The Romance Reviews

The Romance Reviews

Thursday 14 May 2020

Love In A Time Of Madness


And is this time not mad?

Briefly, I've been thinking about my Italian Knights babies and what on earth they'd be doing given the current situation.

And it came to me pretty quickly:

Nick and Gina have their restaurant - Ghanaian/Italian fusion food of deliciousness. Focaccia and hard dough bread freshly baked every morning by that clever Robinson girl. Can Nicholas arrange delivery? Of course he can! It would also be the best place to get gelato in a range of flavours. They're taking gift vouchers and providing meals for freezing to food banks.

Tony and Lydia are hard at work, when Tony isn't indulging in his hobbies and giving Lyds a smack or two. Tony - hacker extreme - is fiddling with the numbers on bank accounts. He can't have people starving, can he? He's also making sure PPE is available for those who need it. He's got to protect his in-laws, or his eardrums won't survive. Lydia's nursing has always been exemplary. I can't see her doing anything but putting her everything into keeping people well. Private hospital run by her husband's best friend or no, space should be made for those who need it.

Massimo and Belinda are self-isolating in their beautiful home in London. Both Paul and Nick didn't want them to be in a different country while the UK locked down. Belinda has taken to making shitto for her babies and they collect at a safe distance. Massimo makes pasta for the street and every Friday, the neighbours sit in their front gardens and create a pub like atmosphere to enjoy their food.

Rocco and Anna have fixed boundaries and separate offices. Rocco is doing a lot of criminal pro bono for black Londoners who are being disproportionately targeted by police with little to do and rules that aren't law. Anna is fielding clients who are trying to stay afloat and keep their employees. She's also taking on free cases to keep people in work, rather than sacked. Nonna has Nick sorting her cake deliveries across London and if he's late, he has to pay her double. Deliveries to the Mamione-Taylors from Nonna and Gina are key.

Luca and Frankie are busy with their twins and work. Rather than twiddle his thumbs, Luca has set up a build your own pizza from home business - dough ready to be rolled, tomato sauce or white sauce if you fancy and sides to top it with garnishes. Frankie is working closely with domestic abuse agencies and insists that Luca provides his pizzas to key workers. She has one or two herself.

Ella and Durante's work is elbow deep in olive oil. Their town is pulling together to keep going. Durante has relied on Tony's work to make sure they survive. Ella is still shipping her divine VBR Rose oil products and ensuring shipping is free. All their children are at the farmhouse grilling, swimming or picking olives.

Finally, Beppe and Mimi returned from Switzerland before the lockdown kicked in. Beppe's been working on providing sterile kits for new mothers and the elderly. He's putting his brain to everything he can to help. Mimi is taking up those routine operations that have fallen in the path of the virus.

Busy little bees all of them. I like to think they're entertaining themselves and getting some snuggles in too, even when they're a bit tired. More than anything, I like to think that they're safe.