OH MY GOD! I hit 100 reviews! I am beyond excited right now. Not only because of the reviews but because I'm updating again so soon. I am so glad that Nonna seemed to go over really well with everyone. Now I'm stuck trying to create Nonno. I completely intended to write Elena trying to learn how to cook with Nonna and even started it, but then decided that I was missing Damon so I skipped it to get him back a little sooner, but I think it's going to come back around. We get to see a brief encounter between Damon and Stefan this chapter, but there will be more to that later. Right now I have a specific moment I'm working up to in Italy and am trying to focus on getting there. So, here's chapter eleven!
Chapter Eleven
"This is amazing!" I took another bite of Nonna Salvatore's homemade soup then offered a bite to Olivia that she happily took it.
"Thank you, Elena. Do you cook?"
"Not really."
"You must learn." She stated matter-of-factly as she took another spoonful of the homemade goodness.
"Nonna bakes all of the breads you find here in the house, most of the vegetables come from the garden, and the noodles are homemade as well." Stefan bragged on his grandmother.
"Wow. I'm lucky not to mess up something out of a box with directions."
"Who cooks at home for Damon and Olivia?" The older woman set her spoon down in the bowl.
"Damon has a housekeeper named Rose, Nonna, remember?" Stefan saved me from further embarrassment. Nonna nodded her head as if she remembered.
"I would love to learn a little though if you wouldn't mind teaching me?" I offered.
Nonna's eyes lit up. "Sì, sì! You help me bake bread tomorrow."
"That sounds perfect." I couldn't wait to surprise Damon once we were home.
The following afternoon I was lying in the bedroom after having put Livi down for a nap when my cell phone started ringing. I rolled over and grabbed the phone off the nightstand and saw that it was Damon calling again.
"Hello?" I whispered as I ducked out of the bedroom so that I wouldn't wake her back up.
"Why are you whispering?"
"I just got Olivia to sleep. She's only been asleep about five minutes." I pulled the door so that it was cracked and sat down in one of the armchairs in the tiny sitting room that our bedroom was adjacent to.
"Sorry. I was just letting you know that my flight has been delayed but I'm being told that they're hoping to start getting flights out of here by mid-morning. I just don't know when it'll be yet. Everything going okay?"
"Yeah, your grandmother is so sweet. I haven't met your grandfather yet."
Damon was silent for a moment. "And Stefan?"
"He's been nice but I haven't seen him today."
"I have another call coming in. I'll talk to you later." I told him good-bye and hung up the phone. I sat there for a few moments before heading back into the bedroom to keep an eye on my daughter.
I was lying in bed with Olivia cuddled into my chest. According to the clock it was four a.m. With the six hour time difference, my sleep patterns were very off kilter. I must have drifted back to sleep because when I woke back up I felt an arm wrapped around my waist and a body pressed against my back. I turned my head slightly to try and see who was in my bed but wasn't having any luck.
"Quit moving." I felt a pair of lips murmuring against the back of my head.
"Damon?" I was fairly certain it was him, but surely I would have felt him climbing into bed with me.
"Mmhmm?"
"When did you get in?"
"Five thirty." He mumbled. I looked over Olivia to see that it was seven forty now.
"Did you get much sleep on the plane?"
"E-mails." I took that to mean that he had spent the flight working.
"Okay, get some sleep." He didn't say anything else so I closed my eyes and let myself drift back to sleep.
It wasn't much longer before I felt a little finger tickling my nose. "Mama, time to wake up. Da-mon's here."
I opened my eyes and saw her bright green eyes looking down at me. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah!" She laid her head back down on the pillow so that I now had a good view of the clock. Eight-thirty. "Juice, mama!"
"All right. I'll get you some juice. Do you want to go downstairs with me or stay in bed?" I tried to keep my voice quiet so that I wouldn't wake Damon.
"Bed."
"Okay. I'll be right back, but don't wake up Damon."
Damon's arm moved from my waist and he pulled away a little. "What time is it?"
"It's eight thirty."
"I need to get up anyhow."
I sat up and looked down at Damon who had rolled over onto his back. "I'll be right back."
I climbed out of the bed and made my way downstairs to the kitchen where I found Nonna working on more bread. "Bouongiorno Elena! Did Damon get here?"
"He did." I spied the coffee pot on the counter. "I thought I might take him a cup of coffee."
"Sì, sì." She pulled a coffee cup out of a cupboard and handed it to me. I filled the cup and added a little milk then set to filling Livi's sippy cup with some grape juice. I quickly climbed the stairs where I found Livi and Damon snuggled up in bed. I handed Livi her sippy cup and watched as she climbed off the bed.
"And for you, I brought coffee with a little milk." I handed the small mug to Damon who took a small drink of it.
"God bless you, woman. I knew there was a reason why I kept you around." He set his mug on the nightstand. "So how have the last two days been? Be honest with me."
"They've been good. Your Nonna is great, but I haven't met your grandfather yet. Stefan said that he had gone to meet with someone early yesterday morning and won't be back until tonight." I went to the dresser and pulled out a change of clothes for Livi along with a clean diaper.
"Did you have anything you wanted to do today?" Damon sat up in the bed, letting the comforter fall to reveal his naked torso.
I hoisted Olivia onto the bed and laid her back down beside Damon so that I could get her changed. "Are you not tired?"
"Nah, I'll be fine."
"Wait!" I stopped and looked up at him. "How did you get here this morning?"
"I took a cab. I didn't want to bother you. So anything in particular for today?"
"I don't have any requests at the moment." I stripped Livi's pajamas off of her and set to work on her diaper.
"You're awful stubborn, Miss Gilbert. I suppose I'll just have to surprise you."
I smiled up at him. "That sounds perfect."
Forty five minutes later we were both showered, dressed, and headed down the stairs to visit with Nonna before going out for the day. I was following Damon through the hallway with Livi holding one hand so that I could carry the diaper bag with the other hand. Damon had told me to leave my purse at the house and only take my license and a minimal amount of cash with me, hidden in a folded up diaper in the diaper bag. We entered the kitchen to find Nonna and Stefan sitting at the long kitchen table sipping on coffee.
Nonna looked up as we entered and quickly crossed the room to embrace Damon. "Carissimo Damon, sei finalmente a casa. Mi sei mancato. La tua ultima visita è stata troppo breve. Hai fame? Cosa posso portarti?" (My dearest Damon, you're finally home. I have missed you. Your last visit was much too short. Are you hungry? What can I get you?)
Stefan turned around to see what had caught her attention while Damon bent down to hug her as well. "Nonna Relax, sto bene. Non dovresti preoccuparti tanto." (Relax grandmother, I'm fine. You shouldn't worry so much.)
She tried stearing him towards one of the benches. "Sciocchezze. Ti siedi e io vi farà colazione. Accomodati. Accomodati." (Nonsense. You sit down and I will make you some breakfast. Take a seat. Take a seat.)
Damon laid a hand on her arm to stop her. "Nonna, per favore. E 'quasi mezzogiorno. Ho pensato che avrei potuto pranzare con Elena e Olivia e farti visitare la città." (Grandmother, please. It's nearly noon. I thought I might have lunch with Elena and Olivia and show them around town.)
I wasn't too sure what either of them were saying but I recognized mine and Olivia's names as Nonna turned to look at us. A look of understanding crossed her face as she smiled up to her grandson. "Certamente. Capisco. Go. Vai divertirsi con la tua ragazza. Ci vediamo stasera, vero? Sicuramente Elena vorrebbe avventurarsi fuori di casa per un po'." (Of course. I understand. Go. Go have fun with your girlfriend. I will see you this evening, yes? Surely Elena would like to venture out of the house for a while.) She turned to me and started speaking in English again. "Go, Elena and have a good day with Damon. Have fun." She reached out and kissed me on the cheek before doing the same to Damon.
"Thank you, Nonna." I noticed then that Stefan seemed to be left out of everything. "Good Morning, Stefan."
"Morning, Elena. Damon." He stood up and held a hand out to his older brother waiting to see if it would be accepted or rejected.
After a moment, Damon reached out and took the outreached hand. "It's good to see you, Stefan. I know I came back to see you so that we could straighten everything out, but I owe Elena some groveling. You understand?"
"Of course. I'll be here when you get back." They dropped their hands and I turned to head out to the car when I heard Stefan mumble. "Don't have much of a choice."
"And whose fault is that, Stefan?" Damon's voice raised a couple octaves. I turned slowly to see that Damon's entire demeanor had changed.
"I know it's my fault, Damon. I'm not trying to blame anyone else." Stefan ran his hand through his hair. "I'm just a little stir crazy."
"Imagine how much more stir crazy you would have been in prison. I think you got off pretty easy with the all-expenses paid trip to Italy." Damon took a step closer towards his little brother.
Nonna sighed and took a step so that she was between them now. "Ragazzi. Ragazzi. Si prega di non combattere tra di loro." (Boys. Boys. Please don't fight with each other.)
"Nonna's right, Damon. I didn't want to see you so that we could fight again. I miss my brother." Stefan lowered his voice.
"I missed my brother too, but the fury of his sabotage really outweighed it." Damon sneered at him.
I decided to take a chance and moved to Damon's side, laying a hand on his arm. "Why don't we just go out and enjoy our afternoon, please?"
Damon looked down at me and then to Livi who was holding my other hand. "You're right. I promised you a good time. Let's go." He bent down and kissed his grandmother on the forehead. "Ciao, Nonna." He glanced back up at Stefan before placing his hand on my lower back and leading me out the side door that led to the foot path near our rental car.
As soon as we were to the car, I dug through my purse to find the car keys and handed them to Damon. He pressed the button to unlock the doors and I went about getting Livi settled in her car seat and tossed the diaper bag onto the other side of the backseat. Damon climbed into the car and started it up as I climbed into the passenger seat and fastened my seat belt.
Damon shifted the car into reverse then stopped to glance my direction. "Is the stroller in the house?"
"No, I left it in the trunk. I didn't see the point in hauling it in and out."
"Perfect." He turned around so that he could watch out the back window while he backed the car up and then shifted into drive, gliding down the long driveway to the road.
We were about a mile from the house when Damon reached over and laid his hand on leg. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't want you to see any of that with Stefan."
"Don't worry about it. I have a sister and a brother. I know how frustrating they can be and that doesn't even include sabotage?" I tested the word out, not knowing what happened between them. Damon had never offered that information to me and I hadn't wanted to pry.
"I just want to forget about him right now. What are you in the mood for right now? We could stroll through some of the street vendors and then grab a bite to eat?" He offered as he signaled and turned onto another road.
"That's fine." I reached down and laid my hand on top of his and squeezed it a little. "Thank you for bringing us with you."
He gave a short laugh. "Thank you for not killing me for missing that flight. Or for snapping at you when you called."
"Don't worry about it. You didn't do it on purpose." I turned and watched out the window at the scenery I had missed when I first arrived since I had been driving.
We drove for about another hour before Damon parked the car. He put the car in park and turned to me. "Do not leave my side while we're here. Unfortunately despite the beauty and allure of this city, we have a high number of pickpockets and beggars in town. If you see anything you want, let me handle the shopkeeper, they can be known for taking advantage of beautiful young women, both financially and physically."
"Is that why you told me to leave my purse at home?"
"Yes. I'll get the stroller." He turned the car off and we both climbed out. I opened the back passenger door and unstrapped Olivia, grabbing the diaper bag at the same time. When I straightened back up, Damon was standing there with the stroller ready. "Poor thing, went from one set of restraints to another." I pulled out a blanket that I had left in the stroller's basket and tucked around her. It was much warmer than Mystic Falls, but still a bit chilly at only forty seven degrees Fahrenheit.
I closed the door and listened as Damon locked and set the alarm on the car. "Do I need to carry the diaper bag or do you think it will be okay in the basket?" I took the handlebar from Damon.
"It should be fine in the basket. Surely we would see someone trying to get something out of it." He took the bag from me and placed it in the storage basket under Livi and pushed it forward. "Let's go." I started pushing the stroller down the street as Damon flanked my side and laid his right hand on my lower back as we walked.
We walked for a few moments before getting to several vendors. There were several vendors selling various leather products and jewelry. We would stop and browse occasionally, but a majority of it seemed to be very similar. We finally stopped at one table where Damon was browsing through the leather belts. He picked one up and flipped it over, inspecting both sides of it before setting it down and guiding me to continue walking.
"Did you not like the belt? I thought it was pretty nice." I looked up at him as we crossed the street.
"It wasn't real. There are a lot fakes here. You have to keep an eye out."
"How do you tell the difference?" I looked back to see a man paying for one of the belts.
"The label. Or, you can always ask for a flame test." He shrugged his shoulders in disinterest.
"What's a flame test?"
"Real leather will not burn whereas fake leather will. A flame test won't hurt true leather." We walked on for a while before Damon stopped another vendor that sold several leather products. There was a man working that seemed to be about the same age as Damon, maybe a year or two younger, with dark blonde hair with a great tan. "Ehi Amando, non mi aspettavo di vederti qui oggi. Come sei stato, cugino?" (Hey Amando, I wasn't expecting to see you out here today. How have you been, cousin?)
I stopped beside Damon and looked up to him, a little confused. Did he know this man? The man looked up in surprise as he seemingly recognized Damon. "Damon? Cosa stai facendo qui? Non sapevo che saresti venuto a." (What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming in.) He stopped and looked over me and Olivia. "E chi è questo giovane e bella donna con te? È questa la tua figlia?" (And who is this beautiful young woman with you? Is this your daughter?)
"Questo è Elena, la mia ragazza, e sua figlia, Olivia. Dovevo venire accordo con Stefan. Continuava a chiamare e chiamare fino a quando ha finalmente ottenuto la nonna dalla sua parte." (This is Elena, my girlfriend, and her daughter, Olivia. I had to come deal with Stefan. He kept calling and calling until he finally got Grandmother on his side.) He gestured towards the man as he spoke to me now. "This is my cousin Amando Cavallo. Our grandmothers were sisters."
"Hello, it's nice to meet you." I smiled at him, not sure if he would understand English or not.
"He doesn't speak very much English," Damon told me as Amando began speaking in Italian. "but he is saying that it is nice to meet you and that you have a beautiful daughter."
"Grazie." I used one of the only four Italian words that I currently knew.
Damon and Amando spoke for a few moments before Damon purchased a couple belts from his cousin and we started making our way down the street again. He took the belts and slid them into the basket under the stroller. "Amando and his father, Marco, make all of their leather products themselves."
"So no flame test then?"
He grinned down at me. "No, no flame test."
"Do you ever think of spending more time here?"
"I imagine I will eventually. I don't know for fact yet, but I've heard that when Nonno passes, I'll inherit the vineyard and farm."
"Why you? Why not your uncle or one of your brothers?"
"Zach doesn't want any part of Italy. As soon as he was eighteen, he fled to America with dad. Stefan, well, let's just say Stefan can't handle it and Nathan doesn't even know his grandparents. Hell, he barely knows me or Stefan."
I didn't say anything else as we walked on until I saw another vendor with a dark brown leather satchel that I loved. I stopped and asked the girl working if I could see it. I looked through it for a moment before deciding that I did in fact like it. "How much?" I hoped she spoke English.
"Is two hundred thirty euros." She responded slowly in English.
I looked up at Damon. "I don't know the conversion rate. How much is that?"
He thought for a few moments. "Roughly about two fifty or two sixty."
I felt my eyes bug out of my head. There was no way I was paying that for a purse. I handed the purse back to her. "Grazie." I turned to start pushing the stroller.
"Did you want the purse?" Damon took a jogging step to catch up with me.
"Not for that much money. That is outrageous."
"It's handcrafted with authentic Italian leather. That's not a bad price. Do you want it?"
I stopped and turned to look up at him. "I am not paying nor am I asking you to pay that kind of money for a purse. I can find something similar at Wal-Mart or Target when we get home for about thirty dollars."
"Fine. Be stubborn." We walked for a few more minutes before Damon led us into a gelato shop.
"Ice cream? For breakfast? What kind of mother do you think I am?" I had my hand on my hip while Olivia spotted the Gelato and started crying for ice cream.
"Only the best mother ever!"
"Fine, but she doesn't get her own." I relented. We were in Italy. Ten minutes later, we were sitting at a small table in the corner of the shop. Damon had ordered the "zuppa inglese" which contained cookie chunks and a little bit of sweet wine. I had ended up with "stracciatella" which was similar to chocolate chip ice cream and after a little persuasion, Olivia had ended up with a very small cup of the custard based gelato. Damon checked a few e-mails while we sat and ate.
Damon was typing out a response to someone when I decided to sneak my spoon across the table and steal a small bite of his. "I saw that." He warned as he kept typing.
"I wasn't necessarily trying to hide it." I then took a quick bite of Olivia's.
"I saw that!" Olivia banged her spoon down at the table.
Damon and I both burst out laughing. "See what you did." I shook my spoon at him.
"You're the one over there thieving everyone else's gelato."
"I was sampling." I scooped a small bite of mine and offered it to my daughter. "Would you like to try some of mine?" She looked at it for a moment then pointed at a piece of the chocolate. "It's chocolate. You like it." She seemed skeptical, but leaned over and took the bite. After I got my spoon back from her, I scooped another bite and held it over the table to Damon. "Would you like a bite?" I offered sarcastically.
"Yes, I would." He took the spoon and swallowed the gelato. "But I cheated. I knew what it tasted like." He handed the spoon back to me and smirked.
I keep trying to include Livi, but keep focusing on Damon and Elena. Maybe they need a day out that focuses all on Livi? Hmmm...I'm going to think on that. It literally just came to me as I was typing this. So, Stefan and Damon are a bit tense together. I have Stefan's back story in mind and have even written part of it, but I'm not sure when Elena is going to find out. I might have to delve into Damon's mind for a little while. I also finally slightly introduced the half-brother, I mentioned him briefly way back in chapter two, but he might come back into play later. So, let me know what you think and if things keep going well, I might have another update by the end of the weekend.
