Sign of the Times

by Susan Buchanan

  She’d thought as much. She was going to be one of them.

  The rest of the day was spent up and down red runs, black runs, on T bars, on every ski lift in the vicinity. It seemed natural that they would have dinner together. She still didn’t know if it was as a friend, or lover. They chatted away, the earlier awkwardness long forgotten.

  “Are you looking forward to the race?” Robbie asked.

  “Should be a laugh.”

  “I did it last year.”

  “Did you win?”

  “The idea is to survive, not win!” She hoped he was joking.

  “Anyway, we’d best get going. It starts soon and I don’t have nearly enough schnapps in my system yet.”

  “The rules are, there are no rules,” boomed the voice of the organiser. “First to finish is the winner. Good luck everyone. Go!”

  “Hold on tight,” Robbie urged Lucy, as they ran and jumped onto the sledge. Lucy couldn’t believe how fast they were going. She was glad of her hat. It was freezing and her hair was whipping around her face.

  “Watch out,” Lucy screamed, as a low hanging branch almost lifted them out of the toboggan. It was pitch dark. She could barely see her hand in front of her face as they hurtled down the mountainside, blind.

  “Woo-hoo,” another team sailed past. They were going too fast and didn’t make the corner. Lucy and Robbie passed them on the bend, as the others clambered back onto their sledge. This is brilliant, thought Lucy. She wanted to drive, but instead huddled into Robbie’s slim frame and concentrated on not falling off, turning her body when he turned his, providing momentum for steering around the corners. Ahead of them she heard excited screams. It was like a rollercoaster, with all the bumps and loops. At least there was no real danger of falling off a rollercoaster, she thought. Seconds later, she discovered the reason for the screams. They were fast approaching a very steep gradient. No sooner had she realised it, when they went careering down it. What a rush! They overtook a few sledges and then suddenly, they were airborne. They’d hit a tree root and went soaring through the air.

  “Oof,” said Lucy, as she landed, with a thwack.

  “C’mon,” Robbie yelled at her, “Get on.”

  Scrambling back on, she pushed forward. Their speed increased again, faster and faster. They burst through the finish line. Tenth. Not bad.

  “When’s the next one?” said Lucy, grinning.

  “Oh, that was great, but this is just as good,” Robbie relaxed in the bar.

  “Mmm,” Lucy agreed with him. “We deserve a beer.”

  “Absolutely,” and they clinked glasses.

  They rabbited on, then Robbie said, “Do you want to go back to the hotel?”

  “Yes.”

  Uncertain what was going to happen once at the hotel, Lucy was relieved when Robbie solved the problem for her.

  “Fancy a nightcap?”

  “Why not?” and she headed towards the bar.

  “No,” he took her hand gently, “I meant, just the two of us.”

  Letting Lucy digest this, he smiled at her and said, “If that’s OK?”

  “Yes, but it’ll need to be your room. I drank my mini-bar dry last night.”

  “I don’t really want a nightcap,” he looked her straight in the eye.

  A few hours later, after not only highly satisfying sex, but much cuddling and chatting, Lucy said reluctantly, “I better go.”

  Robbie looked puzzled.

  “Why?”

  “Well, I thought you’d want your space.”

  “I do,” the corners of Robbie’s mouth turned up, “This is my space and this,” he indicated the other side of the bed, “is yours.”

  She looked at him, not sure what to say.

  “If you want, that is,” Robbie clarified. She chose not to see that as a double entendre.

  “OK,” she said, “I’ll stay.”

  “Till morning?” Robbie checked.

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “That’s very much what I want.”

  The next few days passed in a fog. They skied a lot, ate well and spent the nights under the covers. They hadn’t talked about what would happen when they returned to Scotland, but instinctively Lucy knew they were going to keep seeing each other. Maybe it was just an infatuation. But she had never felt such a pull before, like an invisible force, attracting them.

  The last night came around. Robbie was heading home in the morning. Lucy was driving to Tuscany. Holly had been overjoyed when Lucy called to say she was coming. As Lucy and Robbie lay in bed, a hush fell over them and they knew it wasn’t that they’d run out of things to say. After an interminable silence, Robbie said, “So what happens now?”

  Lucy decided it was time to be up-front. “Robbie, I’d like to see you again when we get back, but it’s complicated.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I have a boyfriend.”

  “I guessed that.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes. Look at you. You’re gorgeous, successful, funny and fun. Why wouldn’t you have a boyfriend?”

  Lucy took all of these compliments on-board and was taken aback when Robbie said, “I’d still like to see you.”

  She was being offered the best of both worlds, so she said, “OK.”

  “Good. Can I have your number then?”

  Lucy chuckled, “Don’t you think we’ve done this the wrong way around?”

  “Sorry?”

  “Aren’t you meant to ask for my phone number, then we sleep with each other?”

  Robbie laughed, “I suppose so, but since we got the logistics arse from elbow, can I have it anyway?”

  “Of course,” and smiling at him, she wrote down her number.

  “Great. Do you mind if I sleep here tonight?”

  “I’d be gutted if you didn’t.”

  “Let’s get some sleep,” Robbie said, as he cuddled her.

  As Lucy packed her things into her car, she reflected on the past few days. She was looking forward to seeing her sister. Holly had been in Italy for a few weeks writing her book. Her sister was enjoying herself immensely. Tom hadn’t sounded too good last time Lucy spoke to him on the phone. She wasn’t sure if he was pining for his fiancée or if something else was troubling him.

  It was going to be a long drive. It should take just under seven hours. Thank goodness for air conditioning. She had a quick look at the map, to see if she could spot a place for lunch. She looked at Holly’s address - Bibbiena. Parma or Modena for lunch then. She opted for Parma. Turning on her radio, she hopped in the car, cast a last look at Saas Fee and set off. There was an upside to it being a beautiful sunny day, she thought. You definitely gained a different impression of a place if the weather was horrible. As she drove she sang along to Queen, Duran Duran and The Rolling Stones.

  “Hi Carl. How are you? Sorry I haven’t been in touch. There was no reception in Saas Fee,” Lucy lied. “You’ll never guess where I am. I’m in Parma, munching the best ham Parma has to offer, with olives, sun dried tomatoes and a glass of Chianti.”

  “Lucky cow!” said Carl.

  “I know. Anyway, tell me what you’ve been up to.”

  She listened to Carl for a second, who was moaning that she could have used a pay phone and then cut in, “Carl, you know I don’t do phone boxes.”

  “So, how are things with you? How’s the restaurant?” She listened half-heartedly to Carl prattle on about minor disputes with suppliers and builders. His grumps and groans out of the way, he moved on to the positives, before turning his attention to Lucy.

  “Anyway, how was the skiing?”

  “Yes, the skiing was great. The weather has been fabulous. The runs were great, the snow was perfect. Yes, the whole thing has been a great break. Just a few days with Holly now and then I’ll fly back from Rome. Are we going out for dinner?”

  “Yes, I thought we could go to Sarti’s.”

  “Sounds good. You booking it?”

  “M
akes sense, since you’re away. Some of us have to stay behind and earn a crust. Geddit? Crust? Restaurant?”

  “Yes, I get it,” Lucy said. “Look I need to go. I told Holly I’d be there for dinner, so I better make tracks.”

  “OK. Drive safe and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  “Of course,” Lucy said sweetly, thinking thank God he didn’t know the half of it. Finishing her wine, she paid the bill and set off.

  Chapter Thirty Four

  “Holly! Look at you. You’re so brown. You look incredible.”

  Her sister hugged her and said, “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.” They jabbered on for a few minutes before Lucy noticed someone behind Holly, waiting to speak to her.

  “Guido. Come and meet my sister, Lucy.”

  Guido’s eyes were popping out of his head. Lucy tried not to smile. She was after all used to this kind of attention. She went to shake Guido’s hand, but he put his hands on her shoulders and gave her two kisses. The next minute, Sig.a Tagliaferri appeared, highly excited. Addressing Holly, she said, “Questa è la tua sorella?”

  Holly nodded and Sig.a Tagliaferri said, “Ma che bella ragazza che è. Guido, prendeti i suoi bagagli, subito.”

  “She says you are very pretty,” Holly told her.

  Lucy said, “The only word I caught was bella. I gathered that was a good thing.”

  Whilst she was talking, Guido picked up her bags and rushed off, before his mother had time to shoo him away. Bending forward and kissing Sig.a Tagliaferri, Lucy said, “Piacere.”

  The Tuscan woman’s eyes widened. “Ma, anche Lei parla italiano!” and she launched into fast-flowing Italian. Alarmed, Lucy swung round to her sister, so that she could explain. Holly grinned and interjected to tell Sig.a Tagliaferri that piacere was one of the very few words Lucy knew. Sig.a Tagliaferri eyed Lucy and then announced that she was happy Lucy had made the effort.

  “You see,” whispered Holly. “They like it when you try to speak their language.”

  Sig.a Tagliaferri made as much a fuss of Lucy as of Holly. Likewise, Emilio, when he returned from town, gave her a most enthusiastic welcome. The boys offered to show her around, but Holly said she wanted to give Lucy the tour, as she hadn’t seen her for a while. After dinner, Lucy and Holly sat under the pagoda, catching up.

  “So, any gossip?” Lucy asked. “What about those two?”

  Holly reddened.

  “You have not!!” Lucy was aghast.

  “They’d have liked to, but no, nothing’s happened between us.”

  Lucy sensed her sister’s hesitation. “Then what?” she asked, expert at sniffing out a secret.

  “I kissed someone,” Holly said.

  “You did?” Lucy was taken back. “Who?”

  “Dario.”

  “Is he another brother?”

  “No. It’s a long story,” Holly sighed.

  “Take your time,” Lucy said, refilling their glasses.

  Lucy was surprised by what her sister told her, but also excited. Although she liked Tom, she didn’t think he was a match for Holly. She had pursed her lips and bit back a bitchy comment when Holly announced their engagement.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. He just disappeared at that wedding.”

  “Well, at least you know where he lives.”

  “I think I’ll chalk it down to experience and get on with my life.”

  “Oh come on. It’s not as if you slept with him.”

  “Thank God,” said Holly.

  “Really?” said Lucy. She arched one eyebrow and winked suggestively. “Are you sure?”

  Holly couldn’t help laughing. Her sister was incorrigible.

  “So you’re going to do nothing about it?”

  “What can I do? I have to think about Tom. I’m getting married, remember?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “C’mon. You could be a bit more enthusiastic. I know you don’t think much of Tom, but he’s good for me and reliable and loving.”

  “Get a labrador,” Lucy was cutting.

  “No. I have to forget about it. It’s for the best.”

  “Your loss. Sounds like a goer.”

  “Lucy!” Holly was horrified.

  “Well,” Lucy was remorseless.

  They settled down to talk about other things and Holly said,

  “C’mon, spit it out.”

  “What do you mean?” Lucy asked innocently.

  “Luce, I’m not your sister for nothing. It’s got to be a man or men,” said Holly wickedly.

  “Well, there was a rather nice French guy in Lucerne,”

  “And?”

  “Just sex,” she was dismissive.

  “You should have been born a man, Luce.”

  “You are joking, aren’t you! Then I wouldn’t have nice boobs and legs to die for.”

  “You are completely shameless!”

  “That’s me,” Lucy agreed. “There was another, in Saas Fee.”

  “And?” Holly kept on.

  “Robbie. Twenty-one. Medical student.”

  “Twenty-one? You’ll be taking them out of prams next!”

  “Thanks a bunch.”

  “Well, c’mon, twenty-one. When you lost your virginity, he was still in nappies!”

  “Ha bloody ha. Anyway, he doesn’t know that and what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him.”

  “How old does he think you are?”

  “Thirty one.”

  “Thirty one,” Holly spat out her wine. “You’re nearly thirty eight.”

  “I know that and you know that, but my age is only given on a need to know basis.”

  “At least you put yourself in your thirties for once.”

  “Well, there was a bit of a complication.”

  “What complication?”

  “I might be his tutor next year.”

  “Oh, you have got to be kidding. He’s not at Glasgow Uni?”

  “Oh yes, he is. Damn, I’d make a really good Dame in a pantomime, wouldn’t I?” said Lucy.

  “Your whole bloody life is a pantomime, Luce! What the hell are you going to do? How could you be so stupid?”

  “Nothing,” she replied.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I like him, a lot. He likes me. We’re going to keep seeing each other.”

  “Are you nuts?” Holly couldn’t believe her sister. “This could seriously damage your relationship with Carl, but it could also ruin your career. Reputation is everything in Medicine, you know that and it’s not quite the same thing, no matter how much you pretend it is, a doctor screwing a nurse.”

  “I don’t see why not,” Lucy said defensively.

  “That’s always been your problem. You always want to have it all.”

  “Life is there to be lived,” Lucy shot back.

  “You’re messing with people’s lives here.”

  “I can take care of myself. C’mon. I came here to visit my little sis, not for a lecture.”

  Sighing Holly said, “You’re right, let’s not talk about it anymore.”

  They changed the subject and were soon laughing and joking, as Holly told her about the wedding she’d been to. Lucy filled Holly in on the toboggan race, glossing over the fact it was Robbie she had been with. They spent a happy evening together, knocking back Chianti and nibbling gorgonzola.

  The sisters enjoyed a relaxing few days pottering around Tuscany. All too soon, Lucy had to drive to Fiumicino to catch her flight.

  “You look after yourself,” Holly urged.

  “I know what I’m doing, sis. I’ll see you when you get back.”

  Chapter Thirty Six

  The flight was on time. Lucy arrived into Glasgow Airport at half nine. She was distracted as she walked through Arrivals and banged straight into someone.

  “Sorry,” she looked up to apologise, only to find herself looking at Carl.

  “I wanted to surprise you,” he lifted her off the ground and
kissed her.

  Drawing breath, Lucy said, “You did that all right.”

  “Nice surprise?”

  “Very nice surprise,” Lucy said, linking hands with him and dragging him towards belt three to look for her suitcase.

  *

  “Turn here,” Lucy said abruptly to Carl.

  “Here? Why?”

  “Just do it!” Lucy said authoritatively.

  “Please,” she added when she saw Carl’s wounded look.

  “Right here.”

  “Lucy, this is a dirt track.”

  “I know.”

  “There’s nothing down here.”

  “I know.”

  “So why are we going down here?”

  “OK, stop.”

  “OK. What now?” Carl was confused.

  Lucy started pulling at his trousers.

  Finally coming up for air,” she said, “I couldn’t wait till we got home.”

  “You horny little devil,” Carl laughed, as he unzipped her skirt, his fingers running up her thighs. “Ooh, stockings, my favourite.”

  “Well, that was unexpected,” Carl said, when they finally arrived home.

  “Nice surprise?” Lucy asked coquettishly.

  “Definitely. Surprise me like that as often as you like.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind.”

  “Do. Drink?”

  “Rioja.”

  “Me too.”

  Setting the glasses on the coffee table, he kissed her softly.

  “Now for the more leisurely version,” and he started caressing her again.

  Things were just getting interesting when Lucy’s mobile rang. Instantly she stiffened.

  “You’re not due back yet,” Carl groaned. “Leave it. Please!” he begged.

  Afterwards, Carl went off to refill their glasses. Lucy took advantage of his absence to check her phone. Robbie. Hastily, she read the text.

  “How u? Get back OK? Can’t wait 2 c u. Wen u 3? R xx.” Adrenalin pumping, she deleted it. She’d text him tomorrow. She wasn’t going to be careless enough to do it when Carl was here. She felt reckless. She’d just screwed her boyfriend twice and she was already caught up in the excitement of seeing another man.

  Lucy was desperate to see Robbie, but didn’t want to appear too keen. He’d called her on Wednesday. She replied on Thursday afternoon saying she was free on Monday. They’d agreed to meet in the south side. Robbie’s flat was relatively close by, but more importantly it was far enough from the city centre and the West End, so their tryst would go undetected.