Beyond The Coral (A Luberto Story)

Chapter 4- Be Gone, Bruno!

"Oh, Alberto! Good, you're here," Maria said. "I figured you could help with the preparation."

"Preparation?"

Maria nodded, "Yes, that's right. Have you ever tried cooking before?"

"I mean, I can bake.." Alberto chuckled nervously, remembering the cake he made for Luca on the first day he was back in Portorosso. "But I don't think I'm much of a cook."

"I think you should try," Maria smiled at him. "It never hurts to try something new."

Albert sighed, giving into Maria's request. "Alright... I guess I'll give it a try."

Maria grinned from ear to ear, "I'm glad to hear that. Why don't you come over here and I'll show you how you can help."

Alberto obliged, instantly being tempted to swipe one of the knives from off the counter. They were all shiny and perfectly sharpened. Before he grabbed any, however, he remembered what Massimo always used to tell him:

Don't play with knives, or else you'll end up like me.

Alberto knew Massimo was joking. He also knew Massimo was born without his second arm; he didn't lose it in a knife accident. Yet, he always felt intimidated by the way Massimo said it. He was always half-joking, half-serious. Alberto didn't want to find out what happened if he ever broke the 'no playing with knives' rule.

"Alright, Alberto. Hopefully, you can handle using a knife."

Haha! Take that Massimo!

Alberto grinned mischievously as he picked up the knife. He stared at it in awe, almost as if it were a prized possession. He felt the handle and ran his finger across the smooth exterior of the blade.

Maria gave him a funny look but still managed to smile. "You know, Giulia had the same look when she first got to use a knife."

Alberto chuckled, "Really?"

Maria nodded, "She did, except she looked more evil than you did. Almost like she was about to stab someone with it."

Alberto tried to contain his laughter. Laughing that hard while holding a knife probably wasn't the best idea.

"Yeah, that sounds like her.." Alberto said. "What about Luca? Did he react the same way?"

Maria slightly glanced over at Alberto, still keeping her eyes on the cutting board in front of her. "No, he was afraid he would cut off his finger on accident."

Yeah, that sounds like Luca, too. Alberto didn't say that out loud, though

"Out of all of them, you look the most responsible, though. I'll give you that," Maria said with a small wink.

She picked up two whole tomatoes from the grocery bag beside her. She handed them over to Alberto, placing them on the cutting board in front of them.

"Okay, these are the tomatoes we'll use for the Spaghetti bolognese," Maria said.

"Oooh! You know how to make pasta, too?" Alberto exclaimed. He stopped talking, remembering that Maria didn't know about Alberto's relationship with Massimo. She still didn't know he was technically Massimo's son. Alberto never told her, and he didn't know how or when he could.

Maria nodded enthusiastically, "Of course! It's a family recipe that I use on very special occasions! A very good chef taught me how to make it."

Maria secretly assumed Alberto wasn't telling her everything. All the things that Alberto mentioned about the "man" he was living with during the summer seemed to perfectly match Massimo. Not to mention he had accidentally mentioned his "Papà" while talking about his part-time fishing job— Maria sensed something else was amidst. However, she still didn't want to push Alberto into talking. She would wait until he was comfortable. She could wait.