Page 33 of Far from Home
That immediately brought up the question of what sort of life it was going to be, and where? Was she really capable of turning her back on what had had the makings of a very successful and lucrative career, or would that be crazy? What was waiting for her if she went back to Italy to live? Yes, there was maybe Adam, but she could hardly plan her whole life around a chance encounter with a man she barely knew. So many questions but her head was still buzzing from the Gavin incident that she felt incapable of making sense of them all. Once her pulse had returned to something approaching normal, she pulled out her phone and called Lucy. The sound of her friend’s voice was welcome and they agreed to meet up in a nearby restaurant.
When they met up a few minutes later Lucy took one look at the expression on her face and enveloped her in a bear hug. ‘You’ve done it?’
Amy nodded into her friend’s shoulder and for a moment almost gave way to the tears again but just about managed to hold it together. ‘Yes, and I even had the pleasure of meeting his lady friend.’
Lucy stepped back and stared at her in horror. ‘You didn’t catch them at it like rabbits?’
Amy couldn’t help smiling at her choice of words. ‘No, no rabbits, thankfully. She arrived just as I was leaving.’
They went inside and Amy gave her a blow-by-blow account of the events of this evening but Lucy wasn’t going to let her wallow in a sea of regret. She caught the waiter’s eye and ordered a bottle of Prosecco and then gave Amy her advice.
‘You knew what you had to do and you did it. That chapter of your life has now ended and you’re far better off without him. You know that, don’t you?’
‘You’re right, Luce. Much better.’
‘Good, right, I’m glad we’ve got that sorted. Now tell me what your plans are – short term and long term.’
Amy was saved from having to give an immediate answer by the arrival of the waiter with the wine. She waited until he had opened it and filled two glasses before attempting a reply to Lucy’s question. ‘I’m flying back to Italy tomorrow and I’ve got another couple of weeks’ holiday in which to make up my mind. I like my job and I reckon I could go a long way in the company – assuming I can squeeze that leech Christian out of my office first. If I sell the house in Italy for a good amount, that plus the money from my father and my savings mean I could buy myself a really nice place here in London. On the other hand, I can see the attraction of the more relaxed lifestyle of living in Tuscany and I’m sure the specialist at the hospital would approve. The house is beautiful, the little town’s lovely and I’ve met some nice people. I must admit, there’s a part of me that’s tempted to give up on London and move over there.’
‘When you say you’ve met some nice people, is there one in particular?’ Lucy already knew the answer to this and she gave Amy a lurid wink. ‘Have you managed to work out the dynamics of your friend Adam’s relationship with the potter?’
Amy related what she had learnt at Danny and Pierpaolo’s house on Sunday and saw Lucy beam.
‘Excellent. And when’s he coming back from South America?’
‘This weekend, I believe.’
‘Well, if you want my advice, you need to find out once and for all just how much this guy means to you, and how much you mean to him. You don’t have much time. Invite him round to your place for a meal, take him on a tour of the house ending up in your new bedroom and then let nature take its course. I’m sure you’ll find that’ll help crystallise your thinking’.
Amy grinned back at her. ‘Are you talking about rabbits again?’
‘What else?’
‘I’m not that kind of girl, Luce, you know that.’
‘Well, get him drunk and get him to tell you the story of his life. How old did you say he was?’
‘Thirty-five.’
‘You need to find out how come a good-looking thirty-five-year-old man hasn’t got a significant other. Maybe he’s got webbed feet or something.’
Amy found herself giggling in spite of everything. ‘I can hardly ask him to take his shoes off on a first date.’
‘If you’d followed my original plan he’d have had to take his own shoes off.’
Chapter 19
It was wonderful for Amy to return to Sant’Antonio on Thursday afternoon and find the house nearing completion. The modern radiators and boiler had been installed, the new furniture in the downstairs bathroom was already fitted, and the bath fully functioning, although the tiling was still to be done. The lights now worked and she was able to make herself a cup of tea without them dimming ominously. The kitchen was taking shape and the builders had promised her it would be operational early the following week. Upstairs both bathrooms were finished and somebody had even put a fresh coat of paint on the walls of what would become her bedroom. That evening she drew a full tub of hot water, threw in half a bottle of bubble bath and sank gratefully into it, the bubbles almost covering her face. By the time she came out, she felt like a new woman.
That night she made up the bed in the main bedroom with the new sheets and covers, and when she lay down, it took her some time to fall asleep. Although part of her was still thinking back to the demise of her relationship with Gavin, her thoughts were mainly of her father. She wondered how many times he had lain here in this very same bed, thinking of the woman he had loved and the daughter he’d never seen. When she compared her current situation to his, it paled in comparison. Her split from Gavin had been inevitable and, for that reason, less painful than it might have been if she had delayed doing anything until months or even years down the line. Her uncertainty about whether to return to London and her job or to chuck it in and stay here seemed so insignificant, as did the conundrum of whether Adam would turn out to be the man of her dreams or just a friend. She still had choices, while her father had had none – her mum had seen to that. The tears she hadn’t shed for Gavin rolled down her cheeks as she drifted off to sleep. But this time they were for another man.
She slept remarkably well in spite of being alone in the big echoing house. Even a gust of wind in the middle of the night that rattled the windows and made one of the shutters bang noisily failed to unsettle her. She felt comfortable here and that wasn’t just down to the efforts of the tradesmen; she knew that it was because it gave her a feeling of proximity to her real father. She got up, leant out of the window and secured the shutter, but this time when she returned to bed there was a little smile on her face.
Next morning dawned sunny but it was a hazy sun, and for the first time she spotted dark grey clouds on the skyline that didn’t bode well for later in the day. Still, she couldn’t complain as she had seen virtually no rain since arriving here and she knew how badly it was needed. One very positive surprise was the arrival just after eight of a Telecom van with an engineer who assured Amy she would have a fast Internet connection up and running by lunchtime. After making coffee for the builders and thanking them for all their efforts, she went across the road to collect Max for the walk he had missed yesterday. Both he and Signora Grande looked delighted to see her and she was equally happy to see both of them.
She and the bouncy Labrador set off up the hill and partway through the vines she bumped into Signor Montalcino doing a recce of his vineyard and she stopped to chat. She had warmed to him the very first time she saw him. He was probably in his seventies and with a near permanent smile on his weather-beaten face, and he passed on the welcome information that he had delivered four fifty-litre containers of wine and they were now safely locked in her cellar. She decided not to tell him that she was still scared of going down there and resolved to ask the builders to bring some of the wine upstairs when the kitchen was finished. Mind you, if she was only here for another two weeks, she was going to find it hard to drink two hundred litres in that time. Still, that was the sort of problem she was more than happy to live with.
It started raining just after lunch and the downpour continued for the rest of the day and well into the night. The rain was torrential and the fields and roads were soon running with water. She checked upstairs and all around the house and was greatly cheered to find everything dry and the new gutters and downpipes working well.
