La Rosa Gialla

Chapter 16

I really love writing these "Conversational" chapters. And I hope you like reading them.

-B.

February 2024

"What is that?" asked my dad who saw me standing stiffly in the living room with a bouquet of roses in my hand. "Flower," I muttered, still staring at the red flowers. Dad snorted and moved closer to me.

"I can see that. But where did it come from?"

"The messenger brought it."

Dad raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's from Charles," I finally told him what he wanted to know.

"From our Charles?" he asked with a puzzled expression.

"He's not our Charles," I shook my head. "But yeah, it's from him."

"But red? Doesn't he know that..." "They ran out of yellow ones," I interrupted him, and he only uttered a quiet: "Aaaah." I looked at him and went to the kitchen to get the vase.

"Did something happen between you two that led him to send a bouquet of red roses?" Dad called after me curiously. "I don't think so. He wishes me good luck in London," I called back and put the flowers in the vase. "Hmm. I would have just said Good luck," he grumbled. "Charlie is a little special," I grunted in response.

On the plane from Bologna to London, I spent the whole two hours thinking about what Charles was actually trying to do. What did he mean that red suits me better? Because my name is Rossi, or because I live near Maranello, or because he wears red basically 80% of the time? Or am I looking into it too much and he didn't think of it like that at all? He's a guy, he just wanted to send me a flower to give me courage and that's all. That message was just a joke, like most of the things Charles says and the odd innuendos that fall out of his mouth from time to time. Yeah, that's exactly it. Nothing more, nothing less.

I transferred from Gatwick Airport to my tiny flat in Croydon and texted my dad that I had arrived safely. It was Sunday morning, which meant that I still had the rest of the day free, so I arranged to meet two friends, Kala and Sarah, who I went to university with in London and who lived nearby, for the evening. They both enthusiastically agreed, perhaps also because they knew that I always bring something tasty with me from Italy.

In the afternoon, I prepared small snacks, and alcohol and put my exclusive lasagna in the oven. A few minutes before six the bell rang and a hurricane in the form of Kala rushed into my hallway, followed immediately by Sarah who rolled her eyes a few times and then hugged me too. "It smells so nice in here!" Kala exclaimed excitedly, heading off to see what was in the oven. "Nice to see you both," I smiled and motioned to the couch for them to sit down. I poured wine and water for us and sat down with them. "It feels like I haven't seen you in years," I sighed. "It's only been a few weeks," grinned the realistic Sarah and all 3 of us clinked glasses. "Yeah, but so much has happened," I grumbled, instantly perking Kala up. "Adriana found herself a man," she said as if nothing else could have happened. Sarah's eyes widened and they both waited for my statement.

"I haven't found myself a man," I said truthfully. "But you met someone, didn't you?" Kala asked. "Look how she's blushing."

"I ran into an old acquaintance in Gorzano."

"An old friend you used to hook up with?" Kala asked as Sarah elbowed her in the ribs.

"For God's sake. I didn't have sex with him," I sighed in amusement and finished my glass so I could tell them the whole story.

"Are you moving back to Italy?" Sarah was horrified. "He's crazy about you. Why else would he send you flowers," Kala ignored her and I just silently stared at both of them. At that moment, the timer on the oven beeped and I got up to take out the baking pan. "Are you going to move back because of him?" Sarah called after me and I sighed. "I will be moving back for myself and for my dad. It's more complicated with Charles." I took 3 servings and went back to them. "I want to see a photo," Kala stated before she started eating and I showed them Charles' photo from Dad's party without hesitation. "Oh my god! I don't see what's so complicated about it. Pack up and follow him immediately," Sarah remarked, stuffing a forkful into her mouth. I laughed. "You know how they say: Right person, wrong time? What if now is the right time?" she asked.

"Do you really think he's crazy about me?"

"Do you really think guys send bouquets of red roses to girls they want to be friends with? What's wrong with you?" Sarah snorted.

"But he's always on the move," I sighed.

"What's his job anyway?" Kala asked with her mouth full.

"He's a Formula 1 driver."

"WHAT?" Kala yelled, spewing half the contents of her mouth onto the table and the other half onto me. "My God, Kala!" Sarah yelped in disgust as I handed my friend the paper napkins with a laugh.

After we finished eating and cleaned up the dishes, we sat back down on the couch and I poured another bottle. "Promise us you'll at least try it with him," Sarah said, immediately reaching for a refilled glass. "And you will text us all the details," added Kala. I was about to answer, but at that moment I got a message: "I hope the flight was ok. I will keep my fingers crossed for you tomorrow." I felt a heat rush to my face, and it wasn't caused by the wine. "That's him, isn't it?" Sarah asked and I just nodded silently. I wrote a quick one: "The flight was fine and thank you 😊." and looked at the girls who were smiling like Cheshire cats. "Now you can tell us you're not completely head over heels in love with him," Kala pointed out.