history of the place, and I decided that the table in the covered veranda at the outskirts of the pool area was the perfect place to write, at least at that moment.
I went to my room, grabbed my laptop and notepad, and then hunkered down for the afternoon and evening, only going inside to get water and use the loo. I didn’t even have dinner since I was running on creative adrenaline and didn’t want to stop, and Claudio totally understood.
Then later, I came up here to my room and wrote until about three a.m.
Which explains why I’m both exhausted and starving.
I quickly slip on a pair of joggers and flip flops, pulling on a bra and tank top. The only bad thing about having two men in the house with me is that it has ruined my plans for a braless June.
The table is set up outside again, and I guess it will be the designated dining area until the weather sends us inside. It’s another gorgeous day, with soft morning sunshine that hints at the heat to come.
Claudio puts his newspaper down the moment he sees me, and gets to his feet, flashing me the kind of smile that makes my head spin.
“You’re up,” he says. “I felt badly about getting Vanni to wake you, but I figured since you didn’t eat dinner last night, you should at least have breakfast. Espresso?”
“Please,” I say emphatically as I sit down and look over the spread.
The food looks glorious. Poached eggs, slices of cold cuts and hard cheeses, a loaf of crusty bread, cooked prosciutto, melon. Yesterday while I was writing, Claudio went to the grocery store and so now we are obviously spoiled for choice.
Vanni, meanwhile, is slathering a slice of toast with a disturbing amount of Nutella. He grins at me cheekily as he bites into it, chocolate smearing on his face.
“Here we are,” Claudio says as he places the espresso in front of me. “I must apologize for the crema again. I’ll take a look at the machine later.”
“Papà, you’ve been saying you’ll look at the machine for a year now.”
Claudio pauses, his coffee halfway to his lips while he shoots his son a look that could kill. “Vanni,” he says calmly. “Have you ever heard of the expression, throwing someone under the bus?”
“Have you ever heard of the expression, the wheels on the bus go round and around?”
I snicker to myself and both of them look at me. “Sorry. It’s just, that’s an old nursery rhyme.”
Vanni raises his chin. He would look haughty if he didn’t have Nutella on it. “It also means that you keep saying the same thing over and over again, like wheels on a bus going round and round.”
“You just made that up,” Claudio says, reaching forward with a napkin and wiping the Nutella off his face. Vanni squirms in response. “I have to say, it’s very clever.”
Vanni shrugs. “Naturalmente.” He goes back to munching the bread.
I can’t help but be a wee bit smitten by the two of them together. They seem to have such a good, easy relationship. Obviously I know nothing about parenting, but the love between them is more than noticeable.
“Grace,” Claudio says, turning his attention back to me, his eyes sharpening in intensity. “I take it you got some writing done yesterday. Your muse finally showed.”
I nod as I finish chewing on a slice of melon. “I think so. I just hope the muse returns. I’m a little at a loss as to where to go with the story today.”
“You’re making progress, that’s what matters.”
I exhale through my nose. “Yeah. But I didn’t do a lot of writing. It was a lot of rewriting. I basically went through and rewrote my whole proposal and outline, and then rewrote the first few chapters.”
“That’s not easy to do.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “And to be honest, I don’t know if I’m allowed to do that.”
“But it’s your art.”
“But someone bought that specific art and now I’m changing it.”
“I see. What did you change?”
“Well, for one, my book was supposed to be set in the Shetland Islands. I’ve been there with my father when I was really young. It’s cold and isolated and desolate. And while that setting made perfect sense for me when I was in Edinburgh, now that I’m here … it doesn’t feel right. I want to be here in person and in the book. In both worlds.”
Vanni straightens up suddenly and leans toward me. “You