Play nicely

19th June 2022

Last Sunday and Stephen’s all-day absence from LCDDB set the precedence for this past week, though whilst he has been out and about working hard and playing hard, I have been doing the same old same old and living vicariously through his exploits. Unfortunately, as I am the one who writes this and not him, you will have to do the same, only twice removed.

He was out betimes shortly after breakfast on Monday and was not expected due back till dinner time. He did, though, manage to stop by for a couple of minutes late morning, ostensibly to bring some fresh milk (even in the fridge, with the weather so hot it doesn’t come anywhere near its best before date) and grab a breather. Tuesday, he anticipated not being back till very late as he was expecting to have to go to dinner with the Carellis and another customer, an interloper for the afternoon while the others took a break and reviewed their footage. With great good sense, though, the customer declined the invitation, citing tiring travelling and the hot weather, and whilst I was pleasantly surprised to see the Freeclimber winding down the hill at something gone 7, there was the slight problem of finding a way to make dinner for one stretch to two (the wisdom of always keeping a tin or two of farro in the cupboard proved its worth).

We had the same challenge the next night, as coming to the end of their visit and feeling the strain of Mrs C’s lunches, the first two customers (next time I think I will have to give people aliases) also declined a dinner invitation and Stephen again turfed up after saying he wouldn’t be home to eat, though to give him his due, he did say that all he needed was a bit of bread. As if I am the kind of person to sit there scoffing while being watched by a loved one clutching a crust. This time the answer was to cube up the said bread (which was more on the stale than fresh side, which is ok as in Italy, unlike the UK, bread doesn’t go mouldy it just dries out, being a more natural product), give it a soaking of olive oil and use it as a crunchy topping to the sausage bake I had in the oven.

Thursday Stephen was more his own boss, which meant he had to catch up with all the things he hadn’t done the previous three days, including a return visit in the afternoon to the ladies’ factory in Porto Sant’Elpidio and a consultation prior to starting on the next collection. He again cut it fine in being home for dinner, but as he was expected there was no last-minute burst of culinary creativity needed. He was also, thanks to a busy morning, late for lunch. As I had a lesson at 1.30, it was a bit of a quick meal, but at least we were able to eat together at midday for the only time in eight days.

And why is that, I hear you cry, if the customers were all done and dusted by Wednesday evening? Because this weekend was his weekend away with his playmates, Computer Luca and Shoe Marco, while I stayed at home being the adult. Luca picked him up at the top of the road around 11.30, 45 minutes later than the time he originally said, 15 minutes earlier than the second time he said, and 15 minutes later than the message saying he was running 15 minutes late when he changed the time to 11.00.

They arrived at their destination more or less on schedule and have spent their time sunbathing and relaxing – albeit again on a slightly different timescale. Used to being up and about before 7 a.m., not making it to the beach till almost 12 noon yesterday had Stephen straining at the leash a bit; nor was eating dinner at gone 10 pm really his thing when that is the time he takes Bella and Harry for their pre-bedtime comfort outing. But hey, if you decide to go on a weekend break to relax and enjoy yourself with footloose and fancy-free youngsters (used advisedly) who still live at home with their mothers, you can’t expect it to be all fun.