Page 47 of A Place in the Sun
We stare at the screen. I show it to Giovanni. He stares back at me. ‘Really?’
‘That would sort out the rent!’ I say, my throat a little tight with shock.
‘It would solve everything,’ he says. ‘For now.’
I nod slowly. ‘But how? I can’t teach people to cook. You’re working at Casa Luna. And they’re expecting an Italiannonna!’
‘You need someone who’s been cooking Tuscan food all their lives. We can do the rest, set it up, help wash up. But you need a cook,’ says Caterina.
‘Or three,’ I hear myself say.
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‘They would never agree to help together and it’ll take more than one for it to work, with the number of people your friend wants to bring,’ says Giovanni.
I can already see how the weekend would proceed: preparing food for the locals on Friday, market in the neighbouring town on Saturday, a fun-filled Saturday night and a big lunch on Sunday, all pulling together.
I’m sure my eyes are sparkling. This is like when Marco and I made plans, him in the kitchen, us working side by side … the excitement of the adventure. But this is just a one-off. A thank-you to Giovanni. He’s not Marco and I’m not looking for a relationship. I just want to help and say thank you before we leave. If it wasn’t for him, there’s no way the house would be anywhere near sorted. I’m doing this for the village.
Are you?says a voice in my head.
Yes, I tell myself firmly.
And a fight back for all those who lost their jobs in catering.People need community kitchens, I hear myself saying.It’s about so much more than the food. It’s the experience. It’s about being part of a community that cares.
Giovanni shakes his head. ‘The threenonnas? They’d never come here, especially not together. They haven’t been in the same room as each other for thirty years, not since the lasagne competition.’
‘But if we could get them to understand how important this is to the village …’
‘I agree.’ His shoulders are starting to sag. ‘But they won’t do it. Maybe one on her own, but there’s no way you could get them all in the room together.’
‘There might be one way.’ My mind is turning over. ‘You said the reason they fell out was over whose lasagne recipe was the best.’
‘Yes,’ he says slowly.
‘Sooowe hold a lasagne contest. It will get them into the same room together and then we can talk to them about the cookery-school weekend.’
‘What?’
Luca and Caterina are clapping their hands in excitement.
‘This place deserves it, Giovanni. At least let’s try,’ Caterina says.
‘The last lasagne competition blew the village apart. They won’t go for it.’
‘But if we don’t try, if La Tavola fails and closes, the village will struggle more than ever.’
We’re quiet, until Giovanni says slowly, ‘One thing we know about thenonnas is that they have their pride. They will each think they have the best lasagne recipe. They will want to settle old scores and all be proved right.’
‘We have to try!’ I plead.
We hold each other’s eyes for just a moment longer than I’m expecting. My stomach flips.
‘For La Tavola’s sake,’ I add.
‘For La Tavola’s sake,’ he echoes.
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