Page 23 of Better Than Gelato (Ciao Bella #1)

The sound of my phone ringing wakes me up, and I know without looking it’s my parents.

As soon as I answer, they launch into “We wish you a Merry Christmas.” My parents, like me, are not natural singers, but it’s good to hear their voices.

I can tell from the echoey sound that they have me on speakerphone.

I tell them all about Milan.

“The city is huge!”

“My new friends are awesome!”

“Isa made it a whole week without screaming obscenities at anyone!”

“I’ve gained 15 pounds but I’m fine with it.”

And they tell me about home.

“We saw Maggie, and she misses you.”

“We hung up your stocking, even though you’re not here.”

“The main steamer at the shop broke, but we got the repairman to fix it in exchange for free dry cleaning."

My stomach clenches at the mention of the shop that has captured my future.

I tell them about the party last night.

“Fried chicken?” my mom says. “For Christmas Eve?”

“It was Jake’s idea” I say. “It turned out great.”

“Jake is your American friend, right?”

“Right. And we’re, um, kind of dating.”

“What is kind of dating?” my dad asks.

“Well, not kind of dating. Actually dating.”

“Oh! That's a big deal,” my mom says.

"It's not a big deal," I say. "More like a small deal. Medium at most. Anyway, it’s getting late there. You probably have more presents to wrap. I’ll let you go.”

“Sounds like someone doesn’t want to tell us about her boyfriend.” My dad draws out the last word in a sing-song voice.

“I love you. I’ll email you some more photos soon.”

“We love you too,” my mom says. “Dad put a little money in your bank account so you can buy something special from that fancy market you told me about.”

“Thanks, Mom. You guys are the greatest.”

For just a beat after I hang up I feel a wave of homesickness. I shake it off and head to the bathroom. When I come out, I hear Jake in the kitchen humming and doing the dishes.

“Merry Christmas!” I yell and jump into his arms.

“Merry Christmas!” he yells back and hugs me tight. Then his mouth meets mine and my eyes close. There is nothing like this feeling. Chemistry and comfort. Safety and excitement. All mixed in one.

“So what would you like to do today?” I ask him between kisses.

“I’m already doing it.”

I grin like an idiot. I feel the same way.

We finish cleaning up from last night, then make pancakes and eggs for breakfast. Afterward, we snuggle on the couch and take turns telling each other about our best and worst Christmases.

“All I wanted was my own mummy,” Jake says. “I was sure I could use magic to bring it back to life. But no. I got roller blades.”

I tell him about the Christmas I got my first camera, a used one my dad got from one of our dry-cleaning customers.

“I took approximately three thousand pictures the first week. Most of them were terrible and out of focus. But I still loved it.”

“I can see how happy it makes you. I was so anxious the whole time you were dangling from that tree branch, but you had a huge smile on your face.”

I’d forgotten about climbing that tree on our first date. I’m such a dork.

“How about your worst Christmas?” Jake asks.

My mind flashes to Christmas Eve when I was nine. My parents standing in their bedroom. My dad’s arms covered in bandages.

“Hey, you okay?” Jake asks.

“Yeah, fine. Roller blades. The year I got roller blades. That was the worst.”

Jake looks at me funny. “That’s the thing I just said.”

“Oh.” Dang . “I mean a music box. It broke. Hey, are you ready for your Christmas gift?”

I can tell that Jake wants to ask me some follow-up questions, but I don’t let him. I jump up and head to my room. I take a deep breath and then another one until my heart slows.

I pull his gift from the top shelf of my closet and fix the bow because it’s gotten all squashed. When I hand it to him, Jake carefully unpeels the wrapping paper. I watch his face light up, and my heart lights up too.

It’s a picture of us. One I took on the paddle boat.

I’m looking slightly left and laughing, and Jake is looking right at me, smiling.

I made it black and white because everything looks cooler in black and white.

The photograph is the back wall of a shadow box, with a little glass door you can unlatch.

Inside are things from our time together.

“We make a good-looking couple,” Jake says. “Tell me about these things inside.” He opens the latch and starts pulling things out.

“That’s a pebble from the shore of that lake with the boats. This is my ticket stub from the Fiero di Sapori. This is a coaster from Calypso. Here’s a leaf from that park we broke into.”

“What’s this?” Jake asks, picking up a tiny glass bottle with liquid inside.

“That was the hardest one to get. I went back to the Navigli Canals and got some water from the canal.”

“Wow. That was a lot of effort for my Christmas gift.”

I don’t really know what to say so I just shrug.

“Thank you,” he says. “What a great way to remember all the things we’ve done together. I love that it has a door to add more. By the end of this year, it’s going to be filled.”

“Maybe so,” I say.

“Now it’s time for your gift.” He hands me a small box wrapped in shiny blue paper. My heart starts beating faster.

“Go on. It’s nothing scary,” Jake says.

I open the box, fold back the tissue and find…a flash drive.

“You got me a flash drive,” I say.

“You can never have too many,” he replies.

I’m truly puzzled at this random gift but then I see the edge of Jake’s mouth turn.

“There’s something on here,” I say, almost sure.

“I don’t know, put it into your computer and check it out.”

I do and it’s a video file. Behind the giant play triangle I can see Jake’s face grinning at me. I hit play.

“Merry Christmas!” video-Jake says. “For your Christmas gift, I wanted to make you a video of all your favorite things in Milan.”

The scene changes, and I see the white tents of the market. Neal Diamond’s “Forever in Blue Jeans” starts playing.

“The song choice here is supposed to be ironic,” Jake-on-the-couch says. “Because you don’t actually wear jeans anymore.”

The video shows all the tables at the market filled with shoes and purses and clothes. I’ve been there three more times since my first visit and have collected a decent Italian wardrobe. It really is one of my favorite places.

Then the music changes to “Cotton Eye Joe,” and I’m looking at the outside of Calypso.

The video goes on to showcase the steps at Duomo, Castello Sforzesco, some of our favorite restaurants. Each new scene has its own song to go with it. They’re all upbeat and happy, but it’s making me weirdly emotional.

And then suddenly, Valentina, Carmen, Diego and Paolo are on screen, sitting on the steps at il Duomo.

“Merry Christmas Julieta,” Valentina says. “Jake asked us to help him make this video for you and of course we said yes because we love you!” My eyes start to get all prickly.

“Merry Christmas Julieta,” Carmen says. “I’m so glad the new nanny turned out to be you.”

“Julieta, you are the coolest American I know,” Diego says. “Wait, sorry Jake. I forgot about you. Should I do mine over?”

“Okay, fine I’ll say it,” Paolo says. “But only because Jake is bribing me. Merry Christmas, Bestie.”

I burst out laughing. “How did you—” But I don’t finish because video Jake has come back on, and I don’t want to miss a word he says.

“ Ciao, bella! I had such a great time filming your favorite people and places in Milan. Now I want to show you my favorite thing about Milan.”

The opening notes of Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” start to play and the screen fills up with a picture of me. I’m sitting in a restaurant, looking down at my plate of pasta, and grinning like it’s a plate full of diamonds.

Then there’s a picture of me in the tree trying to get that shot at Castello Sforzesco. I didn’t even know Jake took that picture. There’s me dancing at Calypso. Me at the Fieri di Sapori. Me on the steps at Duomo. Waiting for the tram. Eating gelato.

I’ve never seen any of these pictures. I’ve never seen myself like this. I look happy. No, more than that. I look...transformed.

“I’m your favorite part about Milan?” I ask couch-Jake.

“You’re my favorite part about everything,” he says.

The song ends on a picture of me laughing at something off camera, as Ed Sheeran tells me I look perfect tonight. I feel perfect tonight. Or this morning. Whatever. I feel complete and whole and filled with something strange and wonderful. Filled like I might burst.

I look up, and Jake is watching me, gauging my reaction.

“What do you think?” he asks.

“I love it.”

“You do?”

“And I love you.”

“ You do ?”

I lean in and kiss him and try to put all the love I feel for him into that kiss.

All the love that has been trying to come out for weeks, but I kept pushing it back in.

Because I was too scared, and I didn’t feel ready.

I’m still scared. But I can’t keep it in anymore.

I let it all go, and I swear I can feel it flowing from my body to his.

Jake pulls back. His eyes are shiny, which suddenly makes my eyes tear up. Why is Christmas so emotional!?

“You already know I love you, don’t you?” Jake says.

I do. It’s in everything he does for me. Every time he looks at me. The way he touches me. I nod and kiss him again.

We spend most of Christmas Day kissing and telling each other “I love you.” Later, as we’re eating giant slices of Panettone cake, Jake says, “You know, I think even if I had gotten a mummy when I was seven, today would top that Christmas.”

“Whoa, I beat out the mummy huh?”

“You did. Hard earned victory. Oh! And I got you another gift.”

“What? Your first gift was perfect. There’s no topping it. I wouldn’t even try. You’ll only feel silly.”

Jake smiles and kisses me again. “This is a gift for both of us.”

He jumps off the couch and dashes to Isa’s room. He comes back holding a white envelope, which he hands to me.

I open it, and there are tickets inside. They have a symbol of a train. I check the date and the destination. December 30 to January 1, Firenze.

“What do you think?” Jake says. “Celebrate New Year’s in Florence?”

I give a squeal. “That’s the best idea anyone has ever had. In the whole history of ideas.”

“I don’t know, penicillin was a big deal. The Internet was kind of a game changer.”

I wave those things away with my hand. “This is the best. And you are the best. And this week is going to be the best.”