Dreaming of Tuscany

by T A Williams

  ‘What’ve you done?’ She had to work hard to avoid shrieking at him. ‘Do you realise that by taking advantage of my mum so deceitfully and now coming here, you’ve put my job, my future, everything in jeopardy.’

  ‘Of course I haven’t. I just wanted to know where you were so I could see you again, Bee.’

  ‘After I’d specifically told you I was legally prevented from revealing my whereabouts to anybody, as well. It’s just the same old you, isn’t it? Thinking only about yourself as usual.’ She stopped and took a very deep breath. ‘So, once again, why are you here?’

  ‘To see you, of course.’ From the expression on his face, even he could hear the insincerity in his words this time.

  She just looked at him. His eyes met hers for a second before dropping to the floor as he made a final attempt to bluster his way out of it.

  ‘Come on, Bee, I’ve just driven all the way down here from Pisa in a hurricane. You could try to be a bit nicer.’

  ‘You could try answering my question honestly.’

  ‘Like I said, I wanted to see you so badly. I’ve been missing you.’

  ‘Well, you could have saved yourself the trip. It’s all over between us. We agreed that months ago. We both know that.’ She subjected him to another searching stare. ‘So, try again and, this time, make it the truth.’

  She saw his shoulders drop as he realised the moment had arrived. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Umberto lurking protectively at the top of the stairs, a concerned expression on his face. She shot him a reassuring glance as Jamie finally confessed. What he told her came as no surprise at all.

  ‘It’s Mimi Robertson. You see, if only I could get her to read my screenplay, I’m sure she’d love it. And if she loves it, I’m made!’ She saw him look around for the first time. ‘Is she here?’

  ‘You could have saved yourself the trip. She left three days ago for the US. You could have stayed in LA and waited for her.’

  She saw his face fall.

  ‘She’s gone?’

  He ran a weary hand across his wet forehead, sweeping the hair out of his eyes. She found herself registering that he was still a good-looking man, but any feelings she had had for him were long gone.

  He didn’t meet her eyes, just stared down at his feet. ‘I’m not in LA any more.’

  ‘So where are you living these days?’

  ‘I’m back in London. In fact, that’s the other reason I wanted to see you. I’m having terrible trouble finding a flat I can afford and I wondered if I could maybe move back in with you.’

  Bee was genuinely dumbstruck. It took her several seconds and a lot of self-control before she could answer.

  ‘After splitting up with me, you now want to come back?’

  ‘Yes, you mean a lot to me. But, if you don’t feel the same way, I could just be your flatmate.’ He adopted his most persuasive tone. ‘You’d be out at work all day and I could look after the place, water the plants and stuff. In the evenings and weekends I could disappear. You’d hardly ever see me.’

  Bee took three long, slow, calming breaths.

  ‘No, Jamie. It’s all over. Right? So, no, it wouldn’t work.’

  He actually looked quite hurt and for a few seconds she felt a twinge of remorse.

  ‘It would if we worked at it.’ He was making one last try.

  ‘I’ve moved on, Jamie. I know it wouldn’t work.’

  ‘Moved on? Have you found yourself somebody else?’

  ‘No… I mean, maybe. Oh, I don’t know. Anyway, apart from anything else, I don’t even know if I’m coming back to London yet.’

  As she said it, Bee found herself wondering yet again exactly what she was going to do once this lovely interlude in Tuscany finished. Doing her best to shrug the thought away, she opened the front door again and peered out. If anything, the rain was falling even more heavily. She closed it once more and turned back towards him.

  ‘Anyway, for now, I presume the fact that your car is stuck in the mud means that you’re going to have to stay overnight?’ She didn’t wait for his response. ‘I’ll get Umberto to make up a bed in a spare room. But, Jamie, I want you out of here first thing in the morning.’ Before he could object, she added. ‘They’ve got tractors here on the estate. I’ll get somebody to tow you out of the flower bed as soon as it’s light.’

  * * *

  When Bee woke up next morning, the rain had stopped and the sun had returned. A few residual white clouds on the horizon were all that was left of the storm, apart from the mud on the track and in the vineyards, and a sad-looking Ford Fiesta with its front wheel buried under the beautiful oleander covered in pink flowers. She opened the mosquito screen and leant out, breathing in the relatively cool morning air, certainly a lot less sticky and humid than before the storm. It was a gorgeous morning and if it hadn’t been for Jamie in a bedroom along the corridor, she would have felt really quite happy.

  Seeing him had given her mixed feelings. It had revived memories of their time together – some good, some not so good, some awful. For a while she had reflected on what they had had and what she had lost, but not for long. Seeing him again had reinforced her conviction that there wasn’t anything, and there could never be anything, between them any more, even if he had sounded as if he was willing to give it another try.

  Downstairs in the kitchen, she found Umberto and Ines. By now, she had got them to stop going to all the trouble of setting out breakfast every morning in the echoing dining room and had finally convinced Ines that some toast, butter and jam and a cup of tea in the kitchen was all she needed. As she walked in, Umberto gave her some good news.

  ‘I’ve spoken to Marco, my boy, and he’ll be up shortly to tow your boyfriend’s car out of the flower bed.’

  ‘Thank you so much, Umberto.’ She gave him a big smile as she helped herself to a slice of toast. ‘And he’s very much my ex-boyfriend.’

  ‘Do you think he suspects Miss Robertson’s still here?’ Ines sounded worried.

  Bee had spent quite some time thinking the same thing the previous night.

  ‘He’s no fool, so I think he probably suspects she is. Before he goes off this morning, I’m going to have a serious talk to him.’ Although just what she was going to say remained to be seen.

  Just then, they heard a powerful engine and they trooped out of the kitchen to find Umberto’s son, Marco, heading up the hill on a massive tractor. As he saw Bee, he stopped and leant out of the cab.

  ‘Good morning, Bee.’

  ‘Good morning, Marco, it’s very kind of you to help. Your father’s probably already told you. I’ve got a bit of a problem with a car.’

  She saw his eyes light up. ‘Not another Lamborghini?’ He grinned at her. ‘I spotted the yellow one last week. You couldn’t miss it.’

  ‘No, just a little rental car this time.’

  ‘Pity, seeing as I drive a Lamborghini myself.’

  Bee was amazed. Besides, she hadn’t seen any other flashy sports cars round here. Marco gave her a broad grin and pointed along the bonnet of his enormous vehicle.

  ‘I’m driving the Lambo now, in case you hadn’t noticed.’

  For the first time Bee registered the badge on the front of the tractor – a powerful bull, lowering its horns to charge – and the magical name below it.

  ‘Lamborghini make tractors?’

  ‘That’s how they started. The sports cars came later. Anyway… where’s the car?

  ‘A friend came to see me yesterday at the height of the storm and he skidded off the track. The car’s stuck in the mud round at the front of the villa. Could you give it a pull back onto the track?’

  ‘Of course. You’d better get him to come out and start the engine first.’

  ‘I’ll go and talk to him.’

  While Marco sat down in the kitchen for a coffee with his parents, Bee ran upstairs and knocked on Jamie’s door. She heard his voice from inside and turned the handle. She found him ready to go, standing
in the middle of the room with his bag in his hand. From the look of it, his jacket was still damp from the previous night’s downpour and she almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

  ‘The tractor’s here, Jamie. If you’re ready, I would really like you to go.’

  For a moment she almost felt sorry at the sight of the forlorn expression on his face, but only for a moment. As she turned back towards the door, she heard his voice.

  ‘Bee… are you sure Mimi Robertson’s gone?’

  Bee did her best to keep a straight face.

  ‘I’ve already told you she’s gone.’

  ‘You never were a very good liar, Bee. She’s still here, isn’t she?’

  ‘I tell you she’s gone.’ He was right. She wasn’t used to lying and she wasn’t very good at it.

  ‘Look, Bee, you know what I want. Just give her this, would you?’ He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a bound A4 document. ‘Just ask her to read it. Please…?’

  Bee delayed replying for a moment. Maybe he had just presented her with the only argument that would keep his mouth shut and the secret of their whereabouts intact. Hesitantly, she took the manuscript from him and stepped closer so she was looking him square in the eye.

  ‘If I do that for you, I want you to promise me you won’t breathe a word to anybody about my being here? If the press get wind of it, there’ll be all hell to pay – for me… and for you. Mimi’s a powerful figure in the movie business. If even so much as a postcard arrives here with her name on it, I’ll ask her to ensure that your name is blacklisted forever by everybody in Hollywood. Any chance you might have had of getting one of your scripts read would be gone forever.’ She had no idea whether this was even possible, but she was pleased to see him flinch as the threat registered. ‘Do I make myself absolutely clear?’

  For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. Instead, he just held out his hand. As she shook it, he at least had the decency to apologise.

  ‘Absolutely. Of course. Thank you so very, very much. I’m sorry, Bee. It was an underhand thing to do. It’s just that… you know…’

  She knew all right. All the time she had known him, he had been fixated on this one thing – getting one of his screenplays read by somebody in the movies. His writing had always meant more to him than anything or anybody else, herself included.

  ‘And remember this; you’d not only be screwing up your own chances, but mine, too. I signed a legal agreement not to disclose Mimi’s whereabouts and you’ve dropped me right in it.’ He managed to look a bit chastened. ‘But I’m not making any promises, Jamie, other than to see that she gets it. Let me make that clear: I’ll make sure that Mimi gets the screenplay, but if she chooses to throw it straight in the bin – and from what she’s told me, that’s the most likely outcome – that’ll be your hard luck, Understood?’

  ‘Absolutely. Thank you, Bee. Thank you. You know how much this means to me.’ He caught her eye. ‘This is a new screenplay. I’ve only just finished writing it. I’m sure she’ll love it. I think you might, too.’

  ‘No promises, Jamie. Clear?’

  ‘Clear. And, Bee, I meant what I said about giving it another go. I really do miss you, you know.’

  She managed to summon a little smile.

  ‘It wouldn’t work, Jamie. You’ll find someone else. Move on.’

  ‘Is that what you’ve done?’

  ‘To be totally honest, Jamie, I have no idea.’

  She led him downstairs and saw him out to his car. The tractor arrived a minute later and Marco made short work of attaching a sturdy rope and then, with a minimum of effort, tugging the car back onto the gravel. As the rope was disconnected, Jamie jumped out and went over to thank Marco and to apologise for damaging the shrub. Marco brushed his apology away, telling him the oleander would grow back in no time. As soon as Jamie got back into the car, Bee didn’t hang about. She stepped forward, leant down to the open window, and addressed a few final words to her ex.

  ‘I’m counting on you, Jamie. Don’t let me down.’

  ‘I promise, Bee.’ He smiled. ‘And I meant it when I said you were looking good. I’m so very pleased for you.’

  Bee waited until she saw his car emerge onto the road beyond the river and the electric gates close behind him, before turning and heading straight up to Mimi’s room where she knocked on the door.

  ‘Hi, Mimi, it’s me. Jamie’s gone, so the coast’s clear again.’

  ‘Come in, Bee.’

  Bee opened the door to find Mimi on the phone. She hesitated, but Mimi beckoned her in. She closed the door behind her and went over to the window and surveyed the now familiar view over the garden and the vines beyond. From behind her she could hear Mimi’s voice and it was immediately apparent that the person on the other end of the line was Joey. She did a bit of calculation and worked out that it must be about one o’clock in the morning in California so Joey was clearly still very keen. The conversation – at least from Mimi’s end of the line – was definitely cordial and friendly, maybe more. Bee felt happy for her. They made a nice couple.

  No sooner did that thought cross her mind than she had to stop and shake herself. Here she was in the presence of a Hollywood idol, privy to news that could set the gossip columns of the world alight – and no doubt make her a wealthy woman in the process – if she ever chose to leak it out. In the same breath came the realisation that – irrespective of any agreement she had signed – she would never do that. Mimi was fast becoming a friend, and a precious one at that.

  When the call ended, Bee explained the deal she had extorted from her ex. ‘I put the fear of God into him and told him that if he even so much as breathes a word about us being here I’ll make sure he never works again.’

  Mimi smiled broadly. ‘I bet you had him shaking in his shoes. You’re normally so sweet. I wish I’d seen you laying down the law.’

  Bee smiled back. ‘You can’t teach students without developing a certain amount of experience at reading the riot act. Normally it’s making them aware that getting drunk is not a valid excuse for not handing in their assignments on time.’ She indicated the manuscript in her hand. ‘Anyway, I told Jamie I’d see you got this, but I made no other promises. From what you’ve told me, you get so many screenplays it’ll most probably end up in the bin.’

  Mimi took it from her, glanced at the title and grinned. ‘I see he’s called it A Big Mistake. That doesn’t bode well.’ She dropped it onto her bed. ‘Mind you, he might be lucky. I really haven’t got much to do at the moment so you never know, I might even take a look at it.’

  ‘Do as you will. Like I say, I told him no promises.’

  Chapter 14

  A few days later their little Fiat was delivered by the car rental company, and Bee and Mimi decided to risk setting out on the first of their tours of Tuscany.

  Bee was delighted Mimi had taken the news of Jamie’s arrival and departure so remarkably well and relations between the two of them didn’t appear to have been soured by the episode. She couldn’t help wondering whether the star’s reaction would have been so understanding even just a few weeks earlier. Evidently, their stay in this little piece of paradise was having a beneficial, calming effect upon Mimi and, if Bee was honest with herself, on her as well. Even Jamie’s clumsy eruption into her life hadn’t annoyed her as much as she had feared. He was one-track-minded and completely obsessed with his writing, but his arrival had at least given her the confirmation that their relationship had run its course. There would be no going back.

  She prepared today’s route with an eye to historical, but also scenic, interest. This part of Tuscany, to the south of Siena, was dotted with picturesque hilltop towns and villages, one more charming than the other. Their first stop, as promised, was to be the sword in the stone at San Galgano and, to get there, they would have to negotiate a series of narrow country roads.

  Bee took the passenger seat and acted as navigator with a detailed map borrowed from Umberto, while Mimi was
happy to drive, both of them concealed behind dark glasses and Bee’s head covered by her wig. Mimi revealed to Bee that back home in California she owned four cars, ranging from a Bentley to a Porsche, but rarely used them, preferring to be chauffeured around in an anonymous saloon with tinted windows. The last time she had driven anything as small as a 500 had been in her teens, back home in Britain. This stirred childhood memories in both of them and they chatted amicably as they picked their way through the narrow winding roads across to their first destination of the day.

  Both of them were surprised at how sparsely populated this part of Tuscany was. Compared to the bustle of Siena, or the claustrophobic crowds of tourists in Florence, it was remarkable how few buildings they came across as Bee navigated them over the heavily wooded hills towards San Galgano. It was only when they started to drop down into the river valley to the west that they began to see houses and villages again. The houses were often surrounded by cypress trees, like dark fingers pointing into the sky to mark the fact that humans now occupied this space. And almost without exception, the villages were always set high on hilltops.

  ‘Presumably they built up there for protection, Bee?’

  Mimi was trying to drive and, at the same time, glance up at a little town perched on the hilltop high above them.

  ‘Very definitely. This area was in a state of almost continuous warfare in the Middle Ages, mainly between the Pope and his cronies fighting against the lords of cities like Florence and Siena. Most of them employed the services of some very unsavoury bands of mercenaries who would think nothing of pillaging anywhere they came across on their travels. Hilltops made it harder for them and, where the locals could scrape up the money, walls around the town made things even more secure.’

  She followed the direction of Mimi’s eyes.

  ‘That’s Chiusdino. Let’s go there after we’ve seen San Galgano, shall we? The view from up there must be amazing.’ She returned her attention to Mimi. ‘This area’s all new to me. I visited Tuscany as a kid, but only saw the main cities. What about you?’