As Libby entered the third trimester of her pregnancy, her energy levels dropped right back to where they had been during those initial months of morning sickness. She felt sluggish and lethargic, not to mention extremely uncomfortable. The bed she was sharing with Luca seemed far too small, her constant tossing and turning – not to mention her constant trips to the loo – kept her up all night and frequently woke Luca too. She was also working long hours as well, which didn’t help. Digby and Edwards weren’t exactly going easy on her because of the pregnancy. In fact, she was expected to keep pace with the rest of the first-year trainees, pregnant or not.
‘I can’t believe our rotation is happening next month,’ said Tammy, one rainy February lunchtime. The three of them had gone for a quick sandwich break together, a rare occurrence, as usually one or other of them had to drop out due to a last-minute call or meeting.
‘I’m nervous to find out what we’ve got,’ said Libby. ‘Not that I’ve got much time there. I guess I’ll do a few weeks at most and then that’ll be it for nine months.’
‘Will they put you back in the same seat after your maternity leave ends?’ asked Sam.
‘Yes, so I’m told,’ said Libby. ‘When do we actually find out? Do you know?’
‘Next week,’ said Tammy. ‘I hope we get placed together again.’
‘Sadly I think that’s very unlikely,’ said Sam.
‘And I hope we get a nicer supervisor this time.’
‘Jane won’t be difficult to beat,’ agreed Libby. It had been Jane who had assigned her to that horrific case a few months ago. She had then proceeded to make herself virtually impossible to track down whenever Libby needed to go to her for support or advice, to ask her an urgent question or to review her findings. As a supervisor she was elusive and unavailable, and every time Libby did manage to pin her down, she looked as though Libby was wasting her precious time giving the bare minimum in short, blunt answers. She was verging on plain rude.
The following week they found out their new seats. Libby would be in Contentious Trusts and Succession, Tammy in Wealth Planning, Family and Business, and Sam in Employment. It felt a bit like starting all over again, a new set of trainees to get to know, a new supervisor, and a new team above you to try and impress.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Luca assured Libby. ‘I’m sure they’ll love you in your new department, and at least you don’t have to work with Jane any more.’
They were sitting in their local pub, out for a celebratory lunch because Luca had secured his first contract with a London-based firm called Sicaro. It had been a long struggle for him to find work, and he was clearly over the moon to have finally secured a regular income to go alongside his Italian contract.
‘Here’s to your new job,’ Libby said, proffering her ginger beer to clink glasses with Luca. It was great to see him in such a happy mood. He had been down in the dumps these past few months and she had been desperate for him to get some good news to cheer him up.
‘It’s going to be nice to have a reason to leave the house,’ Luca said. ‘As much as I love our little flat. I’ve been cooped up in there so long, with only my laptop for company, that I can hardly remember what it’s like to be out in the real world.’
‘It’s ideal that it’s only three days a week, so you’ve still got the other two free to work on Prospero.’
‘Yes, it’s actually the perfect arrangement.’
‘Have you ever worked “in-house” before?’
‘Not since Naples. It’s going to be quite fun being part of the design team. This company is really up and coming and they have so many different clients. It should be really interesting.’
‘How’s Jules getting on? She said you’d been showing her some of the basic software she might be using this week.’
‘It’s been fun, actually. She’s got a good eye and I’d say she’s definitely got promise. I think she’ll do really well once she’s started her training.’
‘It’s so weird that both my boyfriend and my best friend are going to be graphic designers.’
‘I keep telling you, it’s the way forward! Nobody wants a serious job these days, to be a lawyer, an accountant… it’s just too bloody hard.’
‘Don’t remind me,’ Libby groaned. She was counting down the days until she could give up work. Even childbirth seemed appealing in comparison with the tedium of law. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting exactly; she had hardly found her training fascinating. It was really only comparing herself with Tammy and Sam, who genuinely seemed to love the work, that made her realise how much she didn’t. Up until then she had just assumed that all lawyers plodded through the day job without much joy, that earning their amazing salaries was enough of a reward, but she was beginning to suspect that maybe she needed more than just money from a job.
She missed the easy-going pace of life at La Casetta. The thought that perhaps one day she could open a bed and breakfast or a small guesthouse of her own had been gradually building in her mind’s eye over the course of the last few months. She spent hours daydreaming about it, thinking through all the different elements she would need in place to set up a business, looking at potential properties on the internet and doing bits and pieces of research. It would mean she could look after the baby and work from home… it could be an ideal project. And, what was more, she knew she would really enjoy it. She would finally have found something she could work hard at, truly invest herself in and reap the rewards. Just then their food arrived, interrupting her daydreams.
As they tucked into their gourmet burgers and French fries, she chatted to Luca about the local football league that he had recently joined. He had met up with an old friend called Lorenzo from Sorrento. Lorenzo had moved to London at the start of the year for a new adventure with his girlfriend, and he had suggested that Luca joined the league he had signed up to. Lorenzo was football mad, and had wasted no time at all in investigating where he could play on a regular basis.
‘They’re a nice group of lads,’ Luca said. ‘It’s quite fun to have a good kick-around. I’m not a natural footballer, but still… I can hold my own. And I’m getting better every time I play. It’s also so nice to talk to an Italian. God, how I miss it… living in a second language just isn’t natural for me.’
‘We should meet up with Lorenzo and his girlfriend. It’ll be good for us to hang out with some Italians more regularly.’
‘Good idea.’
‘What’s she called again?’
‘Giorgia.’
‘Will you arrange something? Maybe a weekend is best, and before the baby arrives!’
‘You know, I’m finally beginning to feel a bit more settled,’ Luca said. ‘I can’t believe how long it has taken. I guess this is just such a different life to what I’m used to in Positano. Obviously it’ll never be quite the same, but I’m trying my best to get used to it.’
‘We will go and visit again this summer,’ said Libby. She felt guilty that they hadn’t visited yet.
‘My family are desperate to see us. We should have gone at Christmas or at least for New Year.’
‘I know. I’m sorry about that. I suppose it would have been sensible, but Helen is so rarely over that I needed to make the most of her being here and spend time with her. Mum loved having us both to stay too. It was good for her to get to know you a bit better. And at least I met your family lots while I was living in Positano.’
‘I know, I know. But as soon as the baby is old enough, we should go.’
‘I promise we will.’ Libby bent across and gave him a kiss, having hauled herself out of her chair to go to the bathroom. She was also longing to get back to Italy. It was strange to think that their child would be just as Italian as he or she was British. She would do her best to make sure that their child grew up bilingual. What an amazing advantage to have in life that would be.