Apricot Kisses

by Winter, Claudia

  “Beat it, Fabrizio,” I snap.

  “In your dreams.”

  “But I’ve got to think.”

  He’s silent for a while.

  “How about coming out and sharing your thoughts with me?” Fabrizio asks softly. I gasp for air.

  “That’s . . . not possible.”

  “Oh. Why not?”

  “Because—hic!—I’m thinking about you.” Wonderful. Now I have the hiccups. I hear quiet laughter outside.

  “That’s good.”

  “It’s not good at all—hic!—because . . .” I hear a shuffling noise and the shoes disappear. “What are you doing?”

  “Sitting down. Since you’re not coming out, I’ll just have to listen to you from here. By the way, I brought Nonna along so nobody would swipe her by mistake from the windowsill. You can take your time.”

  “You brought your grandmother to the restroom?” I’m in such shock that I forget about the hiccups.

  “I think Nonna is used to quite a few things by now. But why isn’t it good that you’re thinking about me, bellissima?

  “Stop calling me that. I’m sure Sofia wouldn’t like it.”

  “Why does it matter what Sofia likes or doesn’t like?” He sounds genuinely surprised, which annoys me. Men can be so ignorant.

  “My god! Don’t play dumb. Because Sofia is your . . . whatever it is she is.”

  Silence on the other side of the door.

  “Sofia is my ex-girlfriend, Hanna. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  “Ex-fiancée,” I say stubbornly.

  “If you insist.”

  “Nothing else?”

  “Absolutely nothing else.”

  “But . . . really?”

  “Was that why you left? You thought Sofia and I—”

  “I didn’t want to stand in the way of your happiness,” I say.

  “Oh Hanna, you silly goose.”

  “Go ahead. Insult me.”

  “It’s not very romantic in here . . . but I’ll take my chances.” Fabrizio sounds so serious now that a chill goes down my spine. “I’m in love with only one woman—so in love that I can’t think of anything else. And this woman happens to be on the other side of this toilet door and refuses to come out.”

  Now it’s my turn to be silent, embarrassed. Did he really just say “in love”? He’s in love—and I think he’s talking about me.

  “That’s pretty stupid of that woman, isn’t it?” I whisper.

  “She’s probably as afraid of her feelings as I am of mine. It took me way too long to understand what my heart was telling me. I’m really sorry about that.”

  I take a deep breath. I’m so nervous that I start biting my fingernails. What if I’m just imagining all this? What if—but I can hear him breathing. I straighten up.

  “Fabrizio?”

  “Hanna?”

  I get up and lean my forehead against the door. “What . . . are we going to do now?”

  “Opening this door would be a good start, since I can’t kiss you otherwise. And who’s ever heard of a declaration of love without a kiss?”

  I smile as I reach for the handle. Then a strange thought pops into my head. “But I have one more question.”

  “Ask whatever you want, bellissima.”

  I slide back the lock and open the door with a little push.

  He’s sitting cross-legged on the floor, his back against the tiled wall, tie loosened, expensive jacket crumpled on the ground. My eyes focus on the urn in his lap and then wander up to his face. He looks tired, exhausted—exactly the way I feel. A wave of warmth washes over me and my pulse slows.

  Fabrizio smiles and tilts his head.

  “Tell me,” I say, “can you sing?”

  Epilogue

  Fabrizio

  My grandmother, Giuseppa Camini, returned home on a mild summer night. It was a secret ceremony, close family only, conducted by Padre Lorenzo—whom we had to bribe with a case of Nonna’s liqueur to enter the cemetery after midnight.

  Nobody said much after Lorenzo stopped stammering, because no words were necessary. Marco and I carried the urn together, and Alberto laid her to rest under a perfect starry sky—next to her husband, Eduardo, to whom she remained faithful her entire life even though her heart belonged to another.

  I’m not a believer in the supernatural, but it sometimes seems to me that Nonna returned home late on purpose, so that people she cared about could return home as well—Hanna’s mother, for one, who quietly stood next to Hanna during the ceremony. She took Alberto’s hand when he started to cry silently—out of sorrow, but maybe also for joy, since he knew how much Isabella’s presence would have meant to Nonna.

  But Marco and I have also found our place because of Nonna, even if it’s not quite the way she planned.

  I didn’t accept the inheritance. It was a good decision, I realized, when I looked more closely at all the paperwork that I’d just tossed into Marco’s drawer without ever reading. Now I fully respect the way Marco deals with income and expenditure lists, lawyers and bank directors, and excited creditors.

  After we received the German distributor’s offer, we never talked about selling the apricot orchards again. Marco insisted, despite my objections, on signing over the agricultural part of the estate to me, since he wants to concentrate fully on administering Tre Camini. He has also started, however, to take some interest in hard physical labor on the estate. Despite being all thumbs out in the fields, which makes the laborers laugh, he really wants to become a good lord of the manor.

  My little brother and I still disagree on many things. I doubt that will change. But Lucia’s eyes sparkle when Marco shuffles into the kitchen in work pants, like a true Camini, and devours Rosa-Maria’s pasta. Her happy face, more than anything, tells me that we are on the way to securing a future for Tre Camini.

  Speaking of the future, I’m going to be an uncle—Lucia is finally pregnant. I just hope the baby doesn’t turn out like Marco . . . or, god forbid, like me.

  For now, Hanna has accepted the position in Vienna. I’m trying hard to persuade her to come to Italy not just on weekends, but for good—even though I’m no longer an estate owner, but just a simple farmer.

  I worked like a mule with Alberto all summer so Saalfranck would get what he wanted: at least two thousand five hundred gallons of Nonna’s apricot liqueur. He sold out within weeks to top restaurants all over Germany. He has more orders than he can fill.

  Everything points to a good harvest—and to a happy end.

  That is, if Hanna says yes to the little ring I’ve been carrying around in my pocket for the past few days. I struggled with myself for a long time—wondering if I should dare. Then I came across Nonna’s letter in my desk drawer and read that last sentence again and again.

  “Deep down, all Caminis are mothers and fathers, wives and husbands.”

  How can I not follow suit?

  A Note of Thanks

  In our digital age, books have become a fast-paced medium—which offers authors many opportunities but also pitfalls on the road to quality rather than quantity.

  My novels are close to my heart. They arise out of love for the written word and need time to grow, since I have to feel good about them before sending them out into the world. That’s why I first of all want to thank my readers for their patience and loyalty.

  Just as much gratitude is due to the wonderful people who made it possible for the novel to appear in its present form:

  Christina Schulz, for her encouragement and enthusiasm. Without you, I might have tossed the laptop out the window long ago.

  Katrin Koppold, who always has good advice for enhancing the narrative.

  Julia Dessalles, who made me realize how dreadful my school-French is.

  And Jochen Lang, who still asks only for coffee when it t
akes hours to repair my computer even though it never seemed like too much of a problem at first.

  I want to express special thanks to my literary agents, Michaela and Klaus Gröner, who make me feel that I am in good hands—as an author, but also as a human being.

  I also want to thank the entire AmazonCrossing team for this great English edition, especially my editor, Gabriella Page-Fort, and my translator, Maria Poglitsch Bauer.

  Last but certainly not least, there is my small family of two legs and eight paws. I could not write this type of book without their love. And: you know who you are!

  Recipes

  Ribollita (the way Hanna’s mother makes it)

  Serves 4

  Ingredients

  A mixture of dried beans, peas, lentils, and barley—about two handfuls, but adjust as you wish and based on what is available

  3 carrots, sliced

  10 ounces of potatoes, cubed

  2 stalks of celery, sliced

  1 medium onion, cubed

  1 clove of garlic, diced

  1 cup of vegetable stock

  1 can of diced tomatoes

  Half a head of Savoy cabbage, cut into strips

  A few sprigs of thyme

  A pinch each of sugar, salt, and pepper

  4–6 slices of day-old white bread

  3 tbsp. olive oil

  Cooking Instructions

  Soak the legumes overnight, and then simmer them for one to two hours until soft. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Sauté the carrots, potatoes, and celery for about five minutes. Add the onion and garlic and continue to sauté until the onions are translucent but not brown. Stir in the stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Then simmer on low heat for ten to twelve minutes. Add the cooked legumes, the Savoy cabbage, the thyme, and a pinch of sugar. Cook on low heat for two hours. At the end of the cooking time, season with salt and pepper, and let the stew cool.

  Place alternating layers of bread and stew in an ovenproof dish and bake at 300 degrees F for half an hour.

  Hanna’s advice: Add a dash of olive oil once the ribollita is served. At home, we make an S with the oil on top of the soup—facciamo una S.

  Nonna’s Roast Rabbit with Apricots

  Serves 4

  Ingredients

  1 rabbit, cut up

  Salt and pepper

  1–2 tbsp. olive oil

  2 tsp. fennel seeds

  7 ounces of onion, cut into eighths

  3 tbsp. tomato paste

  4 tomatoes, stemmed and quartered

  8 fresh apricots, cut into wedges, pits removed

  3 sprigs of thyme

  1 cup of white wine

  Brown sugar to taste

  Cooking Instructions

  Rub the rabbit parts with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil and fennel seeds in a Dutch oven. Brown the rabbit parts and then remove from the pot. Sauté onions until translucent, add tomato paste, cover, and cook on low heat for about five minutes. Add tomatoes, apricots, thyme, and rabbit parts. Stir, add the wine, cover, and let braise for forty-five minutes. Remove the lid and cook another fifteen minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and a dash of sugar. Remove the thyme sprigs.

  This dish pairs well with pasta or ciabatta.

  Nonna’s advice: Never use cheap wine for this dish! Choose a sweeter wine to emphasize the flavor of the apricots.

  Ragù Tre Camini

  Serves 4

  Ingredients

  1–2 tbsp. olive oil

  1 large onion, chopped fine

  1–2 cloves of garlic, minced

  1 carrot, cubed

  1/2 cup of beef broth

  1 tube of Italian tomato paste

  1 can of diced tomatoes

  1–2 tsp. sugar

  1–1 1/4 pounds of frozen ground beef

  Salt, pepper, and a mixture of fresh Italian herbs (flat-leaf parsley, thyme, oregano, marjoram, basil, etc.)

  Cooking Instructions

  Heat olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onions until glassy. Add the garlic and carrot and continue sautéing for two minutes. Deglaze with the beef broth, add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and sugar, and cook on low heat. Add the frozen beef and simmer, stirring often. Continue stirring until the meat and tomato sauce are completely integrated. Add the herbs, season with salt and pepper, and simmer on the lowest possible heat for an hour. Adjust seasoning and serve with your choice of pasta.

  Rosa-Maria’s advice: The method of adding frozen beef to the sauce prevents the ground beef from drying out when it is browned. This way, the ragù stays smooth and all ingredients are perfectly combined. (Rosa-Maria refuses to reveal the source of this secret Neapolitan tip.)

  Pasta alla Zanolla

  Serves 4

  Ingredients

  1/2 pound of fresh or frozen fava beans

  14 ounces of penne rigate

  2–3 tsp. olive oil

  1 onion, finely chopped

  1/2 pound of speck from Alto Adige, cut in strips

  2 cloves of garlic, minced

  2 fresh pepperoncini peppers, chopped

  Fresh rosemary, chopped

  Fresh Parmesan, for serving

  Cooking Instructions

  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the beans and the penne rigate in the same pot until al dente (watch the cooking times). Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep pan. Sauté the onion and the speck, add the garlic, pepperoncini, and rosemary, and cook until the onions are golden brown. Add the dripping-wet pasta and the beans to the onion/speck mixture in the pan. Stir thoroughly and serve at once with freshly shaved Parmesan.

  About the Author

  Photo © 2011 Alexandra Zoth, Photo-Stage

  Claudia Winter has been writing since childhood. She has previously published two romantic comedies, a crime novel, and several short stories. She works as an author, editor, and writer’s coach, as well as a certified specialist in social pedagogy at an elementary school. Winter lives with her partner and two dogs in a small town in Germany.

  For more information, visit www.c-winter.de.

  About the Translator

  Maria Poglitsch Bauer grew up in Carinthia, Austria, and fell in love with the English language early in life. Her first translation attempt happened at age twelve, when after little more than two years of high-school English, she stumbled across an abridged version of The Great Gatsby, judged it “great,” and wanted to share it with those who did not speak the language. Fortunately, the unfinished opus languished in the drawer of a desk which was eventually stolen. The joy of hunting for the right word stayed with her.

  She would like to dedicate her translation of Apricot Kisses to the memory of Friederike, her mother.