Life Changes » Marcus Armstrong

Eight.

"What are we going to do today?" Francesca curiously, but excitedly asked.

Federico's eyes were round, he was also curious to find out what they would do today.

Jane just picked up the twins from school, they were walking towards the old city centre on a sunny day. It was a warm day, a perfect day to spend outside in a park with ice cream.

"Is there something you want to do?" Jane asked back and looked at the twins. "It's a beautiful day, we have nothing to do..." To be honest, she didn't feel like doing something school-related. Besides, they had finished all their homework for the whole week. "We deserve a day off, right?"

"Gelato!" Francesca and Federico both yelled and looked with bright smiles on their faces at Jane.

A laugh rolled over Jane's lips, she could have expected this. "Let's be crazy today," she stated and nodded. "Let's do it." A satisfied look was resting on her face.

"Nonna made gelato last week," Federico said.

"That sounds good! What flavour? Did you like it?"

They entered a small street and stood behind the people who were also waiting for ice cream. It was busy, the queue was quite long. That wasn't strange, this was one of the best gelaterias in the area.

He nodded. "It was delicious!"

"Nonna added strawberries and panna." Francesca looked around, thinking about the correct translation of the word. "What does panna mean in English?" Her eyes rounded, and she looked questionable at Jane.

"Cream," Federico mentioned. "Whipped cream, right?"

"Well done," Jane complimented him on the correct translation. "But that sounds really good. I'm sure it was delicious. How is nonna doing?" She looked at the two six-year-olds.

"Good," Francesca replied, but got quickly distracted by the gelateria. They slowly moved closer to the entrance, giving people the perfect view of the ice flavours. She said something to Federico and pointed at something.

After a few minutes, they finally could order something. Jane made sure there were three ice creams on the receipt and paid for it. The three people walked over to the gelato counter and gave the receipt to the second worker. It was normal to pay first at a different counter and then pick up your order at another counter in Italy. It was weird to Jane, but she didn't know better now.

When the young adult asked about the first cone, Federico's eyes shot up to the guy. Federico didn't know what he wanted, but he had to make a decision quickly. "Cioccolato, per favore."

The worked scooped the flavours on a cone and handed it over to Federico. The guy looked at Francesca.

"Vaniglia, per favore."

"Stracciatella, per favore," Jane said once it was her turn. "Grazie," she said when everyone had their gelato. She grabbed a few napkins and followed the two kids outside.

When they sat down on a bench, they all ate the gelato in quietness. They enjoyed it, they were all a massive gelato fans.

"Jane?"

"Yes, Francesca." Jane looked at her.

"You sound funny when you talk Italian," Francesca softly giggled.

Children never lie. Jane smirked, that was so true. Let's say Jane still was practising the language, and it went really well. However, you could hear she was not from Italy, it sounded stiff and insecure. Jane stopped caring about it. Her mum always said: "As with basically every new skill, it's best to practice often in order to get really good at it. In this case, that means ordering – and eating! – lots of gelatos in Italy. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. Why not have it be you?" Those words kept Jane motivated. And as Luna would say - as an Italian woman: "Foreigners speak English, you try to speak Italian, and that is valuable in our country."