Someone to Love (25 page)

My mother shrugged. “I don't know what you find so amusing,” she replied drily.

“Maybe our house could do with a jolt of life,” he whispered, from behind his hand.

Surely I hadn't got it right. That was totally unexpected from the man who had always denied me the opportunity to have a pet of my own. I still remembered the tears and my jealousy of classmates who had pets.

My mother's eyes widened. “What are you talking about?” she asked in a small voice.

“I said that a dog might be a good companion.”

My mother shook his arm. “You've never said you wanted a dog.”

“I never said anything because I was afraid to ask you,” Dad said, giving her a dirty look.

I was incredulous, my father was surprising me continually this evening. He was a completely different man. For a moment I thought I saw a strange gleam in my mother's eyes, but then she composed herself and changed the subject.

“Diego, would you like a piece?” she asked, cutting the cake. “You never told me what you were doing in Apulia,” she added, narrowing her eyes to the point where they were reduced to slits.

Diego coughed. “Always the same job,” he said curtly.

Lucy took a chance. “Is there something wrong? You seem nervous,” she asked Diego.

Despite the efforts he made to mask it, there was something about him that was about to resurface. I couldn't tell what, but it certainly wasn't pleasant.

He looked at her and replied: “Absolutely not.” There was a moment of silence, while the temperature in the room seemed to drop. “Thinking about what I left to come here makes me a little melancholic.”

“You mean your family?” asked Lucy, curiously.

“Let's say so,” he murmured.

“Oh,” answered Lucy, giving me a fake sad look.

“But we're not here to talk about that,” Diego resumed, trying to change the subject. “I met Mia and I think I found the right woman. I wanted to come to this dinner to meet you all and share our happiness. Right, darling?”

I pretended to be in ecstasy.

My father put his spoon down. “You did well. I'm happy to know that my daughter is happy.” He actually looked elated. “I see a new light in her eyes.”

“Oh, Daddy…” I murmured, my heart pounding. “It's the truth,” he admitted. My smile widened dramatically.

“Thanks,” I replied softly.

Primrose came back under the table, barking and fiddling with the tablecloth.

“I think we'd better go. The earthquake is tired of playing with the ball!” I said, glancing at Diego. Dinner had been trying, but certainly less so than previous ones.

There was an unusual air that hovered in the house, which I couldn't breathe before. Was it due to Diego's presence?

I picked up Primrose to stop her from escaping. Two large black eyes, hidden under that mass of hair, met mine, and that look made me smile. She really was adorable.

“Mia, until next time,” my mother said. Then she turned to Diego. “It was really interesting to meet you,” she concluded flatly. She held out her hand.

Diego squeezed it back.

Even Lucy and her husband approached. “See you at the next dinner, or perhaps before,” she suggested.

Nancy came back into the room without her uniform, because her working hours had ended. “I'll accompany you to the entrance,” she said, showing us the way.

I touched her shoulder. “Don't worry about me. I know my way,” I said, and hugged her so hard that I took her breath away.

She turned to Diego. “You better not hurt her.”

He performed one comforting look.

“Goodbye everyone!” I cried, before closing the door.

Outside the air was damp so I hugged Diego to find a little warmth. Fortunately, the car was quite close. When I put Primrose in the back seat, she pulled a face.

“It was tough, right?”

“Well, in the end it was better than I expected,” said Diego, leaning against the door.

I hesitated a bit before answering. “Actually, it was a strange evening, lighter than usual. However, I didn't know I was dating you,” I said.

“All right. Maybe I got a little bit carried away.”

“A little bit?”

“Is it a nice feeling to have me as a boyfriend? I've always wondered.”

He unsheathed his unbeatable smile.

“Oh God, you're exasperating.” I walked away abruptly.

“Come on, don't be like that. We could organize something fun?”

“You have a strange light in your eyes, as if you were planning something that I won't like.”

“Do you think so?”

In a split second Diego pulled the keys from my hand, opened the car and sat inside it.

“Get out of there at once, the car is mine and I'm driving.”

“You get as tense as underwear elastic! You're never excited by my surprises, just trust me.”

I snorted, and I settled in the passenger seat. “Are you aware that this is called abduction?”

“I'm sorry, but now you're my hostage. Like it or not, this trip includes a night tour of the city.”

I slumped back in the seat, without showing any emotion. I wasn't going to give in, but the prospect of going further didn't seem that absurd any more.

“I'm only going along with it because I'm not sleepy yet.”

Diego didn't say anything and just looked at me. He narrowed his eyes. “Let's go then.”

I passed the fruit section and walked through the rest of the supermarket aisles at a brisk pace, throwing the most diverse products into my basket. I reached the lane reserved for wines, where I studied the prices on the shelves carefully. I picked up a bottle and was reading the label when a light touch made me start.

“Sorry, I didn't want to scare you,” Alberto re-assured me, with a broad smile on his lips. “Do you need some advice?” he asked, pointing at the wine.

“Hello, Alberto,” I greeted him a little too quickly. “I'm not a great connoisseur, but I think this is fine. I'll take it,” I concluded, without looking into his eyes. I had no intention of continuing the conversation.

A female voice, coming from the end of the lane, called him. I frowned; it was his mother, all I needed. She walked briskly towards me and shook my hand; I shuddered, feeling how cold and bony it was.

“Mia, out shopping as well?”

What else would I be doing in the supermarket?

“Sure, but I'm almost done. And you?” I said. Her shrill voice could puncture my head, almost enough to cause a migraine.

Alberto spoke first. “I'm helping my mother, she wants to throw a great dinner party.”

The exchange seemed far-fetched to say the least, and I began to feel embarrassed and uncomfortable.

“Any event in particular?” I enquired.

“Of course, dear!” said Patty, crinkling eyes marked by mascara. “I'm celebrating forty years of marriage, no small thing.”

Her eyes seemed to penetrate mine, and I realized that the remark was a dig against me.

The woman put her hand to her mouth and began to cough, short rasps that provoked tears in her eyes. Alberto tried to hold her, but she pushed him away. She caught her breath and continued the conversation.

“Alberto, I'm going towards the cashier, don't make me wait too long,” she added. “We, however, will see each other very soon at the clinic,” she concluded, annoyed.

I returned her handshake. It was clammy and, unnoticed; I wiped my hand on my jeans.

“Are you all right?” asked Alberto.

I wanted to tell him that his mother was suffering from a serious problem of excessive sweating, but I didn't and nodded. “I would say so,” I hesitated before continuing to advance down the lane. “And it's partly thanks to you, you opened my eyes.”

Alberto put his index finger to his lips to silence me. “Now I want you to listen carefully to what I have to say.”

I shook my head. “I have no intention of doing that and we have nothing more to say to each other anyway. I'm also in a hurry…”

Alberto stopped me. “I left her, Mia! I'm a free man.”

I sneered. “My condolences.”

“You're cruel, Mia. I know I didn't behave properly with you, and I know I screwed up. I shouldn't have let you go.” He slipped his hand onto mine. “I never thought I was the best of men, but neither am I the worst. I thought about you a lot during the past week.”

I frowned. “You're joking, right? Because I don't understand you any more. You can't tell me that you thought about me after having acted like an asshole and making me believe I invented a relationship that didn't exist. You also said that we had never promised each other anything and I wouldn't find it hard to find someone else, or have you forgotten?”

“I was a complete idiot.”

“No doubt about that.”

I bit my lip to keep myself from adding more. This was not the place to argue about this matter and I just wanted to forget what had happened.

“Even stupid people realize their mistakes. I want to be with you, I'll do anything you want and I will make you happy. Everyone is entitled to a second chance.” He blocked the aisle with his trolley, forcing me to stop. “You're the one that gives in at the first problem, not me.”

“That's not the point, Alberto. If you had been honest with me, maybe I would have forgiven you, but now it's too late and it's all different.”

“If you let me go now, I might never come back…” It was official: I had an idiot in front of me.

“Excuse me?” I asked incredulously.

“I'm not stupid and I understand why you won't go back with me… you're already dating someone else,” he said angrily. “My mother liked you a lot too…”

I was even more confused and angry. “I don't want to be liked by the mothers of the men I date,” I snapped angrily at this useless scene of jealousy.

The conversation was taking an unexpected turn.

“Think of it as you wish, for me it was important. We could have had a future. I would have given you everything,” continued Alberto.

“Money isn't important to me and I've never looked for a man to keep me!” I cried, raising my voice. “You know what your problem is? That you don't even know what you want. I advise you to clear your head.”

“I know I want you.”

“Don't make yourself any more ridiculous than you have done already. I made my decision and I would be grateful if you accepted it. That's all.”

He stared at me. I wanted to become a speck of dust and disappear in the shelves. “So you've become a strong woman now? You need the bottle of wine for an evening with him?” Alberto took a step closer. “I want a second chance.”

“I'm sure you'll find the right woman, sooner or later, but it's not me and never will be.”

“You just don't understand. I did it for my mother as well… She wants me to get engaged as soon as possible…”

I was shocked. “I get it. I'll take on the responsibility of informing your mother, if that's…”

“Stop.” Alberto looked around, he looked bewildered. He loosened his tie. His face was pale.

“She would like a grandchild before her disease kills her.” He whispered, with tears in his eyes.

Now I understood many things.

Patty had visibly lost weight and sported young, tight outfits. Patty wore heavy makeup to appear stronger. These were all signs of her poor health.

“Oh, Alberto, I didn't know, I feel mortified. Patty seems like a woman full of energy, I couldn't have imagined…”

“She often talked about you, she wanted to arrange a meeting and when I met you at Controvento I thought it was destiny,” he continued in a rush. “I tried to please her, but I didn't succeed immediately. At first, I admit I insisted on going out with you to please my mother, but when you went out of my life, I realized I was wrong.”

As I watched him, I noticed his tension take the form of two thin wrinkles between his eyes.

“Don't make me the problem.” I touched his cheek. “You can't force a woman to give you what your mother wants. It's your life and you have to live it as you wish. Choose a woman because you can't live without her, just for that.”

I almost felt sorry for him. Alberto put an arm round me and pulled me towards him. His shirt smelled fresh. His arms held me tight and I let myself go to that embrace. I leaned my head on his chest and felt his heart beating fast. He kissed my forehead and took my face in his hands. Our faces were almost touching; I erased everything that had happened in front of his pain.

“I'm desperate. I shouldn't make myself so ridiculous in your eyes, but I'm scared,” he confessed softly.

His warm breath blew against my skin; I felt his concerns and his sense of helplessness in not being able to change the course of events. Unfortunately a feeling that I knew very well.

“It's a natural thing. You're very attached to your mother and would like to make her happy,” I whispered, stroking his hair. “But don't feel guilty, she'll understand.”

Alberto surrendered. “I don't know if she'll figure it out in time.” He walked away a few metres. “Can I at least count on your friendship?” he asked, desperately. “I need a person like you.”

“I don't know, I don't think it's the best thing…” I said softly.

“Take your time, I'm sure that will help.”

The supermarket forbade animals, so I had entrusted the girl at the information desk to look after Bubu, I'd known her for years.

Alberto looked around and couldn't decide where to go. “Where's my mother?”

“Didn't she say she would wait here?”

Alberto nodded. “Found her!” he exclaimed in a more relaxed voice.

I had kept my eyes down so far and only a hundred metres divided us. Patty was leaning with her elbows on the customer services counter next to the automatic doors of the entrance, showing the clerk her receipt, indicating items in several places with her finger.