Page 9 of My Lemon Grove Summer
‘I’m Ralph.’ Ralph is very smartly dressed, as if he’s used to holidays in the sun. I can see him happily at home in Tuscany or Umbria, or on a yacht in the Med, in his neatly ironed polo shirt, crisp cream chinos and leather deck shoes.
‘And we’re Sherise and Billy,’ says a smiling woman, late sixties maybe, in a vest top showing off her strong shoulders and deep mahogany tan. She’s in shorts and sturdy boots and a wide-brimmed hat to keep off the sun. She points to her partner, a small, wiry man, also in shorts, boots and a sensible hat. Despite his small stature, he looks as strong as an ox.
I glance around the odd assortment of people, wondering at their reasons for signing up for a new life in Sicily. What are they looking for? Are they all missing something in their lives back home? And then I realise, is that me too? Am I here because I’m missing something? I was, but what makes me different is that I’ve already found it. I’m here with Lennie – we’re a couple, a team.
I look at the mismatched group again. It feels like the first day in a new office, forced together with a bunch of people you don’t think you’re going to get along with. Well, at least we won’t be working together. I look at Tabitha, prowling around and photographing the farmhouse. My house, I think, already feeling territorial. My new family home.
‘Welcome to Il Limoneto,’ Giuseppe says. ‘This was my family home growing up, but now I live in the town, by the church on the piazza.’ He looks around at the place and I can feel the pride radiating off him. Then he claps his hands together and takes a deep breath. ‘So, we have a few problems. The builders on your new homes are a bit behind.’
‘A bit behind?’ Tabitha jumps in.
‘Yes.’ He puts his hands together as if praying, and touches them to his lips before speaking again. ‘The houses we have for each of you needed some . . . renovations. A little building work to make them—’
‘But they’re safe?’ butts in Barry, and I can tell there’s a touch of the pessimist there.
‘To make them more homely. Call it updating,’ says Giuseppe.
‘Are they habitable?’ asks Sherise.
Giuseppe moves his head from side to side. ‘Not quite, but they will be. Soon.’
‘Oh, we’re not staying here?’ I say quietly, processing the information and trying to hide my disappointment.
‘For the time being, yes.’ Giuseppe nods. My spirits lift. ‘Until the builders have finished, you will all stay here, free of charge, of course. Please make yourselves at home whilst I organise your new homes in the town. I’m sure they will be ready very soon.’
‘We’re all . . . staying here together?’ I look around the little group.
‘Well, this should be cosy,’ says Tabitha with an amused smile.
And there’s the catch, I think. This house isn’t for me and Lennie after all. It’s forallof us. We’re going to have to live with total strangers, just like when I was growing up. I hated it then, and I really don’t want to do it now.
‘How long will this be for?’ I ask.
‘Just till the houses are ready.’
‘How long will that take? Can you give us a time frame?’ Ralph asks, pushing back his shoulders in a business-like fashion.
‘It’s like being back in boarding school,’ says Tabitha, throwing herself down on the settee with her feet up.
‘Just till I sort things. It won’t be long.’
‘And then we will have our own houses?’ I persist.
‘Yes, yes, just as I promised. The funding is all there for this rejuvenation to happen.’ Giuseppe forces a smile, and sweat beads appear on his forehead.
‘Well, I’m sure we can all rub along together for a while,’ I say cheerfully. At least we are all going to get our own places to live in eventually, and that’s why I came here after all.
‘Best we pick bedrooms,’ says Tabitha, standing.
‘And I will organise dinner in the restaurant in town, by way of a welcome and to apologise for your houses not being quite ready. I will call Luca, the restaurant manager, now.’
Dinner! I don’t think I could eat another thing after the huge buffet we’ve put away.
‘And we can all get to know each other,’ says Sherise.
‘Exactly!’ beams Giuseppe.
‘Can’t wait,’ says Tabitha, smiling widely and pulling off her hat and glasses to reveal short, funky hair. She rubs her hand over it, making it look like bed hair, and very sexy. I turn to see if Lennie notices. To my relief, he doesn’t. I’m so glad I don’t have to try and compete any more.
