lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

~ ventinove ~

Austria, August 2019

It was ten minutes past seven when Pia wandered into the dining room. She was surprised when she noticed the Austrian already seated down with breakfast in front of her. Her breakfast consisted of a cup of filter coffee and avocado toast together with a small bowl of fruit.

She was gracefully holding the Austrian morning press. The title in the blue rectangle on top said Die Presse. Above it, there was a headline in bold saying: Schredder-Duell der Altkanzler. If she would really try, she could possibly understand what the other titles were saying, but she wasn't bothered by it. Somehow, she felt like the Austrian news didn't have to worry her. Perhaps she didn't feel bothered by anything from the outside world these days. She got more than enough problems in her little world.

"Good morning," Joanna greeted her guest. She really tried to make it work. She knew how deep the friendship was between Max and Pia. She wanted to try for Max, but the Italian didn't show any interest, and that was a hard pill to swallow for the Austrian.

"Morning," Pia let out quietly. Her voice was a bit husky because it was the first word, she said that morning.

"What would you like for breakfast, miss?" One of the staff members asked Pia. Joanna was pretending she wasn't paying attention to Pia's answer, but she did. She wished they could just at least eat once in peace.

"Breakfast won't be necessary, but thank you very much," the Italian politely declined the offer. She could see how the guy furrowed his eyebrows, but he didn't comment on it. He wasn't really impressed with the eating habits of this youngster.

Pia would swear she saw a flinch of anger in the Austrian's face as she declined the offer of breakfast, but she probably imagined things because Pia didn't do anything that could possibly upset her. Joanna's flinch of anger was probably caused by some disturbing news about her motherland she had just read.

"Maybe just a cup of black tea, please. No milk, no sugar," she said after a while. Pia hoped this would make the staff guy happy. She hated this. Being served wasn't something she would want. It made this house feel less like a home and more like a restaurant or a hotel.

The Italian muttered a quick thank you as she received her cup of tea. The atmosphere in the dining room didn't feel pleasant, so she decided to take her cup of tea outside on a terrace. Once she finished it, she made her way back to her room. She grabbed her yoga mat and went to the garden. There was perfect weather for the yoga session.

She placed her mat on the grass, which seemed to be freshly cut. It made Pia look around. It didn't take long, and she noticed a gardener not so far away from her.

"Hi, is it okay if I'll put my mat there?" Pia asked the guy as he approached him and pointed at her mat.

"Good morning, no, it's okay. I wanted to continue cutting grass here, but I guess I'll wait till you're finished with whatever you're planning on doing, miss." Patrick was that 1,90-tall guy whose skin was tanned. His coal-black hair was brushed up. This haircut kind of reminded her of Charles. In contrast to Charles, Patrick was more muscular. In other words, he was ripped.

"I'm about to do morning yoga, and I'm Pia. Just Pia. You can join me in my session if you want," the Italian offered him. She could use some company. She felt really lonely. She didn't want to annoy Max that much, and the Italian doubted Joanna would join her in doing anything.

"I'm Patrick. I don't think miss Lauda would be happy if I did yoga during my work hours but thank you for your offer." Patrick politely declined the Italian's offer. He did it as gracefully as she rejected the breakfast that morning.

"Of course. Perhaps another time," Pia smiled at him kindly. She was destined to be alone once again. The Italian just made her way back to her mat. She just sat down and put her Air Pods into her ears.

"Hey, Siri. Play Somebody else by Katelyn Tarver, please," she said as she wrapped her arms around her knees. It was such an irony. This house was full of people, yet she felt so lonely. She placed his chin on the top of her knees. She wanted to cry, but instead of that, she began with her yoga routine.

Once she was done, she just sat down once again. She hugged her legs tightly. She rested her left cheek on her left knee and closed her eyes. The Italian was fully aware that Patrick would see her like that, but she was too tired to care. She took a deep breath in and let go slowly. The songs were still plating into her Air pods, but she wasn't paying any attention to it by now.

Then she grabbed her phone. Pia took a picture of her water bottle lying on the mat placed on the grass. She just typed into the photo 'morning yoga 🌞' before posting it on her story. Fake it till you make it.

She thought about smoking a cigarette, but she would have to go for her pack back to her room. Well, she could nicely ask someone to bring it to her, but she didn't want to bother anyone. Also, she was pretty sure Patrick wouldn't approve of smoking in the garden, and she didn't want to piss off yet another person in this house.

"What is the name of those flowers?" Pia asked Patrick and pointed at flowers that were like a metre away.

"Those are petunias," he said without even looking at the flowers. He knew this garden better than anyone else. 

"Oh, and those? I'm sorry. The best I can do is to recognise daffodils." The Italian laughed. She never really spent enough time with Gianna at home to learn about flowers. Maybe she could've learnt, but she seemed more interested in karts and formula cars. So, her mother didn't even bother to teach her about flowers.

Pia guessed Joanna would be the one to know a lot about flowers. Joanna seemed to know a lot about everything. She was just one of those people. Maybe Joanna would be a better daughter for Gianna.

"Hibiscus," he replied while doing his job. Pia could hear in his tone that he was slightly annoyed. Well, after all, he was there to do his job and not to teach someone the names of flowers.

"Thank you," she thanked him with a smile on her face. "And sorry for bothering you," she apologised quietly before leaving Patrick alone. It wasn't like he wouldn't want to talk to Pia, but he was paid for gardening and not talking to Joanna's guests. He wouldn't mind talking about flowers with the petite Italian after working hours, but now it wasn't really appropriate.

"Morning," Pia greeted Max with a smile. He was sitting across from Joanna. The Italian sat down next to Max and stole a piece of mango from his bowl. The Dutchman looked at her unimpressed.

"Haven't you got your own food?" He asked her as he brought a piece of watermelon to his mouth. He was pretty sure Joanna's staff got her some ridiculously big breakfast.

"She refused breakfast," Joanna said before Pia could react. The Italian was surprised Joanna listened to their conversation with Max since she looked busy with reading some papers Adrian brought her just a few minutes ago.

"Well, yeah. I wasn't hungry before, but I'm hungry now," the Italian said before she stole a raspberry from Dutchman's bowl. It was probably a raspberry from the garden. As she was leaving the garden, she noticed a few raspberry bushes.

"Do you want breakfast now, miss?" One of the staff members asked Joanna's guest.

"No, thank you. I'm alright. I need to have a shower anyways," Pia once again politely declined the offer of breakfast. She didn't want to eat, but she also didn't want to worry Max. So, stealing a little bit of his food seemed like a way to ensure he wouldn't worry.

Max lightly slapped her hand as she tried to steal another piece of fruit from his bowl. It made Pia laugh. Then Joanna coughed, and that gripped Max's attention. The young Italian took this to her advantage and stole a piece of peach before she quickly got up to be out of Max's reach. She grinned at Max as she put the peach into her mouth. Max just shook his head with a smile on his lips as he watched his friend leave the dining room.