Maggie's second chance

 

Maggie watched the bride and her father posing for photographs by the little gate outside the church yard. The bridesmaids clambered out of their car, holding their long midnight- blue dresses rather ineptly to stop them trailing in the puddles. She smiled at them and wished them luck and then stayed waiting by the gate as they all walked towards the church door ready to march down the aisle.

Still there was no sign of her granddaughter. It was the wedding of Lucy's first boyfriend and she had asked her grandmother to come and give her some support. Maggie sighed with relief as a smart red mini with a black roof swerved into the little close and screeched to a halt by Maggie's feet making her jump.

 'Lucy, where have you been? Look, you go on in and I'll park the car for you'.

In one fluid movement Lucy leapt out of the car, grabbed her hat from the back seat, plonked it on her head and gave her grandmother a resounding kiss.

 'Oh thanks Gran! You're my saviour, as always'.

 Maggie watched her granddaughter sprint down the church path and disappear into the church. Her heart contracted painfully with the immense love she felt for her. This fierce love had taken her by surprise nearly twenty years ago and still she marveled at how intense these feelings were. 

Lucy's dad, Michael, Maggie's only child, had always been a joy for her, but somehow she had expected that. He had been the result of a one-night stand in her first term at Teachers Training college. He had been visiting a friend and had cleared off without trace when she had tearfully told him that she was pregnant. She had only been eighteen, and at first had been terrified of her parents' reaction.
 They had been so proud of her when she got her place at college but they had comforted her and stood by her loyally. 

'It's no use crying over spilt milk' her mum had said, putting her arms round Maggie. 'Everyone makes their own bed and then they have to lie in it.'

Maggie and her mum had collapsed in a heap of giggles then. After that it was just a matter of welcoming baby Michael and bringing him up as best she could with her mum and dad's help. 

They had had Maggie late in life and were both already retired when Maggie was in her teens. They were quite happy to make a warm home for Michael while Maggie carried on with her Teacher's training and then made a career as a teacher. As time went by it was Michael that helped her look after her ageing parents. He repaid all their love and care tenfold. 

Sadly they hadn't been around to meet Elaine, the fiery Scot's lass who had stolen Michael's heart and made him so happy, or witness the birth of Lucy and see her growing up from a beautiful adorable baby to a stunning young woman. 

Maggie shook herself from her reverie, she had to park Lucy's car. She drove off looking for a space and found one just by the new cake shop. She had gone there with Elaine and Lucy and treated them to cappuccino and carrot cake on the opening day.

The owner was a young hard working woman called Ellie who had been really friendly and given them chocolates to celebrate the opening. As Maggie was locking the car she noticed Lucy's mobile phone on the passenger seat, it started ringing so she answered it thinking it might be Michael or Elaine, who were on holiday in Majorca.

'Hello gorgeous, I'll come round this evening, Ellie's going to a spa with her friends'. 

Maggie quickly put the phone down, her hands shaking. Surely Ellie was the owner of the new café, that must have been her husband. What could he want with Lucy and why would he call her gorgeous?

The church was packed and Maggie slunk into the first pew she came to just as the congregation started a rousing chorus of 'Give me love in my heart.' She could see Lucy standing next to David Oakley, the owner of the Cycle shop in the High Street. Lucy was friends with David's son Greg, and  she had told Maggie that on the eve of David's Silver Wedding Anniversary he had discovered that his wife  was leaving him for someone else. He had been planning a surprise trip to New York and  Lucy said that he went anyway with Greg. 

Marriage was a mystery to Maggie, she didn't understand how people could want to hurt someone they had chosen to spend their life with.

The hymn ended and the bridal party came out of the vestry and the triumphant wedding march started up. Everybody filed out after the bride and groom and the bells rang out joyfully. Maggie joined Lucy and they  went to congratulate the happy couple.

Geoff, the groom put out his hand,

'Oh Lucy, I'm so glad you  came, and with your glamorous granny too. I hope you are coming to the reception!'

  He was clutching Caroline his new wife, to him and she smiled at them.
'Yes Lucy do come, you know you were Geoff's first true love, don't you? The first cut is the deepest and all that'.

Lucy kissed them both and pulled Maggie to one side.

'Please come Gran, 'I'll feel a lot better if you're there. I am really over him and everything, it's just that he was my first love and it seems like the end of something, I feel a bit old'.
Maggie glanced at her beautiful granddaughter who just seemed to radiate youth and grace. She laughed and took her hand.
' Come on you old fogey, let's go and drink to the bride and groom.'

'Oh Gran I'll just go and see if I left my phone in the car.' Lucy ran off and soon was walking back with the phone glued to her ear and a brilliant smile on her face. Maggie's heart sank, what was going on?
The reception was in the grounds of a local hotel by the river. The moment Maggie and Lucy arrived waiters appeared offering drinks and they started to mingle among the guests.
'Who were you talking to Lucy? 'Maggie gently probed.
'No-one'. came the curt answer. Maggie felt stung. Her granddaughter had never spoken to her like that before.
Just then David Oakley came up to her and raised his glass. 'You're looking very charming, Maggie, here's to your good health'. Maggie chinked her glass back and smiled at him.
'I expect you've heard about Nicky leaving me,' he continued. 'It was a terrible shock. I suppose that's the danger when you marry a much younger woman. I really feel more sorry for Greg. He's only seventeen and adored his mother. He really resents her now and doesn't even want to see her.'
Fuelled by the champagne, the teacher inside Maggie spoke out. 'You must encourage him to see her.The adult world is confusing to young people but it is very important that he knows his mother loves him and  that you are both there for him. These teenage years are very delicate. If he sees that you have forgiven Nicky and wish her well then he will come through this all the stronger.'
Too late Maggie saw the hurt look on David Oakley's face.
'I'm sorry I spoke out of turn', she hastily apologized. 'Please forgive me. It's just that I have seen so many cases where parents separate and the children take sides. I always tell parents that if they love their children they should keep their relationship as harmonious as possible. I am speaking as a teacher not as a parent and of course I don't know what it feels like to be betrayed like that. It must be awful for you'.
David Oakley's shoulders visibly relaxed and his face cleared. 'You're right and thank you for that advice. You are the first person who has had the courage to tell me that. Everyone else treats me like a victim and feels sorry for me.'
The waiter offered them sausage rolls and mini pizzas and they stood eating them in companionable silence. Just then Lucy rushed past in tears. Maggie glanced at David, he took her glass from her and gave her a nod to follow her granddaughter.
When Maggie caught up with her she took Lucy in her arms and gently sat her down on one of the plush armchairs. Lucy cried on Maggie's shoulder with heart wrenching sobs. As she stroked her granddaughter's soft, shiny hair she breathed in the smell of apple shampoo and thought of the little girl she had once been. Where had the years gone? How had she grown up so quickly?
'Oh Lucy, when you were a little girl I could make you laugh so easily and a hug would always make things right. Whatever 's the matter darling?'.
'Oh Gran, you could never understand' sobbed Lucy.' you don't know what passion is. You just dedicated your life to two old people and my dad'.
Maggie was shocked. Is that how Lucy saw her? What about all the fun they'd had? The happy years of family parties? Passion wasn't just confined to sex surely? Maggie had had a few admirers and her parents had encouraged her to look for someone special, but no man she met had wanted to take on the whole package of two elderly parents and a single mother and Maggie had thrown all her passion into her teaching and her family. Part of her thought she didn't deserve happiness with a man, that romance and exciting relationships were something that happened to other people. She'd become a grandmother when she was just forty five and that had seemed enough for her.
Maggie took a deep breath, ‘Is this anything to do with Ellie the owner of the new café?’ she asked.
Lucy looked up abruptly, ‘How do you know? Who told you? Does Mum know?.. Anyway there's nothing to know now, it's all over before it had even begun.’ She sounded frightened and looked very young.
Maggie stroked her hair, ‘I'm your grandmother, that's enough people to know. Now why would a beautiful young girl like you mess around with a married man?’
‘I haven't done anything wrong, it's him that's married, not me’, Lucy was defiant.
‘That's the easiest way to clear your conscience my treasure, but anything that hurts someone else can't be right can it?’ Maggie hugged her tight.
 A memory came flooding back to her, bitter-sweet, of a time when the new doctor, whose wife was expecting twins, had come to visit her parents and had taken her aside.
‘You must be finding this very hard,' he  had said. ‘two old people and a young son and no man around. Any time you need something let me know, ok.’
She had caught the hidden meaning by the way he looked at her. Oh, the sweet temptation of a male body that wanted hers, the raw smell of his unshaven skin, Maggie had felt her legs buckle. Then she had glanced at her parents sitting side by side in their wheelchairs, their gnarled hands touching, their faces looking at her with trust and love.
‘Thank you’, she said ‘It was kind of you to come out this evening, but we'll be fine now, thank you.’
She had shut the front door with a bang and gone back into the bedroom. ‘Come on let's watch some Comedy Gold, I think there's 'Dad's Army' on now’.
Lucy was watching her. ‘Gran you won't tell mum and dad will you? I think I got carried away, what with Geoff getting married, I just got too easily flattered by the attention. I'm so sorry.’
 She burst into tears again but just then David Oakley appeared bearing a tray with three glasses of champagne and some delicious looking savoury quiches.
‘Can I join the party?’ his eyes smiled at them both. ‘There's going to be a live band soon and I'd love the first dance.’
Lucy stood up and straightened her dress. I'm off to freshen up and then I'll join you both on the dance floor. The best man looks quite nice doesn't he?’
David Oakley held out his hand to pull Maggie up. She stumbled into his arms and lay her head on his shoulder. An unfamiliar sensation swept through her. Something like relief mingled with happiness and a feeling that she was no longer alone. She knew without any doubt that her parents would have approved of David.

Il Prezzo della Fiducia

 

 

Il camion dei traslochi stava partendo. Ormai l'appartamento era vuoto. C'era solo uno scaffale con dei vecchi libri e  un po' di roba nella cantina.  Il capo aveva detto a Giacomo che doveva rimanere  finché tornava la padrona di casa con la figlia a dare un'ultima occhiata.

Il capo, Ubaldo, tirò giù il finestrino e chiamò Giacomo,

'Aspetta tu la signora, Giacomo, finisci di incartare le cose nella libreria,  mentre io vado al deposito e poi ti scrivo, caso mai se c'e dell'altro ne parliamo dopo.'

Erano due giorni che Giacomo lavorava in quell'appartamento. Era il suo primo lavoro con la ditta 'Ubaldo e figli.'  Non aveva mai visto tanta roba in vita sua. L'appartamento era strapieno di cose. La prima mattina la signora era rimasta con lui.

Piangeva ogni volta che incartava gli oggetti per lei cosi preziosi.

C'erano dei bicchieri con bordo dorato. Tantissimi. Dovevano essere incartati uno per uno.La signora  ne prese uno e l'alzò verso la finestra, dove la luce del sole lo faceva brillare. Si girò verso Giacomo e disse,

'Questi bicchieri erano un regalo di nozze dei miei nonni. Erano di famiglia. Hanno piu di cento anni.'

Gli occhi della signora luccicavano.

'Quante cene, quanti brindisi, quanti ricordi!'

Giacomo non sapeva cosa dire. Era imbarazzato con tutta questa emozione. Non vedeva l'ora che tornasse Ubaldo.

A mezza giornata, la signora chiese a Giacomo se voleva un caffe e andarono insieme nella grande cucina.

La signora mise una scatola di ceramica davanti a Giacomo insieme con il caffe.

Gli si mise a sedere davanti e prese un sorso di caffe.

'Prendi i biscotti Giacomo, ti chiami Giacomo vero? Quanti anni hai? Mi ricordi mio nipote Tommaso, che ha diciotto anni, vuole essere un dottore, si è iscritto al università. Ora vado a vivere vicino a mia figlia e la sua famiglia, lo vedro ogni giorno',  si fermò e tirò fuori uno fazzoletto e toccò il viso per asciugare una lacrima. Poi ripresi, 'Milano sembra cosi lontana da Firenze, chissà se ci ritornerò mai qui.'

Giacomo mangiò un biscotto e aspettò che lei finisse di parlare, poi disse che sì anche lui aveva diciotto anni ma a scuola era stato una frana e allora aveva preso questo lavoro perchè Ubaldo era amico di suo papà.

La signora gli sorrise,

'E' un buon lavoro, e tu si vede che ci sai fare. Vedo già che hai cura degli oggetti da come li impacchetti. Quasi quasi ti lascio finire e vado. Sono un po stanca. Ormai le cose di valore sono state portate via. Domani vengo con la mia figlia per dare un ultimo occhiata.'

Ricordando quel discorso Giacomo si sentì un po' infastidito, cosa voleva dire 'le cose di valore sono state portati via?'. Si ricordava i suoi insegnanti come lo trattavano, non avevano nessuna fiducia in lui. Provò un po' rabbia anche verso Tommaso, il nipote destinato a diventare dottore. 

Decise di finire subito con la libreria e andare via prima che tornasse la signora con i figli. Prese uno sgabello e cominciò con i libri in alto. Il suo telefono squillò e tirandolo fuori di tasca, perse l'equilibrio e i libri caddero a terra. Rispose al telefono, era suo papà,

'Eh Giacomo come sta andando? Mi raccomando non fare brutta figura, ti prego ...'  Giacomo allontanò il telefono per non sentire la voce di suo papà, poi disse con voce decisa, 'Ciao papà devo andare, ci sentiamo dopo.' Saltò giù per terra per raccogliere i libri e vide una collana che usciva delle pagine di uno dei libri.  La portò alla finestra per guardarla meglio. Era bellissima. La catena era d'oro e una pietra color ambra che brillava come il sole.

Prese il libro da cui era caduta. Era un libro di poesia.

Il libro si aprì a una pagina, la cui poesia era tutto sottolineato, a mano, si chiamava semplicemente 'Se', di un certo Rudyard Kipling.

Giacomo si sedette sul pavimento e cominciò a leggere. A scuola non era mai stato gran ché, gli insegnanti gia aalla materna lo consideravano difficile, o al meglio vivace. Che la poesia fosse sottolinaeata e nel margine ci fossero delle scritte a matita con punti esclamativi, non riusciva a spiegarlo, ma sembrava che qualcuno parlasse con lui, qualcuno che gli voleva bene. Una riga lo colpì, 'SE puoi avere fiducia in te stesso quando tutti dubitano di te, ma prendi in considerazione anche i loro dubbi', gli piaceva, era semplice, a lui sembrava un consiglio amichevole.

In quel momento la porta si aprì, e entrarono la signora e sua figlia. Lo guardarono sorprese, e Giacomo balzò in piedi,

Sorrise e, tendendo la mano, mostrò la collana,

'Guardate cos'ho trovato, era dentro questo libro. E' bellissima!'

La signora la guardò e poi, sorridendo disse,

'oooh grazie, erano anni che non la trovavo, quella collana. Mio marito me l'aveva regalata quando era nata la mia figlia, Isabella. Non lo trovavo più, e quel libro, quanto mi piaceva leggere quelle poesie, grazie davvero Giacomo! Sono felice!'

La signora si girò verso la figlia e le bisbigliò qualcosa, poi si girò  e Giacomo notò che tutte e due lo stavano guardando con simpatia. La signora gli porse il libro,

'avremmo piacere se tieni tu il libro, e poi diremo al Ubaldo che vorremmo che sia tu che gestisce il trasloco a MIlano.'

Giacomo stava per rispondere, sentì la strana sensazione di essere fiero di se stesso. Il suo telefono squillò, e diede un'occhiata, 

'Scusate un attimo, è mio papà,' 

La sua voce risuonò nella stanza,

'Tutto ok babbo, stasera ti racconto, è andato tutto bene'.

Poi prese il libro e senza accorgersene, lo strinse a sè come un nuovo amico.

 

 

Finding the Future reflected in the Past

'The removal men will be here at eight in the morning Lu, so we must have an early night.' 

Francesca poured out two large glasses of Prosecco and set them on a tray. She carried them into the sitting room where her daughter Luisa was sprawled across a large armchair and tapping away on her phone. Luisa looked up and smiled at her mother.

'Oh mum, I love your idea of a night cap. When will you give up and have camomile tea like all other eighty five year olds round here?'

She helped herself to a glass and raised it to her mother. 

'Here's to you mum, I think you're very brave, downsizing at your age. It's going to be great, you'll have Caterina next door and she can see you every day, and all the grandchildren, now that papa is no longer here...' She stopped, noticing how quiet her mother had gone and saw a tear slide down her cheek.

'Hey mum, your very good health.'

Francesca sat up straight and smiled at her daughter, she raised her glass, she did what she always had done, and put on a brave face for her daughter.

'You're right darling and there is a spare bedroom for you, whenever you like. Please, though, do think about having something as a reminder, please, anything. 'Her mother's voice was pleading.

Luisa took a gulp of her Prosecco and leaned across to grab a handful of peanuts. She felt herself relax. She looked at the bubbles rising to the top of the glass. How happy they made  her feel as they caught the light from the lamp.

She thought about all the furniture in her mother's house, most of it  had come from her grandparent's house. She'd grown up surrounded by a forest of antique furniture. Her mother was always talking about the objects as though they had souls. This dish,three generations had passed round offering chocolates , this carafe has served vin santo every Easter for a hundred years.This wardrobe had held gowns that had been worn at balls in the Belle Epoque. Her elder sister Caterina was the same, delighting in the history of objects, stroking the wood of a table and imagining the meals that had been served there. 

Luisa was different. She travelled light. She'd been all over the world with a pair of jeans and a bikini rolled up in a rucksack. She didn't want other people's lives following her around, she wanted to live her own dreams. She'd earned a reputation as a talented archeologist and photographer. Her mother's bookcases were lined with many of Luisa's books. 

She waved her glass towards them,

'Will the removal men pack up everything, mum?''

Her mother turned towards the books that lined one side of the room,

'Oh yes, I have asked for them to do all the packing for me. Caterina and her family have taken all the things they wanted  and the antique shop in Florence most of the furniture. Everything left should fit in the new house. The removal man is so kind, he's called Giovanni.. He is quite old, actually I worry about him hurting his back but he assures me that he does weight lifting every day. Oh Darling I would love you to have something, please, something that will bring you ...'

Her mother stopped, worried that she had gone too far. She so wanted her daughter to find love, as she had done, as her mother had done.

Luisa drained her glass and stood up. She knew what her mother had been about to say.

She yawned 'come on you romantic woman, time for bed.' 

As she was going round checking the doors and windows and turning off the lights Luisa stopped in front of a large wardrobe. Maybe she could try and feel what her mother and sister did. She ran her hand down the door feeling the grain of the wood. A friend of hers was working at Pompeii and had told her about the wheels of a carriage they had just escavated made of ash and beech.Maybe wood was like love, if you crafted it well and cared for it it could withstand the test of time. 

Next morning Luisa was up at six and went to collect brioche from the local bakery for the removal men. As she was preparing the tray for the coffee she saw a streak of light across the floor, the sun streaming in from the window. She looked around the kitchen to see what had caused it and  found a mirror hanging behind the door. It was very ornate with a carved wooden surround featuring little birds and flowers. A memory stirred of her grandmother Amelia, brushing her hair. Luisa had inherited her grandmother's dark brown curly hair, thick and glossy. Whenever she had stayed with her grandmother she had spent hours brushing her hair in front of this mirror and Nonna Amelia had told her stories about how she had met her grandfather Paolo, the way she had felt when she first set eyes on him. He had been a doctor and very handsome. The mirror was very important to her because whenever she looked in it she saw the love for her husband in her eyes. Luisa had always wanted to find a love like that, to feel like that about a man. Nonna had always said that you knew true love the moment you set eyes on him, you just knew.

She jumped at the sound of her mother's voice behind her,

'You found the mirror Lu. I knew you would. You can feel it can't you? You can feel Nonna's love.'

Just then the doorbell rang. Francesca hugged her daughter,

'That must be Giovanni, you open the door and I'll make the coffee.'

Francesca opened the door ready to say 'buongiorno Giovanni' but the words dried on her lips as she stared at a man about the same age as her. He had light brown hair which flopped over his forehead  and as he tossed it out of his eyes she felt a strange sensation, she looked at his left hand and at the same time he looked at hers. They looked up at each other and laughed,

'You're not Giovann' she shook her head,

'He's my dad, I'm Cosimo. I'm just helping out because I've taken the day off.'

He held out his hand, she grasped it and they both started laughing again. She couldn't stop smiling.

'I'm a vet,' he said and when she giggled he laughed too and beamed as he said, 'dealing with furniture and cows isn't much different.'

He looked into her eyes and she realized she was still holding his hand.

She pulled him into the kitchen where her mother was pouring the coffee. Luisa introduced Cosimo and Francesca turned towards them and smiled, she waved her hand towards the tray of brioches, 'help yourself,' .

Sunlight shone across the room. Luisa looked at her reflection in the mirror, Cosimo came to stand beside and their eyes met, their faces were radiant. Luisa felt her heart beat fast, it was like ker grandmother had said. She knew. The atmosphere in the room was charged, electricity running through them.

Francesca sat down and picked up her coffee cup, she smiled, to herself, she knew her mother wouldn't let her down, the mirror had worked its magic.

  

 

 

 

 

 

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