Page 64 of A Place in the Sun
‘Depends who’s making it.’
‘Nonna Lucia’s coffee tastes like tar.’
‘It hasn’t stopped you coming round to drink it …’
‘I do so out of politeness.’
‘Politeness, ha!’
‘Come this way, to the kitchen.’ I’m herding them, like small children.
‘And this is where we will cook?’
‘You cooked here once already, remember? Or are you getting forgetful?’ Nonna Teresa says to Nonna Rosa.
They look around, reacquainting themselves with the kitchen.
‘I shall take that area!’ Nonna Teresa points.
‘No, that would be a better place for me to have my pasta machine.’
‘I need to be in the middle so I can see what is happening around me,’ says Nonna Rosa.
‘Poking your nose into everything, more like!’
I hold up my hands. ‘I’ll let you get settled in.’ I back out of the kitchen, wondering if I should intervene or not.
‘Hello?Ciao?’ The voice makes me jump. It’s the guests and I spin round to the open front door. For a moment, I experiencedéjà vuwith two of my worlds colliding. I stitch on my welcome smile. This is all going to be fine, I think, as the threenonnas lay territorial claim to their work stations and noisily unpack the baskets of equipment they’ve brought with them, clearly preferring their own tools of the trade to anything we can provide.
‘Come in, come in!’ I turn from the kitchen where thenonnas have stopped bickering and are now laughing.
The guests are filing into the dining room, taking it all in: the cherry tomatoes, the chillies and Caterina’s bunting, cushions, and a huge patchwork wall hanging, now in pride of place.
‘Good morning, welcome to La Tavola,’ I say, slipping back into my hospitality shoes and finding them as comfortable as they always were, perhaps even more so now that I’ve had a rest from them. It feels good to be back, just for this one time.
I stretch out an arm, with a wide smile. And stop in my tracks, frozen to the spot as the past rushes up to meet me again, as if my life is playing to me backwards.
‘Hello, Thea! I bet you didn’t expect to see me here!’
30
And suddenly I’m not this Thea, aged forty-three and widowed with two children, her only money in a holiday home that was in need of repair. All of a sudden I’m twenty-five-year-old Thea, living life in the fast lane. Working in London, drinking in pubs after work, eating in Michelin-starred restaurants, and enjoying weekends away with friends in the country.
‘Seb!’ I manage to say, as if it was only yesterday we were working hard and playing hard. ‘What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were coming too.’
Pietro, Luca and Aimee follow him in from outside and stare at me.
The man, in a colourful, Hawaiian shirt, knee-length shorts, a Panama and boating shoes, smiles back at me. It’s a very familiar smile.
‘I couldn’t not come. Once I got the pitch through on my phone!’
I look at Luca who grins back at me.
‘I thought it couldn’t be you at first, but a team-building event in Tuscany? Brilliant! I passed it on to HR, got the go-ahead, and thought I should try a bit of team-building myself. Haven’t done one in years. Couldn’t resist a jolly, especially when you said you were running it. Never could resist a fun trip away, as you know! Nothing changes!’ He flings out his arms. ‘How are you?’ He kisses me on both cheeks, knocking off his Panama. We laugh, as the rest of the group is peering around.
‘This is so cool!’
‘Literally!’
