Stories from The Cedar Cafè, Rob 5

The moment Rob entered the Cedar Cafè the strong aroma of the Italian coffee filled him with a sense of longing. He was back, wrapping long, soft dark hair round his fingers, tracing sand on skin warmed by the sun, breathing in the heady scents of pine and Jasmine, brushing away crumbs of sweet brioches from salty lips. The thought of Silvia made him feel quite dizzy. His head span slightly and he quickly ordered a double espresso and an almond pastry.

It was his mother's idea for him to come here. She'd been with her old school friend Maura  and said it was just the place for him to decide what to do. It was also his mother's idea for him to write a letter. A proper letter with pen and paper. She said that looking at a man's handwriting gave a woman more insight than texts and emails.
So much for rebellious teenagers. Here he was, nearly thirty-five doing what his mum said. He smiled at the thought.

He took out his paper and pen and started to write.  The Italian words flowed easily and swiftly from his heart to the paper. These were the words that he and Silvia had used to express their love and passion.  He quickly wrote a whole page declaring his love for her, for  Silvia, for his true love. Rob stopped and gulped down his espresso, the hot liquid burning his throat. He re-read the letter. He imagined his father would have said it sounded gushing and rather desperate.

The door of the cafè opened and three schoolgirls came in and rushed towards the sofa, delighted to find it free.  They wore the uniform of the school he had attended. It was a boys only school in his day. Rob thought of how carefree life had been for him then, how easy and how settled. He had grown up in the small West country town and imagined he would always live here. He had gone to the nearby university in Bristol to get a degree in English and be near his girlfriend Melissa. He had it all mapped out. Degree in English, journalism course, working on the local paper, marrying Melissa, holidays in Cornwall and Scotland.  Everything had gone according to plan until the paper had sent him up to London to do a course. He'd only been gone a week when Melissa decided that Rob's best friend  Jeremy was the man of her dreams and it seemed the feeling was mutual.

 Looking back the hardest part had been watching his mother's eyes fill with tears and pain as her heart ached for her son.  She was recently widowed, Rob's father had been fifteen years her senior and they'd had Rob late in life.  They'd had such a happy marriage and were so fond of Melissa, they'd just thought their son would have the same happy life in their little town.

Rob finished his almond pastry and went to order another coffee. Silvia would be telling him one was enough, that he would have trouble sleeping and get nervous.
Again it was his mother's idea for him to do the TEFL course.  From a casual conversation at the Garden centre she had heard of a young woman who did a TEFL course and then went to teach English in Thailand.   She 'd discovered  she liked teaching so much that  she was now a Primary school teacher in Bath.

In a daze, still reeling from the shock of seeing Melissa and Jeremy get married and have a baby in what seemed like no time at all, Rob took the TEFL course and was offered a job in Bologna in Italy.  He'd never been to Italy but his mother said it was perfect, he'd be able to come home for Christmas, and she could come out with Maura for a weekend.

The paper had agreed to keep his job open for a year and had suggested that he had a column, a postcard from Italy, recounting his experiences and impressions of life in Italy, comparing it to life in the Cotswolds, aiming at something affectionate and humourous.

Most of that had gone according to plan.  Bologna was a fascinating place. Rob loved going to the university to hold conversation classes with the professors and the Language students. He learned all about the history of the university and signed on with the Tourist office to conduct tours.  Bologna university was older than Oxford and Cambridge. It was considered to be the mother of all universities. Free teaching began there in 1088. Dante, Petrarca, Thomas Becket were among its famous students. It was going through an upheaval to meet European requirements, reducing its departments from over sixty to around thirty. It was all quite different from Bristol. The students could take their time getting their degrees and most of them had to have a five year degree to hope to find a job.

Rob loved the centre of Bologna, the piazzas, the pavement cafès,  the library, the museums and the galleries, the outdoor concerts and the festivals. He loved the view from S.Luca, a large  Church on a hill above the town. There were porticos leading up there from the town and even on a wet day it was a pleasant walk. The view stretched right across the Apennines  to the South and across the plains of the Po valley to the north. Most of all Rob loved the people, they were friendly, warm and all had a ready wit and repartee that lifted his spirits and made him want to smile again. His students were always inviting him out for pizzas, or to their homes to chat round the table with their families eating huge bowls of pasta or piadine. Rob was surprised at how quickly he picked up Italian, everyone wanted to teach him. They laughed at his accent and said they were getting their Revenge.
The other teachers at his school were from all over the place, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and they formed a close-knit friendly group going out in the evenings and sharing meals. One of his students organized a trip to admire the peach and apricot blossom, a sea of purple and pink covering the countryside with a veil of spectacular brilliance.

Rob's editor was pleased with the column that he was writing from Bologna. He wrote about  La Torre degli Asinelli, built by Gerardo Asinelli between 1109 - 1119. How it is the tallest of Bologna's remaining eighty Towers and had the most breathtaking view from the top how it was considered bad luck for students to climb the five hundred steps to the top before they got their degrees. He wrote about the spas, comparing them to the ones in Bath, he wrote about the beautiful library and the exhibitions that took place their, he wrote about the newspapers playing tricks on April Fool's day, putting up notices to say that a  well-known politician was holding a party for all the students. Rob wrote about the habit of stopping for an aperitvo on the way home from work and being served a banquet of local delicacies, he went to a famous restaurant called  Il Pappagallo,The Parrot, with photos of famous people on the walls and described the delicious food he ate, the essence of Bologna's rich and wonderful culinary heritage. His mother and Maura came to stay and he wrote a piece about the faux-pas that English people make . Spaghetti Bolgnese doesn't exist, they call it Spaghetti al Ragù. He told about the looks of horror if you ordered a cappuccino in a restaurant. Only espresso was considered a suitable end to a meal.  Rob learned that Tortellini are modelled on Venus's tummy button and Pizza Margherita after a queen with a rosy complexion. Eating was such a sensual experience. He felt invigorated and renewed and his heart began to heal.

Yes everything was going to plan until the last month of his stay in Bologna. The school secretary, Linda asked him if he could do an intense course of individual lessons for a young woman who was setting up a business to do with organic food and sustainable lifestyles. She had a stand booked for the Bologna exhibition centre , the Fiera,in September and wanted to improve her accent and business English. Rob agreed, he was happy to have an excuse to stay a bit longer and a lot of his students had gone away for the Summer.

The moment Rob walked into the classroom and saw Silvia sitting there, her long legs crossed over and her silver sandals dangling as she swayed her ankle, her glossy hair tumbling over her shoulders, a look of concentration on her lovely features he thought he had never seen such a beautiful woman. It was while he was trying to make her pronounce the word  ' available ' that he told her to look closely at his mouth and repeat it. Silvia watched as he slowly pronounced the word and then collapsed in giggles. She then grabbed him round the neck and pressed her lips on his. She broke away and opened her arms wide.

'I am available.' she winked at him.

Rob felt like his heart would explode. This was passion, this was love, he just knew. What he had felt for Melissa was comfortable and gentle but this was a tremendous wave sweeping him across, he was flowing with the currents, flying with the wind, his breath came in gasps,his heart filled with love.

They looked up as Linda tapped on the glass petition and made motions of being shocked by such behaviour in a classroom but then she started laughing and came in to hug them both.

Silvia took over his life like a fire warming the hearth. Every weekend she took him somewhere new, to Ravenna to see the mosaics, to San Marino where they brought souvenirs and had piadine sitting on top of a rock admiring the spectacular view. She took hin to the places she loved in the Bolognese hills and then to the sea to meet her family. Rob knew then that this was the point of no return and he gave into all the sensations with a gladness and a joy that he never would have imagined.

Silvia's family rented two beach umbrellas for three months every Summer near Cesenatico. Their whole extended family would decamp onto the beach. Uncles and aunts, cousins and in-laws all had their own beach umbrella and set of sun loungers. Silvia explained that they had the same umbrella in the same place every year and would come and congregate there at every opportunity.
It was a community on the beach. Silvia's family welcomed Rob into their warm embrace, they wanted his mother to join them and Maura. They wanted to practise their English.  They wanted to know everything about him.  They listened to what he had to say and asked him questions then  showed great interest in his answers.


Rob was completely overwhelmed. His editor called him and told him there was an interesting proposition for him and could he come to his office in Bath. He said that there was a passion in Rob's writing that hadn't gone unnoticed. Rob told Silvia that he had to go home, but he'd be back to help her with the Exhibition in September.
 Leaving her at the airport he felt like his heart was being ripped out but he knew he needed to go home and clear his head about what to do.

Rob's mother made him his childhood favourite of toad in the hole and Teacle tart.
She poured them both some wine.

'The world's changed so much Rob. Maura talks to her son in Australia every Sunday on skype for over an hour, she says it's like going out for coffee with him. Harriet next door has got a daughter in Scotland, she only sees her at Christmas they talk on Facetime every day. I was with her at the supermarket and Patricia rang from Scotland and there we were looking at her and talking about the price of the food. It's incredible.
 Westonbury will always be a part of you, it's in you and nothing can take it away, but there are new ways to live now. When you're fond of someone you can Always find a way to keep in touch and feel close. If you want to make a life with Silvia, don't worry about me. Anyway I really enjoy being with Silvia's family. I'd like to invite them here.'

Rob looked at his mother with intense gratitude. He knew what it must have cost her to say that. His editor had offered him a column and told him about a cycling magazine based in Bath that was looking for an Italian connection and was he interested. It would mean spending a lot of time in Italy. Italians loved cycling.

That's when his mother suggested writing the letter. Even if he didn't send it, he would be able to sort out his thoughts.

Rob looked at the letter he had written. He couldn't wait to see Silvia. He knew now that wherever she was would be his home.  He knew what it was to meet with irresistible passion, to be swept away and feel you have found the part of you that was missing and to know that you would always be incomplete without them.

The door to the Cedar cafè opened and he looked up. His mother was standing in the doorway and behind her he could see a sweep of glossy curly hair, dancing sparkling eyes and a mischievous grin.  Rob turned the writing paper over and quickly wrote three words. He held it up for Silvia to see.

 Will you marry me?

He was thrown of balance by Silvia bounding over to him and jumping him on him like a puppy, and burying her head in his jacket. She picked up the pen and wrote in huge letters.

YES.

His mother shyly followed and he could see the tears of joy in her eyes. the young girl at the counter called out.

'Looks like there's a celebration. Free coffees all round.'

Then there was applause and cheering, most unusual for the quiet country town.