Chapter 17 ----A visit to a London flat

Arturo's flat is in the attic of a tall house in Greenwich just south of the river Thames. It's now Friday evening and Arturo has a visitor. He is still with Rosa.

 When they left the Study Centre, they stopped at a supermarket and bought food and drink for the evening meal. Then they went to Charing Cross Station and caught a train to Greenwich.

Arturo's kitchen is very small, but there is a gas cooker, a fridge, a sink and a table big enough for two people. Rosa takes the shopping out of the bag and puts it on the table. Then she lights the oven of the gas cooker.

"I hope you're hungry," she says, "because now I'm going to show you the quick way to make pizza. Mr Frost taught me how to do it yesterday!"

 Arturo is hungry, but he is not giving Rosa his full attention. He is reading a letter which he found when he arrived home. Rosa has got two pizza bases, four tomatoes, two mushrooms, 100 grammes of ham and a small packet of Mozarella cheese. First, she cuts the vegetables and meat into small pieces and puts them on the pizza bases. Next, she adds the Italian cheese. She is going to bake the two pizzas in the gas oven. Suddenly, she hears music. "Who's singing?" she asks.

"Peggy Seeger!" Arturo answers. "The song's called The Housewife's Alphabet." The song is an A to Z of all the jobs which housewives have to do.

Rosa enjoys cooking, but she is happy that she doesn't have to look after Diana's children this weekend. The Frost family are spending the weekend with friends in Oxford so she will be alone in their house.

"The pizzas only need 15 minutes in the oven. Can you help me lay the table?" she asks.

Arturo is a waiter so this is not a difficult job for him, but his face is very sad. Rosa sees that he is not happy.

"What's the matter, Arturo! Are all your family O.K.?"

"Yes, but my parents have some money problems. My father's lost his job. I have to return to Spain at the end of February."

Arturo is worried about his father, but he is sad about leaving England. It

is difficult for middle-aged men to find new jobs. It is also difficult for young men to find new friends as beautiful as Rosa.