The change in Susan was obvious after a day or two in the serene atmosphere of the villa.
She did not want to move from the terrace where she sat contemplating the incredible view down the slope full of olive trees and vines. The harvesting of grapes was now in full swing and every day brought local workers to gently detach the heavy plumes of rich red grapes and place them in wooden barrels in an old-fashioned, country way that spoke volumes about tradition and respect for the wine that would be produced in due time.
Susan watched their progress down the slope of the hill and thought about nothing. The rhythm of the work with breaks for lunch and coffee were sufficient to punctuate her days and she wanted nothing else.
Jake was being cared for by Angela and he seemed to respond well to her magical mix of body massage and meditation. Susan could hear the soothing music that indicated a therapy session was underway. The lovely sounds of waves or bird song seemed appropriate background for the relaxation therapy she was also experiencing.
Each day she could feel release from her muscles of the tension she was unaware she had been storing. She could only imagine the relief that Jake was gaining from the intensive work Angela was doing. Angela had announced that she wished to devote all her time to Jake for an initial period, as an experiment, to observe if the new program had the beneficial effects that seemed to be indicated by the study she had read about.
Susan could not comment on the medical results. She knew only that Jake slept deeply every night and woke happier every morning. She asked for no more than that for now.
Maria was content to leave her friend to the solace that sun and peace could supply. A family meal was planned for the weekend and Maria was busy helping the aunties to prepare the banquet of foods that were required. This involved copious large pots and pans being scoured and a bountiful supply of dishes and serving platters being retrieved from various parts of the kitchen and elsewhere in the villa, to the accompaniment of much chatter and laughter and debate about which person would be in charge of which signature dish.
Maria’s role was restricted to chopping tomatoes and vegetables which arrived at the villa each morning from an ancient, battered car whose back seat was clearly used for produce rather than people. Maria unloaded these treasures for the aunties and marveled at the sheer beauty of the red and green peppers and bunches of spinach, parsley and celery that were kept cool until needed.
The kitchen was redolent with the scents of sauce preparation and pasta making and Maria inhaled memories of her childhood in every breath. She never seemed to have the skill or the time for such elaborate feasts at home in Canada. Her preferred method was a call to one of her favourite Italian restaurants, but that did not compare with this total immersion in the art and science of cooking. She watched and listened and thought a lot about her life choices while her hands performed the routine tasks she had been assigned.
In the late afternoons she made calls to Nova to check on progress at the store. It seemed so far away despite the excellent phone reception. It was hard to conjure up the busy mall in London with customers browsing through the racks and the sound of their distinctive carrier bags being popped open to receive a new, tissue-wrapped purchase.
The news was good, however. Nova reported that sales were steady and the cruise wear specials were drawing in their usual clientele plus some new, younger women who were planning ladies’ fun weeks in exotic locations. Maria did not know whether to be pleased at this success, or sad that she was not needed at the helm.
She made other calls to Milan to save time when she eventually made the trip there. Her BlackBerry could receive photo files and although these pictures of current stock were useful, they could not supply the feel of texture and the detail of clothes’ construction that was essential to a buyer.
Lucy, meantime, occupied herself upstairs at the villa with projects she would not discuss in any detail. To her mother’s enquiry if she would be spending more time with Maurizio, Lucy responded in a dismissive tone, “Oh, his girlfriend was with us in San Gimignano. He’ll be seeing her now.”
Maria had to be content with this. She was glad Lucy had found something to keep her busy and that she was no longer complaining at the change of plans resulting from the arrival of Susan and Jake. Maria determined to reinstate the Verona trip for Lucy as soon as the weekend celebration had been observed.
Sunday dawned bright and clear, promising a lovely day for eating outdoors at the huge wooden table on the terrace. Maria set out places and found extra chairs. She was unsure how many relatives were coming to welcome back the family from Canada, but she decided to use the space on both sides of the table rather than have to rush at the last minute.
In the kitchen, activities had risen to a fevered pitch. Maria could only marvel at the energy of the three sisters whose heads and hands seemed to be in five places at once. Maria helped to prepare insalata and stirred pots of redolent minestrone while platters of antipasto were sliced and laid out appetizingly. Some of the dishes defied Maria’s description. She had to ask for names, even when she recognized some of the ingredients like osso buco and veal.
Every Italian dish she had ever tasted or heard about, was prepared, or in preparation, and the smells drew Lucy down from their bedroom.
“My Goodness!” she exclaimed, “what is this? I have never seen anything like this amount of food. Who’s coming? The whole town?”
Maria chuckled. She had no idea who had been summoned but she knew both of them, as well as Susan and Jake, were honoured guests. The prime positions at the head of the table in the shade, were reserved for the titular heads of the entire family, la nonna and il nonno.
Maria had visited her elderly grandparents soon after she arrived at the villa, and had been amazed at the bright brown eyes peeping out through a network of wrinkles in the two faces, so alike now in old age that it was difficult to tell one from the other. The couple sat together with linked hands, the voluminous black skirts of nonna overlapping the wide, black pants of her husband, and Maria wondered if they walked together in the same way so as to support each other’s bodies. They were cared for by Maria’s oldest aunt, a retired nurse who devoted her time and energy to the old couple.
The thought occurred to Maria that this role could have fallen to her own mother, had she remained in the family home. How different her life has been in Canada, she mused.
What caused her to make such a huge change in her life? It struck Maria that she had no answer to this question and she determined to ask her mother when she returned to Toronto.
All thoughts of home vanished when the family began to arrive. Maria and Lucy were greeted warmly by everyone, as were Susan and Jake. Much animated conversation ensued in both Italian and English. Switching between both languages was easy for most of the younger family members and Maria realized again what she had lost in not pursuing her language heritage.
As the laughter and teasing grew in volume the birds that usually spent the afternoons roosting on the old tiles of the villa’s roofs, flew into the air protesting at the noise below that disturbed their peaceful slumbers.
Maria, Lucy and Susan were seated together with Maria’s English-speaking cousins bracketing them on either side. Jake’s chair was rolled into position near that of the family doctor who was anxious to know all the details about Jake’s experiences in the Ferrera clinic.
As the rich red wine was poured into waiting glasses all conversation halted until toasts were made saluting first, the oldest family members, then the Canadian contingent, and lastly a young cousin who was about to be married.
As soon as the formalities were over, the eating began in earnest. Platters were passed around and even Lucy sampled a variety of dishes with ingredients she could not identify.
There was much laughter as the wine flowed, but every now and then the conversation became more general and the atmosphere was more serious. Lucy had been watching these episodes and listening intently.
“Mom!” she whispered, “I can hear words repeated often but I’m not sure who or what is being talked about. Is Napoli Naples? And what is the ‘berlu scone’ they all seem to be upset about?”
Maria wiped her mouth to conceal her amusement from Lucy and replied as discretely as possible, “You are right about Naples. There’s another garbage strike at the moment and the whole place stinks to high heaven. The name Berlusconi refers to Italy’s Prime Minister who is often in trouble for his behavior with underage party girls. They say they won’t put up with his disgraceful attitude much longer.”
“Ah, now I see what makes everyone throw their hands in the air. You have to be watching out for that here or you would get a black eye pretty quickly.”
Maria agreed with her daughter. She listened again as the conversation turned to the topic of Pompeii. Lucy’s attention was alerted by the familiar name. She had studied the wall paintings in Pompeii for an art project and tugged on her mother’s arm until there was a break in the conversation that allowed her to interpret.
“It seems there has been a wall collapse in one of the houses. Silvio Berlusconi is being blamed for that too. Apparently not enough money has been assigned by the government to preserve the archaeological integrity of the structures.”
“That’s such a shame! I’d love to go there and see the town that was buried by the Vesuvius eruption.”
“It’s a wonderful place, caught in time, Lucy. We’ll definitely add it to our list.”
Susan had been listening in to Maria’s comments. “There is so much to see in Italy. I am sorry I have not had the chance to explore some of the amazing sites here. This villa is incredible! Such a lovely location and it sits right into the hillside as if it had been here forever. Perhaps we can come back together some time and you can escort us, Maria?”
“I would love that, Susan. Listen! Would you like to come to Verona with Lucy and me? We are leaving early tomorrow. Would you be comfortable leaving Jake for a day?”
“Just look at him Maria! He is revelling in the weather, the food, Angela’s treatments and the fabulous company. I doubt he would even notice I had gone.”
“I know that’s not true, Susan, but if you are sure, we’d love to have you with us.”
Leaning in more closely, Maria added, “I think it’s going to be a teenage dream day with the Romeo and Juliet connection. I’d be delighted to have some adult company.”
“It’s a deal then!” pronounced Susan, “but lunch is on me, if I can ever eat again after this extravaganza!”
After what seemed like hours, the wine carafes were emptied, the platters cleared of food and most of the family members were slowing down considerably. The grandparents had left much earlier in their daughter’s care, and the remaining relatives were sipping strong coffees and venturing down the hill to inspect the quality of the grapes.
Lucy excused herself and went upstairs “to work” without explaining what she was doing there.
Maria turned to Susan and asked her to find out what Lucy was up to.
“She won’t tell me what she’s doing, probably so I can’t object, but at least it’s keeping her happy for the time being.”
“I’ll see what I can do tomorrow,” replied Susan. “She might come clean to her old Aunt Susan and it would be a chance for me to thank you, in a very tiny way, for what you have done to rescue Jake and me.”
“Please don’t mention it, Susan. It was all Anna’s doing and I have been delighted to be able to help you, for once.”
Susan turned a solemn face to Maria and replied with unaccustomed seriousness, “I have never taken our Samba friendships for granted, Maria, but now I truly understand how important that connection can be for all of us.”
The two women linked arms and smiled at each other in that special way when nothing more need be said.
It was time to check on Jake and hear how the afternoon had gone for him.