The Heavenly Italian Ice Cream Shop (8 page)

He picked up his tablet and opened a page. ‘Since we talked, I’ve been looking at a couple of places for rent on the Amalfi coast.’

Anna leaned closer to him on the sofa, full of anticipation and also slightly nervous. This Italy plan was moving on already – from a chat to something more concrete.

‘So this one really stood out,’ Matteo said, his eyes bright with enthusiasm.

Anna looked over the details in the ‘For Rent’ advert. It was an established gelateria in one of Sorrento’s most popular squares, housed in a handsome stone building with an apartment above.

‘I like the look of it,’ Anna said.

‘The owners are retiring – so they’re looking for someone to rent the place for six months. After that – well, it would be up to us, but I wonder if there might be an option to buy it. Look at the photos, Anna. It could be really special, I think.’

She looked over the images of the interior – black-and-white marble floor and glass cabinets full of gelato. ‘Actually, it is a bit gorgeous, isn’t it?’ Anna said. ‘A little old-fashioned, perhaps, but we could work with that.’

‘I’m sure we could do a few things with the décor, and, of course, if we ended up buying it, we’d have free rein on that.’

‘I think I can picture us there,’ Anna said. She imagined them running the place, and her own positive feelings surprised her.

‘Let’s call them,’ Matteo said decisively. ‘Make it happen.’

‘Hang on a minute,’ Anna said. ‘We don’t want to rush into this. All we’ve seen is a couple of photos.’

‘OK. Sorry. Maybe I am getting a bit carried away.’

‘I like that you’re excited – it’s just, it all feels like a bit of a leap in the dark right now,’ Anna said. ‘A bit more information would go a long way. I wish we were a little closer by, so that we could go and see it for ourselves.’

Matteo seemed to be mulling it over. ‘Why don’t we ask Carolina to go and have a look?’

Anna thought about it for a moment. She trusted Carolina’s opinion completely – the two women had similar taste, and Carolina was smart with good business sense. They’d clicked from the moment they’d first met, and Anna often felt that, if Carolina lived nearer, the two of them would have been good friends.

‘I’d love it if she could go and view the place. But it’s a long way for her to travel, isn’t it?’ Anna said.

‘She loves a road trip. And she was saying the other day that she could do with a break from Siena. Filippo’s been away for work a lot lately and she says the house feels too big with just her in it.’

‘OK, great. It would certainly give us more of an idea.’

‘I’ll talk to her now,’ Matteo said, getting to his feet.

It was all starting to feel more real – a genuine possibility that she and Matteo might be giving up their lives in Brighton.

‘Are you all right?’ Matteo asked.

‘Sort of,’ Anna said. ‘But sort of not. I mean, what about this place?’ she asked, gesturing to the flat. ‘I saved up for years for it. And now what? We rent it to strangers?’

‘I’m sure we could find someone who’d look after it. A friend of a friend maybe.’

Anna recalled how she’d felt in the days leading up to the opening of the ice cream shop – the meetings in banks, the nagging doubts that she might be making a huge mistake. It had been a really stressful time in her life. Was she really willing to enter into that uncertainty all over again so soon, and now, when they had their young daughter to think about?

‘Shall I still call her?’ Matteo asked.

This was her chance, Anna thought. She could still back out.

Then she thought again about Vivien’s. OK, so setting up the business hadn’t been easy, but without a doubt it had been one of the best decisions she’d ever made.

‘Call her,’ Anna said, excitement building. ‘Let’s find out if this shop is the one.’

Carolina’s face – her tanned skin and large brown eyes – filled the screen of Matteo’s tablet and she spoke animatedly. ‘I’ve just had a very quick look and a chat to the current owners,’ she said. Behind her was a sun-drenched square, with pretty stone buildings. ‘But look at this place.’ She panned round with her tablet’s camera so that they could see the town. ‘I think you are going to love it.’

There was something contagious about Carolina’s enthusiasm. Anna had warmed to her sister-in-law from their first meeting, in her family’s gelateria in Siena. Back then she’d been working as a graphic designer, busy but never hesitating to linger over a coffee or ice cream with friends and family. She had come over to England at Christmas with her parents, Elisa and Giacomo, but had stayed fairly quiet during the visit. Carolina’s husband Filippo had been busy with the business and hadn’t been able to make it.

‘So the owners are getting ready to retire. It seems like it would be a fantastic opportunity for you to put your own mark on the place.’

‘Great,’ Matteo said, the excitement in his voice echoing his sister’s.

‘It’s only a short walk from the coast, and it’s a proper old-fashioned gelateria, well loved in the town. And the Amalfi coast . . . Well, I had the most fantastic drive down here. Matteo, you already know it – but Anna, you’ll need to take my word for it. It’s totally spectacular.’

Anna pictured the place, Bella playing in the sunshine on the picturesque Amalfi coast, rather than stuck indoors on one of the many rainy days like this one.

‘Anyway, follow me,’ Carolina said. Holding her tablet up, she showed them the front of the shop, with a pretty balcony with tall wooden shutters above it. ‘Look up there – the apartment comes with the shop, and it’s two bedrooms, so there’d be plenty of room for all of you. There’s this outside area.’

She panned round to show a few tables and chairs in the square, and then revealed a fountain in the middle, with children playing around it. ‘And inside . . .’ She pushed open the glass door, and Anna could hear her talking to the owners in Italian, explaining what she was doing. ‘You’ve got all of this space out the front, and then a good kitchen . . .’

Anna took in the traditional décor – some stylish but a lot of it tired, and she felt a wave of excitement about doing it up.

Carolina showed the tables, full of people enjoying their weekend ice creams. ‘You’ll have the existing customer base, with room to build on that – and this is winter, of course. Your plan is to come out for the summer, isn’t it?’

Matteo and Anna looked at each other, and he waited for her answer.

‘Yes,’ Anna said, nodding. ‘That’s right.’

‘Just the summer?’ Carolina asked.

‘Well, maybe longer,’ Anna said.

‘Really?’ Matteo said hopefully.

‘We’ll need to stay long enough to make the investment worthwhile, won’t we?’ Anna said. The thought still unnerved her, but it excited her too.

Chapter 8

Imogen sipped from a bottle of Sol, her gaze drifting out to the seagulls that were swooping down on to the pebbles, hoping to find a discarded chip wrapper. She and Finn were sitting at a bar down by the arches, after he’d closed the surf school.

‘How did it go today?’ Finn asked her.

She looked back at him, feeling bad that she’d drifted off. ‘It was OK. Lauren’s offered to give me some assistant work on some of her shoots, weddings, kids’ photography sessions. It’ll help pay the bills.’

‘That’s good,’ he said. He noticed the look on her face. ‘Isn’t it?’

‘Yes.’ She shrugged. ‘I guess. I mean work is work. But I just thought . . .’ She tried to fight back the feelings of disappointment. ‘It’s assistant work. It feels like a bit of a backwards step, to be honest. I thought I’d be out in Brazil now, putting together photos for the book, and instead I’m going to be here, helping Lauren take photos of people’s weddings and babies.’

‘It won’t be for ever,’ Finn said. ‘And at least it’s photography.’

‘I know. I’m being impatient,’ she said. ‘I just thought, after New York, you know, all of those photos getting sold. I thought I was going to get somewhere.’

‘You
are
somewhere,’ Finn said. ‘You’re just not quite where you want to be yet, that’s all. Anything worth having takes time.’

‘I thought I’d already put in that time, back when we first got together – and now I feel like I’m treading water,’ she said. She felt frustrated. She was stuck here on the south coast while there was a whole world to explore.

‘Look, I know it’s not the Amazon,’ Finn said, ‘but how would you like a break away this weekend, a change of scene?’

‘I don’t know. I should probably be saving . . . I don’t know what work’s coming in for the next few months.’

‘Don’t worry about that,’ Finn said. ‘I’ve got some savings. It would be good to spend some time together, just the two of us. It feels like ages since we did that.’

‘OK,’ Imogen said, brightening at the thought. ‘Let’s do it.’

‘This weekend?’

‘Do you really have to ask?’ She laughed. ‘I haven’t got any plans for the rest of the year.’

That Saturday night Imogen and Finn were out in the New Forest, in a cosy log cabin, by an open fire. There were no other houses for miles around, and the evening was still and quiet. That day they’d gone horse riding together, the rest of the world disappearing for a while as they galloped through the trees. The owner of the cabin, a kind man in his midforties, had come and helped them saddle up, then left them to it. They’d come home to a fully packed fridge and cooked up chicken with roast vegetables, dining by the fireside and drinking wine before retiring to the sofa, where they were now sitting.

‘What a perfect day,’ Imogen said, leaning back into the sofa, content and tired. ‘That was just what I needed.’

‘It was great, wasn’t it?’ Finn said.

‘Thank you for arranging it,’ she said. She curled in closer to Finn, and kissed him. He stroked her hair back gently.

‘I love you,’ he said. ‘And I thought you looked like you could do with some cheering up.’

‘You were right.’

‘It’s just a bump in the road,’ he reassured her.

‘I know. I’m sure it won’t be long till I get something new. Lauren’s got me signed up to help with a wedding next week, and I’ve already heard about a couple of leads that sound promising – one thing in Nepal. With any luck, I’ll be away again in no time.’

‘Do you need to be in quite such a hurry?’ Finn asked, with a half-smile.

‘Of course not,’ she said, flippantly. ‘Don’t take it that way.’

‘It’s hard not to, sometimes.’

‘Oh, come on,’ she teased him, light-heartedly.

‘I’m serious,’ he said, his tone changing. ‘Would it be all bad, having a bit of time over the summer together? You’ve been working back-to-back projects for almost a year now.’

‘You know how it is,’ Imogen said. ‘If inspiration hits – or I get a good commission – I can’t miss it.’

‘I do – and I completely respect that you’re passionate about what you do. It’s one of the things I love most about you. But, at the same time, I wonder if this might also be an opportunity for you to take your foot off the gas for a bit. Maybe this is selfish of me – but sometimes I wouldn’t mind seeing just a bit more of you.’

His expression was calm but serious, and she realised that it wasn’t the time for off-the-cuff replies any more.

‘OK. I guess I see what you mean,’ she said. ‘And I’d like to see you more. If I had the choice . . .’

‘But don’t you?’ he asked, gently. ‘Don’t you have that choice, right now?’

‘Why are you saying all this? You just want me to stay here in England, taking safe little photos, living a safe little life . . .’

‘Of course I don’t,’ Finn said, shaking his head. ‘That’s not what I mean at all. I just happen to be in love with you, Imogen. And I’d like it if we got to see each other more.’

‘When you talk like this’ – her heart raced – ‘it all makes me feel tied down.’

‘When I say that I’d like to spend a bit of time with you now and then, in between your travels?’

‘Yes,’ she said, hotly. ‘It makes me feel trapped.’

‘God, Imogen! Do you know what you sound like?’ She glanced down at the floor. ‘You’re not the only one in this relationship. I’m not trying to stop you doing anything you want. I just want us to think about the future, how we could try and find a bit more balance. Is that really such a bad thing?’

Chapter 9

Since Anna had seen the shop in Italy, it seemed as if one thing after another was starting to fall into place. She and Matteo had put down a deposit on it that week, with a six-month commitment starting in May. A friend of Anna’s from her old marketing job had been in touch looking for a place to rent in Brighton and was interested in her flat. Anna felt much better about the idea, knowing that their home wouldn’t be lived in by strangers, but by someone she knew and trusted. The only issue that remained was whom to entrust the ice cream shop to.

Anna was typing ideas into her iPad when Matteo joined her for their morning coffee.

‘So, how does this sound?’ she asked. ‘“A splash of English Eccentricity on the Italian shores. Come and taste our delicious port-and-Stilton sorbet, and mojito ice lollies!”’

As Anna had noted down some ideas for the sorbet menu that morning she’d felt a buzz of excitement at what lay ahead for them. Anna thought of the traditional Italian granita – the closest equivalent to the English sorbet, fresh and light with crunchy ice, weighed down deliciously with the fresh fruit flavours it carried. They would be producing those, of course – and Matteo was an expert at making them – but she also wanted to make the light, almost fluffy lemon sorbets of her youth, the tangerine sorbet her grandmother used to make her and Imogen, hidden away inside a real tangerine, appearing when you lifted the cut lid.

A whole summer out in Italy. And it now seemed as if that might just be the start.

‘You look excited,’ Matteo said, happily.

‘I am. Now that it’s taking shape, I really am. I know some of it’ll be challenging, but how amazing to have a new start, and, with the business here doing well, we can afford to take some chances and experiment with the Italian shop. It’s always paid off for us here, after all.’

‘Carolina is so happy that we’re going through with this. She says the shop’s pretty much ready to go, so there’ll just be a bit of admin to arrange when we arrive, but we can open up within the fortnight.’