Page 20 of My Lemon Grove Summer
‘We’ve just been to see the houses. We met the builder. We can’t get in. There’s no work going on at all,’ we all say at once.
‘And then there’s our relocation fees,’ Tabitha pipes up. ‘There’s not a problem, is there? I could really do with paying my credit card bill.’
Giuseppe holds up his hands. ‘No problem. Just a tiny delay. I am on my way to sort things now. I promise I will let you know. It will be soon . . .’
He straightens his tie and bids us farewell, and we watch him walk down the street. He stops at what looks like the bank, and an elderly man in a smart suit comes out, shakes his hand and welcomes him in.
‘Come on, let’s go and get something to eat. I’m starving,’ says Lennie. The others all agree, and we make our way towards the town’s only shop.
Inside, the dark-wood shelves are crammed with everyday essentials: oil and tinned foods, processed meat and packaged cheeses. Not what I was expecting at all. I hear the sound of a bird singing, and I strain my neck to peer over the shelves into a small, dark room, where the young girl I saw before is sitting on her haunches, a pen in one hand, writing in a book. She looks up, smiles and waves. I wave back warily, then turn to see the woman behind the high counter – presumably her mother – glowering at me. I scoop up some bread and cheese and cold meats and the best I can find of the salad, and let it all tumble onto the counter. Lennie adds a plastic bottle filled with wine from a barrel in the corner of the shop.
Five minutes later, we are back out on the street. I look down at the small amount of change in my hand.
‘Let’s hope our relocation fees come through soon!’ I say.
Ahead of us, we see Giuseppe leaving the bank building. He’s running his hand through his hair. I go to wave and call out to him. Lennie catches my arm before I can open my mouth.
‘I’m sure he’s sorting it out,’ he smiles. ‘Just relax. We’re on Sicily time now, remember? It’ll be fine, Zeld. Giuseppe looks like he’s working it out.’
He’s right. I do need to relax. I mustn’t be in such a rush about everything. It will all get sorted. I’m going to be patient! I think. I’m going to adjust to Sicily time. As we turn to walk back to the farmhouse, I smile at Lennie, who smiles back at me, slinging his arm around my shoulders like he always does. It’s all going to be okay.
Chapter Eleven
‘It’s been a week now, and there’s still no sign of our relocation fee or any work starting on our houses!’
I’m standing in the big kitchen, looking at Lennie. Sherise is cooking bacon and eggs for Billy again. Barry is standing with his thumbs tucked into his belt, looking out over the lemon grove full of scarlet poppies and yellow wild fennel. Ralph is attempting to get online, apparently to check the City markets back home. It’s feeling more and more like theBig Brotherhouse as every day passes, to be honest. None of us know what to do with ourselves. Lennie is getting ready to go job-hunting, as he has done every day this week, only to come back empty-handed.
‘Everywhere I go is either closed up, or they shut their doors when they see me coming, or they don’t need any help.’
Everyone we meet is guarded and wary of us. No one wants to engage in conversation or make eye contact even. They hurry on past. Everyone in the house has moved to spending more time on their own, in their rooms, away from each other. The original bonhomie has gone and there’s a nervous tension in the air.
I am really beginning to doubt Giuseppe, and wonder what we’ve done. Is this some sort of weird scam? Everyone is getting worried. Even Lennie and I are weird with each other, not knowing really how we should behave. He’s trying hard to play the perfect fiancé, but without any physical contact. It feels like he’s almost avoiding touching me now, and I just want us to be how we always were. And no, we haven’t kissed yet, and I think that might be half the problem. It’s like the elephant in the room. We need to try and move on in our relationship. We’re supposed to be getting married!
The only one who seems to be getting anything done is Tabitha, typing away on her laptop in her room. At least her dreams are coming true here, I think with a tinge of envy.
‘He said everything would be sorted out soon . . .’ Even Sherise’s optimism is getting low.
‘Something doesn’t feel right,’ I agree, and I can’t help but think back to the man in the restaurant with the sunglasses and hat, the man I was sure was looking out from the terrace when we were turned away from the houses.
‘If I was weighing up the odds here, I’d say we’d backed a loser.’ Ralph puts away his phone and joins in. ‘Can’t believe I didn’t listen to my instincts.’
‘Were you good? In the City?’ Sherise asks.
‘To a point,’ Ralph says flatly. ‘Until I wasn’t and lost the lot.’
‘Oh dear.’ Sherise stops serving up eggs and bacon.
‘My wife left me. I barely got to see the kids. Not that I was seeing them before with the hours I put in. I thought this was going to be a fresh start. Build a life in the sun where I could spend time with them if they came out on holiday. Looks like I’ve definitely lost my touch when it comes to backing winners.’
Tabitha has joined us at the kitchen table.
‘I’m sure it’s all fine,’ Lennie says, and I love him for his positivity. ‘Look, no one’s lost any money here. It can’t be a scam. We didn’t put anything in.’
‘No, but we have all been herded into a run-down farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a load of neglected trees, with no transport. We can’t find any jobs and we haven’t even been given the chance to work on the houses we were promised. It feels a bit creepy,’ says Barry. ‘What if—’
‘Okay, that’s enough.’ I try and stop him before his overactive imagination has us all starting to panic.
‘Well, you hear stories, don’t you? I mean, why are we all here? Because none of us has anywhere else to go, that’s why. If we had options, we wouldn’t have packed up our belongings and pinned our hopes on a news story and an online ad.’
