Page 40 of Change of Heart
‘I’d like that, Luca.’ And she meant it, although how the evening progressed would depend very much on the explanation he’d give her for his sudden departure.
Monday saw the start of the logging operation headed by Rocco from the sawmill, and a convoy of huge vehicles crawled up the track through the trees to the spot chosen for the start of the operation. Barely an hour later, the unmistakable sound of chainsaws filled the air and Alice walked up to take a look. The clouds had completely cleared by now and the sun was beating down relentlessly although the soft ground had been badly churned up by the heavy trucks. It was still only the beginning of July and Alice could see why rich people from the industrial plains invested in apartments and houses in the Apennines so they could get away from the oppressive heat when high summer arrived. Up here it was hot, but not terribly hot. From her point of view, warm weather meant less discomfort from her leg and she was pleased to find she could walk up the track today without the aid of her stick and almost without any pain, although the deep puddles left over from Saturday night’s rain slowed her progress. Or her way she stopped off at Alfonso and Pietro’s workshop and found Domenico there. It was his first day.
Domenico, known to all as Mimmo, was the farmhand who had worked for Cesare Montorso for years before finally walking out in the face of his employer’s increasingly erratic behaviour. He was a strongly built man in his mid-fifties who already knew Alfonso and Pietro well, and Alice found him up at their workshop, drinking coffee. She accepted a cup of coffee from Pietro in one of the new shiny white mugs she had bought as a present for them and she was rewarded by what looked like coffee without anything unwelcome floating in it. She chatted to the three of them and received an update on what had been going on. As usual, it was Alfonso who did most of the talking.
‘We’ve almost finished building the new chicken run. There are so many foxes in the area we’ve had to roof the whole thing with wire which has taken some time, but we have twenty laying hens coming next week, so Ines should be able to make all the omelettes and cakes she wants. And four more alpacas are coming on Wednesday.’
Pietro roused himself at the mention of alpacas and was soon giving Alice a detailed account of how the herd was progressing and of his plans for the future. He appeared to have embraced the role of alpaca keeper with enthusiasm. Alice chatted to Mimmo and found him friendly and increasingly communicative after a slow start. As the conversation progressed, he even started talking about what working for the mayor had been like and Alice listened enthralled.
‘When I first started he was a whole lot better than he is now. Yes, he could be moody but he wasn’t too bad – at least, not with me. Things weren’t good at home, though. You know his son Luca went off and left, and then a few years later his wife did the same. I don’t blame her. Many were the times I heard him screaming and shouting at her, poor woman.’
‘And Tommaso? He’s still there.’
‘Tommi’s vital to the farm and his father’s not stupid. He knows that if Tommi were to leave, he’d be in all sorts of trouble, so the two of them coexist – not happily, but they make it work. Anyway, after his wife left, Cesare became ever more aggressive and abusive towards other people, starting with me, and he’s been getting steadily worse and worse. There’s a limit to the number of times you can be sworn at and insulted. In the end I knew I had to get away and I’m glad I did.’ He looked across at Alice. ‘He’s getting really bad. Something awful’s going to happen, I can feel it.’
Around late afternoon Alice got a call from Luca to tell her he was on the autostrada south of Florence and hoped to be back by six or so. She had been thinking about this and she had a suggestion for him.
‘I know you said I should come to your house for dinner, but you must be exhausted. The Casa Rosa’s closed on a Monday so why don’t you come to my place and I’ll prepare something?’
He tried to object but he sounded weary and she insisted until he agreed. She took Frank for a quick walk and then went back to her place to prepare dinner, stopping off at the minimarket to buy some ham and salami as well as fresh strawberries and raspberries and a tub of ice cream. As it was still very warm, she decided to make a Caesar salad, which could be prepared in advance so she would be able to devote herself to hearing Luca’s story without distractions. What he had to tell her remained to be discovered, but she was feeling increasingly nervous as the minutes went by. What if he was coming to tell her he had another woman?
It was a quarter to seven when he finally appeared, apologising for the delay. There was an awkward hiatus at the door before he gave her a little peck on the lips and bent down to return his dog’s enthusiastic greeting. For a moment Alice almost felt jealous of Frank and she wondered if this presaged some change in the way Luca felt about her. As he stroked the happy Labrador he looked up and explained that there had been a big accident on the motorway which had held him up. Irrespective of what he had come here to tell her, Alice was just relieved that he hadn’t been involved in it. She poured him a glass of cold white wine and watched him sit down on the sofa with his happy dog climbing all over him. She sat down opposite him and waited to hear his story. She didn’t have long to wait.
‘Like I say, I’m so sorry I had to rush off like that but it was an emergency.’ She saw him take a big mouthful of wine – Dutch courage, maybe? ‘I should have told you before but, you see, Tommi and I have been sharing a big secret for years.’
Alice gave him a puzzled look. ‘You and Tommi?’
‘Yes, you see, it’s our mother. She lives in Terracina now, but it’s a closely guarded secret. After she left home eight years ago she came south to where I was working and I found her a place to live and she’s made a new life for herself. She’s found herself a job in a dairy making mozzarella and I wouldn’t mind betting that she’ll be running the place before too long. I know my father and I’m convinced that if he ever found out where she’s living he’d be down there like a shot, and who knows what might happen? She’s still terrified of him and she never ever wants to see him again. She made Tommi and me promise to keep her whereabouts a secret. Nobody’s supposed to know, so that’s why I couldn’t tell you before.’
The fog in Alice’s brain was rapidly dispersing. His mother! ‘And how is she now? Why was she taken to hospital?’
‘Acute appendicitis. She’d been having stomach pains for a while and things suddenly took a turn for the worse on Friday. They rushed her in and she had an emergency operation that same afternoon. The medics say the appendix was badly swollen and they just got to it in time before it perforated. The good news is that she’s fine now and should be up and about in a day or two. I’ve come back, and Tommi’s on his way down to see her.’ He looked up from the dog. ‘I gather Simonetta has broken the news of their relationship to the baron and he’s okay with it. Well, Tommi did the same with our father at the weekend and, no surprise, he went ballistic. Tommi’s only too pleased to get away from him, but he’s worried for the animals. I said I’d go round tomorrow to check that the cows are being milked and the chickens fed.’
‘You’re going to your father’s farm?’ Alice looked at him apprehensively. ‘Aren’t you afraid he might do something stupid?’
‘Well, he isn’t going to assault me, that’s for sure. He’s getting old now and he knows I’m prepared to stand up for myself.’ He produced a little smile for Alice’s benefit. ‘He’ll probably give me an earful but I couldn’t care less. I told Tommi I’d go over in the morning so hopefully at that time of day my father will be at the town hall and I’ll have the place to myself.’
Then, to Alice’s delight, he abandoned the Labrador, jumped to his feet and stretched out his hands towards her. ‘Anyway, it’s wonderful to see you again. I’ve missed you so much over these past few days and I’ve been thinking about you a lot.’
Alice jumped up as well and went over to catch hold of his hands. ‘And I’ve been thinking about you too. A lot.’ He pulled her towards him and kissed her for so long that her legs almost gave way beneath her, but his arms stopped her from falling.
Finally she pulled back and gazed up into his eyes. ‘That was rather nice, Signor Montorso.’
‘Rather nice?’ He beamed back at her. ‘You English, you love understatement, don’t you? That was without doubt the most amazing kiss I’ve ever had.’
She grinned back at him as she kissed him softly on the lips. ‘I couldn’t have put it better myself. Now, if you’re hungry, there’s food in the fridge, unless you had any other ideas?’
He had other ideas.
And that was rather nice, too.
Chapter 25
Next morning Alice woke with a broad smile on her face and, feeling movement beside her, rolled over and immediately received a blast of unsavoury Labrador breath, followed by the feel of a long tongue attempting to lick her face.
‘Frank! You were told to stay in the living room.’ She felt a movement on the other side of her and turned her head to see Luca smiling at her over her bare shoulder.
‘At least he didn’t bother us in the night, but I think he’s telling me he wants his early morning walk.’ He kissed her tenderly on the earlobe and she felt a little shiver run through her. ‘By the way, have I told you that last night was, as you English would put it, rather nice?’
