by Eva Scott
She put her hand over her grandmother’s, tears spilling freely down her face. Together, they had faced so much loss. Perhaps, because there had been such love, it made the pain sharper.
‘You must remember, cara mia, that time heals. I have fewer of these moments as the years pass.’ Nonna turned her palm up so she held Annalisa’s hand. ‘They still come but I know how to handle them now. You will too. Just give it time.’
Nonna patted the Book of Cappelli as if it were a faithful dog. ‘Remember, they all got through things and so can we.’
She nodded, unable to speak. United by their grief, the two of them sat smiling at each other through the tears.
‘So what do we do now?’ she asked at last.
‘We do what women do. We go on,’ said Nonna. ‘We simply go on.’
GoldfieldsGirl SUN @ 5:36 PM
Have you ever been hurt by something so big you thought it was going to swallow you whole?
GardenerGuy94 SUN @ 5:38 PM
Yes, I have. Are you okay?
GoldfieldsGirl SUN @ 5:38 PM
Sort of. I had a big realisation today. I realised that I survived something terrible once but I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it again. I’m not strong enough yet. Only I can’t stop the future from arriving.
GardenerGuy94 SUN @ 5:38 PM
There are always options.
GoldfieldsGirl SUN @ 5:39 PM
Remember the buyout offer? I’ve kind of taken it. My pride wouldn’t let me at first but Nonna and Joe convinced me it’s the best thing to do. I have nothing worth selling and I need to make a living somehow. The money will keep me afloat for a while.
GardenerGuy94 SUN @ 5:42 PM
Pride is not an altogether awful thing. I lost all my pride when I gave up and went to work for the family business. You’ve stayed strong.
GoldfieldsGirl SUN @ 5:43 PM
Yes, but which one of us can pay their bills? After seeing Carpenter’s Warehouse yesterday I know it’s over.
GardenerGuy94 SUN @ 5:44 PM
Try to think about it as a new beginning. You’re free to work your doll-house business. You’re completely free to do whatever you want. You could even go somewhere else for a fresh start if you wanted to.
GoldfieldsGirl SUN @ 5:46 PM
I’m going to sleep on it. I feel totally drained and I can’t think straight. A hot shower, a glass of wine, something mindless on the telly and then bed. In that order.
GardenerGuy94 SUN @ 5:50 PM
I’m so sorry you have to go through this and I wish I was there to hold your hand, pour your wine and change the channel for you. Sleep tight. xx
Extract from The Goldfields Gazette, Monday 1 October 1956:
CELEBRATE THE OLYMPIC GAMES CONTINENTAL-STYLE
As the Olympic Games draws ever closer many pundits are concerned that Melbourne may be deadly dull for our international visitors. Here in Wongilly we intend to prove them wrong.
Mr Marco Cappelli, proud owner of Cappelli’s Hardware, is determined to bring some European culture to Australia. ‘Some overseas visitors might think things like the six o’clock swill shows evidence of a lack of Australian sophistication but we are here to show them that what we have to offer is as good as anything they’ll find back in Europe.’
To celebrate the historic event of the Olympic Games, Mr Cappelli has purchased a television set, the first in Wongilly. He is inviting the community to come down to Cappelli’s Hardware and watch the opening ceremony. Good home-cooked Italian food will be on offer so if you’ve not tried Italian before, now is your chance.
Mr Cappelli reckons 1956 will be a year to remember. ‘I think it will be the year Australia welcomed the world.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
What a difference a week made.
Annalisa stood with her hands on her hips, surveying the scene before her. Her grandmother was manning the front counter of the store for the last time. She did so cheerfully, with a kind word for every customer, even though Annalisa knew how much it must hurt knowing that tomorrow the doors to Cappelli’s Hardware would be closed forever.
Out in the courtyard in front of the workshop, Joe and his cronies flipped sausages; all donations from the sausage sizzle were going to Luna’s kindergarten to buy toys and books. Their particular brand of banter seemed to be a big hit with the community if the line snaking around to the front veranda was anything to go by.
Mel sported a pair of fairy wings Annalisa had made for her and had reinvented herself as a face painter. Being a much-loved teacher at the local primary school certainly helped the popularity of her stand. Her designs were a bit wobbly, done with love and enthusiasm rather than skill— and Annalisa loved her for it.
Everyone had rallied to help her put together the grand closing sale, everything discounted by fifty to seventy per cent. Garry had volunteered to act as a shop assistant, having enough knowledge of DIY to give some credible advice.
Of course people peppered their queries with complaints about noise, their neighbours, litter and barking dogs now that they had the ear of a local cop. Garry, the soul of patience, asked them to pop into the station for a chat on Monday before steering them gently back to how to get mould off a bathroom ceiling or the proper preparation required before painting a wall.
Her feet ached. She hadn’t been much use in the sales division, spending most of her time talking to eager parents about doll houses for their little darlings. The word had got out and almost overnight her Instagram page had gone nuts with likes.
‘Have you thought about doing a multi-storey garage for boys?’ asked one father.
‘Boys?’ said a woman she didn’t know. ‘I know heaps of girls who would love that.’
‘Make it a kit. I’d love to make something like that with my boy.’
‘I want something small and portable. We’re going caravanning so a doll house that won’t take up much room would be great,’ said another.
‘Yes, great idea.’ Annalisa jotted some bits down in her notebook. Then to the multi-storey garage people: ‘I’ll put something up on Instagram when I’ve got a prototype and you can let me know what you think.’
To the mother with the space issues: ‘How about I make a tiny caravan? I saw a template and I don’t think it will be very hard. That way your daughter can be in charge of her own caravan adventure.’ Her mind was buzzing with possibilities.
‘Oh, what a fabulous idea.’ Annalisa thought the mother was about to clap her hands in delight. ‘Can you call me when you’ve made one? I don’t care what it costs. Write down my number.’ Annalisa took down the woman’s details.
‘It won’t be, like, super expensive or anything, will it?’ she asked upon reflection.
‘I promise it will be affordable and adorable,’ Annalisa reassured her.
‘You should be taking deposits,’ a voice, dark and velvety, whispered in her ear and breath, hot and sultry, brushed her neck.
She jumped.
Ed Carpenter stood behind her, a big smile on his handsome face, looking both annoyingly smug and kissable at the same time. She gave herself a mental shake. Her recent emotional storm had shown her she still had a lot of healing to do. Where Ed was concerned, she had to protect her heart.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I thought I’d come by and check out the competition.’ He thrust his hands in his chino pockets and rocked back on his heels as if the laughter inside him could barely be contained.
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, all early warning signs she was gunning for a fight. ‘You’re joking, right?’
‘You got me.’ He let out a laugh that turned the head of every woman present. ‘I came by to offer my support …’ He held up a hand as she made to speak. ‘Even though I know you don’t want or need it. That’s not the point.’
‘What is the point?’ She narrowed her eyes, suspecting a trick.
Ed shrugged. ‘I sincerely wanted to let you know how sorry I am this has happe
ned. If I had my way, you could have traded on until you were an old woman too frail to lift a hammer let alone sell one.’
‘But you didn’t get your way.’ She should walk away from this man. His electricity and charisma made him dangerous.
‘No, I did not. Rosie and Oliver would have overridden me anyway. Two against one.’
She nodded, contemplating the message underneath his words. ‘So this is your official apology?’
‘Yep. How am I doing?’
‘Not too bad, although chocolates and wine would have sealed the deal.’ She couldn’t help herself. He got under her skin in the most deliciously irritating way. A smile spread across her face as if her mouth had a mind of its own.
‘I can rectify that,’ he said. ‘Right after I grab a sausage off the old guys. I’ve missed them.’
‘I think they’ve missed you but I’d avoid Nonna. She’s demoted you from devil but she still thinks you’re a demon incarnate.’
‘And what about you? What do you think I am?’ He looked at her with those jewel-bright blue eyes and the floor tilted.
‘I don’t … I mean …’ She couldn’t find the words. How to tell him she couldn’t bear him and his arrogant multimillionaire ways until he stood next to her, that then she wanted to tear his clothes off and have him right there and then.
He waited, not letting her off the hook.
‘You’re alright, I suppose.’
He laughed again, a warm, rich sound that made her toes tingle.
‘Don’t get me wrong,’ she said, feeling a pressing need to qualify her answer. ‘You have caused me nothing but grief. You’re combative and pushy.’
‘Me?’ He looked genuinely surprised. ‘I’d say that is the pot calling the kettle black, wouldn’t you?’
‘I’m not argumentative or pushy,’ she said, affronted.
‘You think? You came storming over to my place, accusing me of all sorts of things and then you were super mean that day at the café.’
‘Yes, well.’ She refused to meet his eyes. He had a point and that rankled. ‘You lied to me and then you put your hands on me.’
‘You mean I kissed you. Like I said, I gave you plenty of warning about what I was going to do and last time you challenged me to do it.’
Another good point.
‘Whatever, you were mean to me too.’ She dismissed the conversation, and with it the memories of their kisses— dangerous territory she could ill afford to explore right now.
‘Another reason to come over today and apologise.’ He took her hands in his own. She looked from their entwined fingers to his face, panic beginning to build in her chest. ‘I’m sorry, Annalisa. Can you forgive me?’
‘Yes, of course.’ She took her hands from his, instantly missing the solid warmth of them.
Where was this going? Her wariness prevented her from letting her guard down entirely. Her self-control was precarious at best where Ed was concerned.
‘Good. I might take a look around, grab a snag, see if there’s a bargain I can nab.’ He gave her a dazzling smile and sauntered off as if his being there was the most natural thing in the world.
‘Don’t look now but the devil has arrived.’ Mel’s fairy wings brushed her shoulder.
‘Demoted to demon now.’
‘Demon or not, I don’t know why you didn’t make a move on him when you had the chance. He’s a mighty fine piece of …’
‘Okay, I get it. He’s cute. He’s also a bunch of trouble.’ They stood shoulder to shoulder, watching Ed as he made his way through the crowd towards the old guys.
‘Why is he here? I thought you two were mortal enemies or something,’ said Mel.
‘He came to apologise for our fight at the café and the time before that.’ Ed stood talking with Joe, laughing at some terrible joke. He looked at ease, as if he belonged there. She couldn’t take her eyes off his mouth. Her confused heart relived the feel of his lips on hers even as her brain worked hard to shut the idea down. Ed knew how to get under her skin.
‘Right.’ Mel gave her a look that said she wasn’t fooled. ‘All that sexual tension has to get released somehow I guess.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I better get back to the kids. Face painting waits for no one,’ said Mel, giving her wings a little shimmy.
‘And I don’t fancy him,’ Annalisa called after her as she disappeared under a pile of eager children. ‘I don’t,’ she said to herself, knowing that even as the words left her lips, they were a lie.
What if she fancied Ed Carpenter more than GardenerGuy94 when they eventually met? When she finally knew his first name.
How was it that she lusted after a man who drove her crazy and was totally wrong for her, while the man she’d given her heart to remained a complete mystery? He could turn out to be a lovely gay man who bred spaniels and whose only interest had ever been friendship. Unlikely, given their conversations, but she’d take that. A girl could never have enough good friends.
Although something about their exchanges told her that he liked her the way she liked him. Yet he still resisted sharing any identifying details about his life with her. Why wouldn’t he tell her his name or what he did for a living or even where he lived? Why all the mystery? She tried to brush off the uneasiness surrounding these questions. The trust they’d built up between them had to stand for something. She had to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Joe and the guys had grilled their last sausage around two o’clock and retired to camping chairs in a patch of sunshine where they could pass comment on the goings-on. Nonna was perched on a stool, where she’d been all day ringing up sales and doing deals in an effort to move as much stock as possible. Mel looked bedraggled as she washed out her brushes and closed up her paints. Garry was the only one who looked as if he could go a few more rounds.
The afternoon had begun to wane, with the crowds thinning and the shelves largely empty. By that reckoning alone, the day had been successful. Ed Carpenter had left and the place looked like the aftermath of a really good party.
The time had come.
Annalisa waited until the last customer had paid for their item. She walked them to the front door and shut it behind them, turning the sign over so it said closed. She let out a deep sigh. It was over.
‘Are you okay?’ Mel appeared beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders.
Annalisa nodded and gave a little sniff. ‘I will be.’
Nonna and Joe were busy counting out the till.
‘We made two hundred and fifty dollars from the sausage sizzle for the kindergarten,’ said Terry.
‘Well done, lads,’ said Garry, slapping Terry on the back and sending him staggering under the force.
‘I made three hundred and seventy-five dollars,’ said Mel, dumping her cash box on the counter.
‘What are we going to do with that?’ asked Annalisa. ‘Kindergarten?’
‘Absolutely not. You’re going to keep this money to buy groceries and generally keep yourself alive while you’re making doll houses.’
‘I can’t do that,’ she protested.
‘Oh, yes you can,’ said Mel. ‘Your best friend has toiled under the pressure from little dictators to provide works of art on demand so you will do what I tell you to do with the money, okay?’
‘Okay,’ Annalisa laughed. Punch-drunk with weariness and hunger, she longed to take a hot shower and lie on the couch. The sooner today lay behind her, the better.
‘What do we do now?’ asked Garry, as he rubbed his hands together, giving the impression he’d be up for a game of cricket or Monopoly or something.
‘We eat pizza.’ Ed Carpenter chose that moment to come barrelling in through the front door, ignoring the closed sign as he laboured underneath a pile of pizza boxes.
‘Where did you come from?’ she asked in amazement.
‘Um … the takeaway shop.’ He shot her a look that questioned her powers of deduction.
As he pla
ced the pizza boxes on the end of the counter Nonna moved the money bag away, as if she didn’t trust him.
‘Who’s for pepperoni?’ Ed said cheerfully as he opened the boxes to reveal delicious, steamy, cheesy pizza.
‘I’ll get some plates,’ she said, grateful for an excuse to grab a moment to herself.
Annalisa slipped out the back to the relative peace of her home. Here in the quiet of the kitchen, she could pretend that everything was normal and nothing had changed. She took down a stack of small plates from the cupboard, adding a pile of paper napkins.
The muffled sounds of her friends and family could be heard through the connecting door. She took some time out to breathe. One in, one out. Two in, two out. Things had changed so fast around here that she seemed to spend her time running to catch up, physically and mentally.
She could hear Ed’s deep voice. Something he said made everyone laugh and a spike of annoyance pricked her. He was supposed to be the enemy, the man who ended the proud history of Cappelli’s Hardware.
How come everyone liked him, laughed at his jokes, forgave him even? She’d have to count herself in that number a little bit. He was addictive and however hard she tried to dislike him, the effect lasted only minutes before he’d charm his way back into her good books again. It helped that he was one hell of a kisser.
Annalisa had to go back inside but she waited a little longer, hoping a sense of stability would make itself known. She was on rocky ground, one minute up and the next perilously close to tears. Losing her family’s legacy, closing the store, reinventing her business, coping with the influx of orders, learning about marketing, being stood up by GardenerGuy94 and kissed by Ed: it was a lot to process.
Her life had gone from calm and boring order to mad chaos in a matter of weeks, and she didn’t know what to make of that.
Pulling herself together, she made a promise to be cheerful and bright for now. When she could be alone for more than a minute, then she’d allow the feelings deep inside her free access, whatever they may be. Gathering the plates in her arms, she fixed her best smile in place and pushed open the door.