Karen Aldous - Under a Tuscan Sky

Olivia gasped with delight, and she felt Alberto grinning at her reaction. Together, they soaked in the setting sun and its reflection on the Arno river.

‘This is beautiful,’ she said smiling up at him amid the glowing saffron hues. ‘Simply stunning. And an extremely pleasant end to what’s been quite an emotional day.’

‘Good, I am pleased it’s distracting you. The whole city is captivating; I never tire of it. Visitors should always return in the evening. It is special, but they go home after the museums close and miss the evening atmosphere. On Thursday, I’ll take you to see the Duomo. Tonight, we’ll eat and forget everything else,’ he told her.

‘I have an appointment with the cabinet restorer on Thursday morning, but I’m free in the afternoon.’

‘ Magnifico! We can come in the evening again too. You know, you are driving me crazy and I cannot work very well. I keep thinking about you.’

Feeling the heat in her cheeks, she raised her head, lost for words. He was so easy and comfortable to be around, as though they’d been friends for ever. Wouldn’t this be the perfect opportunity to admit to him how crazy he made her feel? Or would that turn him off? Finally she said, ‘I’m flattered but I wouldn’t want to be responsible for making your business suffer.’

‘I’m hoping all this adrenaline you’re creating will make me function on a higher level; hopefully it will speed me up, lift my spirits as well as my business. Being around art helps too. If something captures my imagination, I’m completely fired up.’ Alberto stopped in the Piazza della Signoria, holding her near. He tilted his head and held her gaze for a few seconds. He stroked her face and pecked her lips gently before cupping her face. ‘I am flattered you want to spend time with me, but as soon as you’re ready, I would love my family to meet you too. I’ve already told them all about you.’

Olivia’s face drained of colour. This was too soon. ‘Well, I’m not ready yet.’

‘No, of course.’ He took her hand. ‘Come, we’re nearly there.’

The instant she walked in the door, a bouquet of herbs combined with tomato and cheese streamed to her nostrils. Peering around the high-beamed ceiling of what was a compact space, and noting a mixed display of old photographs and art on the wall, Olivia followed the waiter to a table at the rear of the Osteria Restaurant. It appeared to be the only free table, which she considered a good sign, observing the smiles and laughter around the small room. A light, warm aura danced in the air.

‘For you,’ the waiter sashayed before her, extending an arm out to a chair.

‘ Grazie mille, Tommaso ,’ Alberto said. ‘ Magnifico .’

Right behind them another waiter appeared with two chilled glasses of sparkling Prosecco, which he placed on the table in front of them.

Tommaso handed them each a menu and expanded the choices with the night’s specials.

Olivia listened, trying to make up her mind from the delicious choices. Although relaxed and impressed by the intimate ambience of the restaurant, her limbs continued to tremble in Alberto’s presence and her stomach didn’t feel readily receptive to digestion.

Alberto lifted his glass as the waiter handed them their menus. ‘May I suggest the Osso buco.’ He kissed his bunched fingers. ‘The veal is braised with love and vegetables. It is amazing, especially with the local Chianti.’

‘Sounds wonderful, so long as I just have the zucchini salad starter and not pasta,’ she told Alberto, mesmerized by his hugely seductive eyes.

‘It’s an excellent choice,’ he said as the waiter took their order, then reaching out for her hand, he caressed her fingers. ‘Oh, you began to tell me about the furniture you want to restore. It sounds interesting.’

Trying to focus on his question, rather than his eyes and his touch, Olivia imagined Nonna’s bridal chest in her mind’s eye. She explained to Alberto how it had enthralled her for so many years, not only because it was a beautiful item and a bridal chest, but because since those early years – when her nonna had shown her the linen and lace – it had been permanently locked. This made it mysterious too, as when she had persistently asked Nonna for the key, Nonna told her it was lost.

She then told him of her plans to bring it back to its former glory. ‘It’s intricately carved but still has a rustic charm, which I think would sit perfectly at the bottom of my bed in my bedroom at home, and considering it must be over a hundred and fifty years old, it’s in pretty good nick.’

Alberto’s eyes twinkled. ‘I think so, yes. It is very good idea. And you’ll need to fill it with beautiful things for our future. Olivia, I’ve never met anyone quite like you. You must sense how I feel already. I really believe I’m in love with you. In fact, we should get married. Will you marry me?’

Clutching her chest with one hand as if trying to slow her heartbeat, Olivia blushed. Surely he didn’t mean it. She suddenly felt like Cinderella: one minute sweeping and scrubbing old floor tiles and boards and the next, meeting and possibly marrying her handsome prince. Alberto was a huge contrast to the other men she’d met. Nonna must have been guiding her to him. They seemed the perfect match. She adored him too, but whether that was love, she couldn’t tell. She needed to play it cool; however, she didn’t want to scare him off.

‘But we hardly know one another. I need time. Do you usually propose to women so fast?’

Looking down at her hand and swiping her fingers with the thumb of one hand, he twisted his mouth and pursed his lips. ‘I never propose to women. I’ve only now proposed to you, Olivia,’ he told her. With his other hand clenched against his breastbone, he fixed his eyes back on her. ‘It is here that I know: you are the one. Be sure, one day I will take your hand.’

Ill-prepared for such a mammoth revelation and wondering if this amazing man was for real, Olivia picked up her wine glass and glugged wine nervously. Their plates still seemed full. Neither could finish the sumptuous meal but Olivia finished the last drops of the fine Chianti wine Alberto had chosen and wiped her brow.

‘Is it me or is it hot in here?’ She grabbed her water glass.

‘It is hot. We can get gelato in the street. I’ll get the bill and we’ll take a walk. It is cooler out there now and darker. Florence is so magnificent at night. It will charm you.’

‘Fresh air and a stroll around Florence – what more can a woman want? As lovely as it is here, I think the wine has gone to my head.’ Olivia, feeling thoroughly spoiled, poured herself another glass of chilled water as Alberto paid the bill.

***

Olivia couldn’t recall such a blissful evening. Alberto was enchanting and answered many of her questions about his life and career. She learned that he was an excellent scholar and entered university at the Design School in Milan a year earlier than most, having completed his secondary education before any of his classmates.

Then, spurred on by his professors, he completed his masters with distinction, knowing exactly where he was heading with his own electric car designs. He was vehemently determined they would be as eco-friendly as he could make them.

He had investors and family opening their wallets before he was twenty, and after many trials and tribulations he’d had to overcome, like any worthwhile endeavour she imagined, he’d created one of the most successful electric cars on the European and world markets. A reputation he was currently building on.

‘Your parents must be so proud,’ Olivia said, catching her breath as they climbed a hill.

‘Yes, but they installed the genes and I suppose the drive. My sisters and brother are very hardworking too. One of my older sisters is a lawyer, a partner specializing in family law; the other is rising to the board of a bio-pharmaceutical company specializing in cancer and oncology drugs. They both have beautiful children and my mamma helps with the childcare. My younger brother is following in my father’s footsteps. He’s into econometrics, or economic statistical methods to you and me. He’s now a director for a bank and an adviser on its supervisory board. He is getting married next year.’