Free Last Christmas by Lily Greene Page A

You’ve put so much thought into all our dates it’s, it’s …” Ella was truly stunned for words.
    Fergus walked around the island and gave her a kiss on the lips.
    “It’s all been so fun to organise for you.”
    “Thank you,” she said quietly. She could feel that Luigi didn’t know where to look, while the couple had their moment of tenderness. He turned back to the cooker and stirred one of his pots.
    Ella cleared her throat.
    “Is mulled wine an Italian dish?” she proposed to Fergus. “I though it was British?”
    “Ah it’s a British tradition to drink it at Christmas, but wine was first recorded as spiced and heated in Rome in the 2nd century.”
    “Ah yes, the Romans. Where would we be without them? I have no doubt Luigi has a smashing recipe for it.”
    Fergus and Ella spent the evening laughing, tasting and questioning Luigi about Italian cuisine as they attempted each dish.
    Ella was particularly good at making the arancini, skillfully forming the round balls of pistachio, cheese, tomato and oregano in a layer of risotto that was cooked in white wine and Parmesan. Luigi demonstrated how to roll each circle in flour and breadcrumbs carefully so that no rice was peeking through. They set the balls aside to be fried later while they made haste on the soup.
    Luigi set Fergus to work on the chopping, while he showed Ella how to fillet the fresh fish. The broth was made with fennel, onions, chilli, and garlic and once this concoction had been simmering for some time and the onions were soft, they added passata and butternut squash. The dish came to life when the wonderful colours of the salmon, halibut, langoustine and parsley were all thrown in. As it bubbled away, the flavours doubling, Luigi fried the arancini. They ate the risotto balls that oozed with melted Parmesan and oregano as a starter and gently stirred the soup while discussing the next dish.
    They blitzed the bread, olives, capers, garlic and Parmesan in the blender and then added the chunks of chicken and an egg to bind the mixture together. Once rolled into small balls, they placed them in the oven to cook.
    As they watched the meatballs brown, they sat down at the table, to feast on the soup that was light and tangy.
    “This soup is absolutely delicious Luigi!” cried Ella.
    “It’s wonderful!” said Fergus.
    “Justa wait ‘til you try the meataballs! Save some room ah?” Luigi set to work on the tomato sugo while Ella and Fergus enjoyed their soup and talked about Christmas traditions.
    “Stockings at the end of the bed or hanging on the fireplace?” Fergus asked.
    “Oh always at the fire place. We used to scramble down stairs at hourly intervals throughout the night to see if they had been filled!”
    “Gosh I remember that excitement as a child. You said ‘we’, do you have siblings?”
    “Yes I have one older brother, called Jimi.”
    “Don’t tell me he’s named after another singer? Jimi Hendrix?” Fergus asked with a wry smile.
    Ella chuckled. “Not that I know of. He was christened James, like my father.”
    “Ah I see. So how do you spend your Christmas with your family? Do you go back to your parents house still?” he asked, tilting his bowl towards him to scoop out the last of the soup. Ella knew as soon as he asked that question that she would have to tell him that her parents had passed away. It was a conversation she dreaded having, not least because no one ever knew how to react to it but because it was just as painful to say it out loud now, as it was when it happened.
    “I’m actually spending it with the Crosleys. My parents died in a car crash five years ago. Jimi’s away on business so I’m spending it with Libby.”
    “Oh Ella, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that your parents had passed away.”
    “It’s okay. Well obviously it’s not okay, it’s hard. But, well you learn to live with it,” she said, leaning back on her chair, becoming aware again of Luigi’s clattering of pans. “I