Rose considered the question. Did she want to share? Was she giving away too much insight into her life? Then again, she doubted Aurora meant any harm; she was just being friendly, getting to know the family guest. ‘I’ve had a few,’ Rose admitted. If you counted going out on sixty dates with someone as serious. Which was entirely dependent on how good the dates were. Not very, it had turned out.
For an uncomfortable moment, Rose caught herself hoping Aldo couldn’t read her mind before she dismissed the notion. He obviously wasn’t real.
‘A few?’ the older woman queried, leaning forward, still balancing Coco’s carrier on her lap.
‘Yes,’ she said tentatively, breathing in the scent of cherries. ‘I mean, I haven’t found the one yet. But I know what I want, and I believe in taking relationships one day at a time. There’s no hurry. That just leads to chaos and bad decisions.’ Something she knew a lot about. Did she sound defensive? Rose schooled her expression into one of tranquillity.
Aurora nodded and her attention drifted back to Ben. ‘Sì.’ Her forehead scrunched. ‘But sometimes taking things slowly leads to mistakes anyway.’
‘Aunt A,’ Ben warned, and Rose wondered what she was trying to say.
Had Ben got himself into a bad relationship and been hurt? She studied his profile, but his expression remained blank. It was unlikely a man like him would take love seriously enough for that.
Aurora shrugged. ‘You have –’ She waved a palm and put her other hand on Coco’s carrier to stop it from toppling. ‘– rules?’ The skin on her forehead smoothed as she found the correct word. ‘Forgive me. Sometimes, I don’t understand everything I’m being asked. My English is good, but Aldo’s is not and he’s trying to stick with it for you.’
‘There’s no need,’ Rose muttered. It’s not like she could hear what he was supposedly saying.
But how did the older woman know about her rules? Rose frowned. Perhaps Ben had mentioned something when they’d been speaking in Italian? She nodded. That made sense.
‘The word rules is correct,’ she said as the car got to the end of the narrow street and continued onwards, finally leaving the buildings behind. Rose felt her chest release as they headed upwards, into the hills, in the direction of the mountains wherethe cars surrounding them gradually thinned. Perhaps Aldo’scut shorthad been a good idea? She let herself relax another notch.
‘Tell me about them,’ Aurora said as Coco began to bark. ‘Pulcino.You must be uncomfortable in this tiny prison. Ti lascerò uscire.’
‘Aunt Aurora, letting her out is not a good idea,’ Ben said urgently as the older woman unzipped the carrier.
‘Ben’s right. She bites,’ Rose exclaimed as she realised what Aurora intended to do.
‘You both have so much in common!’ the older woman trilled as the demon shot from the carrier and immediately scampered onto the top of Aurora’s suitcase and barked delightedly. Rose inched forward, away from her, aware Coco’s teeth were close to the back of her neck. ‘There, she’s so much happier!’ Aurora said.
‘I think she might be the only one,’ Rose muttered. Ben chuckled and she wondered if he’d heard.
Aurora smiled as Coco adjusted herself so she could see out of the window, her tiny tail flapping with pleasure. The older woman tossed the empty carrier onto the parcel shelf and gave Rose her full attention again. ‘It’s a long journey, why don’t you fill me in on the details?’
Rose kept a careful eye on Coco as she answered – who knew what the demon was going to do next. ‘My rules aren’t easy to understand if they’re taken out of context,’ she explained, worrying about sharing her life’s work with Ben and Marco’s aunt.
‘Don’t you have them written down?’ Ben queried, slowing as the road narrowed and the tarmac began to get patchy, which meant the vehicle began to shake.
‘I have a folder, but it was in my suitcase. I remember them of course,’ Rose said as the car rolled over some rocks and shuddered violently.
‘Aurora, are you absolutely certain this is the right way?’ Ben sounded worried.
‘Aldo is sure, and his directions were alwaysmagnifico,’ the older woman insisted, waving a hand. ‘Everything he does is,’ she purred, turning back to Rose. ‘Let’s start with your favourite rule if you know them all by heart,cara.’
Rose gripped the door handle to stop herself from being thrown around the car as it went over another bump. Her stomach did a series of slow somersaults before she steeled herself to continue. ‘I need to preface this by saying I’ve been a therapist for almost eight years,’ she said, her voice trembling. ‘My success rate with steering relationships in a more positive direction is second to none.’ Which was true – unless you counted her parents; a failure she lived with every day. She thought about the two envelopes in her handbag and winced.
‘Aldo tells me you areverygood,’ Aurora said and then fell silent, giving Rose the chance to speak.
She sighed. ‘My first rule – and the most important one – is that my clients need to have shared interests,’ she said, thinking about her parents again. The only shared interest they’d ever had involved her, or complaining about each other, or their various divorces. Although both of them had moaned about their new spouses with equal gusto, so she supposed that could be considered having something in common.
They’d always been the poster couple for what not to do in a relationship. The warning that had helped her to develop and craft her rules. Her life’s work was about ensuring no one else went through the same pain.
‘It’s what will get them through difficult times,’ she continued. ‘For instance, Luna is passionate about tea, it’s her business. If Marco is too, then that will be an excellent start.’ Rose knew nothing about Luna’s fiancé. His hot drink preferences would be one of the first things she’d ask.
Ben snorted. ‘Marco thinks tea tastes like someone washed their feet in hot soapy water, then decided to drink it.’ Rose stiffened. Her worries were clearly founded, and this would be one of the first things she’d raise when she met with Luna. ‘He’s a coffee man. Milk and two sugars. I am too.’
‘Perhaps he should be marrying you then,’ Rose said darkly.
‘Sadly, I’m not his type,’ Ben quipped. ‘Too hairy, apparently.’
