Stella put a lid on the pan. She left the rabbit bubbling gently. They wouldn’t be eating it tonight if Domenico could be persuaded to have dinner with Gino and Leo, but it would be twice as delicious if she cooked it now and heated it up another day.
‘Sit down, Stella, have the rest of your lunch,’ Domenico said, patting a chairback. ‘You’re making me dizzy. You’re up and down like a jack-in-a-box.’
Her uncle was right, she was a bundle of nerves. If he didn’t agree to come to Leo’s house it would make pursuing her relationship with Gino so much more difficult. She didn’t want there to be a bone of contention between herself and the old man. She was fond of her uncle; she didn’t want to grow to resent him.
She sat down and began cutting up a peach. Despite her anxiety, she was hungry. The scent of wild thyme and garlic rising from the stove was sharpening her appetite.
Domenico patted Stella’s arm.
‘I don’t know what you’re worrying about but I expect there’s no need.’
‘It’s Gino.’
Domenico sucked in a breath. ‘I don’t suppose I need to ask if you mean Gino Perillo.’
‘I ran into him. He came into the shop.’
‘And you have been up to his oldrusticotogether.’
‘How did you know that?’
‘Old Goffredo dropped in for a coffee whilst you were out. He heard it from his wife.’
Stella made a face. ‘That figures.’
Domenico reached out and pinched a piece of peach from her plate. ‘So, you see I already know. And I am not angry.’
‘But you’re not pleased.’
Domenico shrugged. ‘Don’t worry yourself about me.’
‘But I have to. Gino… well, he and Leo have invited us both to Leo’s house for dinner tonight.’
‘Oh.’
Stella waited for something more but her uncle merely helped himself to a bunch of cherries, sucking each one noisily and spitting out the stones.
Stella squirmed in her seat. She couldn’t see how she’d get Domenico to agree to their dinner date but he hadn’t actually said the word ‘no’ yet.
‘It would mean a lot to me if you came.’
Domenico sighed. ‘Is it that important to you?’
‘Of course it is. You’re family.’ Stella stood up and started to clear the plates away. ‘You don’t even have to like him all that much. I just want you to rub along.’
‘I suppose I’ll have to accept this invitation then. And don’t worry, I will behave as I would when visiting anybody else. Leo is doing a fine job on the memorial plaque, so I’m told, and I honestly don’t hold Gino or your joyride to Sanremo responsible for Arturo’s death any more. Now, is that enough to stop you buzzing around like a mosquito and get you to relax?’
‘But how do you feel about Gino’s family? About Fernanda?’
Domenico pressed his lips together. ‘That’s another matter.’
‘What happened here was a terrible tragedy but it was so long ago.’
‘Time doesn’t always heal.’ His face closed up.
‘But…’
Domenico raised a finger, silencing her.
