Page 9 of Mistletoe and Mulled Wine at the Christmas Campervan

Papa had sadly passed away ten years ago now, leaving a huge gap in their hearts and lives. Lucy’s mum, Sofia, stood nodding nostalgically beside Nonna and Lucy, with a bittersweet smile cast over her lips. There they were, three generations – all once with the same beautiful dark hair that Lucy sported in long lustrous waves, Nonna’s now cut short and white, Sofia’s salt and pepper and shoulder length. All hard-working women, feisty at times, and fiercely loyal.

‘Yes, Papa would have been very proud … and so happy to see this,’ Sofia added. ‘You’ve done well, Lucy, getting this up and running and off the ground. It looks fabulous.’

Lucy felt her nerves begin to settle and she had a lovely warm glow inside.

‘Hello there. Can I offer anyone a glass of prosecco, or a Limoncello Fizz Cocktail? Or there are lime sodas to kick off with?’ asked a smiling, yet unusually nervous-looking Jack, who appeared with a tray of freshly poured goodies to hand. He was dressed smartly for the occasion in beige chinos, a black turtle-neck jumper and his logoed Cocktail Campervan apron.

‘Oh yes please, young man.’ Nonna was straight in for a Limoncello Fizz. ‘I used to love this stuff back in the day.’ She took a sip, ‘Ah, Limoncello, that takes me right back! They used to serve it after your meal … in tiny glasses. Moonlight over Sorrento Bay. Magical memories …’ The old lady paused for a moment, with a breath of a sigh, then seemed to bring herself around. ‘Oh, and you, young man, must be Jack, the one who I’ve been hearing so much about, yes?’

Lucy felt herself blush standing beside them. So, this was it, time to meet the family. Well, her mum and Nonna. (Jack had already met Olly, when her brother had helped at an event back in the summer.) This was yet another reason for her ragged nerves this evening.

‘Ah, yes … well, it’s lovely to meet you.’ Jack sounded a touch awkward.

‘Jack, this is my grandmother, Nonna, and my mother, Sofia,’ Lucy made the introductions.

‘Well, very nice to meet you, and have a wonderful evening.’ He looked as though he was about to dart off, relieved to spot some new arrivals.

‘And it’s lovely to meet you too, finally,’ said Nonna, the old lady giving a warm, yet discerning, smile that managed to keep him grounded beside her. And she gave a knowing nod in Lucy’s direction; in Nonna’s eyes, inspection time of Lucy’s new boyfriend was well overdue.

With the introductions now made, at least Lucy was able to breathe an initial sigh of relief. They all chatted politely for a while longer, along with Olly and his family, talking about the weather, Lucy’s new venture, and how wonderful the horsebox looked since it had been converted. With plenty still to do, Lucy was soon excusing herself, ready to go and prepare her garlic pizza breads. Jack seemed relieved to be stepping away at that point too, glad to be getting back to familiar ground serving his cocktails.

He caught up with Lucy over at the horsebox, a few minutes later, with a roll of his eyes. ‘Ah, I didn’t know you were going to bring out the whole family tonight.’ It sounded like a jokey quip, but his furrowed brow revealed some anxiety. With all the party preparations going on, she hadn’t thought to warn him that her mother and grandmother would be there as well as her brother’s gang. In fact, it hadn’t crossed her mind that a ‘warning’ was needed. Family was such an integral part of Lucy’s life.

Lucy didn’t have time to dwell on this, as old friends and new then started to arrive in clusters, with plenty of laughter and chatter. Of course, almost all the villagers knew each other already, and they were soon making themselves acquainted with Lucy’s family and friends. As the gathering grew, gifts arrived of yet more prosecco, Northumbrian ales, cakes, bakes and flowers, along with smiles and hugs.

Lucy enjoyed a glass of the zesty Limoncello Fizz, stepping out from her pizza station for a while to mingle with her guests as they arrived. She was clinging to the hope that Becky might be able to bury her hurts and would be turning up to join them, too. It was early evening yet, still plenty of time for her old friend to make an appearance. Lucy understood that this would be hard for Becky, seeing Lucy and Jack together socially as a couple. But surely it was time to let bygones be bygones? And fingers crossed, this was the time for them all to move on.

Apron on, and back at the vintage horsebox once again, ready to start topping her next round of pizzas, Lucy watched Jack work his way through the growing crowd, pouring yet more prosecco with a steady hand whilst making pleasant banter with the guests. He was always ‘on it’ when he was in his bartender role, whereas she could still feel quite shy in a large group.

She then saw him pause to stand with Nonna for a while, fetching her another Limoncello. Jack stood nodding amicably to start with whilst her grandmother had her serious face on. Hmm, Lucy had the feeling that Nonna was giving him the once-over, bless her. Hah, she could imagine him being grilled. Jack looked up, giving Lucy a frown, followed thankfully by a quick wink from his interrogation position. She really hoped Nonna wasn’t giving him too much of a hard time, and she couldn’t help but wince at the scenario. Nonna had never been known to mince her words.

‘So, young man?’ Nonna’s discerning grey eyes fixed on Jack’s. ‘I do hope you’re going to look after our little Lucia in the way she deserves?’

Jack shifted on his feet. Oh my word, he was fully expecting the elderly lady to follow up with, And are your intentions honourable? The conversation had the air of Victorian era interrogation.

‘She’s had a particularly tough time lately, has Lucy,’ Nonna continued, ‘and she doesn’t need any more messing about. Not like she’s had with that louse of a Liam …’ She shook her head sadly.

Jack wasn’t quite sure how to counter this. ‘Ah, well …’ he floundered. Of course, he wouldn’t want to hurt her. But what exactly did her grandmother want him to promise? It was very early days for the two of them, after all.

‘Well, that’s the trouble with you young men nowadays. No backbone … and you can’t seem to commit to anything.’

Damn, was she some kind of a mind reader?

‘Umm.’ He’d suddenly lost his tongue along with his usual charming banter.

‘Lightweights.’ Nonna tested the word as though she didn’t use it much, and then gave a nod, as if happy with it.

Jack felt his cheeks flush. ‘I . . . I do think an awful lot of Lucy,’ he said, quickly trying to backtrack and fill in the gap, to find the words that he really meant, as well as those that might soften the old lady’s opinion of him.

Nonna gave a small, slightly wary smile, and then stared at him, taking his measure. ‘Well, we’ll see. We only want what’s best for Lucy, that’s all.’ Her tone softened.

To Jack’s relief, someone approached, taking a cocktail from his tray, and with that Nonna turned to talk to Lucy’s brother; little Freddie then taking her hand, ready to lead her away to show her the ‘spooo-ky’ carved pumpkins.

A short while later, yet more family arrived with Lucy’s dad turning up with partner Jo. Lucy smiled. It was good to see him there, as he hadn’t been at all keen on her giving up her secure job at the accountant’s office, and he was still somewhat cautious about her new venture.

Taking a slice of freshly cooked margherita pizza, he bit into it. ‘Hey, this is really good.’

‘Of course it is, don’t sound so surprised,’ Lucy replied with a small grin. ‘It’s made just like Papa’s.’