Chapter Text
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Chapter 1
Betty Cooper stared at the email in disbelief. When she’d submitted her application for a free Italian villa or castle after reading about it on one of the blogs she contributed to. She hadn’t imagined they’d ever choose her. She’d outlined a plan for a bed & breakfast, complete with an optional wine & cheese lunch and Friday night movies in the section it had asked her what she would do to attract tourists.
Getting chosen to live in Italy for nine years and sustain a property had seemed so far-fetched, that she hadn’t even mentioned it to her family or Veronica and Archie and Jughead. As time had gone by, she had almost forgotten she had done it.
Until now. . .
She had a villa in Italy.
Betty read through it a second time. In the back of her mind, she could hear her mother telling her everything that could go wrong. She would probably be a failure and come home ashamed before her nine years were even completed.
She shook her head and checked the time. It was still early morning in Italy. She reached for her cellphone and dialed the number that was listed on the bottom of her message. Somebody picked up after the third ring.
“Ciao!”
“Hello. . . um. . . ciao! My name is Elizabeth Cooper, I just got an email saying that I was selected to renovate a villa in Lombardy.”
“Hold on one moment, please while I transfer you to Signore Marino!”
“Thank you,” Betty said, her heart fluttering in anticipation.
“Hello, this is Luca Marino! This is Elizabeth Cooper?” A gentleman with flawless English and an Italian accent asked.
“Betty, you can call me Betty! I just received an email about the castle program you’re doing. Is it a mistake?”
“No. No mistake,” Luca answered. “Out of all the applications we got, yours is one out of one hundred that stood out the most.”
“Mine stood out the most?”
“Yes.” Luca cleared his throat. “As your email stated, you have been assigned the villa Sogni d’Oro.”
“Right,” Betty said, typing Sogni d’Oro into Google translate. “Sweet dreams.”
“Pardon me, Signora Cooper?”
“The villa. Sogni d’oro means sweet dreams,” Betty replied, blushing. “But you already knew that, of course.”
Luca laughed. “Oh, yes! So, you are coming then?”
Betty looked at the view from her tiny apartment. It was of her neighbor’s fire escape. She hadn’t even thought about breakfast but when she did have it, it would probably be a fruit bar washed down by mediocre coffee. There was really nothing tying her to the United States. She was single and almost 27-years-old. She’d become boring, that was one thing she never wanted to do.
She could write her articles from anywhere.
“Yes,” she answered. “Yes I am. I just have some things to take care of here but I’ll be there well before the deadline. I promise!”
“I am looking forward to meeting and working with you,” Luca said. “Arrivederci, signora!”
“Arrivederci!” Betty echoed as the call ended.
She was going to Italy.
She started making a mental list of things to do and people to tell while she moved around her apartment, getting ready for her day.
She could hardly wait.
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“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Alice asked for the umpteenth time at her going away party a few weeks later. “You know there’s a possibility this could fail and you could come home with nothing.”
Betty rolled the red, white and green Haribos that Veronica had ordered especially for the Italian themed party. “Yes, I realize I could fail and come back here with nothing. But there’s also a chance I could succeed. So, I want to try. I don’t want to argue the night before I leave, please try and be supportive of me.”
“I just want what’s best for you,” Alice told her, reaching out to take her hand and squeeze it. “Just know, I’m not going to sit around hoping things don’t work out in Lombardy. In fact, I’ll be here rooting for you to do wonderfully and when your bed & breakfast opens, your father and I will be some of the first people to book a room.”
Betty smiled, her mother had been working harder on their relationship and to be supportive of her in the things she pursued. So far it had been going well for them, except for the times when she’d been trying to tell her what could go wrong when she left.
“Thank you, Mom! I’ve got to get going now though, I have to get up early tomorrow,” Betty said.
“I know. Daddy and I will be at your apartment to get you at 6 sharp!” Alice answered, kissing her cheek. “Try and get some sleep, okay?”
“I will!” I love you, Mom.”
“Love you too.”
She got her coat from the bedroom and went to find Veronica and Archie before she left.
“You’re leaving already!?” Veronica pouted. “It’s barely midnight, we’re just getting started and Jughead’s not even here yet! You need to say goodbye to him!!!!”
“Jughead’s moping because he has writer’s block and the first draft of his new novel is due soon. He’s not coming tonight,” Archie said. “Besides, he’s not big on goodbyes.”
“It’s not goodbye though. Every single one of you is welcome to come and see me in Italy whenever you’d like!” Betty replied.
Veronica’s face brightened and clapped her hands together. “Fantastico! Oh, Archikens, say we can go!”
Archie smiled and draped his arm around her. “Anything for you!”
“You have to promise you’ll take care of yourself,” Veronica ordered sternly. “I know sometimes you forget to eat when you get really busy. Drink plenty of water and if you get too lonely, try and make some friends. Take it easy, you don’t want to go all Jim Hardy because you’re running yourself into the ground. Eat good food, drink good wine and buy something nice for yourself. Don’t forget to check in—”
“Now that you’ve given her the checklist!” Archie interjected. “We’re really going to miss you Betts.”
“I’m going to miss you too. But like I said, you have an invitation to come and see me whenever you want!” Betty hugged him and then Veronica. “I can’t promise that I won’t put you to work while you’re there though.”
“I’ll make sure to bring overalls,” Veronica promised, giving her a watery smile
“Don’t be sad. You and Archie are headed to live in New York soon. It was only a matter of time before we weren’t all together anymore.”
Veronica nodded. “I know. It’s just New York and Riverdale is so much closer than Italy and New York and I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. But at the same time, I am so happy for you!”
Betty smiled and hugged her again. “I love you Ronnie.”
“I love you too,” Veronica answered.
Betty turned and held out her arms for one of her longest friends. “And I love you too Archie.”
“Same,” Archie said, taking her in his arms and patting her on the back.
“Bon Voyage! Arrivederci, B!” Veronica embraced her again.
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Betty was leaving when she ran into Jughead in the lobby.
“Betty! I was just coming to say goodbye,” Jughead said, pulling his hat off. “I’m sorry I was late. I’ve just had a lot going on, my editor and agent are really on me to finish the first draft of my novel. Anyways, this is not about me. It’s about you. Italy, I can’t believe you’re leaving me. . . leaving Riverdale, I mean.”
“I’m still going to have Internet in Italy,” Betty reminded him. “If you need my help with anything, you can always call me. I’ll still be there for you Juggie. Because no matter what’s happened, I still love you and I still want you to succeed in whatever it is you do. If you ever need anything, anything at all. . . all you have to do is ask.”
“So, I’m Harrison Ford in this situation?”
Betty kissed him. “I have to go, I have an early morning. But I hate goodbyes. Especially between you and me. So, I’m going to say that I’ll see you later. Okay?”
“See you later,” Jughead replied, hugging her for a little longer than he had to.
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Betty landed in Milan and Luca Marino (at least she was assuming it was him) was waiting for her with a sign that said her name with the name of her villa underneath it.
“That’s me!” Betty said as she walked up to him and smiled.
“Benvenuto in Italia Signora Cooper!” Luca beamed and switched to English as he gave her a kiss on both cheeks. “Welcome to Italy, Miss Cooper! I am so happy you are here.”
Luca Marino, even though he was old enough to be her father, was as good looking as Cary Grant and George Clooney with silver hair and tortoiseshell glasses. In Italian leather shoes and a shiny Armani suit just tailored for him, he was an impeccable dresser.
“Please, call me Betty!” she replied.
“Elizabetta,” Luca compromised. “Come, my wife has made dinner for you. You must be starving after such a long flight. We will take you to your villa tomorrow after you are well-rested and well-fed. That will be fine with you?”
Betty nodded, finally realizing just how tired she was. She had been too excited to sleep the night before her flight and napping on the plane had been harder than she thought it would be. She’d studied her English to Italian dictionary and breezed through Rome In Love: A Novel.
“That will be wonderful!” Betty replied.
“Good! First thing tomorrow, I will take you to your villa! I am so looking forward to working with you Elizabetta.”
Betty blushed. “I bet you say that to everyone who’s come to Italy to take a free castle or villa.”
“Maybe.” Luca winked. “But I can already tell that you’re going to be one of my favorites. Now, shall we go and pick up your things from baggage claim?”
“Yes,” Betty agreed.
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The Diary - June 10th
I made it! I’m in Italy safely. I haven’t seen much of it yet but I am already in love. I never knew how much I have wanted to be here, not until I was here. I don’t think I’ll be homesick, not for a while at least.
My host family for the evening is named Luca and Isabelle Marino. They are a fashionable older couple. Both widowed at a young age, they were each other’s second chance. They live in a stylish apartment in Milan where they host weary travelers passing through for the night. The wine was overflowing, the food non-stop, and the conversation intelligent. There was gelato and Dean Martin records for dessert.
Luca is in charge of the castle and villa program. He was waiting for me at the airport. He seems like a nice man, I am looking forward to working with him. He is fair and generous and honestly one of the happiest people I have ever met. He exudes sincerity.
Isabelle writes for Vogue Italy. Sometimes she takes pictures for fashion spreads.
Tomorrow I am going to see my villa for the first time ever.
I have a villa in Italy.
How did I get so lucky?
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TBC. . .
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