‘It’s not every day you become an auntie,’ laughed Libby. ‘Where are they? I’m dying to meet little Archie.’
‘They’re in the bedroom,’ replied Henry, leading her down the corridor.
As Libby entered the room, her eyes filled with tears at the sight of Helen, plumped up with pillows and cradling her tiny newborn baby in her arms. Miriam was sitting on the bed next to her, gazing besottedly at her newest grandchild.
‘Oh my goodness Helen look at him – he’s adorable!’ Libby cried. ‘Congratulations!’
‘Libs, it’s so good to see you,’ Helen smiled. She looked exhausted but elated at the same time, clearly head over heels in love with her much longed-for little baby.
‘Darling,’ said Miriam, getting up to give her daughter a kiss. ‘Isn’t he perfect?’ she said.
Libby kissed Helen and stroked Archie’s impossibly soft cheek. ‘He’s tiny! I’d forgotten how small they are when they are born. Can I hold him?’
She picked up the tiny baby, as light as a feather, enjoying the feeling of him nuzzling into her shoulder as she caught up with Helen and Miriam. She found out all about the birth, and in turn told them all about their first month in Italy. They sat on the bed talking while Helen fed the baby, leaving her to doze when the baby slept, making themselves useful cooking and tidying up, doing loads of washing, and generally giving Henry and Helen a chance to rest. At night Libby stayed in the spare room while Miriam went back to John’s house.
The weekend flew by and, though she missed Izzy and Angus terribly, it was wonderful to spend some time with her family. She was already missing not being able to see them so regularly.
‘Please will you come and stay soon?’ Libby asked as she said her goodbyes.
‘We are planning on coming this August,’ Miriam said. ‘Is that OK?’
‘We’d love that! I doubt the guestrooms will be finished till the end of August, but we’ve got a spare room in the main part of the house which will be ready by then. We decided to prioritise our living quarters in terms of building work to make sure Izzy felt settled as quickly as possible. What about you, Hels? Do you think you’ll be able to come and stay with the baby?’
‘Maybe when he’s a little older?’ she said. ‘But definitely – try and stop us! I’m desperate to see it, it looks so beautiful.’
‘You’ll probably find it hard to get rid of us,’ added Henry, smiling.
‘Great… come and live nearby,’ Libby clapped her hands.
‘Oy… I can’t have both my daughters abandoning me!’ cried Miriam.
‘Don’t worry, Mum,’ laughed Helen. ‘Henry’s job is based here so we won’t be jumping ship any time soon.’
‘He’s going to be so big by the next time I see him.’ Libby was reluctant to leave her nephew. ‘Promise to FaceTime every day, and send me millions of photos please…’
As she got on the Tube back to Heathrow, she couldn’t help but smile. She was so happy for her sister. It was amazing how well things had worked out for her. Helen had come such an unbelievably long way since those dark days after breaking up with Alan. It felt like a huge weight off her shoulders that both her mother and her sister were so happy, and so well looked after by their other halves. Once again she thought about Angus. The possibility of him leaving her popped into her mind, of him meeting someone else… She couldn’t bear the thought. Her heart wrenched at the idea. She suddenly realised just how much she needed him. His smiling face, always so kind, so reliable, so even tempered, had become as familiar to her as her own daughter’s. She couldn’t imagine life at L’Albero di Limoni without him. She realised that she didn’t ever want to know what that would be like.
Back in Italy, the months of June and July flew by. Work on the barn was going ahead at full tilt and the house was nearly finished. Work was due to start on the guestrooms and they had an estimated completion date set for the end of August. The bed and breakfast was officially opening at the start of September. They had agreed to wait until the builders had left to ensure their guests could have uninterrupted nights. It had also given them plenty of time to get settled with Izzy before work began to take over their lives. The first bookings were starting to roll in through the website, which Luca had helped Libby and Angus revamp. They had started to make some local friends, inviting the odd couple around for a drink or a barbecue. Luckily most of them spoke English, but if not Libby translated for Angus. His Italian was getting pretty good. He had studied Spanish at school, which helped – the languages were so similar – and he was having regular Italian lessons too.
It felt to Libby as though they were settling in to their new life remarkably well. Miriam and John came out to visit, as promised, in August, as did Angus’s parents, his sister and her husband, along with their two children. It felt wonderful to be able to show the place off. They loved everyone’s reactions as they took them to the best beaches, the best trattorias, the best gelaterias. They drove them around the countryside exploring, had picnics and barbecues, and sampled the local wines. It gave them great pleasure to see their families looking so relaxed and so happy, so in awe of the new life that they had created for themselves. It made them realise just how lucky they were.
