Page 32 of Bella Rosa
I open my mouth, but no words form. He releases my face and takes one of my hands to pull me toward the back of the room. There's a door to a terrace I hadn't noticed before. He opens the door and leads me to a table and two chairs outside. He pulls out a chair for me, and sits in the other.
I take in the view for a moment. He doesn't rush me or push me to talk in any way. The tears have stopped flowing enough for me to speak. "Since I've been in Italy, I've been thinking about my dad so much. He used to have a flat like this when he was in college. He would bring out his old photo album and show me photos of his life in France."
I pause for a moment and push my hair behind my ears. "I guess being here has just brought up a lot of memories. And then there was the storm from the other night. It's been so long since I've had a freak out like that. My mom paid a lot of money for therapy sessions after my father passed." I roll my eyes, thinking about what my mom would say if she saw me the other night. "She would be so disappointed to hear all her money was wasted."
I can feel another round of tears forming in my eyes as I think back about my time spent with my dad, and of the time I could have also spent with my mom. "My mom never took much of an interest in me. She was always so focused on her job, or spending time with her friends. My dad was the only real parent I ever had."
Matteo hasn't moved a muscle. He just sits there and listens as I pour my heart out to him. I feel another tear break free and fall down my cheek. Matteo is suddenly bent down in front of me. I didn't even hear him get up. He catches the tear with his thumb and pushes my chin up so I'm making eye contact with him. When he looks at me like this I feel like he is stripping me bare. Like he can see every flaw I'll ever have. Like he can see me. He still doesn't say anything; he just holds my hand.
"I feel closer to my dad than I have in years since coming to Italy. This is who my dad was." I motion around me with my free hand. "He was light and love. He loved trying new foods and going to new places just as much as he loved the sea."
Matteo catches another tear as it falls down my face. "Can I take you out on my sailboat tomorrow?"
I feel my heart rate pick up. I've not been on a boat since that day, but I can't let this chance pass me by. I smile up at him as I use the back of my hand to wipe the moisture off my face. "I would love that."
He smiles at me and I feel the smile all the way to my toes.
20
Bacon
Matteo
Wesitinsilenceas I watch every move she makes. She's an enchantress, and I am her willing victim. She has no idea what she does to me. I watch as she takes a drink. As she watches the birds fly overhead. As she steals every last fiber of restraint I have. It took one tear to bring me to my knees. One tear and I crumbled in her hands.
It's been over an hour since she broke down. I've never seen such beautiful raw emotion. The love she has for her father mimicking the love I have for mine.
I hated to see her cry, but I loved seeing that side of her. The vulnerability. The trust.
She tucks her hair behind her ear and looks over at me. She gives me a little smile that I'm pretty sure is reserved just for me. "I love it here." She breaks eye contact and looks back over the city. I'm on the top floor of one of the tallest buildings in this area of town, so the view is pretty nice.
She stands to look over the edge of the balcony. She leans over the railing, giving me a perfect view of her from behind. I stand so quickly I startle her. I turn and walk back into the living room before I take her on the balcony. "We… uh… better get started on dinner." I sound like a blubbering idiot.
I readjust myself in my pants as I walk into the kitchen. Dinner. Right. Focus.
I start unloading the bags from the market as she walks into the kitchen. She comes over to help me unload the rest of the bags while I start rinsing the vegetables. "What can I help with?"
Just the sound of her voice makes me have to readjust myself again. How on earth am I going to make it through this dinner? I clear my throat. "You can start by chopping the vegetables." I put all the vegetables I just washed in a bowl and hand it to her. I grab a knife from the rack and hand that to her as well.
I have to calm down or I won't be able to control myself. I need to wait. She's too special. She deserves more than me taking her on the dining table. I don't want to fuck this up. I've managed to control myself so far, surely I can make it through dinner so I can make this experience special for her.
"What are we making?"
I gather the seasoning we needed and place everything on the kitchen island. "Well, the dish doesn't actually have a name. It's traditionally a soup from the Tuscany region that features vegetables and beans. It's traditionally served with bread. We're going to put our own spin on it by thickening up the soup base, serving it in a bread bowl, and adding bacon."
Her face lights up. "Bacon is my favorite!"
The twenty questions game worked in my favor. "This is one of the dishes I've been trying out to hopefully put on the menu at the new restaurant. It's kind of like a modern version of ribollita. With the new restaurant I want to take old dishes, unpopular dishes, and classic dishes and put my own spin on them. There's some dishes that only older generations like, and some that haven't been popular for a while. I want to bring new life to them."
Talking about my plans for the new restaurant has calmed my cock down a bit. Thank fuck.
She gives me a beaming smile that I feel all the way to the tip of my toes. "That's a really good idea. It'll be like you're bringing all the generations together."
"I've got a problem though. That's as far as my ideas have gotten so far. That's not enough to open a new restaurant with. I've just got ideas. For the past few months I’ve been trying to figure out a way to make them happen."
She pauses and looks up at me. I hadn't even realized I was watching her. "I would eat there. That has to mean something. I work for Foodie magazine after all! What was it you told me? Don't give up on your dream, even if it means finding a new dream. Seems to me like you've found your dream. Go for it. You'll figure out all the details."
She looks back down and resumes chopping like she didn't just give me the biggest confidence boost of my life. I can't keep the smile off my face, partly because of the bomb she just dropped and because of the way she's struggling to chop the vegetables. I cross my arms and lean back against the counter to watch her. "For such a foodie, you sure are struggling over there."
