I’ve been thinking about this story a lot lately. This little short novella I wrote a few years ago called Anna in Tuscany haunts me a little. Not in a bad way, but in a good way. Giving these characters more page time and offering Anna a truly happy ending with more adventures seems like the thing to do.
As well, I decided I’m going to do it in a different way. I’m going to write the pages here, with you. I’ll post each chapter on my blog as I write it, that way you can see how this process goes.
So here’s my warning: what you are reading here is the draft. It’s me getting the story down on paper (or on my blog). And so, what is here may end up being the final story, or it may not be. I take great pains to edit my work, sometimes taking more time to edit than to write.
But, this should be a fun exercise. So here we go.
Anna is going to celebrate her first Christmas in Siena in her apartment with her neighbor, Matteo, an older gentleman who recently lost the love of his wife after decades of marriage, and Matteo’s grandson Nicolo, with whom Anna is now in a relationship (see the end of the story of Anna in Tuscany).
So, here’s what I’ve got for Chapter 1 of the novella. If you have any ideas for me and what you’d like to see happen with the characters, feel free to put them in the chat. I honestly have no idea where this is going (that may be a light fib; I do have a little inclination of where it’s going)…but I still LOVE feedback.
Enjoy Chapter 1.
xx,
Stephanie
Anna’s Tuscan Christmas
Chapter 1
Danielle, my editor, had been texting me for an hour, and I hadn’t responded. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to her, it was that I honestly fell asleep in the middle of the day. Besides, it was a Saturday, and I wasn’t expecting to hear from her. Nicolo and I had been out late with friends after dining with Matteo. We drank too much good Italian wine. I woke up, had a very late breakfast, and my eyelids felt heavier than normal, so I went back to bed on this rainy, cold late October day. I was tired, it was as simple as that. Danielle had sent me traveling for the last ten days in Umbria, and I only returned yesterday morning. It was so good to be back in my own bed.
It’s a funny thing, travel. Those ten days away from Siena made me realize how much I missed Nicolo. He hadn’t been able to get time away from his patients, and so he stayed while I traveled and wrote the article.
Drawing nearer to him over the last many months has kept my heart feeling full. I won’t deny that I wasn’t still scared to enter into a new relationship, especially one with someone who lives and works here in Italy. However, little by little, the fear has waned. I was the one who insisted that we take it slowly. I couldn’t bear to put myself into another romance that was destined to fail. And so I’ve moved along cautiously.
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" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?fit=225%2C300&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?fit=768%2C1024&ssl=1" src="https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?resize=960%2C1280&ssl=1" alt="photo of brown and gray buildings" class="wp-image-24809" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?w=975&ssl=1 975w, https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?resize=225%2C300&ssl=1 225w, https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?resize=768%2C1024&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?resize=143%2C190&ssl=1 143w, https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?resize=900%2C1200&ssl=1 900w, https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?resize=600%2C800&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?resize=450%2C600&ssl=1 450w, https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?resize=300%2C400&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/stephanieverni.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pexels-photo-1069039.jpeg?resize=150%2C200&ssl=1 150w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />Photo by Kai Pilger on Pexels.comMatteo loves to laugh at me and he often teases me about dating his grandson. “You-a must-a follow da heart,” he says. I know that nothing would make him happier than to see Nicolo and me together and as madly in love as he and Lenora were madly in love. I wrote Matteo’s words on the small chalkboard in my kitchen. Follow da heart. He did it with Lenora, I know. His love for her was like crazy mad love. You know, the kind you see in movies when people can’t help but smile every time they’re near the one they adore. And the magic of it was that it never faded over the course of their lives. In fact, I believe he was more in love with her when she died than he was when they were in the early, magical phases of their relationship.
Nicolo has made me smile, ever since we started to fall in love. He’s the kind of person I can imagine waking up to every day, possibly every day of the rest of my life.
But I have baggage. Heartbreak baggage. It’s hard to trust that your heart will never break again, even when all signs point to it being true. I don’t think Nicolo would intentionally break my heart, but we all know things happen. The two previous men I had serious relationships with started out happy with me, too, but both relationships ended with me in tears and them moving on to something else. You can only nurse a heart back to health so many times.
Then there’s the issue of residency. My home is in the States. I’m only supposed to be in Italy for the year writing these articles for the magazine about the regions of Italy. Stanley Tucci is recording a show here, and on one of my travels to Bologna, I saw his crew setting up his shot. I didn’t get a peek at him, unfortunately. Funny that we have a common love for Italy in our bones, and one we want to share with people back home.
I begin to type a response text to Danielle: Just got your text. Sorry I’m so delinquent in getting back to you. Actually took a nap. What’s up?
I wait a second for her reply. Then…I have an idea for something to cover. Something different. Call me and we can chat, Santa Baby.
She always does this. She gives me a clue, teases me about what the next piece is going to be about.
And now I know.
She’s going to have me write a story that has something to do with Christmas.
copyright Stephanie Verni 2024/Mimosa Publishing
About the author:
STEPHANIE VERNI is the author of THE ONES CLOSEST TO YOU, THE LETTERS IN THE BOOKS; FROM HUMBUG TO HUMBLE: THE TRANSFORMATION OF EBENEZER SCROOGE; BENEATH THE MIMOSA TREE; INN SIGNIFICANT; LITTLE MILESTONES; THE POSTCARD; and ANNA IN TUSCANY. She is also a co-author of the textbook, EVENT PLANNING & MANAGEMENT: COMMUNICATING THEORY & PRACTICE. Currently an adjunct professor at Stevenson University Online, she instructs communication courses for undergraduate and graduate students. She and her husband reside in Severna Park, Maryland, have two children, and a little boat that makes them immensely happy.