Not My Type
Page 21
‘I won’t stop until you give up. Not enough for you? Do you want me to start singing Oh What a Beautiful Morning? Because I’ll do it, watch! Oh what a beautiful morrrrrrningg…’
Sara draws me close to her and closes my mouth with hers. I savour her familiar taste again. The taste of sugar, of vanilla. I was a fool to think I could give her up. I wrap my arms around her and draw her towards me, enjoying again her curves and her softness. How did I survive so long without her? As my tongue intertwines with hers, I remember the first time I saw her, all the terrible things I thought about her. What a fool I was. It really is true that the right person doesn’t always match what we think of as our ideal person. Love has upset my plans, but in the end I am grateful that it messed up my life.
She pulls away for a moment and puts her lips to my ear ‘And it was so that the frog transformed the prince into a… into a…’
She stops, not knowing how to continue, but I do. ‘Into a platypus.’
Her smile reassures me that the storm has passed. ‘That’s right, into a platypus.’
Epilogue
Sara
One year later
The plane lands about half an hour late. Not that it makes any difference, I slept the whole time. Teo’s caress on the back of my head brings me back to the land of the living. Rousing from my slumbers, I realise that I have drooled on his jacket. I really am a disaster.
‘Well, are you ready to return to everyday life?’
‘Why can’t the honeymoon last forever?’ I mumble sleepily.
‘Because even if it lasted our whole lives we wouldn’t last long without eating. We’ve both got jobs to maintain.’
‘How did you become the responsible one all of a sudden?’
Teo bursts out laughing. ‘I am still the same. You, on the other hand. You’ve rediscovered your wild side… not that I’m complaining, especially when you show it between the sheets.’
He pounces on me and I can’t help but return his embrace. How can I deny anything to my charming husband?
Husband.
If a fortune teller had predicted this future for me, I would have thought she was drunk. I never thought I would end up marrying someone like Teo, a man so far from what I thought was my type.
I look for the umpteenth time at the ring on my finger.
‘You know we’ll never live it down, don’t you?’ I say, looking at him as he helps me up and hugs me.
‘It was your idea.’
‘But you approved.’
‘Of course I approved. I hate weddings, remember?’
I roll my eyes. ‘I remember it very well. But you married me all the same.’
‘What can I say? You make me do unreasonable things,’ he observes with a smile.
‘So marrying me was unreasonable, was it?’
He shakes his head. ‘No, not marrying you. That was the best decision I ever made. But doing it like that, well… you surprised me. The old Teo would have been the first to pull a stunt like that.’
‘So you’re saying that the student has surpassed the master?’
‘I would say so,’ he concludes, stealing another quick kiss.
It’s time to go, everyone is waiting for us.
And by everyone I mean everyone. Relatives, friends, grandchildren, cousins, dogs and cats. We had the unseemly idea of getting married without telling anyone and then running away to the Maldives right afterwards. Actually, it was my idea, but Teo agreed to it immediately. Needless to say, I have incurred the wrath of my aunt, who was absolutely obsessed with being there to see the miracle of my marriage. And of my parents, who phoned me every day during the honeymoon to scold me.
Here they are, all in a row.
‘Sara!’
The voice of my sister Sonia rises above the annoying chatter. I welcome her embrace. She and Silvio were our maid of honour and best man, dressed all in black.
‘Sonia, where’s Matilde?’
‘In her daddy’s arms, as usual.’
Silvio advances with the baby in his arms. She’s perfect, but that doesn’t surprise me. I am surprised, on the other hand, by the stupid expression on Silvio’s face: after Sonia, Matilde is the second woman to make him lose his head. When all’s said and done, I have to admit they make a good couple.
‘You reprobate!’
Aunt Filomena’s reproach pierces my eardrums, and her imposing bulk swoops down upon us and honours Teo with a slap that almost knocks him out.
‘You abducted my niece!’
‘Actually, Aunt, it was my idea,’ I explain, trying to tear him out of her clutches.
‘You cheated me out of an aperitif, a few sugared almonds, and a favour! You absconded like thieves!’
‘You know we both hate marriages.’
That’s one thing we have in common. One of many. This year I discovered that we are more alike than I had imagined. And where we do actually differ, we create a balance that I can wholeheartedly declare is exceptional.
‘That’s no reason to deprive your relatives of a party!’ my mother intervenes, offended in her capacity as a wedding planner.
‘Well, put it this way, we saved you a lot of money.’
‘Hey, look at who we have here!’ exclaims Teo. ‘Its Bartolomeo-Jacopo. How’s your social life going, kiddo?’
Poor Bartolomeo-Jacopo hides behind the legs of my sister, who gives Teo a look that is far from sisterly. I sense that she is about to say something unpleasant and I try to intervene, but fortunately my mother takes the floor, deflecting the attention to herself.
‘Your father hasn’t recovered yet. He couldn’t accompany his own daughter to the altar.’
‘What altar? I got married in the town hall!’
‘Not even a church wedding…’ she shakes her head in dismay, looking sideways at Teo, who has slipped one arm around my waist.
‘Signora Doria…’ he begins, and his uncertain tone amazes me. Of course, my mother can be pretty terrifying when she wants, but …
‘Oh, all right, come on. You will find ways to make yourselves be forgiven, I assure you,’ she tells us with a jovial smile, even if I do detect a veiled threat in that ‘I assure you.’
‘Should I worry?’ Teo whispers in my ear as we all move towards the exit.
‘I’m afraid so. I fear they’re going to force us into having another wedding sooner or later.’
‘Let’s go back to the Maldives.’
I chuckle. ‘That’s not a bad idea,’ I admit.
‘Are you happy, Sara?’ he asks, suddenly very serious.
I take my husband’s hands and look at him, a little worried. ‘Why do you ask me that?’
‘It’s just… so many things have changed this year…’
I smile at him. ‘Thanks to you.’
‘No, thanks to you. I discovered how pleasant it can be to actually work.’
I pretend to be shocked. ‘I must be a sorceress!’
He strokes my cheek. ‘Once I would have called you a witch.’
I tilt my head slightly. ‘But now you know that if you do that you’re a dead man, don’t you?’
‘Oooh, I like it when you’re strict with me. It’s very, very sexy,’ he replies, trying to kiss me. I block him.
‘You are truly incorrigible,’ I say happily.
‘But you like it.’
‘I like it. And I love you.’
And I kiss him, cutting off the reply on his lips.
‘Shall we go?’
I can’t help but laugh. ‘I believe the time has finally come to return to everyday life,’ I say, my mouth still against his.
‘Do you know what? I can’t wait,’ he murmurs, tracing the outline of my cheek with a finger.
And my heart melts. The same way it melted when I kissed him for the first time. The same way it melted when we looked at the stars at the observatory. The same way it melted when he chased me to the university.
I knew it then, even though I didn’t want to ad
mit it, and I know it more clearly than ever now. Teo is definitely not my type. And yet, despite everything, he’s perfect for me.
Acknowledgements
When, after several years of inactivity, I started writing again, I really didn’t think I could give voice to my characters. They were abstract entities that occasionally wandered into my mind and suggested scenes which I would stopped to imagine, seriously risking bumping into a wall while walking. When I made up my mind to write them down, the characters took over, starting to move autonomously, as if they had been waiting for nothing but to be released.
That’s what happened with Teo and Sara. At a certain point I could no longer hold them back and they kept me company for long months. And then… and then something fantastic happened, they touched the heart of someone who wanted me to share their story.
The first thank you, then, goes to Alessandra, who ‘adopted’ my story and helped me improve it. Thanks to her, I managed to bring out the best in my work, I learned from my mistakes and reflected a great deal on many things. Behind the publication of any book there is always an important element of teamwork and I really appreciated the meticulous and careful work that was carried out.
My thanks to Newton Compton, thank you for this opportunity. Even today, when I read my name among the authors, I find it hard to believe.
The next thanks goes to those who follow me, to those who read me. In pole position, Annamaria and Mariarosaria, who know my insane ideas in advance, and without whom I would never find the right motivation to continue writing. They remind me every day, with their unconditional support, how lucky I am.
Thanks to my number one fans. Nicoletta, Lucia, Lisa, Daniela, Maria, Andreea Michela. The latter of whom once told me she was sure that sooner or later she would put my book on her bedside table. I thanked her heartily, but I could never have dreamed that a couple of years later her prophecy would come true.
Thanks to my husband. Putting up with me during my creative phase is truly a heroic enterprise. Even if I sometimes burn the sauce, he knows that it’s for a good cause.
It really is impossible to list everyone, but know that my heart is full of gratitude. Every message, every little sign of affection is part of making a dream come true.
Until the next heart-racer.
About the Author
Anna Zarlenga was born in Naples in 1979 and has a degree in modern literature. Full-time teacher, mother, blogger and reader, she began writing a bit for fun, and from that moment on she’s never stopped.
Become an Aria Addict
Aria is the digital-first fiction imprint from Head of Zeus.
We are Aria, a dynamic digital-first fiction imprint from award-winning independent publishers Head of Zeus. At heart, we’re avid readers committed to publishing exactly the kind of books we love to read — from romance and sagas to crime, thrillers and historical adventures. Visit us online and discover a community of like-minded fiction fans!
We’re also on the look out for tomorrow’s superstar authors. So, if you’re a budding writer looking for a publisher, we’d love to hear from you. You can submit your book online at ariafiction.com/we-want-read-your-book
Get in touch: aria@headofzeus.com
Subscribe to our newsletter
@Aria_Fiction
@ariafiction
@ariafiction
Addictive Fiction