She added a bag of chard and a great bunch of spinach to her shopping basket and took them to the counter.
‘Buonasera,Addolorata.’
‘Ciao,Stella.’ The woman scanned the barcode on a tub of ricotta. ‘Cooking for a few people tonight?’
‘No, just me, experimenting a little.’
‘I thought you were staying at your uncle’s house.’
‘I am but Domenico is still with Luisa’s family in Genoa.’
Addolorata frowned. ‘How strange. I thought Domenico was back. I swear I saw him tucking into a great slice ofpinolataoutside the bar earlier.’
‘That can’t be right.’ Stella took her phone from her bag, realising she’d switched it to silent on their way to therustico, not wanting any messages or calls to interrupt her time with Gino. The screen was jammed with notifications. Three missed calls from Luisa. She made a face.
‘Everything okay?’ Addolorata put Stella’s onions in a brown paper bag. ‘That will be twelve euros, thirty cents.’
‘Yes, umm… fine. Thank you.’ She paid and hurried from the shop, dismissing her plan to pick up some wine en route. It would be better to call her cousin on Domenico’s landline to see what was going on than to rely on the patchy signal out in the street.
She rested her shopping bag between her feet and put her key in the lock but it wouldn’t turn. That wasn’t right, she knew she’d locked up before she and Gino set off. She pushed the door; it swung open. The scent of tobacco and pungent aftershave told her Domenico was indeed back, even before she’d sidestepped the holdall in the hall.
‘Anyone home?’ Stella called.
Luisa appeared, looking flustered. ‘I tried to call…’
‘Sorry, I’ve been out and about all day, I’ve barely looked at my phone. What’s happened?’
‘There’s, umm, been a slight change of plan.’
‘Cooee, Stella, in here!’ Domenico called from the kitchen.
Stella lowered her voice. ‘I thought he was staying with you until after the weekend.’
Her cousin gave her a what-can-you-do shrug. ‘I had to drive him back here when I found out he’d booked himself a taxi to the bus garage. He was planning to travel back here by himself, silly old fool.’
Stella laughed. She pushed open the kitchen door. ‘Domenico, you’re back!’ She bent to kiss him. Her uncle’s papery cheeks were hollowed, his complexion still pale. ‘Are you sure you’re well enough to be here?’
‘He’s not right yet,’ Luisa said quietly.
‘Nothing wrong with me, no need to fuss,’ Domenico tutted.
Luisa jumped. ‘Must have his hearing aid turned up to max,’ she whispered.
‘I heard that too. Come on, Luisa, make our Stella a coffee. Looks like you have been shopping, Stella, love. What are you going to cook? Luisa, you will stay for a meal before you rush off, won’t you?’
‘Of course you must. I’m makingpansoti con salsa di noci,’ Stella said. She had more than enough vegetables to stuff pasta parcels for three. She unloaded the shopping onto the work surface and took a bag of walnuts from the cupboard for the nut sauce.
Luisa put the Bialetti on the hob. ‘Are you okay to stay here for a few more days, Stella?’
‘She wants you to keep an eye on me and make sure I don’t try and go back to the shop.’ Domenico gave a wheezy chuckle.
Luisa raised her eyebrows. ‘Papà’s not ready to go back until next week at the earliest but I don’t want to impose on you.’
‘You mustn’t stay in babysitting me if you’ve got other plans, Stella,’ Domenico said.
She tried not to think of tomorrow’s evening with Gino and Leo. ‘Plans? Me?’ Stella patted her uncle’s hand. ‘I’ve no plans at all.’
33
