‘What are you making cara?’
Ife looked frazzled, she’d been standing at the stall for ten minutes trying to decide, getting distracted by all the food on display, half of them she did not know what they were meant to do in food. How she wished she’d paid attention when her mother tried to teach her to cook but she always scoffed, never thinking she would need to know anything but make the perfect noodles. Indomie Noodles being her favourite pick me up. Her brother often teased that it would be all she knew to cook, and true to form, that is all she does know how to make. A perfectly seasoned dish of indomie noodles, using garlic, onions, dry pepper, chilli flakes (they are different), olive oil, the packet seasoning from the noodles that can probably fry your insides, some crayfish… here she goes getting carried away, if only someone had a store for noodles, not pot freaking noodles, indomie noodles the kind she could only get from the shops in Peckham.
‘Errr… pasta?’ fuck sake, even the way she said that made no sense to her.
Giuseppe, her kindly neighbour, and store owner, laughed ambivalently, ‘have you made pasta before?’
Ife shook her head, a little shamefaced.
‘You’re a novice then. Okay here is what you make, Spaghetti aglio e olio three ingredients; olive oil, garlic and chilli flakes, maybe some parsley, maybe not. The best wine, you drink wine, yes?’ he paused to look at her and she nods. ‘Good. Best wine for this is white, Martello has a local white for nine euro, simple and good.’
‘How do I make the pasta.’
Giuseppe paused looking at Ife again, in that way reserved only for her it seems, and then it sunk in; his neighbour who could wield an axe to chop wood with the best of them did not know the first thing about making a pot of pasta.
‘Va bene. You know, you come to my house for dinner, my wife and I would like to have you. Mama,’ he called out to the old lady behind the carts of tomatoes and informed her they were having a guest for dinner tonight. She nodded and smiled at Ife. ‘You come to my home and eat, and my mother will show you some tips on how to make some recipes. Capisce?’
‘Si.’ Ife nodded thankful for the rescue she was free to go to Marinella’s for ice cream and croissant all she has been living on these past few days. She really ought to get her shit together.
…
Dinner is loud and fun and chatty and full. Ife had a mild panic before walking over to Giuseppe’s this evening because she hasn’t socialised much in days since arriving the village. She almost flaked but was sure her neighbour would come down to drag her to his, for fear she might expire or something. Some of the other villagers now seem to know that she has her daily fix at Marinella’s every day and nothing more.
‘Some more. Si.’ Giuseppe’s mother put some more pasta on her plate, but she was so full already. She’d never eaten a more hearty, more delicious meal that soothed her soul. If Rellie was here, she would immediately tell the flavours and spices and layers because her best was a magnificent cook, which makes sense that her husband would prefer her to the wife who was useless in the kitchen, couldn’t tell a spatula from a spoon on a good day. Rellie was brilliant at everything including stealing her husband she supposed. Good luck to them. Ife looks up to see the table looking at her. Shit had she been speaking out loud?
‘Sorry I missed that.’
‘My mother was asking if you would like her to teach you to make some meals?’ Ava, Giuseppe’s wife said to her. ‘Sorry we thought you understood Italian.’
‘I do. I’m sorry I am miles away.’ She laughs nervously ‘and I would love to say yes, but I am absolutely useless in the kitchen I would completely forget it in two minutes.’
‘She will start with the basics, and I can come over and give you a hand.’ Ava offers kindly.
‘Thank you but please do not let me take up your time.’
‘I would love to help, to pay back for Giuseppe making you chop your own wood.’ Here she throws her husband a look of admonition and he raises a hand in defeat, clearly this had been a point of contention between them, yet they are so obviously lovingly in love with each other.
‘Oh Ava, please don’t be mad at him he really did try to help me, but I love doing things like that. Instead of cooking.’
That draws a laugh from across the table. This dinner has made Ife miss her family, ache for her children. Their dinners, whenever they made it home from Uni or travelling has always been just like this; busy, loud, fun and funny. And so full of love, they were bonded by love for each other, her family… until Tristian severed it with Rellie. Her friends had all been in on it. Were they laughing their heads off behind her back? They probably thought her a fool bringing in Rellie to handle things with Tristian’s campaign; literally bringing her close to him, or closer since they were already so close. Her heart pangs so heavily she thought everyone could hear the thunderclap.
After a wonderful four hours, because Italians do not believe in a simple three course meal, Ava’s mother-in-law heaped bowls of food in a bag for her to live off, mothers always know. She kissed them all goodnight and Ava offered to walk her home.
‘Thank you for having me it was so very kind of you.’
‘You’re welcome, Ife. It is good to have you in the village with us. We hope you will stay longer.’
Ife shrugged; she doesn’t know how much longer she can run from facing the titanic of her life, but she intends to keep running for now.
‘Is everything okay?’ Ava asked, ‘because at dinner I got the sense that there was a little sadness as you sat around the table with us. As if you miss your family.’
‘I do miss them.’
‘Are they going to join you?’ Ava sense the hesitation, ‘sorry I did not mean to-’
‘No, no, it’s fine you are not prying, at least not now that I think we are friends much more than neighbours.’
‘Si, of course we are.’ Ava confirms, there is something about Ife that makes it easy to be around, something about her that invites a warmth, but she knows, she can tell from that sad look in her eyes that something else is going on in the woman’s life and it is not for her to pry. She needs a friend.
‘I came here to escape some trouble with my family, I am keeping away a while, they won’t come here to look for me because they do not know that I am here, but I do intend to go back at some point when my head is level and I can make sense of everything that’s happened.’ She paused, ‘I should tell you more, especially since you have been so hospitable to me, you and your family-’
‘You don’t have to, but only know that we would like to help however we can and when you want to talk, I am two doors away.’ Ava motions to her home a short walk away, they’d already arrived at Ife’s.
‘Thank you.’