Page 8 of My Big Fat Italian Break-Up

‘Nothing. I’m very happy, of course.’

‘But…?’ she prompted.

‘The business isn’t doing well.’

‘I figured. But that shouldn’t worry you too much for the moment. Think about the important things.’

Which meant my family.

‘Well, the kids and I are happy here, but Julian seems more interested in his writing career than running a farm – not that I blame him. But I’m starting to struggle. I need him to be here a bit more.’

‘Well, then tell him you need his help.’

Solid logic— in anyone else’s head. But not in mine. ‘I would, but when we decided to move here, we’d agreed on our roles. If I ask him to write less, I’m afraid he’ll think I resent his career. Which is crazy, because I was the one who pushed him to start it again. Or worse, he might even think that I’m not capable of doing everything on my own.’

Renata frowned. ‘Erica, no one is capable of doing everything on their own. I’m not, and neither is Marco. You should be honest with Julian and tell him that this was not what you’d agreed.’

‘Yes, but you see? We’ve both stopped short of each other’s expectations. And I think that by moving here, I’ve pushed him into making the biggest mistake of his life. I’m afraid one day he’s going to hate me for it.’ There. I’d said it.

Renata shook her head. ‘Nonsense. This is where you all belong. Julian is happy with you here. And as far as A Taste of Tuscany is concerned, all you need to do is keep faith while you figure out how to right what you’re doing wrong.’

I shook my head. ‘But that’s the thing, don’t you see? I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I understand the business might be slightly different here, but I just don’t get it. I’ve done my research and all my due diligence and stuff. I’m on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even TikTok for Christ’s sake, but… it’s like we’re not even on the map anymore.’

Renata shook her head in sympathy. ‘Have you tried promoting in a different way?’

‘I’ve tried everything, Renata. Flyers, business cards, word of mouth to my friends in the USA. I don’t want Julian to lose his investment.’Or to get tired of me, I mentally added.

She patted my knee. ‘Silly. You and the children are Julian’s investment. Now don’t worry.’

‘Well, there’s one more thing worrying me,’ I confessed. Might as well go all the way. ‘Marcy is coming to visit. She’ll be staying from mid-August to the wedding.’

Women of the same ilk who call themselves friends don’t need to explain these things to each other. Renata shivered.

‘Marcy? Nowthatis scary. Why don’t you hold off telling her about the wedding until after she’s flown back home?’

‘Because a) she’d never forgive me for not letting her know the date as soon as it was set, and b), for the rest of my living days she’d make me pay for making her travel out twice in the space of two months, rather than hosting her here until the wedding.’

Renata tsk-tsked.

I nodded. ‘And don’t forget that my aunts will be coming, too.’

‘The three Ms and your stepmother in the same house? Oh, Jesus. Here,’ she said, offering me another croissant. ‘I had a feeling you needed me this morning…’

*

‘Why do we have to go to private afternoon lessons in September again?’ Warren groaned at my pondered decision to help them achieve better school results. ‘We already know the language. And besides, I’ve got other stuff to do.’

Ooh, it was going to be one of those days, was it? Well, Warren had chosen the wrong one for a tantrum.

You know when you’re already fed up with things and you think, maybe I should go off somewhere, move to a different country, but then that depresses you even more, because you already have gone off somewhere and moved to a different country, but it’s not quite like you hoped? That was me right now.

So here’s a caveat for you if you’re anything like me: always remember that moving away from your old life won’t remove you from a daily routine. You might create a new life, but you can’t hide from your own problems – they have radar and can find you anywhere on the planet, faster and more accurately than GPS.

‘Yes, you do have to continue, and you’ve both done an amazing job so far. But language isn’t everything. You need to learn more about the culture just to understand what you’ll be studying. Plus, this coming school year will be more demanding.’

Warren looked at me and then groaned. ‘All I want is to play sports, Mom.’

Didn’t I know it.

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