Read Online One Night in Italy by Lucy Diamond - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lucy Diamond
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like that’s a good place to do it.’
There was silence from Tracey, and Anna hid her smile behind the open menu. Mum certainly wasn’t denying the fact that it had been her last holiday before motherhood. Proof. More proof !
She began reading through the list of anti-pasti, trying to concentrate on the food options. ‘Are you having a starter?’ she asked.
Silence. Lowering the menu, she saw her mother’s aghast expression. ‘What?’
‘So you are going to have a baby,’ Tracey replied. She was not radiating grandmotherly joy, it had to be said. More like pity.
‘Eh?’
‘Last fabulous holiday before you have a baby – you just said it. Oh, Anna. Have you thought this through?’
‘No, I meant—’
‘Don’t make the mistake I did. Ach, that sounds terrible. You were not a mistake as such . . .’
‘Mum, no, you’ve got it wrong.’
‘Well, okay, yes, you were an accident – a surprise! – but I’ve never not wanted you. Being a parent is hard work though, and you and Pete . . . Are you really cut out to do this? I mean, you’re not even living together.’
‘Mum! I—’
‘Is he going to move in with you? Only, with the best will in the world, there’s not a lot of room in that flat, is there? Certainly not enough for three of you.’
‘MUM! Stop. You’ve got the wrong end of the stick. We . . .’ Anna sighed. ‘Do you know what? I give up. Whatever. I’m having the chicken skewers to start, then the monkfish. How about you?’
Chapter Six
A casa – At home
Sophie had been back in the U K for a whole fortnight, to her and everyone else’s surprise. It was the longest she’d spent in Sheffield for years. She’d only planned to spend a day or two there, to see her dad, but almost as soon as she’d arrived he’d come down with a chest infection and become quite ill. Even the hardest-hearted person couldn’t have walked away.
At first she’d checked herself into a backpacker hostel, much to the palpable relief of her mum. But the place was full of exuberant Aussies and Kiwis, living it up away from home, getting loudly hammered every night. Fair enough; she’d done exactly the same when she’d worked her way round Australia and New Zealand, partying every step of the way. She didn’t have the slightest inclination to join them on the lash now, though, not when she was freaking out that her dad was going to die.
Aware that she was killing the mood in the shared dorm with her fuming and dagger-eyes, she paid extra to move into a single room, but that wasn’t much better. Now she was right at the front of the building, overlooking a noisy road. If it wasn’t the raucous party animals waking her at two in the morning, it was the buses and lorries trundling by outside.
‘You look done in, love,’ her dad commented when she visited him after yet another sleepless night. She popped in every day; there wasn’t much else for her to do. She’d lost touch with all her old school friends and there were only so many times you could wander round a city when it was raining and you were skint.
‘Says you with a drip and a heart monitor,’ Sophie replied. ‘Thanks a bunch.’
‘No, really. Where are you staying? Are you actually staying anywhere? Tell me it’s not a park bench or something.’
‘Dad! Give me some credit. I’m not sleeping on a park bench. I don’t look that rough, do I?’ God! She’d managed to look after herself for the last eight years all around the world, for heaven’s sake.
He took her hand affectionately, and his fingers felt as warm and strong as ever, belying his current frailty. He’d always been the soppiest of her parents, the one she turned to for advice – until she’d discovered he’d betrayed her every bit as much as her mum, that was. Her hand stiffened in his grasp as she remembered how hurt she’d been, how shocked that he’d colluded against her. ‘C’mon, Soph,’ he said now. ‘Why don’t you just stay with your mum? I
There was silence from Tracey, and Anna hid her smile behind the open menu. Mum certainly wasn’t denying the fact that it had been her last holiday before motherhood. Proof. More proof !
She began reading through the list of anti-pasti, trying to concentrate on the food options. ‘Are you having a starter?’ she asked.
Silence. Lowering the menu, she saw her mother’s aghast expression. ‘What?’
‘So you are going to have a baby,’ Tracey replied. She was not radiating grandmotherly joy, it had to be said. More like pity.
‘Eh?’
‘Last fabulous holiday before you have a baby – you just said it. Oh, Anna. Have you thought this through?’
‘No, I meant—’
‘Don’t make the mistake I did. Ach, that sounds terrible. You were not a mistake as such . . .’
‘Mum, no, you’ve got it wrong.’
‘Well, okay, yes, you were an accident – a surprise! – but I’ve never not wanted you. Being a parent is hard work though, and you and Pete . . . Are you really cut out to do this? I mean, you’re not even living together.’
‘Mum! I—’
‘Is he going to move in with you? Only, with the best will in the world, there’s not a lot of room in that flat, is there? Certainly not enough for three of you.’
‘MUM! Stop. You’ve got the wrong end of the stick. We . . .’ Anna sighed. ‘Do you know what? I give up. Whatever. I’m having the chicken skewers to start, then the monkfish. How about you?’
Chapter Six
A casa – At home
Sophie had been back in the U K for a whole fortnight, to her and everyone else’s surprise. It was the longest she’d spent in Sheffield for years. She’d only planned to spend a day or two there, to see her dad, but almost as soon as she’d arrived he’d come down with a chest infection and become quite ill. Even the hardest-hearted person couldn’t have walked away.
At first she’d checked herself into a backpacker hostel, much to the palpable relief of her mum. But the place was full of exuberant Aussies and Kiwis, living it up away from home, getting loudly hammered every night. Fair enough; she’d done exactly the same when she’d worked her way round Australia and New Zealand, partying every step of the way. She didn’t have the slightest inclination to join them on the lash now, though, not when she was freaking out that her dad was going to die.
Aware that she was killing the mood in the shared dorm with her fuming and dagger-eyes, she paid extra to move into a single room, but that wasn’t much better. Now she was right at the front of the building, overlooking a noisy road. If it wasn’t the raucous party animals waking her at two in the morning, it was the buses and lorries trundling by outside.
‘You look done in, love,’ her dad commented when she visited him after yet another sleepless night. She popped in every day; there wasn’t much else for her to do. She’d lost touch with all her old school friends and there were only so many times you could wander round a city when it was raining and you were skint.
‘Says you with a drip and a heart monitor,’ Sophie replied. ‘Thanks a bunch.’
‘No, really. Where are you staying? Are you actually staying anywhere? Tell me it’s not a park bench or something.’
‘Dad! Give me some credit. I’m not sleeping on a park bench. I don’t look that rough, do I?’ God! She’d managed to look after herself for the last eight years all around the world, for heaven’s sake.
He took her hand affectionately, and his fingers felt as warm and strong as ever, belying his current frailty. He’d always been the soppiest of her parents, the one she turned to for advice – until she’d discovered he’d betrayed her every bit as much as her mum, that was. Her hand stiffened in his grasp as she remembered how hurt she’d been, how shocked that he’d colluded against her. ‘C’mon, Soph,’ he said now. ‘Why don’t you just stay with your mum? I
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