One Winter Weekend

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

W hen that evening, the group returned to the Hotel Marliconi, they were greeted by a familiar form with ruffled hair and a winning smile.

Fabrizio was standing by reception and grinning at them.

Caroline was not amused. “Stay here,” she told the rest of them. She marched over to the Italian, her jaw set and determined. “Where in God’s name have you been all day?” she demanded.

“Ah, Signorina Caroline,” he said, letting the word roll round on his tongue, “how has your day been so far?”

“How – has – our – day – been?”

“Yes, that is what I asked,” he replied pleasantly.

“ I planned the whole day, Fabrizio,” she exploded, jabbing a finger towards his chest. “I did it to keep the bride that you’re supposed to be working for, sane. I arranged every thing. And you helped with nothing . I have been improvising all day, because you - Mr Wedding Planner can’t do your job.”

“Ah, signorina,” he soothed laconically, “you really must relax. I am sorry you thought I would be here today. I did not mean for you to have such difficulty.”

“That’s the point, you absolute arse, ” she continued yelling. “Molly and Ben are paying for a service, and you’re not providing it. I’d fire you right here and now if it was up to me, but I don’t have any say in the matter.”

“Signorina – Caroline – please, allow me to make it up to you.” Fabrizio put his hand around her shoulder. “If you’ll go up to the terraza…”

“We’ve already done that. I’m not waiting up there again all night expecting to hear plans, only for you to sit at the bar flirting.”

“Please. Come with me. And bring the others, too. I will go now – meet me up there as soon as you can, yes?”

Caroline sighed angrily. “I swear to God, Fabrizio, if this turns into another one of your ‘let’s-meet-ups’ where we wait for an hour for you to show your face…”

“I promise you, it will not,” he said solemnly. Then he bowed and headed upstairs without another word.

Caroline gathered the others and headed to the lift.

On the way up, she was stuck with the endless prattle of Patricia Pembrey, who was having a very one-sided conversation with Helen O’Brien.

“Yes, the Dolce & Gabbana store was fine, but Prada was incredibly disappointing. ‘So many shoes, so little time,’ I thought, but really, it was about fifty variations on the same shoe. And the handbags? Pssh. Nothing worth mentioning. Now, of course I walked out with a new pair,” she slapped a shopping bag, “but I wasn’t particularly impressed, at any rate. Now Gucci, on the other hand, was something special. I simply had to pick up a few scarfs, and then a shirt to go with them and before I knew it, I was so weighed down with clothes that I could hardly move! It was—”

The ding of the lift cut Patricia off, much to the others’ relief.

They exited and were immediately shocked: there, in front of them was a table set up with seven places, along with twinkling wine glasses, and that perfect late evening view of St. Peter’s Basilica below.

Candles on the table and fairy lights strung overhead completed the scene of romantic Italian serenity.

“Did you…?” Ben asked Caroline, pointing at the table.

She shook her head. “No, I – I had no idea,” she said in wonder, glancing over at a beaming Fabrizio, who held out a chair for Molly.

“Come, come,” he said. “Pembreys, O’Briens, and the beautiful Signorina Caroline, come! Sit! Eat!”

He pointed at the salad set out in little bowls on the table. “Here we have salad with lettuce, onion, green pepper, tomatoes, and crumbled gorgonzola cheese. We will pair this with a sweet vermouth aperitivo . Please, enjoy.”

Caroline couldn’t believe it. She had been raging at Fabrizio all day long, but here, he had outdone himself. This was beautiful, and she could tell by Molly’s face that it was a lot more like her Italian dream.

When she saw him head back to the kitchen, she excused herself and followed him. “Fabrizio,” she called when she was far enough away that the others couldn’t hear her.

He turned and smiled. “Ah, Signorina Caroline. Is there something not to your liking?”

She shook her head. “No, I have to say… I did not expect this at all. The lights, the food, the wine, the view… It’s fantastic. Molly and Ben are thrilled. But I have to know… when I was yelling at you before, downstairs, why didn’t you tell me you had this planned?”

His smile grew wider. “Because then, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to speak with you now,” he said, laying the charm on even more thickly.

Caroline blushed slightly. “Well, I think I owe you an apology. This is truly wonderful. You’ve done a very good job.”

He nodded. “Now, if you will excuse me, signorina, I must get back to the kitchen to bring out the primera .”

“Can I ask what we’re having?” she asked.

“And what kind of surprise would that be?” he winked.

She watched him walk away, thinking to herself, Okay, so maybe he’s not completely cheesy.

And even if he is, maybe that’s not so bad…