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‘My papa regrets leaving the hills of Sicily. He doesn’t say it in so many words but I can tell. He plays this hauntingly sad Italian music that reminds him of his mamma, God rest her soul. Moving here, he thought he’d being living this great British life. Everyone prospers here, or so he thought. And for a while Tony’s Pizzeria was popular. But like a lot of small businesses around here, things slowed down. Money became tight. We had to use cheaper ingredients for our pizzas and that’s one thing my papa doesn’t like doing; for him quality is everything. If he starts cutting corners, where does it end?
‘My biggest worry is that one day he’ll announce he’s returning to the homeland. But things are hard there too. Papa’s been sending money home to the family ever since I was little and I know he wishes he had more to share with them. That’s why I pushed him to update the pizzeria. Fuoco was my dream, but I did it for my papa. I thought that no one could resist a new pizzeria, modern furniture and an updated menu. But it backfired. People didn’t understand. Was this the same owner, why all the changes, why is the menu more expensive, where have their favourite menu items gone?
‘Oh, I cannot tell you how bad I felt when our grand opening was a bust. There were more staff in the kitchen than guests in the restaurant. I was queasy with worry. Had I made a huge mistake? Would Papa now leave? I only wanted to make him proud,show him that I knew what was needed in order for us to survive and be able to help more back home. I tried everything to get people through the doors. Buy one get one free pizza nights. Free home delivery. Complimentary focaccia. Five-pound children’s pizza. Live music Mondays. Nothing worked.
‘But then Finn did a write-up for theChronicle. He interviewed Papa and I. We told him our story, starting all the way back in those dusty hills in Sicily. Why Papa came here, what his dreams were, and how he trusted handing his beloved pizzeria over to me – the next generation with Sicilian fire in my blood. I talked about how our family always had to take chances to make a better future. How hard it was for my papa to leave his country in the hope things might be better here. And how disheartening that was when it looked like it would all fail, after so many years of work. What had we done, really, except update a tired old pizzeria. Even back in Sicily things change, but in Willow Grove they lay dormant for so much longer. Why? What is it about change that people are suspicious of? I felt so alone when we opened Fuoco and there was no support. I felt so abandoned by the locals.
‘Once the article published I held my breath and waited. I thought I’d die if nothing came of it. It didn’t take long. Within a few days our old customers returned. They hugged Papa and thanked him for sharing his food with them for so many years. They talked about the sacrifices he made to try for a better life and how lucky they were he chose Willow Grove to settle in. Some apologised, saying they didn’t know things were so bad, and they’d make sure to support us from now on because they didn’t want to lose us back to Italy. Soon, we had new faces too.I don’t know what the future holds, but Papa has stopped playing that sad old music. He’s back to pickling olives. Telling me I’m not using enough yeast in the dough. And that’s how I know he’s happy, that he doesn’t regret leaving Sicily. But he misses it. And he always will.’
Chapter 25
I get dropped off at Astor News in the hopes of catching Teddy. It feels like the longest Friday ever, going from the quiet of Willow Grove to the bustle of London, all in one day. I’m not ready to see my parents yet but I want to check in with my brother and ask him about how Dad’s health is. I peek in on a meeting where he’s taking centre stage. Teddy looks like the corporate dynamo he’s always wanted to be, in his dapper suit, wearing his charming smile. All eyes are on him, their expressions rapt as if he’s a god, and instinctively I know he’s where he’s meant to be. None of the staff have ever stared at me like that because my heart wasn’t in it, not like Teddy’s is. Before too many people see me, I try to sneak out to go wait in his office but as I close the door, someone behind me taps me on the shoulder.
It’s Dinesh from finance, one of the happiest people I’ve ever worked with. He’s forever smiling and has a wicked sense of humour. ‘Oh wow, Ellie, the ashram totally agreed with you. You look … great!’
I know he’s lying because I spent the better part of the hour’s cab drive in tears. ‘You even lie with a smile, Dinesh. That’s quite a skill.’
He waves me away. ‘So how was it? Are you enlightened?’
The tears threaten to start again. It’s Dinesh being nice to me and pretending all is well because he’s too polite to point out the obvious. Will the tears ever stop? What if I never set foot in Willow Grove again? Never see Harry, Sofia, Alfie and Pete. ‘Enlightened is now my middle name,’ I say. ‘I’ll fill you in soon. I’m coming off a red-eye – that’s why I look so shocking. Can you tell Teddy I’m in his office when the meeting is over?’
‘Sure, sure, when you’re back on track let’s catch up for dinner.’
‘I’d love to.’
It seems inevitable that I’ll have to return to Astor, if only for my family’s sake. But it’ll have to be on my terms. I’ll insist Teddy is to take the helm if this promised retirement is to take place, and if not that he take my previous role and I then answer to him. He’s clearly proved himself capable, like I knew he would. But being back here leaves me cold under the fake brightness of the fluorescent lights, the stale recycled air. Back in this hectic city with its wildly fast pace. It’s so different to the sleepy, relaxed atmosphere of Willow Grove where everyone takes time to stop and have a chat. The town became a better version of itself after secrets were shared and apologies accepted. And that’s all down to the people who live there.
Sneaking into my old office, I turn my phone on and it goes haywire with alerts. There’s text messages and missed calls from so many Willow Grove residents. Is Finn’s exposé out already? Surely even he couldn’t work that fast, unless he’s been writing the article about me the whole time? I check theChroniclesocial media pages;there’s no new posts on any of them. I google my name. Nothing.
I flick back through the texts, looking for clues to how they all know but they’re all same versions of the same thing.
Come back, Elodie!
We need you!
You’re part of this town now and forever. We don’t care who you are or who you were because we know the real you!
How could Finndothis to me?
I keep scrolling until I find one from the man himself. It reads:I need to see you. I delete it. Before texting Teddy to let him know I’m in his office in case Dinesh didn’t catch him.
JO
‘Honestly, I didn’t think the People Library idea would work for Alfie. But I wanted to let him try. I’m fully aware that I have to let go of the reins a little but it’s so hard when people aren’t always nice. You can think a person’s nice and then they’ll show their true colours by making an off-the-cuff comment like:You should teach your son some manners,when Alfie doesn’t engage when spoken to. That sort of stuff makes my blood boil and I’m always ready to go on the attack for Alfie.
‘Straight away, I knew Elodie was one of the good ones. There was something really genuine about her. Alfie was busy telling her that her hair colour washed her out and she laughed it off but not in a fake way – like she really truly thought it was hilarious. That made me trust her, and I don’t trust easily. She has Alfie’s best interests at heart. Alfie warmed to her immediately.He didn’t stop raving about her for the first entire week – she got him some shark posters and gave him his very own library cubicle. Like, who does that? Just instinctively know what he needs? Not many people, that’s for sure. It made me happy Alfie has someone here to watch over him. I’m especially careful where Alfie’s concerned but having both Elodie and Maisie here makes things better for our little family of two.
‘It’s just us, you see. I’m not sure if you’ve heard Alfie talk about his deadbeat dad? You have? Well I’m not going to apologise for that. Heisa deadbeat. He left us early on and never looked back. But he’s the one missing out. Alfie is the best kid in the world, despite the fact he’s constantly blabbing about things I say in private. I used to find it mortifying when he’d spill one of my secrets, things I said on the phone or to friends not knowing he’d hear. But my little man has super sonar hearing so I’ve learned to keep my lips zipped unless I want all and sundry to hear. He doesn’t mean any harm by it and these days I find it amusing. I guess I’m so used to it. When he told a woman at the bus stop her stockings made her skin look like KFC chicken, I couldn’t help but laugh. He’s right; they did. She had a go at me about raising a boy without manners, that old chestnut, but how can you explain when they go on the attack like that? I want to yell and scream, don’t be such a judgey McJudgeface!
‘But Alfie doesn’t like it when I fire back. Instead, I wrap my arms around him and tell him he’s the best boy in the world and his manners are impeccable. I always want to reassure him, it’s nothimwho needs to change, it’s them. I hope he never changes because he’s perfect just the way he is. Sorry, I don’t mean to cry.It’s hard talking about him without getting emotional. I’m so damn proud of him, that’s all. I know all mums are proud of their kids, but Alfie has had so many things thrown at him, and he wakes up every day with a smile on his face and sees the good in people. We could all be a little more like Alfie in my humble opinion.’
Chapter 26
‘You’re really here!’ Teddy says, standing at the door of his office. ‘What made you come back so soon? I thought you needed extra time to submit the funding paperwork?’
I step around his question and say, ‘I’m in awe of you, Teddy! I peeked in on your meeting. You had their full attention. Let me tell you right now, they never looked at me with such open adoration. You’re doing something right.’
He gives me a rueful smile and comes in and sits opposite me. ‘You’re back now though, so I guess that means you’ll take over once again.’
