‘I was thinking the same thing,’ Dario told her, with a sad smile, as he placed the wooden frame down on the desk, glad of the interruption from his thoughts.
‘You all looked so happy there. And your mum…’ Nicky peered at the image. ‘I’ve always thought she looked like Sophia Loren. Your dad definitely got lucky the day he found her. And look at you, all smiles and skinny legs.’
‘Yeah, I still had them when we married, so they must have worked for you,’ he teased, before his eyes drifted back to the photo. ‘You know, I’m not sure that I was really happy that day. All my mates were going off on holiday or to start jobs and figuretheir lives out, but mine was all a foregone conclusion. Choices didn’t factor into any of it.’ He paused, surprised at himself. ‘I don’t know that I’ve ever said that out loud before.’
‘So let me ask you,’ Nicky said, moving from standing beside him, back to the chair she’d been sitting in earlier. ‘If you had to go back, would you do it all again? Make all the same decisions?’
‘Some of them. Maybe not all.’
They let that sit between for a few seconds, until Nicky let out a slow, meaningful sigh. ‘Want to know what I think?’
‘I don’t think so. The freedom to ignore your thoughts was one of the perks of the divorce,’ he joked, trying to cover up an uncomfortable feeling that he wouldn’t like what she had to say.
‘True, but being allowed to piss you off is one of my perks, so I’m going for it anyway.’ She took a breath. ‘But I want you to remember that all this comes from a loving place in my heart.’
‘Oh God. I’ve never wanted someone to press a fire alarm more than I do right now.’
That didn’t dissuade her. ‘I think that you’ve spent your whole life doing what was expected of you, Dario. I think you trained as a chef, because it was what your parents wanted. I think you went into the family business because it was always taken for granted that you would. I think you worked harder than was asked of you, because you didn’t want to let anyone down. And I think you’ve sacrificed so many other things along the way, including our marriage and time with our kids. I don’t think any of that was ever a conscious choice, but that was the way it all turned out.’
He thought about arguing, but he didn’t have to dig too deep to know that there was some truth to what she said.
‘I really hate it when you’re even partially right,’ he shot back, making her smile.
‘I know,’ she said, her grin getting wider. ‘Another perk of the divorce for me. I get to be way smarter than you and I don’t have to pretend otherwise.’
Even as the barb made him wince, he knew that he’d miss this. Not many people got to see their best mate every single day, and have her point out his flaws in a way that made him laugh, even in the shittiest of times.
‘The thing was I didn’t see any of it at the time. I just went with it all, told myself that it was just the way it was. I’d grown up with a dad that worked day and night and it was just bred into me. That’s just the way it was done. My brothers are exactly the same.’
‘I know. And I worry about them too. Bruno is on his third wife…’ Bruno was the middle brother, the one who’d moved to Asia a decade ago to manage a fabulous restaurant on an island resort, ‘…and Carlo is lucky that Yvie has the patience of a saint. I don’t think any of you ever learned that there’s more to life than work. It was okay for your dad, because him and your mum were true partners in it all, but for you… You just worked a million hours a week and we all had to fit around you. Around this place. Sometimes I used to wish that you came home late and skipped out on holidays because you had a bit on the side. At least that I could compete with.’
‘For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,’ he admitted.
‘I know. I am too. But maybe… don’t shoot me… maybe this is a chance for you to make some of your own decisions, Dario. Start living life on your own terms. At the risk of sounding like one of those shite notepad mottos, life’s too short to waste.’
He took in the poignancy of her words, the sincerity in her voice, right up until she added, ‘And at this rate, you’re going to die a lonely old man who hasn’t had sex for decades, so maybe it’s time you started prioritising finding someone to spend your life with. Have a bit of fun. Live a little.’
‘It’s been so long since I thought about anything else but keeping this place going that I don’t think I remember how.’
‘It’s easy. I’ll draw you pictures,’ she quipped, before adding more seriously, ‘Look, it’s not too late for you to start another life, one that makes you truly happy. Just promise me you’ll think about it.’
Before he could answer, the moment was broken by a familiar booming voice out in the restaurant. Dario knew that the owner of it would be greeting the waiting staff and the guests and that any minute now he would work his way back towards the office.
His dad had arrived.
His personal life and his decisions about his future priorities were going to have to wait, because Dario couldn’t hold off on breaking the news, or his father’s heart, any longer.
16
MINNIE
Friendships last long after midnight…
The memory of Gino’s words to Henry were still going around in her head when Minnie woke up after her nap, and for a moment she was back there again, at the top of the stairs, watching her husband and his friend bring in another New Year together. Those had been the best years of her life, when she had her little family all under one roof and all she had to do was love them and take care of them. Why did they have to grow up and leave? Two of her boys were on the other side of the world now, one was hundreds of miles away on the south coast and Eric… Well, that man was still here, but he’d lost direction and she wouldn’t admit to anyone except Henry that sometimes she worried he’d never find his way back to being a son that she was proud of. She knew that Henry still had faith in him and that had to be something, because he’d always had a sixth sense about these things.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, she felt a breath on her face and realised Henry had slipped in beside her. A hand reached for hers and she closed her eyes and held it, while his breathing slowed and she sensed that he’d fallen asleep. She’dbeen about to get up, but this felt too good, too safe and warm, so she was tempted to stay under the blanket for a little while longer, letting her mind go back into the vault of her memories. Sometimes that felt like all she had left. She wondered if Gino felt the same way.
Friendships last long after midnight…
