’Oro family! And then babies too!’ His eyes are full of tears and he wipes at them, sniffing. ‘This is why I wanted to create this project, to bring life back to the town, and you are doing that.Grazie.’ He hugs us again, then turns to Luca and orders Prosecco with a big wave of his hand before getting out a big white hanky and dabbing at his face.
I stare, still in shock. Luca pours the drinks and starts handing them round.
‘The thing is,’ Giuseppe finally composes himself, ‘I could only have dreamed of this. When I started the project, it was what I had hoped for, and now it is happening already. Right at the beginning. It is wonderful. We have been blessed.’
‘What do you mean exactly, Giuseppe?’ Tabitha picks up her glass, despite her fingers seemingly itching to check her phone. She’s never off it!
Giuseppe takes a sip of his drink and dabs his face with his hanky again.
