The Girl, the Dog and the Writer in Rome by Katrina Nannestad

Author:Katrina Nannestad [Nannestad, Katrina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Childrens
ISBN: 9781460708125
Goodreads: 35284598
Publisher: ABC Books
Published: 2017-10-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

Lemon tart with extra first aid

Vivi’s lemon tart was delicious — sweet and sour, sharp and soft, all at the same time. It sat lightly in Freja’s tummy and spread a warm, tangy buzz through the rest of her body.

Finnegan seemed to have mixed feelings about the tart. Each and every bite made him wince and cringe. He might have rejected the tart altogether, except that the sour lemon bits were tangled up with so many marvellous things — sugar, butter, almonds, eggs. What was a poor dog to do but soldier on and hope for a nice fortifying lump of cheese or salami at the end of it all?

Tobias, of course, was enraptured. He ate three slices of lemon tart, then licked the spoon until Freja thought he might dissolve the silver.

‘That was delectable!’ he declared. ‘Best lemon tart in the world!’ He threw his arms wide and slapped the bottom of a passing woman. Accidentally, of course, but the woman was not to know that.

Freja gasped. Finnegan grinned and dribbled on the tablecloth.

The woman swung around and glared at Tobias, but he barely noticed. He had eyes only for Vivi, who was, at that very moment, dashing by on the other side of their table, holding a large pizza above her head. As she passed, Tobias reached out absent-mindedly and grabbed the tie at the back of her pink-and-white polka-dot apron. Vivi was jerked to a halt, but the pizza kept moving, flying off the tray and onto the floor. Finnegan leapt from his chair and pounced. Within thirty seconds, all that remained was a little pile of dribble and a dozen black olives.

‘Finnegan!’ gasped Freja. She slipped from her chair, plucked the olives from the floor and stuffed them into her pocket.

‘I don’t know what happened,’ cried Vivi, her eyes two round pools of chocolate surprise. ‘Un momento I was walking along with a perfect pizza for my customers and the next I came to a halt. POOT! Just like that! The pizza is gone!’

Finnegan trotted away, tail in the air. He leapt up onto the pink velvet lounge, stretched along its full length, yawned and fell asleep.

‘Strano! Strange!’ cried Vivi, shaking her head at the empty tray in her hands. ‘I must be going crazy! Pazzo Vivi!’ She sighed, apologised to the diners who were waiting for their pizza, then returned to the kitchen to make another.

‘Tobias,’ hissed Freja, slipping back into her chair. ‘That was dreadful! I know you didn’t mean to, but . . . poor Vivi.’

Tobias looked up at Freja and blinked. Just like Finnegan did when caught chewing on the curtains.

‘Shall we go for a walk and buy raspberry gelato?’ murmured Tobias.

‘But you’ve just eaten three slices of lemon tart,’ said Freja.

‘Have I?’ He tugged at his ear and chuckled. He sipped the last of his espresso and grinned stupidly. ‘I say! Doesn’t the sauce on that fellow’s pasta look remarkably like blood?’

Freja giggled. ‘I suppose so, but I wouldn’t say

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