Maria shrugged. “I really don’t know. I think he will probably agree with Stella’s mother.”
Eventually Stella and her mother, both wearing grim faces, came back to join them and they all walked over to the bar area where they thought the men might have gathered by now.
Chapter 19
It was decided by Stella’s mother that the ladies should sit together for lunch at one table, while the men would sit at the other. When it was announced, Diana caught Maria’s eye and she raised her eyebrows. Maria presumed that she thought the same as herself – that Jane Maxwell had decided on the separate tables to ensure that Stella and Tony did not get the chance to sit together.
Maria was very grateful to have Bernice and Diana and Charlie Ford’s wife, Helen, seated with her, as the tension between Stella and her mother continued all through the meal. Stella, she noticed, ate very little, instead pushing her Chicken Supreme and vegetables around her plate with her fork and every now and again taking the odd tiny mouthful.
At one point Maria overheard her mother saying, “Is there actually something wrong with your meal? Is it not hot enough? Do you want me to call one of the waiters to bring you something else?”
Stella had just shrugged and said, “I ate too much at breakfast and I’m not hungry.”
“Well,” her mother said, “you’re going to be on your feet most of the afternoon and we don’t want you getting weak and fainting again.”
“That was because of my period,” Stella said in a low, tense voice. “Now, can you leave me alone and stop going on at me in a public place, please?”
Maria was surprised on hearing about the fainting, as Stella had not mentioned anything about it to her.
Afterwards, when they moved into the Premier Enclosure, the men and the women all started to mingle together and Paul and Tony came to join them. At first Stella was very subdued and kept close to Maria but, after Leo came over to discuss the racing programme with them and to make sure the girls understood the betting, she perked up a little. Then, when Charlie Ford came over to chat and bought them all a glass of white wine, which Stella downed in two mouthfuls, she seemed to regain some of her usual bounce.
Bella Maria would be in the sixth race, the second-last race of the day. Maria wasn’t sure if it was better or worse waiting through all the other races until theirs came up. She supposed that if the filly was in an early race and lost badly, then it would cast a cloud over the rest of the day. On the other hand, if she had been in one of the early races and won, or was even placed in the first three runners, it would lift things and let her relax and enjoy the remainder of the races.
Paul helped take her mind off the impending race by getting her to watch all that was going on around them and, to her surprise, so did Diana Freeman.
When they first went into the bar Maria was chatting to Diana when her father came in and she introduced them. He shook Diana’s hand and was about to walk away when Maria told him that Diana was the lovely lady who had looked after Mrs Flynn in church that day. Then, although he was distracted with all the racing things going on around him, he had stayed for twenty minutes chatting to her.
“He’s a very nice man,” Diana said after he left, smiling at Maria.
“He is,” Maria said, “and he’s a fantastic father as well.” She said nothing more, but it came into her mind several times afterwards that her father and Diana Freeman would make a very nice, good-looking couple.
Paul and Tony decided on their bets and helped the girls choose theirs for the first race and they all walked down the few grassy yards from the enclosure to stand at the fence to get a close view.
The races were surprisingly short – some only a couple of minutes – but Maria was surprised at how exciting they were. Stella kept shrieking and jumping up and down and grabbing people’s arms any time a horse she had bet on overtook another one. Her mother came back and forward to them a few times, during which visits Tony diplomatically kept his distance from her. After a while, Jane Maxwell just stayed with the older group and Maria sensed that she had given up her policing of Stella either because she’d had enough of it and decided to enjoy her own day, or because her husband had told her to stop making a show of herself and Stella.
There was an air of tension mixed with excitement when the sixth race was due. Instructions were being relayed over the Tannoy about the five-furlong flat race, and people were rushing over to the counters to place last-minute bets, while others were distributing betting slips to other members of their groups.
Maria went over to her father and Charlie Ford and wished them both good luck, and she could hear a breathlessness in her father’s voice and see that his movements had quickened and got more jerky, which she knew indicated that he was anxious. Her heart went out to him and she said numerous silent prayers that he would be able to cope without embarrassing them both, if and more likely whenhis filly trailed in after the winners.
A short while later the fillies were under starter’s orders. A hush came over the place and people got their binoculars out, checking they were on the right setting. Then, there was a collective gasp of excitement and the horses were off, and the place was filled with noise and chatter again. Groups of people once again set off through the glass doors to cross the grass down to the fence to get a better view.
Maria stood outside, clutching Paul’s arm, both of them listening as the commentators gave the numbers and jersey colours of each filly. Bella Maria’s jockey, Frankie Kelly, was in blue-and-yellow stripes and yellow cap and carried the number 3. After a minute or so, Stella came rushing up asking if anyone knew what was happening and if they could see the horses in the distance.
Then, Charlie Ford let a roar out of him and shouted that Bella Maria was in fourth place and moving up, and Maria did not know if that was good or bad at that stage. Seconds later the horses went thundering towards the finishing line.
“She’s moved into second now!” Tony suddenly shouted, and started jumping up and down.
Her father and Charlie and the other men were in rapt, silent concentration as they watched through their binoculars and then the race ended and the noise fell again as they waited on the commentator’s verdict. The muffled announcement came and there was a moment before any reaction then suddenly the greatest roar went up from their group.
Maria turned to look at her father and her stomach somersaulted when she saw him standing with his hands over his eyes and she knew he was crying, and then she looked at Paul who was just standing there as though in shock. She closed her eyes. She could not bear it.
Please God, she prayed, please God, let it not be a total disaster! Please let her at least get placed!
“What happened?” she shouted over the noise, grabbing Paul’s arm again. “What place did she come in?”
He turned to look at her with stunned eyes. “First!” he exclaimed. “Bella Maria came in first! She won the race!”
Maria opened her mouth to speak but was so shocked that nothing came out. She then moved towards her father just as he started moving towards her, both with tears running down their faces.
“She won, Maria! She won!” He threw his arms around her, lifted her up in the air, and twirled her round and round.
Maria hugged him tightly, unable to remember feeling so happy, and so very relieved, in a long, long time.
After the group had finished hugging and congratulating, they all followed an elated Leo and Charlie down to the winner’s enclosure to congratulate the jockey and the trainer. Then the champagne bottles and the glasses were brought out and Bella Mariaand the jockey were toasted. Then Leo and Charlie were toasted. Maria drank one glass and then it was refilled and when she looked again it was empty and she was hardly aware of having drunk it.
Everyone was heading back to the bar when Leo came over to Maria and Paul, and after excusing himself to Paul, he took his daughter’s hand in his and led her away.
“Come with me, Maria,” he said. “This is
the happiest day we’ve had in years and I want you beside me because we’re going to celebrate in style. This is the start of big things in our life – bigger things and better things!”
“Where are we going?” Maria asked.
“We are going into the racecourse office to use their phone,” he told her. “To make all the necessary arrangements.”
“Arrangements for what?”
He squeezed her hand so tightly it hurt and made her wonder how much he had drunk when she wasn’t with him. “For a little party back at the restaurant. This is our great moment. This is our chance to show thanks that a poor Italian man from a simple family has done as well as I have. I want to share my good luck with all the kind friends who came with us today, and who would have been there to console us if Bella Mariahad not won. This is the kind of moment I have waited for all my life.” He gestured back towards the racecourse where Stella and Paul and all the others were still drinking and chatting and celebrating their wins.
When they reached the racecourse office Leo told Maria to wait for a few minutes, while he went in and had a quick word with the man and woman inside. While she was waiting, her mind went back to the conversation she’d had with Diana.
He then beckoned her to join him and she went in silently while he phoned the restaurant to check that Vincent and Johnny could stay on after the last customers had left, and to ask them to prepare some finger food for his guests.
“There will be about thirty people,” he told Vincent, “and I would be very happy if you could have some plates of cold meats and some bread – and maybe some slices of pizza and focaccia bread and bruschetta.” He winked at Maria. “And also, if you could have a table with nicely polished champagne glasses. And Vincent – tell Johnny I will pay you both double time for the extra hours and I’ll pay for a taxi back home.” Johnny must have said something funny then because Leo laughed and said, “I don’t care what you do tomorrow, as long as everything is okay tonight!”
He came off the phone and whirled Maria around in a little waltz. “We are winning!” he told her. “At last – we are winning!”
As they danced around, Maria suddenly felt the same elation as she did when she’d heard their horse had been first across the finishing line. And, as she looked into her father’s shining brown eyes, she realised she believed in him. She believed in him all over again. He had proved that Bella Maria was a winner – which meant that her father was a winner again too!
When they went back to the enclosure Leo told their group that there would be a party back at Leonardo’s to celebrate Bella Maria’s first big winning race and everyone cheered. Once again, Maria’s heart soared as she watched her father receiving claps on the back from Franco and Stella’s father and, even more importantly, Mr and Mrs Spencer. There was much discussion as the various groups got together to organise lifts back to the restaurant. Maria was delighted when Paul came over and put his arm around her and asked her to travel back in the car with him and his parents.
“It’s great going back to the restaurant for a party and I’m really looking forward to being with you.”
“Is Tony coming too?”
Paul shrugged. “He’s chatting to some lads he knows from another stable, and I heard them asking him if he wanted to go for a drink with them.”
When she checked with her father about travelling with the Spencers, he waved her away, nodding and smiling. He was happy and she knew that he and Franco and their friends would be discussing the race and analysing every move Bella Maria had made.
Stella came over to Maria and whispered in her ear. “Can we go into the ladies’? I need to talk to you in private.”
Maria’s heart sank a little. This couldn’t be good. “What’s wrong?”
“Two things,” Stella said, propelling her across the room, “and I’ll tell you when we get there.”
When they closed the door of the ladies’ behind them, Maria turned towards her friend. “What is it? What’s going on?”
“Can you ask Paul to ask his parents to give Tony a lift back to the restaurant?” Stella joined her hands together as though praying. “I really, really want him to come, and if the Spencers bring him then my mum won’t be able to say a thing.”
Her friend looked so desperate that Maria had no option. “Okay. I can’t promise you that they’ll do it, but I’ll ask Paul.”
Stella hugged her. “Oh, thanks, thanks!”
“What’s the other thing?”
“I don’t want you to be annoyed with me after what you said last week.”
“What do you mean?”
“Diana. My mum has asked her to come back to the restaurant and –”
Maria cut her off. “It’s okay, I don’t mind if she comes.”
Stella’s eyebrows shot up.
“She’s a very nice woman. I liked her the minute I met her in the church weeks back and then, when I was speaking to her earlier on, I still liked her. In fact, I wouldn’t have a problem if my dad did go out on a date with her.”
“Well . . .” Stella said, looking really taken aback, “that’s surely a big change.”
Maria shrugged. “It’s funny how it turned out, and it made me think. It’s not fair for me to make decisions about my father’s life. If he wants to be friends with someone then that’s up to him.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, because he’s been really great about you and Paul.” Stella’s eyes suddenly filled up. “Your dad has always been great. You are so lucky. I wish my parents were as understanding . . . at times it’s hell in our house.”
Maria felt sorry for her friend and went over and put her arms around her. “Give them time. When they see you are both really serious and grown-up about it all, then they might change their minds.”
Stella shook her head. “Not my mother. I didn’t get a chance to tell you yet – in fact, I couldn’t face talking about it. When she asked if Tony was going to the races and I told her that he was, she said she wasn’t going and there was a big row between her and my father. To keep the peace between them she eventually agreed to go, but later she came up to my bedroom and said I was the cause of all the trouble in the house. She said I was spoiled and that if I kept going the way I was I’d come to a bad end. Can you believe that? Imagine a mother saying that to her daughter.”
Maria squeezed her arm. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it. She was probably just annoyed.”
“Oh, she meant it all right. She said she wished she had sent me to boarding school so that I would have learned the difference between the right kind of people and the wrong kind. Thank God she likes you and doesn’t want to upset your dad, or I’m sure she would stop me going to riding lessons because of Tony.” She rolled her eyes and made a snuffling sort of noise. “She said she wished I had half your brains and had got myself a nice boy from a decent family like Paul Spencer.” She started to laugh then. “And don’t ask – yes, she did say James Granger as well!”
Maria didn’t know whether it was a good thing that Mrs Maxwell liked her. She was grateful for being accepted – but it made her feel responsible for Stella in a way. The door opened now and two women came in, so the girls moved back out into the main area.
“Are you okay?” Maria checked.
“Yes, but will you go now and ask Paul about giving Tony a lift now before it’s too late?”
“Okay . . . but maybe it’s pushing things with your mum. Maybe it would be better if Tony went home.”
“I want him to come. I want my mother to see how he and Paul are such good friends and I want her to see how well Tony gets on with the Spencers too.”
Stella obviously had no idea that Paul only thought of Tony as a workmate, and Maria knew that she couldn’t tell her that. As they walked back to meet the others, she thought how complicated things were becoming.
It was almost ten o’clock when all the cars arrived outside Leonardo’sand, as the groups walked up the cobbled street towards the restaurant, Maria felt a
sense of pride when she heard those who hadn’t been in it before saying how lovely and cosy and welcoming it looked. As she reached the door she smiled when she heard Grieg’s ‘Morning’, one of her favourite pieces of music, playing. When they arrived inside, the tables had been relaid after the customers had gone, with fresh red-and-white tablecloths and flowers and new candles, and everything looked perfect.
It struck her it was early for people to be gone, but she guessed that her father had not taken any late bookings that night on purpose since Franco had the bank holiday off for the races, and the customers usually asked if he was on when they made their table reservations. She also thought that he might well have been hoping that they would all be coming back for a private celebration, and it would be easier to organise if the restaurant was empty.
As soon as people’s coats were off and they were all sitting at tables or standing around chatting, Franco and Johnny and Vincent appeared with bottles of sparkling wine and once again Leo’s win at the races was toasted. The Spencers arrived with Paul and Tony and came to stand with Maria and Stella. The Maxwells were over at a corner table with Diana and another couple, but Maria kept her gaze away from them, while Stella stood with her back to them.
The platters of food were brought out to much discussion and, after the trip back from York, most people were happily filling their plates.
“It’s an amazing place,” Mrs Spencer said, “and the food is wonderful.” She smiled at her husband. “I think Leo’s personality just shines through in this place.”
People moved around and when Maria was talking to her father on her own again, she said. “Isn’t that a lovely woman with Stella’s parents? The one I met that day in the church.”
“Yes,” he said, looking across at Diana. “She is very nice.”
“She’s very attractive, don’t you think? And her hair is such a lovely reddish colour.”
Her father looked thoughtful. “Yes, she is a lovely woman and beautifully dressed.”
Music from Home Page 17
