One Winter Weekend

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

A fter leaving the Colosseum, the wedding party headed towards Piazza di Spagna.

Molly took their driver’s suggestion for a classy, tasteful ristorante for lunch, after which they planned to break off and walk around the stores in the area – Gucci, Armani, Prada, and all the other high-end Italian designers with storefronts nearby.

Sitting next to Paddy on the way was a chore for Helen. Once again, her husband spent the whole time on his phone, spitting directions at his assistant, tapping out emails and seeming extremely stressed over what sounded like minor issues.

Bad weather in Dublin had caused a delay on a major shipment, and never once did Paddy look up from the screen, so engrossed was he in trying to fix the unfixable from afar.

A few times, Helen tried to point out some of the sights (“Look, the Opera House. “We must remember to come back and walk through this park while we’re here”), but to no avail; Paddy was in his own little world, consumed by work as usual.

At the restaurant, Patricia and James insisted on paying, and proceeded to order the most extravagant things on the menu in highly affected (and to Molly’s ear - poorly worded) Italian.

Soon, buttered quail arrived on their table, followed by spaghetti with anchovies and squid as their primi . The younger ones gamely kept up with the Pembreys, but Paddy and Helen found themselves once again at a loss.

“How are we supposed to eat this stuff?” Paddy whispered.

They tried to munch on what they could, but he felt a cold shudder go down his spine each time his nose even caught wind of an anchovy.

As if that weren’t enough, the secondi course came out blazing and steaming with a smell that Helen found stomach-churning. “What on earth is that?” she asked Patricia.

“Beef cheeks,” Ben’s mother said reverently. “They’re quite the delicacy - you’ll love them.”

“Actually,” Helen said, “I’m not feeling very well just now…”

“Oh Mum,” Molly said, “do you want us to call you a taxi or—”

“No, no,” she said, “I think a bit of fresh air might do me good. Paddy, can you…?”

“Of course love,” he said. They exited together, a look of disapproved consternation overtaking Patricia’s face.