La Località Italiana (The Italian Village) – Part 3

 Read more from Kay here. / Read part two here.

It was the evening of the party, much to Jemma and Lizzy's surprise, there was Miles standing on the doorstep holding a huge bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine. Jemma could not help but notice Miles seemed to look more handsome than she remembered. He kissed both the girls on the cheek and asked if he could have a look around the villa.

"My, you have done well girls, this place is charming" said Miles as he scanned the room.

"Yes, we are very happy" replied Jemma, quite shocked that Miles had turned up.

"Are you working? Do you have jobs yet?" Miles enquired.

"No, we don't, but we need to" sighed Jemma.

Sergio, who had been standing nearby and had heard the conversation, came over.

"Excuse me Jemma, I am sorry to interrupt you but we need someone for our office. Would either of you be interested?"

"I could be" said Jemma quickly.

"Alright, come by tomorrow and we can talk about it" replied Sergio as he went back over to his friends.

"Well," said Miles, "that's great isn't it?"

"Yes, but what about Lizzy?", said Jemma.

Lizzy smiled and said she would hold off a bit, she was actually thinking of opening a little gallery with some of her paintings. This was something she had always wanted to do and now was the perfect time.

"I will take my time and look around a bit Jemma, you go for it," added Lizzy, "I want to get back into painting. There is so much beauty here I could happily paint for the rest of my life".

Jemma was looking forward to starting work again, it had been a few months and she was keen to get herself out there and meet new people.

The real estate office Sergio worked for was small but there was a nice group of friendly people who were around Jemma's age, so she decided to take the job. Not being able to speak Italian was not going to be too big a problem for Jemma. Both girls had started to learn the language and were managing some short conversations in Italian.

The job wasn't too demanding but it would give her some income of her own. The office was situated in the centre of the village and as the weeks went by Jemma started to meet some interesting new people. She often got dinner or coffee invitations and life was really starting to feel good.

Every few weeks Miles would pop over for a few days. Jemma was always happy to see him and felt sad when he left to return to London.

On his last trip Miles mentioned he might sell his townhouse in London and move over to Tuscany. Jemma was happy with his decision and told him he could sleep on the couch until he found his own place.

Miles was an architect but was keen to try something different when he moved over. It was not long before he relocated and Jemma kept her eye out for a property for him.

One day he called into the real estate office and sat down at Jemma's desk.

"I am keen to buy a do-up Jemma. I have some money saved and I fancy a challenge, can you have a look on your books and see what you have?"

"Sure, and I will get Sergio to take you out to look at some properties", she smiled.

"Great, will you come along as well Jemma…? I am keen to get your opinion", he asked earnestly.

"I will if I can…" Jemma replied.

"Ok sure…well if I find something I will get Sergio to take us back together and we can look it over" added Miles.

The next day Sergio took Miles out in the car. They had only looked at a couple of properties when Miles felt he had found the one he wanted to buy.

That evening Jemma, Miles, and Sergio went to look at the property. Jemma was a bit taken aback at his choice.

"There is a lot of work to be done Miles…" she said.

"I know, but it has so much potential. I want to buy it Jemma. Look at the wonderful gardens, we can grow heaps of vegetables and look at all the fruit trees…" he trailed off as he walked on ahead.

"We? What's this 'we'?" she demanded.

"Oh…I'm sorry…getting carried away…I just assumed you might want to be involved a bit?" said Miles, looking terribly dejected.

"Please don't assume anything Miles" Jemma replied as she walked back to the car.

Soon Sergio and Miles followed her. There was an awkward silence for the drive back to town.

When they got back to the villa Jemma said she was tired and went off to bed. Lizzy was still at the gallery she had bought a month earlier.

Miles flopped down on the couch. He put his head in his hands, he was troubled. He knew he had assumed too much of Jemma and worried he had ruined their friendship. Their relationship had changed since Jemma had moved out to Tuscany, and he had to acknowledge that.

When Lizzy walked in later that evening Miles confided in her.

"Oh don't worry Miles, Jemma will come around. I guess she was taken off guard. It will sort itself out. Jemma is just stretching her wings", she said reassuringly.

"I hope so…" said Miles, smiling tiredly.

'I will make us a cup of tea. Try not to worry Miles", called out Lizzy as she headed into the kitchen.

Miles decided there was no point putting any pressure on his relationship with Jemma. They had been close for too long for him to lose that.

Over the next week Miles looked around for some temporary accommodation to stay in while he continued to look for a property to buy. He also found some work in at a local vineyard to help tide him over until he had decided what to do.

Three months later, just before winter came Miles bought a modest little Villa. It needed some work but he was looking forward to the challenge. He had a bit of land covered in Olive trees, along with some grapevines. He even considered having a go at making some of his own wine. He had managed to find a job with an architect in the next town. The pay wasn't going to be huge but it was enough for him to survive on and he still had some savings. He saw Jemma and Lizzy from time to time but decided it had to be up to Jemma if she wanted more out of the relationship.

(Continued here)

By Kay Rayner