Page 68 of A Very Italian Wedding
‘She’s still in my bedroom,’ Aurora told her, putting the phone back in her billowing pocket. ‘I’m about to go and see if she wants something to eat. She’s starved herself all afternoon.’
‘Can you tell her that I’ll come and join you in a moment please? I’ve got some things to explain and make up for.’ Rose glanced at the bag she was carrying, hoping it would be enough.
‘Of course,leonessa.’ Aurora smiled. ‘We will see you soon.’ She nodded at Coco and signalled towards the villa with her chin.
The dog sniffed a couple of times, before trotting up to Rose and rubbing her small body against her leg in a gesture of, what…?Solidarity, friendship, insanity? Baffled, Rose gazed down at her, then she watched as Coco followed the older woman inside.
Rose could see Cesare and Isabella as she wandered slowly through the garden, watching the last rays of the sun begin to disappear. They were sitting at a small table set up equidistant between their two houses. Beside the table was a pot and as Rose drew closer, she could see a tiny shoot emerging from the inside. Was it the olive tree?
‘Rose,’ Isabella said as she looked up and spotted her. She waved a glass of wine indicating that she should take a seat before disappearing into her house.
Cesare sat concentrating. He was gluing pieces onto the fertility statue, and it was obvious he’d been working on it for a while. The fragments that Isabella had stuck in the wrong places had been put right and the original form was beginning to re-emerge.
‘You’re doing a great job,’ Rose said as she sat and watched him work. Were the couple still planning to give the statue to Luna and Marco? If so, she’d have to ask Marco to stage an intervention. The gift wouldn’t help their cause.
Isabella returned and put a glass of crisp white wine in front of her. ‘My husband is doing well.’ Her eyes twinkled as she gazed at him. ‘I want to thank you for speaking with us both today.’ Her voice was thick with emotion.
The older man nodded. ‘You helped to fix what couldn’t be fixed.’ He nodded to the shoot and then the statue, before beaming at his wife. ‘And now we are beginning again, together. All in a new spot.’ He waved his hand at the pot and then their houses.
‘You gave your phone to Aurora,’ Rose commented, sipping some of her drink which tasted tart and refreshing. She could hear crickets singing in the olive grove, could smell heat and sunscreen and was reminded of Ben. Her stomach did a slow somersault, but she ignored it. She might have helped to heal this couple’s relationship, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever mend what had broken between her and Ben. All those words that couldn’t be unsaid, all that misunderstanding…
Cesare shrugged. ‘I no longer need my phone. I’ve got more important things to keep me occupied. My wife has given me a long list of tasks.’ His eyes sparkled and he picked up the glue and another piece of the statue and waved it before winking at Isabella who flushed endearingly.
Rose leaned back in her chair enjoying the sensation of a job well done. All those years of working with her parents and she’d never come close to healing any of their relationships. Perhaps it was easier when people wanted to make the changes?
‘Marco came to see me earlier,’ Isabella said. ‘He said perhaps the statue isn’t the best gift for him and Luna at the moment. He didn’t want to upset me, but he said they wish towait for theirbambini. That getting married is just about them.’ She frowned. ‘Perhaps this is okay. Marriage—’ She gave her husband a long look. ‘Will be good for my grandson I think.’
‘It’sfinita!’ Cesare declared as he put down the glue. Then he carefully spun the statue around, before pushing it across the table towards Rose.
‘Which is why we’ve decided to give it to you!’ Isabella said, clapping her hands. ‘To thank you for what you have done for me and Cesare.’
Rose gulped as she stared into the statue’s face. It looked like it was laughing at her.
‘We’ll give it to you tomorrow after the wedding, once it’s dry,’ Isabella said. ‘For now.’ She glanced towards her house. ‘I have things to do.’ She winked at Cesare. ‘And we both have a wedding outfit to find.’
Aurora opened the door to her bedroom just as Rose arrived. From where she was standing in the hallway, Rose could see Luna looking solemn sat on the bed beside Coco. Her friend jumped up as soon as she entered the room and Aurora shut the door. Then the shih tzu hopped off the bed too and came to rub herself against Rose’s leg.
‘Woah,’ Rose said, startled. ‘I’m really not sure what that behaviour means.’ She stared down at the dog, baffled. She’d expected Coco to revert to normal as soon as they got back to the villa. This was odd.
‘It means she’s starting to like you,’ Luna said, sounding shocked. ‘Finally. What did you do?’
Rose considered, still staring at Coco. ‘The demon came for a drive with me this afternoon to keep me company. Then instead of biting, she licked me when I started to get stressed.’
‘Aldo says it’s because you showed her your true self — your vulnerability,’ Aurora interrupted.
‘You drove?’ Luna gasped, her dog instantly forgotten. ‘What possessed you?’
‘It was about time…I’ve held onto that fear for far too long.’ She paused absorbing the truth, considering how many years she’d wasted. ‘Besides, I had something important to pick up.’ She offered Luna the bag. ‘I owe you an apology.’
‘Why?’ Luna frowned but took the package. ‘I know I got upset with you earlier, but I’ve had time to think, and I know you’ve always had my best interests at heart.’ She sighed and went to slump on the edge of the bed. ‘The engagement all happened in such a rush. I should have listened to you. Marrying Marco tomorrow would have been an awful mistake, you were right.’ She grimaced.
‘I waswrong, Luna,’ Rose said, feeling the punch of the words in her chest. The truth of them. ‘I can see that so clearly now. Marco loves you.’
Luna’s eyes widened to almost twice their normal size. ‘Sorry?’ she spluttered. ‘What’s happened? Did being in the car rewire your brain or something?’ She frowned. ‘A few hours ago, we found out the man I love asked Ben to seduce you to keep you out of the way.’ Her voice rose an octave. ‘Worse than that, Ben did.’
Rose felt something pinch in her chest. ‘It was a misunderstanding.’ She sighed as she went to sit on the bed beside her friend. ‘You know I have trouble trusting people. I’m always looking for problems. I’ve spent a lifetime homing in on them – even the ones that weren’t really there.’
When Luna opened her mouth, Rose held up a palm. ‘As a psychologist I know better than anyone what the root cause of that is.’ She winced. ‘But how could I spend my life trying to fix relationships, when I’m not even sure I ever truly believedthat a healthy one was possible?’ she pondered unhappily. ‘I’ve looked for perfection and then jabbed and criticised when I didn’t find it.’ She felt ashamed. ‘Because there’s no such thing as perfection. At least not when it comes to two people trying to make each other happy.’
