'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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