by T A Williams
As Paolo appeared and took their orders, she told him about the wild boars and he sounded unexpectedly pleased.
‘That’s good to know. Presumably that means they must have got out again. This morning Pierangelo, who looks after the grounds, discovered a load of plants in our kitchen garden uprooted and chewed, and the unmistakable tracks of at least one wild boar. He then found a gap in the fence, not far from the main entrance, where the things must have got in. He was worried they might still be here on the estate – they can do an awful lot of damage and can even be dangerous. Since there’s another gap, hopefully they came and went. I’ll tell him to go up and check if he needs to do any mending from our side.’
‘Your neighbour seemed to be doing a pretty good job of fixing it.’
‘He works hard, I have to say, but I’ll ask Pierangelo to pop up there anyway in case he needs some help.’
At that moment Harry and Millie appeared at the French windows. Millie looked more relaxed than last night but, in fairness, she had had to put up with sitting next to Zoë for the whole dinner. Alice waved to them to come over to their table.
‘Hi, you two. The breakfast’s amazing.’
Millie took a seat alongside her. ‘Hi, Al.’ She subjected her to a mock-searching stare. ‘So, what’s all this I hear? Harry tells me you’ve found yourself a new man.’
Even through his hangover, David must have registered the remark, as his head came up and his eyes focused. ‘What’s all this? Just because I drank a bit much last night, she’s leaving me…?’ He even managed a weary smile.
Alice leant over and kissed him on the cheek – not least with a little twinge of guilt. ‘Don’t worry, David. No, it wasn’t so much a man as a handsome big dog.’
‘Handsome?’ Harry sat down on the opposite side of the table and shuddered. ‘Huge great thing with teeth. Frightened the crap out of me.’ He asked Paolo for an Americano and sat back. ‘No sign of Richie and his lady?’
Alice shook her head, glanced around and lowered her voice. ‘By the way, I saw you looking at Carrie last night. She’s here with Richie, so you make sure you back off.’
‘Good to see you’ve still got his back.’ Harry laughed. ‘But you don’t need to worry. She’s too old for me. I prefer younger women these days.’ Seeing the look on their faces, he added, ‘So you’re safe too, girls.’
Alice considered throwing her toast at him but decided to let it go. Guys like Harry never changed. Instead, she decided to transfer her attention to Millie. There was still no sign of either Zoë or Antonia, but she lowered her voice anyway.
‘How did it go with Zoë last night?’
Millie rolled her eyes. ‘She’s still the same tough cookie, but it could have been worse. She didn’t say anything too outrageous and, to be honest, she was almost pleasant at times.’ She caught Alice’s eye. ‘Really, I mean it. She was hitting the vino a bit hard and, maybe because of that, there was one thing she said towards the end that was interesting. She let it slip that the series with the rednecks and fashion models bombed, big time, and the studio lost a lot of money. She didn’t exactly say they’re desperate now, but I got the impression they’re really keen to sign us all up for this new series.’
Alice glanced across at Harry. He might have the morals of a tomcat but he had a pretty sound business head on his shoulders. ‘Is that right, Harry? Since I’ve been in the UK, I’ve been avoiding social media and I’m out of the loop. I know next to nothing about that show… I can’t even remember the name.’
‘It was called Beauties and Beasts, and I heard it sank like a stone. Yeah, Millie’s right, I reckon they’ll do almost anything to get us on board for this new series.’
At that moment Antonia appeared and the conversation changed to less contentious matters. One thing was for sure – the meeting this morning was going to be interesting.
Chapter 7
The meeting was indeed interesting, and far less confrontational than Alice had been expecting. Antonia did most of the talking and Zoë was quite clearly on her best behaviour. The irritable director was unusually quiet and subdued and in light of what Millie had said, Alice wondered if she was maybe hung-over, just like David. Certainly, it was impressive – and pretty much a first – that Zoë managed to get right through the two-hour session without insulting anybody.
The basic premise of the new show was to be the same group of five people, five years on and now nudging thirty, all still living in LA. Layla and Harry would now be divorced – as in real life – but, through force of circumstance, living within a few doors of each other. Millie, still single, would become the main love interest as she strove to find a suitable mate for life. As for Alice, she would now find herself married to Richie and trying for a baby. As this was announced, Alice glanced across the table at him and saw what might have been satisfaction on his face. She hastily dropped her eyes once more. There had been no sign of Carrie at breakfast and she, along with David, had been excluded from this meeting. Alice wondered what Carrie would think of this new twist to the old plot when she saw Richie and her sharing a bed – albeit just in the show.
The only awkward moment came when Antonia asked Benny how he would feel about taking over the scriptwriting. He, like the five actors, had been excluded from the studio after the end of Pals. Since then, he had carved out a successful career for himself, writing sitcoms for ABC and a couple of screenplays for movies. His reply was predictably honest and direct.
‘It would all depend on two things, Antonia: I would expect to be paid a good deal more than I got for Pals and I would only do it if you could promise me no outside interference.’ His eyes locked onto Zoë’s. ‘From anybody.’
Antonia answered quickly, no doubt to avoid any possible outburst from the director. ‘As far as money’s concerned, that can all be sorted, I’m sure. Conrad has authorised me to tell you that he envisages it being generous – that’s the word he used. Your agents will be able to handle that for you, okay?’ She glanced round the table and received nods in response. ‘As for outside interference, I can promise you that any major changes in the direction of the script will have to be approved by me and me alone. Does that satisfy you? You know you can trust me.’
‘I trust you, Antonia, you know that, but I would need it written into my contract.’ Again, he stared hard at Zoë and, again, she didn’t rise to the bait. Could it be that the bullying director had been tamed? Alice caught Millie’s eye across the table and they exchanged looks – from Millie, hopeful, but from Alice still sceptical.
When they emerged from the meeting at lunchtime, Millie wasted no time in grabbing Alice and taking her for a walk in the garden, far from curious ears.
‘What do you think, Al?’ She sounded animated.
‘What do you think, Millie?’
As Alice stopped by a little fountain, her eyes followed a succession of bright green and blue dragonflies as they swooped and hovered over the lilies in the water. It was another hot day and she resolved to go for a swim this afternoon, maybe followed by a walk down to the village that was barely a kilometre away.
‘I love it, Al. And did you see Zoë? She was as good as gold and hardly said a word. I really think it could work out well for us all.’
There was excitement and real optimism in Millie’s voice, but Alice knew her of old. Whether it was a new job opportunity, a different man or a ridiculously expensive dress, Millie had this habit of psyching herself up to a point when she just had to have it – even though her track record revealed that her poor choices far outweighed the good decisions. Alice sat down on the low stone wall at the side of the fountain and did some serious thinking.
‘I wonder…’
After this reunion with everybody, part of her wanted to believe that Millie’s optimism was justified; after all, she felt sure it would be fun to join up with them again for this new series. A couple of years of earning a good salary should allow her to build up enough to buy herself a nice house in
London for when she decided to give up acting and take up her chosen career in Renaissance art. Her more cautious, pragmatic side told her to keep her options open and wait until she could be sure that Zoë was either right out of the equation or at least firmly muzzled, before committing herself. On this morning’s showing, she had to admit that it was looking more hopeful that Zoë had indeed calmed down – at least to some extent. And if it turned out she wasn’t going to be a problem, the idea of signing up for Pals Forever did have considerable appeal.
At that point, of course, the next question to be answered would be the fate of her relationship with David. Although determined not to think of the fair-haired man again, she had to acknowledge that lusting – if that was what she had been doing – over a man working in a field was hardly the sign of a woman in a settled, long-term relationship. Setting aside any more thoughts of this for now, she did her best to respond to Millie.
‘It’s certainly sounding more positive than I expected. Antonia said we’ve got a meeting tomorrow when Zoë’s going to go deeper into the nuts and bolts of the new series. That’ll be the crunch. Let’s see what emerges from that before getting our hopes up too much.’
That afternoon, after a light lunch, David retired to the bedroom to have a much-needed siesta, while Alice sat on the terrace for an hour or two, reading a book she had bought in London about Leonardo da Vinci. This informed her that there was a villa not far from where they were staying which had, allegedly, been the home of the Mona Lisa herself. Lisa Gherardini, a Florentine girl, had been married at just fifteen to a wealthy silk merchant called Francesco del Giocondo and moved to this part of Chianti. As the wife of del Giocondo, she became known as La Gioconda, which is the name the Italians have given to the painting known to much of the rest of the world as the Mona Lisa.
Alice knew that a growing number of other academics felt that a major question mark remained over the painting, as recent studies had revealed the striking likeness in terms of facial structure with the few known self-portraits of Leonardo himself. Could it be that one of the most famous female faces of all time might, in fact, be that of its narcissistic creator – a man? Nevertheless, the idea of taking a trip to see this villa was fascinating, not least as Michelangelo had also allegedly owned a house not far from there. The villa in question was now an upmarket hotel and Alice reflected that she and David might go and stay there for a night or two when this meeting ended on Friday.
Around mid-afternoon she went up to their room and found her boyfriend wide awake, looking and sounding more like his old self again.
‘If I so much as pick up a glass of wine tonight, Alice, just slap me, will you?’ He gave her an apologetic look. ‘Hope I didn’t make a fool of myself – or you.’
She sat down on the bed alongside him and gave him a kiss. ‘Of course not. I’m sure it must have come as a shock to the system to find yourself surrounded by a number of household names, but you’ll get used to it.’ She grinned back at him. ‘And I promise I’ll slap you as often as you want. Now, how do you feel about walking down to the village and then coming back for a swim before dinner?’
The others had disappeared to the pool or to their rooms, so she and David set off by themselves. Paolo gave them the combination which would open any of a handful of locked pedestrian gates set in the perimeter fence and pointed them in the direction of one a few hundred metres along from the main entrance. He told them that beyond that they would find a track between a vineyard and an olive grove that led down the hill. They found the gate easily and it only took twenty minutes or so to stroll down from there to the village. It was a charming walk: they saw nobody, and the only signs of life were a few lizards and a pair of magpies that flew off as they approached. The village was a pretty little place, predominantly composed of red-brick or stone houses, many of them clearly ancient. There was a quaint square in the centre, with a fine old church at one end and a bar at the other. They decided to get themselves ice creams and eat them at one of the tables on the piazza.
Leaving David at a table outside, she went in to see what the cafe had to offer. Inside, the first thing she saw was a familiar face. It was none other than the fair-haired fence-mender from this morning and she felt an immediate shiver of what could only be attraction. She was still giving herself a mental kicking as he collected his change, thanked the lady behind the bar and turned for the door. As he passed Alice, she saw recognition dawn on his face and he gave her a friendly wave but, before she could think of anything meaningful to say, he had left. As for her, she knew it would take more than ice cream to calm the confusion this brief encounter had set swirling inside her.
* * *
When they got back to the villa, she was ready for a swim, but David decided to stay in the room and check his emails. She felt pretty sure this was just him being unwilling to expose his pale English body to the eyes of honed Hollywood stars used to perfection. She did her best to persuade him to come, but he just shook his head so, in the end, she changed into a bikini, picked up a towel and left him to it. As she got to the bottom of the stairs, she ran into Richie, who was standing in the hall. She had hardly spoken to him since yesterday afternoon, but now that she knew he had brought Carrie and was no longer pining for her, she went over to say hi. He looked happy to see her.
‘Hi, Al, you’re looking gorgeous.’ She felt his eyes run across her body and rather wished she had stopped to wrap the towel around her before coming downstairs. She almost did it now but then discarded the idea as being too obvious and too lame. After all, he had seen her in a whole lot less than a bikini, even if it had been five years ago, so she did her best to tough it out.
‘Compliments are always welcome, thank you, and I told you yesterday you’re looking good, didn’t I? So, how’s life? We haven’t had time to talk. What are you doing these days?’
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘A bit of this and a bit of that. If you’re heading for the pool, I’ll walk with you. Carrie’s down there.’
As they stepped out into the sunshine, she threw him a question. ‘Talking of Carrie, how long’s that been going on? Are your intentions honourable towards the poor girl?’
‘My intentions are always honourable, Al – at least nowadays.’ He stopped and turned towards her, his expression serious. ‘Listen, I’ve never had a chance to apologise properly, to tell you how sorry I am for treating you so poorly. All the bad blood on set really got to me and that was a tough time in my life. I was in a really dark place.’ He looked directly into her eyes. ‘Seriously, Al, I’m really sorry.’
She felt remarkably touched. ‘Thanks for the apology, but you didn’t really treat me badly. You were never nasty to me, nor were you rude or, God help us, violent. No, you were just distant, and so unbelievably grumpy and uncommunicative. I tried and tried to get you to open up to me. I would have done my best to help you, but you just clammed up. In the end, it was the silence that did it for me. I just couldn’t handle it.’ She reached over and gave his arm a little squeeze. ‘But thanks for the apology. It’s all in the past now and I’m happy to see you’ve moved on as well. So, tell me about Carrie. Is this serious?’
To her surprise, he shook his head. ‘Not really. I like her a lot but, to be perfectly honest, I only met her a few weeks ago. I felt sure you would all turn up with companions and I didn’t want everybody – you in particular, Al – to think I was a loser, so I asked her if she’d like to come with me and she said yes.’
Alice shook her head incredulously. ‘You idiot, Richie! Of course you’re not a loser. But Carrie seems like a nice girl. Maybe this could be the start of something good for you both.’
‘Maybe… Anyway, what about you and David? Is that serious?’
‘Um… yes.’
He must have noticed her hesitation. ‘So yes and no?’
‘No, I mean yes of course it’s serious, Richie.’ She ensured there was a stronger note in her voice, even though it maybe belied the way she really felt. Hop
efully, the next three or four weeks would sort that out once and for all. ‘We’ve been together for a couple of years and we get on well together.’
‘You get on well together? And who says there’s no romance left in the world?’ He caught her eye and gave her another of his cheeky grins. ‘So, does this mean there’s still hope for me?’
She could feel her cheeks glowing in spite of her best efforts, but she did her best to sound resolute, as she replied. ‘Richie, you’re here with Carrie, and I’m with David. Just forget me, would you?’
He didn’t say any more and she was glad when they reached the pool.
Layla was stretched out on a sunbed under a parasol, her bikini positively microscopic. Beside her was Millie, reading a book, also in the shade. Carrie, wearing a different bikini from yesterday, was taking photos of the wonderful flowers all around the edge of the pool, which effectively sheltered it from any wind and any prying eyes. As she spotted Richie, she came running.
‘Hi, Richie, finished your homework?’ She caught hold of him and kissed him warmly.
Alice waited until Carrie had released him, before satisfying her curiosity.
‘So what’s this about homework, Richie? Have you gone back to school?’ She asked it in jest, but was surprised to see him nod shyly.
‘Yes, but nothing on your level. I’m trying to get myself a degree. I never had a chance to get all the way through college.’
