A home for two

It’s full summer. Outside the sun warms the surface of the crystal table on the veranda. The soft cushions of the chairs are blue, navy blue. There is a small jug of water resting there, among the jars of aloe vera, and the gentle sound of the wind cradles Paola’s sleep.
“Hi Honey,” Luca wakes her up with a kiss. “Here you are, I have not heard you come back”. Paola and Luca have been together for 5 years now, and they have decided to get married. September is the best month for weddings – thinks Paola, who has not thought of anything else in the past few months. “This afternoon we have to go and choose the mise en place for the reception, do you remember?”. “Of course, who can forget it? Last week we discussed for hours on the ocher or cream shades of the napkins,” laughs Luca, making fun of his partner. “Ehy!”, she taps him on the shoulder, as a warning. “If it were not for me we would get married in pajamas, with plastic tables at the reception and lunch at the fast food”. With the jug, she waters the plants, then gets into the house

“You know that for me the only important thing is you, it does not matter what we eat and which color is the tablecloth!”, Luca follows her.
The living room is bright, furnished with style in shades of white. The light and the light colors have always matched Paola and Luca, so different in their personalities. On the table in supermarble, round and perfect, are scattered fashion magazines, cutouts of images, books and photographs. “What are you doing?” he asks. “I look for creative inspirations for our special day”, she smiles. “I would like to have a suggestive atmosphere that makes all guests feel at ease, but transported by magic”. In fact, Paola organizes events and “suffers” from what she calls professional deformation. “Organizing everything to perfection, eh?”.

Luca spills a cup of coffee and goes to his desk. That small safe harbor where he can write in peace, a minute and elegant white console, minimal as his monochromatic agendas, but full of thoughts and stories. Luca is a journalist and travels a lot for his work, his bookcase is full of memories from all over the world: beautiful photo books, oriental talismans, vases, candlesticks and small sculptures. The living room is his world inside the house, and it is right between the shelves of the bookcase that – he – looks for – his – inspiration. “Paola will be the mind of the ceremony, but the honeymoon is my competence”, he thinks proudly to himself. He is preparing a surprise: given his experience in traveling, Paola has decided to leave their honeymoon organization to her partner. “Surprise me” she had told him.

Books on Thailand, Latin America and Egypt lie on the desk. Next to a scribbled notebook, his vintage typewriter, the cup of coffee – still too hot – and a silver pen. Luca looks out of the window … A trip on the road would be perfect for them. Adventurous but romantic …

Between one thought and another, the evening has come. It’s time for dinner, Paola and Luca have booked a restaurant in the city. She buttons the purple dress, the one he gave her last Christmas, while Luca waits for her in the living room. “Ready!”. The car is waiting for them outside, there is a bit of fresh air but it is pleasant. Paola is particularly serene tonight: napkins cream or ocher, travel around the world or not, basically she knows she already has everything that is important to her. Love, her family and her home.