at the best of times, his passion for cooking knew no bounds and it was getting harder for Nanna to help him in the kitchen.
The girls’ mum would often tell him that he couldn’t start whipping up things left and right and then leaving it for Nanna to finish and clean up. Mum would have to explain to him that Nanna was getting old too. This frustrated Grandpa. He would get bossy and occasionally snap when the girls tried to help him.
Today, hearing him say ‘thank you’ after Amanda had helped him mix up the pizza dough and prep it to rise in the oven had melted her heart. Not only because in that moment he seemed to acknowledge his sometimes-bad moods and apologize for them, but also because she couldn’t imagine not being able to cook whenever she wanted. She understood his need to be in the kitchen; after all, he had passed on that same passion to her. She knew how important cooking was to him. His ‘thank you’ had been filled with gratitude – all because of the simple act of being there for him, allowing him to do what he loved.
‘One for Amanda too,’ Nanna said to Louisa, pointing at the gold tin of biscuits on the coffee table. Tins of biscuits were a permanent fixture in the living room. ‘Mangia, mangia,’ Nanna continued, as she turned to look at Amanda.
‘I am, Nanna, I am, look,’ Amanda replied, her nanna’s voice snapping her out of her thoughts. She stood up out of the chair, with a ninja-like swivel of her hips, so they wouldn’t get caught under the tiny armrests, and took a biscuit from the tin. She smiled at her nanna and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth.
‘You’re a cheeky girl,’ Nanna said, with a tut and a shake of her head.
Amanda took another biscuit and bent down to kiss her nanna on the forehead. ‘I love you,’ she said, with a mouthful of amaretti.
‘God bless you,’ Nanna replied, her voice wobbling slightly. ‘Grazie, grazie for helping Grandpa.’
Amanda leant down and kissed the top of her forehead once more, her nanna’s rose scent filling her heart with contentment.
‘What time is it?’ Grandpa asked, squinting through his round glasses, to see the clock above the fireplace better.
‘Nearly time, Grandpa,’ Louisa answered. Both sisters knew all too well why he was asking. Amanda and Louisa’s sister, Sabrina, was due any minute and Grandpa had spent the better part of the morning looking at the clock. It had been a while since he’d had all three of his granddaughters together. His excitement was clear from the sparkle in his eyes.
‘Ahh, I ask you too many times,’ Grandpa said, shrugging his shoulders and placing his hand on top of Louisa’s biscuit-free hand.
‘No, no, it’s OK, Grandpa – we’re excited too. We understand,’ Louisa replied, chewing a crunchy Pirouette thoughtfully.
‘But what more is there for me to think about?’ he continued, turning to face Louisa.
Amanda smiled, knowing this action meant Grandpa was about to impart some wisdom.
‘At my age, what is more important than family? What do I have to think about? To make sure they are fed, me and Nanna have food for them. I must think about you girls being safe. Your mamma, yes, she looks after you and well, yes, your daddy can provide for you, but me and Nanna, we can only do so much. We can help too. We are always thinking like you are our own daughters.’
Her grandpa’s broken English made Amanda’s heart soar. The girls were fluent in Italian, but they often alternated between the two languages when speaking with their nonni. It helped them all: the girls to keep their Italian fresh and their nonni to understand English better for when they needed to speak with English family and friends.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Both girls looked at each other with Cheshire-cat-like grins. Louisa sprang up from her seat. Amanda stood up, less frantic. Both Nanna and Grandpa sat upright, their eyes shining like they had just won the lottery.
‘She’s here,’ squealed Louisa, gently shoving Amanda out of the way and racing to the door. ‘I’ll get it.’
Amanda merely chuckled and walked behind, allowing her little sister to take the lead. Louisa often got angry with Sabrina for moving away to LA and leaving everyone behind, but it never changed how excited she got when Sabrina came home. Amanda, on the other hand, was a little more reserved. She was pleased her sister had followed her dreams and over the moon that Dan and his band were in good hands, but there remained a part of her that stubbornly missed Sabrina and was mad with her for being so far away too.
‘The eagle has landed,’ Mum reported as she came through the front door first, arms loaded with birthday balloons and cards, having just picked up ‘the eagle’ from the airport. ‘Safe and sound – she’s home,’ Mum said. Her eyes shone as she kissed Amanda and Louisa, as they passed each other in the corridor. Mum continued to the living room to say hello to her parents, as Amanda walked leisurely outside, and Louisa practically flew.
Like a local celebrity, Sabrina, the middle child, was standing in the middle of the path, between the cherry trees and the fence. Her sandy blonde hair was blowing in the breeze and she had clearly picked up an LA tan. Amanda noticed her bronzed skin glowing under the soft British sun, as Sabrina waved and said hi to the neighbours.
‘All right, Jennifer Lawrence, it’s only been an entire year – we all haven’t missed you that much,’ Amanda shouted into the street, from her position leaning casually against the doorframe.
Sabrina turned to face them at the same time Louisa leapt outside and nearly bowled her sister over with a hug.
‘I’ve missed you, Brina,’ Louisa said, sweetly, as Sabrina gasped for air, Louisa’s hug choking her. Amanda looked on in amusement.
‘I’ve missed you too, Lou. It’s good to see you. It feels good to breathe in this British air.’ Sabrina took a big breath in, as Louisa let her go, and then she let out a deep sigh. Amanda knew she loved parts of her life in LA, but it comforted her to know that it hadn’t stolen her sister just yet. Watching her hazel eyes soften as she took in the surroundings, she could tell Sabrina was happy to be back and that nothing compared to home.
‘You look exhausted. So, what presents did you bring back?’ Amanda asked, leaving her position by the front door and wandering over to join the party.
‘Always so kind with the compliments, aren’t we? I might have gifts for you, but I’ll be needing a hug first,’ Sabrina said, and waved her arms in the air, dramatically motioning for a hug, while giving her big sister her best puppy dog impression.
‘That we are, and it better be an awesome gift. I can’t just be giving away free hugs,’ Amanda said, rolling her eyes and stepping forward to hug her sister.
‘Come on, Brina, Nanna and Grandpa are so excited to see you. You know what Grandpa’s like – he hasn’t stopped asking about you all day. Plus, we’ve held off with the birthday celebrations till you got here,’ Louisa said, grabbing her sister by the arm and pulling her towards the house. Amanda strolled calmly behind them. Though she didn’t quite display her emotions on her sleeve like Louisa did, there was no hiding the bright smile that was now etched on Amanda’s face.
***
The dining room was full of colour. Red, green and white balloons were bunched up – dangling from the doorframes and curtains – and wrapping paper had been strewn across the table, as had bags of pasta
