‘Oh my god I can’t even look at that tan, turn off the video! Turn itoff!’ shrieked Jules, laughing, as Libby came into focus on her screen.
‘Hi Jules! Nice to see you too,’ she chuckled.
‘How are you my love? We miss you so much.’
‘I miss you guys too.’
‘Are you there? Did you make it in one piece?’
‘Yup, I arrived at around midday, found the hostel OK. It is so cute, just like the photos on TripAdvisor.’
‘What about Positano? Is it as amazing as you remembered?’
‘Better!’ said Libby. ‘There are no words to describe it, seriously. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to, and I cannotbelieveI’m going to spend three months here. What a joke!’
‘Total bliss. How’s the Italian? Are you fluent again yet?’
‘It’s not bad – some of the accents down here are quite tricky to understand. Some of the older generation slip into local dialect at times, so there’s no way I will be able to understand that, but on the whole I’m doing pretty well. It’s amazing how it comes back to you so quickly.’
‘Like riding a bike,’ said Jules.
‘Exactly! I’ve been trying to avoid speaking English where possible, though obviously with the guests being mostly foreign, I expect my English is probably one of the main reasons why Floriana hired me.’
‘That’s OK, I reckon you’ll be fine so long as you always speak Italian to the locals. Have you got any mates yet?’
‘Hardly! I’ve only been here five minutes.’ Lowering her voice so as not to be overheard she added, ‘There are some people around my age working here too, so that should be fun. So far I’ve met a girl called Giulia who works on reception, and a guy called Luca who is the barman.’
‘Hot?’
‘Very. But I think he knows it a little too well, if you get what I mean!’
‘Typical Italian stallion, hey?’ laughed Jules.
‘Exactly. Anyway, how are things with you?’ asked Libby. Jules had recently been promoted within her firm.
‘Not bad. Busy at work at the moment, which isn’t great. I’m still struggling to cope with the new workload.’
‘Poor you. Hopefully it will ease up as time goes on.’
‘I doubt it…’ Jules said mournfully.
‘How’s Angus?’ Libby was slightly hesitant to ask. They hadn’t been in touch these past few weeks, which was very unusual for them. The last time they had seen each other before she left, Angus had given her a tough talking-to. He had challenged her to get a grip on her life. He thought she was pretty useless and self-indulgent, and that it was high time she grew up and took control of herself, to use his words, ‘to start acting like an adult.’ He couldn’t believe she was setting off on yet another solo trip abroad and clearly thought her justification of learning Italian was just an excuse to avoid ‘real life’ for as long as possible.
‘He is very well; do you want to speak? He’s right here,’ said Jules.
‘I’d love to, pass him over.’
‘Mi amore!’ laughed Angus as he appeared on her screen. ‘It’s good to see you.’ She was relieved that he seemed to be acting normally. Perhaps he had missed her and was going to be nice.
‘You too! How are you? Hopefully you’re not missing me too much.’
‘Oh it’s all we talk about Lib,’ he chuckled. ‘So tell me about your travels so far. How’s it all going? Are you fluent in Italian once again? Ready for your new job?’ She knew it wouldn’t take him long to bring up the real world.
‘I am working on it, don’t worry. I don’t need another lecture, thank you very much.’
‘Look, Lib,’ Angus said, ‘I’m sorry if I upset you before you left. It’s only because I care.’
‘I know.’
