by T A Williams
‘Matt, I’m in love. It’s absolutely magnificent. Lucky, lucky you.’
He was still smiling. ‘It does have its down sides. The shower appears to only work when it feels like it, and if you like a powerful shower you would be disappointed. The water pressure up here’s weak, to say the least. The kitchen’s the original wood and Formica one from the twenties and, although I’ve used everything short of dynamite on some of the worst of the accumulated dirt, it just won’t shift it. Remarkably, the toilet’s a genuine British Thomas Crapper original, complete with chain and long drop. When you flush it, it sounds like Niagara Falls. Still, say what you like, this place has got character by the bucket load and I love it.’ He took the bottle from her hands. ‘Well, thanks, I’ll go and get some glasses.’
While Matt opened the wine, Annie gazed out of the window. In front of them was an ugly 1960s building, but if she looked left or right, she could see the lights of the little villages up the winding mountain roads. By craning her neck, she caught sight of the lights of Montalto. Quite probably this building would be visible from Alex’s apartment on the top floor of the new hotel, maybe even from her little chalet.
‘Here, cheers.’ Matt handed her a glass of Prosecco and clinked his glass against hers. ‘Here’s looking at you, kid.’ He did a pretty good impression of Bogart.
‘Casablanca. Now that’s a great movie.’
‘I’ve got it on DVD somewhere in one of these boxes. I tell you what; when I dig it out we’ll have a black-and-white movie session here. All right?’
‘Sounds good to me.’ Annie took a mouthful of wine and sat down on the sofa. ‘How did it go with your girlfriend from the council?’
‘Nothing new in terms of dirt on Gruglio, but she did give me the names of the local education bosses, and this.’ He reached across to a pile of papers on top of a cardboard box. ‘This is a copy of an internal memo advising all branches of the local administration, including the police, to be on the lookout for clandestine workers, or estracommunitari, and warning of the consequences to employers if they’re discovered. She tells me they haven’t got the manpower or the time to enforce it and it’s just another piece of harmless junk mail as far as they’re concerned, but Gruglio doesn’t have to know that.’ He gave Annie a big smile. ‘I’m planning on taking a little trip across to the ABC School tomorrow.’
Annie held up her glass. ‘Just you be careful. I haven’t got so many knights in shining armour that I can afford to lose one.’
He clinked his glass against hers and took a big mouthful. ‘No worries. And this wine’s excellent, thank you. Now, where are you taking me for dinner? The Piazza, maybe?’
Annie could see he was joking. She knew him well enough to know that he hated flashy places like that even more than she did. She had already thought about a suitable venue for the evening, but she decided to keep it a secret for now. ‘Not the Piazza. Somewhere just a tad less ostentatious. Trust me and you’ll find out soon enough.’
‘I put myself in your hands.’ He reached for the bottle to top up their glasses.
Just for a moment, a strange thing happened and Annie found herself wondering what it would be like to have Matt in her hands or, indeed, for her to be in his. She hadn’t thought of him in this way for many years now, not since she had first set eyes on this tall, handsome man that Steve had brought home with him. Since then, he had just become good old Matt, Steve’s best mate and inveterate womaniser. She took a good look at him as he was occupied with the wine bottle. Karen and Paolina weren’t wrong; he really was gorgeous, not just on the outside. He really couldn’t be any kinder to her and she relished his support. For a moment she found herself wondering if the relationship between the two of them was changing. Maybe Matt was more than just Steve’s best friend. Maybe he meant more to her than she had been willing to admit to herself. Sensing himself under observation, he looked up and caught her eye.
‘So, how’s it going with Ferrari-man?’
Mention of Alex turned Annie’s thoughts to the other tall, handsome man in her life. She still couldn’t help wondering who might be going to the Caribbean with him, but she knew she was very sorry that she wouldn’t see him again for over two weeks. She picked her glass up again and sipped it. ‘I won’t see him for a while. He’s off to the Caribbean for a two-week Christmas break.’
‘Well, you’re going home, too, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, although I’m sure there are things I should be doing here, really.’ She sat upright. ‘I come back to Italy only two weeks before the school opens. That’s not long.’
He gave her a smile. ‘It’ll be fine, Annie. Trust me, it’ll be fine.’
Just after eight they walked down the stairs and out into the night. The sky was clear and the cold was intense. She was wearing her fur-lined boots with sensible soles, but she caught hold of his arm for support on the icy patches anyway. She led him along the echoing streets, through the old Roman archway, to a place she had discovered a few weeks back on Janet’s recommendation. To get to it they had to go down a narrow side street and she could sense his curiosity growing. Finally, they turned a corner and there it was. Annie glanced across at his face in the orange glow of a lone street light and grinned. ‘Ta-da! Bet you weren’t expecting this.’
‘Well, I’ll be buggered… I didn’t know there was one of these here.’
Together they went across the road and he stopped to admire the sign hanging above the door. John Bull, complete with Union Jack waistcoat, stood proudly alongside a red-berried holly bush. Across the top the words The Bull and Bush had been painted in gold lettering. He turned to Annie with a broad smile. ‘How well you know me. I really fancy a pint, you know.’
‘They’ve got all sorts, including Prosecco, and the food’s really good.’ She led him in and they found themselves in a very convincing replica of an English pub, complete with dartboard, beer mats, and beer engines on the counter. The place was pretty full and there was a real buzz in there. Matt turned to her and put his mouth close to her ear so as to be heard.
‘This could be a big mistake. I might never get any work done now I know this place is here.’
They had a very pleasant evening, settled at a table in a relatively quiet corner. He drank beer while she had some more Prosecco. They ordered steak and kidney pie and chips and he was amazed to find the food totally authentic. The barman, who came from Burnley, told him they had them shipped over from the UK specially.
As they ate, they chatted, and Annie found out more about Matt’s hopes for his business. His contacts with the Italian film industry were extending and he had been asked to translate all manner of promotional material for a number of new films. Things were looking good for MB Translations. She told him more about the lovely chalet she was going to rent up on the road to Montalto and he sounded very impressed.
‘So when do you plan on moving in?’
Annie set down her fork and pushed her plate way from her. ‘Enough. I’m full. As for the house, I’d really like to move in as soon as possible. I’m getting fed up with being squashed into one crowded room at the school.’
He had already finished his pie and he reached for his beer. ‘Anyway, you’ve got Christmas to come first. When are you off?’
‘Sunday.’ She reflected once more just how close that was. ‘And there’s so much to do before then. The furniture comes tomorrow and that’s all got to be set up. Then there’s still stuff for the plumber and the decorator…’
‘Don’t worry about it. Paolina and I will sort it all out. I’m only going away for a few days over Christmas so I’ll be here to keep an eye on things. You go home and have a really good time with the family.’
‘So, who’re you spending Christmas with? Your girlfriend from the TV or have you moved on?’
He looked across and caught her eye. ‘My mum and dad in Rome. As for girlfriends, I haven’t got one of those.’
Annie was surprised. ‘What about the friend down the
valley you stayed with last week? And surely you must have a girlfriend in Florence as well.’
He shook his head. ‘Nope, footloose and fancy free, that’s me. And the friend down the valley’s a dentist called Carlo who I’ve known since I was a kid. His baby was being baptised and they asked me to be godfather.’
‘Oh, I see. So, since when have you been on your own, Matt?’ She found that very hard to believe. His answer was even more puzzling.
‘Since I saw you tumble out of the cable car at Chamoux.’
She blushed. ‘You saw that, did you?’
He grinned at her. ‘It wouldn’t be you without an occasional calamity.’
‘You really do know me well, don’t you?’
‘We’ve known each other a long time, Annie; a very long time.’
Chapter 14
Turin airport on the Sunday before Christmas was chaotic. Coaches queued up outside to take holidaymakers up to the ski resorts, and everywhere she looked there were skis and boot bags. Departures was full of Italians heading off for Christmas and it took almost an hour before Annie was able to check in her bag. By the time she got through the security checks and passport control, her flight was already being called. She hurried along the corridor towards Gate 12 and, as she did so, got a shock. There, on the other side of a glass partition, was a long queue of passengers at another gate, waiting to board an Alitalia flight. Near the front of the queue was the unmistakable figure of Alex. Annie stopped dead and went over to the glass, waving and trying to attract his attention.
She very quickly stopped gesticulating as she saw him stretch out his arm and encircle the shoulders of the very pretty little blonde girl beside him. In spite of some seriously high heels, the girl had to reach up on tiptoe in order to kiss him very affectionately on the neck, before dropping back down to ground level and burying her head against his shoulder. Annie had seen enough. She turned and continued blindly along the corridor to Gate 12.
The Christmas holiday flashed by. Annie spent the first night in London, staying with an old friend from university days, chatting, catching up and drinking too much Chardonnay, doing her level best not to let her mind consider the implications of the scene she had witnessed at Turin airport.
Next morning, before leaving for Devon, she did some last-minute Christmas shopping in Oxford Street, which made Turin airport look like an unpopulated wasteland in comparison. She had to fight her way through the crowds and emerged feeling as if she had just skied the Cock’s Comb without stopping. She bought a few more presents for the family and then took the tube down to Harrods and bought a lovely warm, and very expensive mohair jumper for Paolina, to thank her for everything she had done.
From London, Annie took the train and travelled down to Devon to see her mum. The old house still looked the same and the old cat was just the same lazy, loveable old tabby who came up to her bed every morning to wake her by jumping onto her chest and purring furiously. Her mum looked exactly the same, maybe her hair just a shade greyer, and Annie’s old bedroom was almost unchanged since her schooldays, right down to the poster of Robbie Williams still on the back of the door. Annie flung herself into the celebrations: shopping, cooking, cleaning and helping to make it a joyous event for all of them. And she succeeded. It was only at night, lying in bed trying to sleep, that the scene at the airport replayed time and time again in her mind. She thought about it a lot, and struggled hard to relegate it to the back of her mind. At least for now.
Karen, Chris and the boys were there over the Christmas weekend and again for New Year and the whole family came together. It was about four o’clock on Christmas Day, while Chris was snoozing in front of the television in the living room, and the boys were playing with some Star Wars thing at his feet, that she found herself alone at the dining table with her mum and sister and decided to speak about it. Karen and her mum listened in silence as she recounted what she had seen at the airport.
‘Maybe she was just a good friend.’ Karen was the first to offer support. ‘After all, it’s not as if he had his tongue down her throat, was it?’
‘Maybe she’d been drinking and was just a little bit too amorous.’ Her mother smiled encouragingly. ‘Like Mr Davis, the organist, on Christmas Eve. Margie Barry said he was like an octopus – hands everywhere.’
In spite of her upset, Annie had to laugh at that image. Both Mr Davis and Mrs Barry were well into their seventies, maybe older. ‘Yes, I know, but you didn’t see the look on her face. The girl was crazy about him. It’s true, I didn’t imagine it.’
‘Well, so what?’ Karen was obviously opting for a bit of tough love. ‘It’s not as if you’re expecting his baby or anything.’
‘Karen, really!’ Their mum sounded positively shocked. ‘I should think not.’
Karen continued, unrepentant. ‘What I mean is, you and he haven’t even… you know.’ Out of deference to their mother she just nodded her head and grunted. Her meaning, however, was unmistakable. Ignoring her mother’s disapproving look, Annie was quick to confirm the exact state of the relationship.
‘I know. Nothing’s happened between us, unless you count a ten-second kiss goodnight in the front seat of his Ferrari.’
‘Did you say Ferrari?’
‘Yes, horrid noisy thing and they’re so bloody low. Every time I tried to get into it, I fell in, and getting out was a real struggle.’
‘So what’s new? Stop press: Annie falls over yet again. But, a Ferrari…?’
Annie nodded. ‘I know. In so many ways Alex isn’t my type. Flashy car, expensive tastes, even his skis cost about three times what mine did; but, still, I liked him a lot.’ Her voice tailed off. ‘I mean, I like him a lot. I still do, really.’ She caught her sister’s eye. ‘Although I know what I saw, part of me is still hoping there’s an innocent explanation. It would be a pity to lose him.’ She paused for thought. Why was she getting so worked up? The fact was that their relationship wasn’t really deserving of the name. They had only been out together for two meals and a bit of skiing. She raised her head and looked across the table. ‘I’m just being stupid, aren’t I? I’ve only known him for a few weeks and it’s not as if I’ve fallen head over heels in love with him, or him with me. When all’s said and done, it’s no big deal, is it?’
‘And remember, dear, you were saying to me back in the summer how the last thing you wanted at the moment was a man.’ Her mum was still doing her best to bolster Annie’s spirits.
‘And you told me that self-same thing only a month ago when I was over,’ Karen joined in. ‘Besides, even if he turns out to be a miserable, no-good bastard, you’ve always got Matt.’
‘Karen, must you use language like that?’ Her mum grimaced. ‘Now, Matt’s that handsome boy, isn’t he? I remember meeting him.’
Annie found herself smiling. So even her mother had noticed Matt’s charms. ‘That’s him. He’s an old friend from Turin. He and Steve were best friends. They used to go climbing together.’
‘Poor, poor Steve.’ Her mum dropped her eyes. ‘If only you’d managed to get him to stop that awful climbing.’
‘Climbing to Steve was like oxygen to us, mum. It was something in his blood, something he just had to do. The fact that I almost got an ulcer worrying about something happening to him didn’t enter his head.’
‘He never struck me as a selfish boy. I always thought he was very caring.’
‘And he was, except for that blind spot.’ A thought occurred to her. ‘It’s like Alex and that damn phone of his. He never turns it off and it’s always ringing.’ As she spoke, the suspicion grew in her mind that not all of his calls had been business-related. The fact that he so often disappeared outside to take them pointed towards the likelihood that some, at least, had been of a personal nature. She did her best not to snort out loud.
‘And this boy, Matt. What’s he doing now?’ Annie told her mother about the deal she had struck with Matt. Her mother approved.
‘I think that’s excellent, yo
u having a man to help out.’ She gave Annie an unusually cheeky smile. ‘It sounds like the best of both worlds. He’s there and he helps and you don’t even need to go to bed with him.’
‘Mum, honestly!’ Now it was Karen’s turn to be shocked. She glanced at Annie. ‘Mind you, Annie, that’s not a bad idea.’ Her eyes took on that same distant, dreamy look she had exhibited the first time she had met Matt. ‘Go on, surely you’d like to.’
Annie shook her head. ‘No, of course not. He’s just a friend; a very close friend.’ She paused, remembering the last time she had seen him. ‘But I’ll agree with you that he’s very handsome and very helpful. If I was looking for a man, and if I didn’t have Alex, assuming that I still have Alex, and if Matt wasn’t Steve’s best friend, and if he wasn’t such a womaniser, I’d agree. But that’s not the way it is. Besides, I’m sure he doesn’t think of me in that way.’ As she said it, she found herself remembering the rather unexpected things he had said to her just before leaving. Had he been trying to tell her there was some sort of connection between his meeting her again and the fact that he no longer had a girlfriend? So, could it be that he did think of her in that way? And if he did, what did she think about him? This was all getting too confusing. She reached across for a mint chocolate and nibbled it as her brain continued to churn.
Karen was grinning. ‘So at least you admit it; he’s gorgeous. And, like I told you before, it’s obvious he likes you a lot. Go on, Annie, you could do worse.’
Annie finished the chocolate and made a decision. She shook her head again. ‘No, mum’s right. I really don’t want a man in my life, especially as it would appear that the two men I know best have no conception of monogamy. No, I think I’ll just chalk Alex up to experience and hope that Matt continues to be there for me without my having to sleep with him.’ She smiled at her mother. ‘Good advice, mum.’
