Page 20 of Far from Home
She settled back, indicating the chair opposite her. ‘I’m all ears.’
As he sat down, the waitress appeared and he glanced across at Amy. ‘Another glass of wine?’ She shook her head so he just ordered a beer for himself in fairly fluent-sounding Italian. As the waitress went off, Amy queried this with him.
‘Your Italian sounds pretty good to me. Are you sure you need my help?’ Or, she wondered to herself, was this just an excuse for a date? And if it was, how did she feel about it? He didn’t give her time to dwell on this.
‘I’m sure. Believe me, I need help. My name’s Adam, by the way.’
‘I’m Amy. So tell me about Hollywood.’
‘We’re just a small operation – for now. We’re growing fast, but somehow I don’t think anybody at Netflix is losing too much sleep over us.’
He launched into the story of how he had ended up here. He told her he had worked his way up from doing a degree in Film Studies at UCLA to being a humble camera operator in California where he had joined one of the big film companies. Four years ago, he struck out on his own and, as his grandparents had originally been from Tuscany, had decided to settle over here. ‘I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out, but living and working here costs a fraction of what I’d be paying in LA and I just love it.’
‘So what sort of movies are you producing?’
‘Not so much movies as films-for-TV. Nothing particularly glamorous. Documentaries on climate change and global warming, for the most part.’ He caught her eye. ‘It’s sort of a pet thing of mine. I’m afraid the world’s living on borrowed time. Anyway, what about you? How long are you here for? Do you plan on settling here?’
‘I’m here for a few weeks. I’m not sure what’s going to happen after that. Did Danny tell you about the house? The inheritance?’ She saw him nod but she didn’t feel like going over the whole thing again so she changed the subject. ‘Tell me how I can help you.’
‘My Italian’s sort of okay but I’m nothing like as fluent as you are and I’ve been running into all kind of complications with the bureaucracy over here. I really need somebody competent to lead me through all the small print in the multitude of forms that just keep coming. I don’t suppose you’d have a few moments to come and take a look, would you? And we’d pay you well, I promise.’
The arrival of the waitress with Adam’s beer allowed Amy a few extra seconds to reflect on his proposal. The idea of being involved with a movie company was an exciting one – and her mum would have approved of her earning some extra cash, even if she didn’t need it now – but she only had his word for it that he was on the level. She didn’t want to run the risk of ending up in a remote location alone with a strange – if undeniably handsome – man. Before she could answer, he reassured her.
‘If it’s no trouble for you, why not drop round tomorrow and take a look? Just come whenever you like – I’ll be there most of the morning and all afternoon. I’ll tell Marta at the reception desk that you’re coming.’
This sounded encouraging. If there was a receptionist, it hardly sounded like Dracula’s castle.
‘Okay, by all means. I could call round at, say, four-ish?’
‘That’s great.’ He drained his glass of beer and jumped to his feet. ‘I’m sorry I have to dash off, but I have a tennis match. Here’s my card with the address, but you can’t miss it. It’s just on the right, past the water tower. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.’
Dinner that night was an open buffet and the chef had gone to town with a fine selection of hot and cold dishes. Amy helped herself to a starter of cold seafood salad and ate it slowly while reflecting on the conversation she had just had with the American. Or, rather, she found herself reflecting on the impression he had made on her. Although she did her best to convince herself to the contrary, the fact was that, whereas his friend the potter had attracted her in a non-physical way, the same could not be said about her feelings for Adam, the Canadian-American. There was no getting away from it. She had enjoyed his company and she knew she wanted more of it. No sooner had this realisation dawned than the spectre of Gavin reared its equally handsome head. Whatever her current misgivings about the future of their relationship, he and she were still in one together. Her ruminations were interrupted by her phone. It was Lucy, calling to check up on her.
‘Hi, Amy, how’s it going? How’re you feeling?’
Amy told her about the upcoming remedial works and how she was gradually beginning to scrape some of the decades of dirt off the inside of the house. She then asked if Lucy had had time to consider her offer of coming over to join her on holiday and the answer was a resounding yes.
‘I’d love to, and we can argue about who pays when I get over there.’
‘Are you sure your boyfriends can spare you for a few days?’
‘They’ll survive. Besides, I’ve always had a thing for Italian men. Today’s Wednesday. I’ve got a CPD weekend I can’t wriggle out of. I’ll be tied up on Monday but how would it be if I came over on Tuesday for the rest of the week? There’s a flight that gets into Pisa at two and a flight home on the Sunday afternoon. Could you pick me up? I’m dying to see you and to see the wonderful house.’ Her tone became a bit more serious. ‘And I can give you all the gossip. There’s lots of it.’
Amy pressed her for more information but Lucy told her she would have to wait. Amy was still wondering about this later on when she had another visitor. This time it was Alfredo Lucchese, the notary. He stopped by her table and she asked him if he would like a glass of the cold white wine. He glanced at his watch.
‘That’s very kind of you, but I’m having dinner with the mayor at nine o’clock so I’ll have to rush off.’ He grinned. ‘Mr Mayor doesn’t like being kept waiting.’
‘Well, you’re very welcome to sit here and wait if you like.’
He sat down opposite her and she was soon telling him about the building works due to start on Monday. He didn’t appear surprised that the tradesmen were making an effort to help her out so quickly.
‘Martin made a lot of friends during his lifetime. I’m sure you’ll find that he’s sorely missed by a lot of people in the town. You maybe remember that he left money to a lot of local charities. That’s the way he was: very generous. Are you any nearer finding out just exactly what the connection between the two of you really was?’
She shook her head. ‘It’s so frustrating. He must have known my mother, but I never heard her mention his name. I suppose he might have been a distant relative, but his name never came up. I just don’t understand. I’ve spoken to a few people here and none of them can shed any light, although everybody says he was a kind and generous man. For instance I met the local potter, an American called Danny, the other day, and he told me Mr Slater allowed him to help himself to clay from his land. I’ve said I’m happy for him to keep on doing that. Do you know the guy?’
He nodded. ‘Yes, of course. He and his partner live out on the Volterra road. I handled the purchase of the property a few years back.’
Amy smiled at him. ‘He told me the love of his life lived here. What’s she like?’
