Page 38 of A Very Italian Wedding
Rose gave him a pastry and then stared at him. She seemed more relaxed at the moment, but the roads were clear and there were no cars shooting past. Ben knew that would change soon. He tasted some of the cornetto and sighed. ‘I should move to Italy,’ he murmured, quickly finishing it off as he remembered he’d been thinking about doing exactly that after he married Sophia, working with Marco from afar. He knew his friend planned to stay in Bristol after he married and had mentioned that he hoped Luna would join him there. Ben loved Bristol, but no one made cornetti like the Italians. ‘Can I have another one please?’ he begged.
Rose tutted. ‘Not until you’ve told me some of the story.’ She shifted the pastry bag to her other knee, out of his reach.
‘Fine.’ Ben shook his head. He was used to women falling over themselves to make him happy. He hadn’t decided if Rose’s reaction to him was a refreshing change or an annoyance. He did find her puzzling and wondered if that was the reason he couldn’t get her out of his mind. ‘I told you Marco’s grandparents had separated recently.’
He caught her nod from the corner of his eye.
‘I think that was clear last night – she was obviously very angry about something. How long have they been married?’ She carefully picked a pastry from the bag. Ben reached for it thinking it was for him, but Rose took a bite. ‘Not yet, you need to tell me more,’ she muttered.
Ben chuckled. Perhaps he didn’t mind her teasing him. ‘Almost sixty years. There was going to be a big party for them next year. The family have been planning it for ages. Now, no one’s sure if it’ll happen.’ He frowned. Isabella and Cesare’s marriage had always been so rock solid. Something to aspire to. Ben knew he didn’t want a long-term relationship, but he still believed in them, still wanted to see them work for everyone else.
‘Do you know what happened?’ Rose asked, twisting in her seat, making the emerald-green dress she’d brought fromEleganterise and expose the tiniest hint of knee. Ben forced his eyes back on the road, ignoring the tightening in his limbs and the way his heart had begun to hammer.
‘Firstly, you have to understand Isabella is very superstitious,’ he said.
‘Which means what?’ Rose drummed her fingers on the tiny patch of exposed skin, drawing his attention to it again.
Ben decided to just tell her the whole story. It was ridiculous, but perhaps Rose could help. He didn’t know much about her track record with relationships, but she probably had more idea about what to do than anyone else. The Marino family were in bits about the break-up and the only light on the horizon had been Marco and Luna’s wedding, but Isabella’s words last night had proved the impending nuptials had changed nothing.
He sighed. ‘Isabella and Cesare met when they were children. Isabella’s family lived close to here and they went to the same school. They became best friends, and as they grew older, that friendship turned into love…’ He paused wondering how itmight feel to have known someone for your whole life, as Rose sighed.
‘Well, at least it’s not another story about love at first sight…’ she muttered.
Ben chuckled, recalling the thump he’d felt in his chest when he’d seen Rose for the first time on the aeroplane. Although that had probably been fear – she had been angry. ‘They married when they were seventeen and their marriage has lasted almost sixty years. It’s truly tragic that after all that time, it might break up.’
Rose nodded. Perhaps feeling bad, she pulled another pastry from the bag and handed it to him. ‘Keep your hands on the steering wheel,’ she ordered sharply as he took it.
Ben quickly shoved the whole thing into his mouth.
‘You need to finish this story if you want any more,’ she said, taking another for herself. It was the most Ben had seen Rose eat since they’d arrived in Italy which meant she was obviously starting to relax around him. ‘What’s destroyed a marriage of almost sixty years – did one of them cheat?’
Ben didn’t speak until he passed the next junction of the motorway, taking his time to study the red and pink flowers growing on nearby hills. The sun had moved higher in the cloudless blue sky and it was getting hot in the car, so he put the air conditioning on full. ‘That’s not it. I don’t think either of them would even consider that. They’re two people who are meant for each other; there isn’t anyone else in the world for either of them.’
‘So, what happened?’ Rose pressed.
Ben sighed. ‘Just after they met and before they decided to marry, Cesare planted an olive tree for Isabella,’ Ben said. ‘It was at the far edge of the field we were in last night – you need to walk to the end to find it. It was special to them.’
‘So he planted a tree,’ Rose recapped, sounding confused. ‘I’m not sure how that ended a marriage after so many years.’
‘I’m getting to that,’ Ben said as a car overtook.
There were more vehicles on the road now, but Rose still seemed relaxed. Perhaps the story was keeping her from thinking about being afraid? ‘An olive tree can last for hundreds of years – Cesare planted it as a symbol of their love. It was supposed to represent their future together. He proposed beside it. When Leonardo was born, it was the first place they took him. Marco too.’
‘Okay,’ Rose said, clearly still not understanding. ‘That sounds romantic, but I’m still not sure why it’s important.’
Ben winced. ‘Years ago, Cesare gave up smoking – at least he said he had. But every now and again he’d take some wine and a cigarette to the tree so he could sit under it and watch the sun set.’
‘Alone?’ Rose asked sharply.
He nodded. ‘It was an open secret among the family. Only Isabella wasn’t aware, at least I don’t think she was.’
‘So he lied,’ Rose said flatly.
‘A white lie.’ Ben stopped abruptly. What had he thought about colouring in untruths? ‘But you’re right, it was a lie,’ he admitted.
‘So, what happened?’ Rose asked, a cornetto halfway to her mouth.
‘A few months ago, he was smoking and doing a crossword on his phone, and a piece of ash from the cigarette set the tree alight. It burned all the way down before he could put the fire out.’ He winced.
