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Chapter Thirty-Four
‘Ican’t stop thinking about that tiramisu…’ I licked my lips.
‘I am glad you liked it.’ Lorenzo smiled.
‘I didn’t like it, Ilovedit!’
‘Grazie. Is better when it stay in the fridge overnight. More flavour.’
‘Well, to me, it was amazing!’
This morning, Lorenzo had got up at the crack of dawn to try out some new recipes, including a limoncello tiramisu with shavings of white chocolate sprinkled on top, and the worddeliciousdidn’t even begin to do it justice. It was rich and creamy, without being too heavy, with just the right amount of lemon liqueur.Pure perfection.
Now we were taking a stroll in the sunshine with Leo before Lorenzo’s friends came round for lunch. The views were spectacular. So far we’d passed beautiful evergreen cypress trees lining the roads, walked through local vineyards, and in the distance I could see rows and rows of olive trees starting to flower with tiny clusters.
The sky was blue and the air was so fresh I could literally feel my lungs expanding with every step. This really was something. I could see why I’d fallen in love with this place when I’d first visited.
‘So,’ I said, glancing down at Leo in his pushchair to see if he was still awake. He was and must have been enjoying the views just as much as we were, as he was nice and calm. ‘Do you think you’ll add it to the menu?’
‘Hmmm…’ Lorenzo sighed. ‘We will see. The people here prefer traditional tiramisu. Perhaps is better for summer, but I can try and see what happen…’
It broke my heart to know Lorenzo literally cooked the same traditional dishes day after day, over and over, when he was capable of so much more. Although Leo and I visited him sometimes at the restaurant during our daily walks and it cheered him up, I knew working there made him sad. I could see it in his eyes. That place stifled his creativity.
‘It must be so hard for you. I wish they would just take a chance, listen to your suggestions and shake things up a bit.’
‘The managers say we give customers what they want.’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Sì. Is difficult, for me, but we must make sacrifice sometimes. You make sacrifice to come here too, so is the same. I have been lucky to work in different places before and create many different dishes. At the moment is not possible, but working there means I can spend more time with you and Leo and that is the most important.’
My heart just melted. ‘Well, Leo and I appreciate you,’ I kissed him on the lips. ‘And like you said, we all have to make sacrifices, so as painful as it’ll be, if it helps you out, IsupposeI can force myself to eat any new dishes you want me to try. It’ll be a tough job, but I’m willing to do it,just for you…’ I chuckled.
‘You aresokind!’ He laughed, wrapping his arm around me.
‘This has been lovely. I do enjoy our Sunday walks. Especially now it’s getting a bit warmer.’
‘Sì. Is very beautiful here.’ He stopped, took Leo out of his pushchair and carried him over his shoulder as if to give him a better view. I loved seeing them together like that. I couldn’t resist taking my phone out and snapping a few photos.
Lorenzo was right. Itwasbreathtaking here. An environment like this would be ideal to raise Leo.In theory. But as the saying goes, not all that glitters is gold. It wasn’t just about how a placelooked. It also needed tofeellike home. And as gorgeous as the views were, this didn’t feel like where we were meant to be.
We needed to live somewhere that allowed us to be fulfilled both personally as a family and professionally. Lorenzo’s talents were too big for this town, and as much as I was trying, I just didn’t see myself fitting here long-term either.
‘What time are the boys coming over?’
‘In forty minutes. Maybe we should start walking back.’
‘Okay. I’m going to have a little look at the antiques market in town that I’ve been meaning to check out for ages, then pop round to Geli’s for a coffee. Give you guys time to catch up together.’
Lorenzo didn’t get to see his friends that often, so I thought it would be nice to give him some space and time for man talk. And of course, it was good to keep my distance from Marta. Yes, she was still there. It wasn’t ideal, but now I’d decided not to put up with her shit, I was feeling better about things. If she did something I didn’t like, I made a point of letting her know.
With any luck she’d still be at church by the time we got back, butwhatever. If she was at home, I’d just stay out of her way.
‘You will join us for lunch?’
‘Lunch?After all that food youforcedme to eat this morning, I don’t think I need to eat for another week!’ I laughed. ‘Thanks, but I’m good and I packed some stuff for Leo too, so I’ll probably just feed him at Geli’s. You guys enjoy. I’m sure they’re going to love the limoncello tiramisu just as much as I did!’
‘We’re home!’ I said, stepping inside. The antiques market was actually better than I’d thought. I hadn’t bought anything, but there were some cool things there. I was glad I went. We’d had a nice time at Geli’s too.
I could see Lorenzo, Flavio and Amadeo sitting in the garden laughing and enjoying a beer. I gave them a quick wave and took Leo out of his pushchair. Lorenzo wasted no time in jumping up to come and give us both a kiss before scooping up Leo and taking him out to see his friends. I’d go out and say hello properly in a minute. I was on my way to the toilet when I spotted Marta in our bedroom.
What the hell.
