Lucy Knott - The Ingredients for Happiness

‘San Francisco Beat are currently on a break. They have families and lives to live, just like the rest of us, and at this time they are not available for interviews,’ Sabrina said as she tugged at her lip, brows furrowed, not wanting the man to get nasty with her, but well aware of how journalists could talk. After the peace and anonymity that Italy had offered, it unnerved Sabrina that the paparazzi were now hounding the boys. They must have spotted Dan in England with Amanda and caught on to both Dylan and James being back at home in San Francisco spending time with their families before the whirlwind of a new record deal had them on the road again.

‘Suit yourself, sweetheart, but people don’t want to see the boys on playdates with their other halves. They’re rock stars, they best start acting like it. And they’re talented at that. I just hope you don’t run them into the ground.’ With that he hung up and left Sabrina aggressively stabbing at her vanilla cupcake that donned far too much frosting.

She put her phone down next to her barely touched cupcake, suddenly having lost her appetite. Come on, Sabrina , she urged herself. You need to pick one . Though she didn’t care for the man’s patronizing tone, he was right. Sabrina couldn’t dawdle forever and stall this next step. She needed to believe in herself and follow her gut. The band’s fans would be waiting for a new album and a new tour; she had to deliver. She drew her eyes back to the screen before remembering her sisters’ texts. She picked up her phone to reply quickly just as Tyler Wall’s name filled the screen. She had to answer. It was Tyler Wall, international rock god and one of her dearest friends.

‘Bri, how’s it going hon?’ Tyler’s chirpy voice sang down the line.

Sabrina eased back into her chair, happy to hear a friendly voice. ‘It’s going wonderfully Ty, how are things with you?’ she answered, dipping the lid of her laptop so her screen would stop judging her. All isn’t one hundred per cent wonderful the screen shouted at her from its display of never-ending emails.

‘Good good, flower. I need a favour,’ Tyler said, causing Sabrina to sit up. She would do anything for Tyler, he had done so much for her – giving her her first big break all those years ago during the Leeds music festival and keeping her sane while working for Jones Records.

‘Of course, anything,’ she replied enthusiastically, covering her phone-free ear with her hand so she could hear him better.

‘There’s this band currently on the market for a record deal and well, my label wants to snap them up. I would be their golden boy if by chance I was able to sweeten up their manager and get them in for a meeting,’ Tyler said.

Sabrina suddenly felt deflated that without her contacts at Jones Records, she might not be able to help her friend. She didn’t reply straight away but let out a small sigh, trying to think of a plan.

A few moments passed by as Sabrina racked her brain, ready to break the news to Tyler that she was unable to take her contact list with her.

‘Bri, are you still there? Bri, I’m talking about you!!’ Tyler exclaimed with a bark of a laugh which Sabrina could see in her mind. He often threw his head back when something tickled him. She palmed her forehead and blinked back to reality.

‘Gosh Tyler, my brain is totally frazzled going through all these emails and phone calls, not to mention packing up my apartment. I was away with the fairies,’ she said and let out an embarrassed laugh. ‘Forgive me.’

‘Nothing to forgive hon. You’re a doll. So, what do you say?’ The excitement in Tyler’s voice picked up again, laughter still light in his words.

Sabrina sat on the edge of her seat, going over what Tyler had offered and trying to compute it. When her brain clicked, she gasped, almost knocking her cupcake to the floor with her knee and getting a few strange looks and the odd smile from the other occupants of the café.

‘Yes, Tyler. Oh wow, that would be incredible. Yes, thank you,’ she expressed, with sheer surprise and delight in her tone. Tyler’s record label, City Heights Records, had done a fantastic job with Tyler’s career thus far and more importantly than that, Tyler was extremely happy there, which spoke volumes for them in Sabrina’s eyes.

‘Amazing Bri. So, when can you round up the troops?’ Tyler queried, making Sabrina gulp.

‘How soon are we talking?’ she asked, a slight wobble in her voice. She picked up her pen and tapped it anxiously against her notebook.

‘They were thinking the day after tomorrow. You know what it’s like hon, the ride never stops.’

‘Okay, I’ll see what I can do. Thank you so much for this Ty. I owe you one. In fact, I probably owe you like three now,’ she said, making Tyler guffaw again.

They said their goodbyes and Sabrina immediately looked to her calendar, having promised to send Tyler a time for the meeting. It shouldn’t be too difficult, she hoped. Dan was due back from England late tomorrow evening anyway, and she would just have to message Dylan and James and hope she wasn’t interrupting any important family events and that they could fly back tomorrow too. And Levi, well she could just tell Levi the great news when she got home later that day. The excitement bubbling in her stomach tripled with that thought.

Ingredients:

Flour

Ground almonds

Butter

Slivered almonds

Eggs

Sugar

Pretty sure Nanna adds a dash of some liquor (ask her what it is)

What to do:

Next time write it down, might be a nice one for blog, and not everyone can read your mind.

The smell of almond crema pasticcera lingered in the air, mixing with the rich espresso that Louisa and Giulia had indulged in over lunch. Louisa could eat one after another and she didn’t think she would ever tire of the sweet and crunchy pastry filled with the most flavourful crema she had ever tasted. Compared to her often-rushed lunches when working back in England as a receptionist, lunchtimes with Giulia here in Italy were like a long weekend. All work was put aside while the focus was placed on the meal they were about to enjoy.

Sometimes they ventured out for lunch, other times Luca, Louisa’s boyfriend and Giulia’s brother, would whisk Louisa away for a lunchtime adventure, and then other times Giulia and Louisa would set up a picnic in the office, concocting an array of antipasti with fresh meats and breads they picked up from Giulia’s family pasticceria in the morning before their ten-to-fifteen-minute commute to Amalfi from Orzoro. It could take longer when the summer season kicked in, due to the coaches and buses carrying tourists from town to town and fighting over the narrow spaces on the mountain sides. It was one of Louisa’s favourite times of the day and made her love her job even more.

It had been a month since her sisters and parents had gone back to England after the holidays and staying in Italy had been a dream thus far; though she had to admit there were days when she missed her sisters terribly. She couldn’t help but think of Amanda as the thought of what tomorrow’s lunch would bring danced around in her mind. Right now her big sister would no doubt be mulling over menus for her café. There was scarcely a time when Amanda wasn’t thinking of food; she’d been dreaming up menus since she was a child. Louisa shook her head. She shouldn’t be thinking about food right now; she had actual work to do, if she could call it that.