Page 54 of The Dolce Vita Divas
‘And his nose,’ Sylvia said.
Lucia sent her a hard look and lifted her chin.
‘You are just jealous because I have aged so well. And however old I am I will always be the youngest. Papa always said I favoured his side of the family. You two on the other hand are beginning to look likezia Maria, Auntie Maria. I remember her after she had that bout of pneumonia and lost so much weight, her face collapsed. You can keep your face or your figure after sixty, that’s what I read somewhere.’
‘Youreadthis?’ Ceci said with mock astonishment. ‘In an actual book?’
‘And which one did you choose?’ Sylvia purred.
Lucia pursed her lips and turned away.
I was suddenly in the middle of an increasingly heated squabbling match. I leaned forward to distract them and started talking to Raleigh about the lovely weather. Even so, I heard Ceci give a little growl in the back of her throat, which suggested she was far from satisfied.
Luckily, Freddy distracted her, asking her whether he was going to be allowed some dessert, and they checked on his iPhone to see what his glucose levels were.
The main course was chicken, cooked in a delicious creamy sauce. Eric, by then safely corralled between his parents, looked at it suspiciously and then asked me if he was allowed fries, but when I shook my head he sighed and tucked in.
I watched Paulo as he moved around the room, chatting pleasantly with people, being the perfect host. How time had changed him.
As a young man when it had been his turn to cook, he had been known to just place a huge metal bowl full of spaghetti and sauce on the coffee table between us all and hand out the cutlery. It had been Ellen who insisted we clear all the books and discarded clothing off the dining table so we could eat there.
Ceci, her sisters and a couple of other older ladies were bickering gently about the world and everything that was wrong with it.
‘My son Ralph has dedicated his life to public service,’ Sylvia said. ‘I would have done the same if my health had allowed it.’
‘How sad for us all,’ Ceci said. ‘The world is a poorer place for you not being able topersonallycheck all the chocolate truffles coming out of Belgium.’
Sylvia wasn’t listening. ‘Only two days ago, Ralph introduced me to the Deputy Commissioner. Imagine that! We saw him when we took a short cut through the executive car park.Un uomo affascinante. Such a charming man. He waved as he passed us and said hello. I think he took quite a shine to me.’
‘What with? A duster?’ Lucia asked.
‘Don’t be silly. I could tell he liked me,’ Sylvia explained patiently. ‘I sometimes wonder if you are quite all there. I’ve met all sorts of people from different walks of life and got along with nearly all of them. I once passed a plate of biscuits to Georgio Armani, at a garden party. Such a charming man. Such wonderful trousers. And what have you been doing since I saw you last, Ceci? Still living a life of luxury? Not a care at all? How wonderful to just have yourself to think about. And a man to do all the difficult things. I have always felt the world’s worries very deeply.’
‘I can tell. Worry is so ageing,’ Ceci said with a sympathetic look. ‘And if I waited for Freddy to do all the difficult things I would still be at home waiting for the car to take me to our wedding.’
‘And how long have you been married?’ I asked.
Ceci looked blank. ‘I’ve no idea. Freddy, how long have we been married?’
Freddy looked thoughtful.
‘Thirty years? Maybe? I’m not sure. I’ve forgotten all the years I lived without you, my darling.’
He leaned across and kissed Ceci’s cheek and she smiled with pleasure.
‘What an old flirt you are,’ she said.
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake,’ Lucia snapped, ‘don’t encourage her.’
I bit back a smile as I turned away, afraid I was going to laugh.
Ceci’s eyes brightened then as she saw her favourite tiramisu being brought to the table.
‘This is good,’ she said after her first taste, ‘but perhaps mine is better.’
‘I’ve always thought this is so unhealthy,’ Sylvia muttered, tucking in. ‘What is it after all? Cream and coffee and stale cake?’
‘It’s far more than that,’ Ceci spluttered, indignant.
