Chapter Eighteen
In September, Luca and Libby set off for Italy, their suitcases stuffed to the brim. A large amount of baby paraphernalia was crammed into Libby’s hand luggage to help them survive the journey. They arrived in Naples in good time, and were greeted at the airport by Luca’s parents, Mario and Chiara, who were waiting with open arms to embrace their son, his fiancé and their baby granddaughter.
‘Oh my goodness, she’s so beautiful!’ cried Chiara. ‘More beautiful than in any of the photos.’ She hugged Libby and looked at her ring. ‘I can’t believe we haven’t seen you all for so long. Congratulations; so many congratulations! The engagement, the baby – we have so much to celebrate!’
‘Hello little granddaughter!’ said Mario, peering at Isabella’s sleeping face, content in her pram. ‘And Libby, it’s fantastic to see you too. We’re so happy to have you!’
‘We’ve got your bedroom ready. We’ve borrowed a cot from Antonia and it’s all set up waiting for you,’ said Chiara as she led them out to the car.
‘That’s so kind, Mamma, thank you,’ said Luca.
‘I’m so excited to get back to Positano,’ said Libby. ‘I have missed it all so much. London just doesn’t compare—’
‘You should move back,’ announced Mario, getting a shove from Chiara with a pointy elbow. ‘Sorry, sorry! I am under strict instructions not to put any pressure on you…’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever been away this long,’ said Luca. He seemed so happy to be back on home turf; it was clear just how much he had missed it, something Libby was only too aware of.
They piled into Mario’s car and set off along the coast, Izzy sleeping peacefully beside Libby. She had cried on and off for most of the flight, much to the irritation of their fellow passengers. Libby had been worried that the change in air pressure was hurting her ears, but she seemed to be fine now, so any discomfort must have only been temporary. Soon they were whizzing along the open roads, drinking in the scenery and chatting away, catching up on all of each other’s news. It felt amazing to be back. After about an hour they arrived at Mario and Chiara’s house. It was cool and spacious, with wonderful views overlooking the sea. They both ran to the balcony and gulped in huge lungfuls of sea air, feasting their eyes on the jewel-bright sparkling water, the pastel houses and the familiar backdrop of coastline that stretched as far as the eye could see. Luca hadn’t looked so happy all year… he whooped loudly and kissed Libby on the cheek, spinning her around in delight.
After a delicious lunch of cold meats, mozzarella and salad, Luca strapped Izzy to his back and they set off for the beach. As soon as they got down to the sea front, Luca wasted no time getting straight into the water. After he had had a good swim, they swapped over. Libby swam out into the deep water and turned back to look at the beach. She watched Luca with Izzy. He was so sweet with her. He bounced her on his lap, rubbed sun cream into her pale white skin and made sure she had enough shade, chatting away to her all the time. Later Chiara and Mario joined them. Mario’s hip was suffering after so many years of climbing up and down Positano’s steep steps; he could no longer get down to the beach that way without a great deal of pain, so Chiara and he took the bus to the centre instead and walked from there. The five of them spent a happy afternoon on the beach. Chiara and Mario were just as besotted with their granddaughter as their son was, and Libby had the luxury of a nap in the sun with so many willing babysitters to entertain her daughter.
The rest of Luca’s family were all meeting them that evening for dinner, as well as a few of his closest friends. Antonia and her husband Matteo were hosting the party because they had the biggest terrace and enough space to accommodate the whole group. Before arriving at Antonia’s, Luca and Libby dropped into La Casetta to see Floriana and Tonio and introduce them to Isabella. ‘It’s so good to see you!’ said Floriana, having given both Luca and Libby enormous hugs. ‘And this must be little Isabella?’
‘Yes it is,’ said Libby, unclipping her from the pram and passing her over to Floriana for a cuddle.
‘She is divine!’ Floriana cooed over the baby as they were joined by Giulia and Maria, both of whom greeted them warmly. It seemed Giulia had finally accepted Luca and Libby as a couple; perhaps the baby and engagement had convinced her that Luca wasn’t about to mess Libby around. Or maybe she had just moved on from whatever residual feelings she might have been harbouring. She seemed genuinely happy for them, and both Giulia and Maria were absolutely sweet with Isabella. Tonio cracked open a bottle of prosecco to toast the engagement and the baby.
‘To our first La Casetta marriage,’ he said, his blue eyes crinkling with happiness.
‘To Isabella,’ added Floriana.
‘She is beautiful,’ said Maria, as she bounced Izzy up and down on her hip. ‘Congratulations guys!’
It felt strange to be back at La Casetta after so long. Libby remembered the first time she had laid eyes on Luca on her very first day there. She would never have guessed she would end up marrying him. She remembered sitting in the bathroom next to her little bedroom doing the pregnancy test. Looking at Isabella now, it was so strange to think of how it all began. ‘It’s so weird to think how much we owe to this place,’ she said to Luca as they closed the yellow front door behind them.
‘Just imagine – if you had never taken the job here, we would never have even met!’ Luca kissed her. ‘Thank god you came into my life. Otherwise we would never have had you, would we?’ he said to Izzy, bending down and kissing her cheek as she sat in her pram looking quizzically up at him.
Luca pushed her up the hill to the main road and they continued walking further up the steep slope for a good twenty minutes or so, until they reached the steps that led down to Antonia and Matteo’s. Luca carefully carried the pram down the precariously steep steps. Not for the first time, Libby realised what a nightmare it would be living in Positano with a baby.
There was a huge cheer as they opened the door and came inside the house. All of the family were gathered together, a noisy gaggle of a party that appeared to be in full swing already, with the prosecco and beer flowing. Izzy was swept into a tide of hugs and passed from one aunty or uncle to another. Libby left them to it, always keeping half a watchful eye on her daughter to make sure she was all right.
‘Darling Libby, I have missed you so much,’ said Nicola. ‘This is Francesco,’ she introduced Libby to her new boyfriend, who seemed lovely and who also happened to be extremely good-looking. This was unsurprising considering how beautiful Nicola was. They made a very striking couple indeed. Luca came over to introduce himself to Francesco and the girls left them to chat. ‘No doubt Luca wants to give him a good grilling,’ laughed Libby.
‘I’m sure he’ll want to make sure he is up to his exacting standards!’ agreed Nicola. She caught Libby up on all the local gossip. Antonia and Giovanna soon came bustling over to join the conversation, keen not to miss out on a moment of their future sister-in-law’s company.
They all enjoyed a culinary feast, courtesy of Matteo, who was a chef at a local restaurant. They had so many courses: starters, pasta, meat and pudding, that by the end Libby thought she might explode. Isabella had been well and truly worn out by all the new faces passing her around as though in a game of pass the parcel. She had gone to sleep without protest in Antonia’s spare room.
As they ate, Libby watched Luca from the opposite side of the table. Seeing him here made her realise that he just wasn’t quite himself in London. This version of Luca, so comfortable in his own skin and so relaxed in the company of his family and oldest friends, was the true Luca, the Luca that she had fallen in love with. It saddened her that he still wasn’t quite settled in the UK. There was something about being back home that suited him immensely. There was a new sparkle to his eyes, a spring in his step. He didn’t complain that often but it was obvious to her now just how much he missed being here. She vowed to herself that she would make more effort to come over. It was unfair on him to be away for too long. Selfishly she was worried that London would seem all the worse to Luca now that he had been reminded of just what he was missing. She hoped he wouldn’t struggle when they got home, especially now winter would be kicking in.
Libby was determined that they would enjoy their holiday to the hilt, and they certainly did, packing in as much as they could in the time that they had. They took Izzy to the beach every day; they ate long lunches and dinners at friends’ houses and in their favourite local restaurants; they went out on the boat several times with Gian Matteo, who was just as besotted by Izzy as the rest of Luca’s family. They gorged themselves on gelato, pasta and pizza, getting their fix of authentic Italian food while they had the chance, and they drank plenty of delicious local wines and prosecco. It was a blissful week – fun but also somewhat exhausting due to all the socialising with so many friends. A week later, they returned to London, nicely bronzed from the sun and a good few pounds heavier.
As the autumn progressed, Luca did seem a little down, as Libby had suspected he might. She could understand why. He seemed to retreat inside himself somewhat, withdrawing from her and frequently seeming lost in his thoughts. Libby had no idea what to do. She tried to get him to talk to her but it didn’t seem to help. She hoped that in time he would feel as happy in London as he did in Positano, but she had a sneaking suspicion that they would never quite match up in his eyes. Positano was one of the most beautiful places in the world; she couldn’t blame him for missing it. She missed it like crazy herself and she had only lived there for a few months. For Luca it was well and truly home.
That December they flew back to Italy for the run-up to Christmas as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They then flew back home to Kent on Boxing Day to spend the rest of the festive period with Miriam, John and Helen. Henry was with his own family and Helen seemed lonely and a little lost without him. Having Isabella around did a lot to lift her spirits. Luca found it very hard to tear himself away from his family to board the flight back home. He would clearly rather have stayed in Positano, but Libby had insisted that Miriam should be allowed to share in some of Izzy’s first Christmas too.
‘Did you know that John’s sister-in-law lives in your area of Italy, Luca?’ Miriam asked as they all sat enjoying a feast of cold meats and jacket potatoes on Boxing Day.
‘Really?’ asked Luca. ‘Whereabouts?’
