‘I just want to see you settled, with your ducks all in a row.’
‘So do I… I think this time it’ll be different, though. This is my last adventure before serious life begins.’
‘It’s about time.’
‘I’ve worked hard to get here, Angus. I’m not going to let all that work on my law conversion go to waste.’
‘I hope not. It’s just not the first time I’ve heard you say that.’
‘I know, I know. But I’m determined this time. I am going to prove all you doubters wrong. In three months’ time, I’ll be a high-powered lawyer, working full time. You won’t recognise me!’
‘That’ll be the day!’ laughed Angus. ‘Little Libby all grown up in a power suit… I’ve been waiting for this for thirty years!’
They chatted for a while longer before Angus had to go and check on their dinner. ‘Right, I’d better go, I’m in the middle of cooking spag bol and it needs a bit of attention.’
‘Ooh yum, lucky Jules,’ said Libby. ‘Let’s speak soon?’
‘Definitely. Keep us updated and have the most wonderful time.’
‘Will do,’ said Libby, waving and blowing a kiss as she ended the call. There was nothing like speaking to your oldest friends to put a smile on your face. She felt so fond of them both.
Libby, Angus and Jules had all grown up together in a small town in Kent and had been the best of friends for as long as Libby could remember. Angus was a bit like a brother to her. He had always been extremely protective of her, and she knew she drove him mad with her spontaneity and her lack of stability as she jumped from one interest to another at the drop of a hat.
As she thought of them both sitting down for dinner, Libby wondered momentarily how her life might have turned out differently. What if she had been the one to marry Angus, not Jules. It had actually been Libby who had first kissed him, back in their mid-teens. He had taken her to one side one evening and told her how beautiful she was, how much he liked her. Then they had kissed on the beach. Libby had been far too shy to do anything about it, a characteristic that she had long since grown out of, and had pretended it had never happened the next time she saw him. Angus had been embarrassed about the whole incident, clearly, because he had never brought it up again either. They had never spoken about it, and before long Jules had decided she fancied him and that was that. She had made it very clear that he was hers, and Angus had never looked back. There had been several occasions where Libby had allowed herself to wonder what might have happened had she and Angus been the ones to start dating instead; how their lives might have worked out…
Both Angus and Jules had been a fantastic support throughout the stress of her law conversion. Angus in particular had seemed so proud of the hard work she had put in, despite the fact it had nearly killed her. She really felt as though she needed this break before starting the daily grind in the autumn. Having ended the call, Libby felt the pull of a nice cold beer enticing her.
Libby took a seat at the bar and waited for Luca to finish pouring a pint of Peroni for a customer. Music played softly from a sound system behind him. There were a few guests at the tables inside using the Wi-Fi on their phones and relaxing. Some people had taken their drinks outside to sit on the terrace under the canopy of stars that speckled the inky-black sky. The lights of several boats out at sea blinked dozily in the distance.
A couple of minutes later Luca came over. ‘What can I get you?’ he asked in heavily accented English accompanied by a winning smile.
‘A beer please,’ said Libby, answering in Italian.
‘Peroni? It’s the only one we have on tap.’
‘That would be great.’
‘So, you arrived this morning?’ asked Luca as he tilted a pint glass under the nozzle and pulled down on the lever.
‘Yes that’s right,’ said Libby. ‘Tomorrow is my first day. Have you worked here for long?’
‘A few years now, yes,’ explained Luca as he handed over her drink. ‘I moved away to Naples for a while but I missed the sea too much. I am Positanese born and bred; there is nowhere else for me but here. Maybe I am like a mermaid – I will shrivel up if I am out of the water too long!’
‘Perhaps a merman?’ laughed Libby. Luca nodded, realising his mistake. ‘Do you work here full time?’
‘Pretty much, especially during the summer months. I also design websites and do a bit of freelance graphic design during the day. But I like La Casetta, meeting lots of people, having lots of fun, you know?’ This last sentence was said with a very cheeky wink. Libby was fairly sure that she did know exactly what type of fun he was referring to.
Luca was exactly the kind of guy she had gone for in her twenties. The kind of guy she had completely sworn to avoid after one too many heartbreaks. They were great fun, these players, but in her experience it nearly always ended badly. Giulia’s warning rang in her ears. This time, she was determined to listen to her instincts. She would not flirt back. An Italian romance, though tempting, was not a sensible idea at this point in her life. Though the thought did cross her mind that it might help with practising her Italian…
‘Floriana told me that there was another girl who worked in the bar – Maria, was it?’
‘Yes Maria has a day off today, but she will be in tomorrow. We tag team so that the bar is always staffed and we are usually both here when it is busy at the weekends. So, Libby, what brings you here to Positano? Travelling?’
‘Kind of, I suppose. I’m here to practise my Italian, though your English is so good that I feel bad trying to use it on you!’
Luca immediately switched to Italian, ‘In that case from now on I shall speak only Italian to you.’
‘Thank you, that’ll be a great help,’ replied Libby in her best attempt to do the same. ‘In October I am starting a new job in a law firm, where I will be required to deal with Italian clients and colleagues from our Italian offices, hence the need for me to get in lots of practice. As you can probably tell, my Italian is a bit rusty!’
