‘He had a letter when he was in the prison camp. About us, the affair we were supposed to be having, right down to details like how Rachel and Eddie were calling you Daddy.’
David whistled. ‘Bethan, I had no idea.’
‘It’s all right. Andrew’s father helped me to convince him it was a pack of lies.’
‘I shouldn’t even be talking to you.’
‘That would only make it look as though we had done something wrong. Andrew’s right, you should visit both of us. I’m not suggesting you give up the Park Hotel for your old rooms in our attic but perhaps you could come for a meal.’
‘You want me to?’
‘Yes.’
‘You two must have a strong marriage. I knew Andrew was a lucky guy, I didn’t know just how lucky.’
‘Please, David, talk like that doesn’t help. You see Andrew and me – well, it’s not been easy since he came back. He was gone for almost five and a half years and he seems like a stranger, almost as much of one as I must seem to him,’ she qualified carefully, lest he think she was trying to heap all the blame for their problems on to her husband. ‘I’m not going to lie, we’re not getting on that well, but that’s nothing to do with you. In fact you being here is a help. Frankly, I’ve never needed the support of my friends more. And this afternoon you’ve almost made me forget what Diana’s going through for five minutes. It’s been fun. In fact the most fun I’ve had – since …’
He looked into her eyes and knew that if he didn’t change the subject he’d find himself on dangerous ground. ‘How are you at snowball fights?’ He checked around to ensure there were no other uniformed officers within sight before scooping a handful of snow from the top of the wall, pressing it into a ball and throwing it at her.
She ducked and it fell wide. ‘Better than you, if that’s the best you can do.’ Using both hands she made a snowball and threw it, catching him neatly between the eyes.
‘Why haven’t I discovered this talent of yours before?’
‘Because we were both too busy working to have fun.’
She neatly side-stepped his next three balls, while hitting him squarely in the face every time.
‘Work! That reminds me …’
‘Coward, you only want to go back to the hotel because you’re losing.’
‘Then I surrender.’ He held up both hands as she lobbed a giant ball on to his chest.
‘Unconditionally?’
‘To the victor the spoils.’
‘Then we’ll expect you tomorrow evening, unless something happens with Diana, in which case I’ll leave a message in the Park Hotel to say different. Eight o’clock for a meal and whatever drinks Andrew can find but I warn you, last time I looked we were down to rubbing alcohol.’
‘How about I bring the liquor?’
‘It might be safer.’
‘And where can I walk you, ma’am?’
‘The railway bridge. I’ll see myself up the Graig Hill.’ She suddenly decided that a quick detour into the Graig Hospital and up to Diana’s bedside might help her, if not her cousin. ‘Come here. We can’t have a senior officer walking round looking as though he’s rolled in snow.’ As she brushed the flakes from his shoulder their gaze met again. Looking away quickly, she took his arm. ‘Now tell me more about Montana. It’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to America.’
Andrew was driving back from Alma’s where he’d been disappointed not to find Bethan waiting for him, when he saw them, walking arm in arm out of the mid-town entrance to the park. Engrossed in one another’s conversation they had eyes for no one and nothing except one another as they trudged on up towards the Tumble, barely aware even of the dirty drifts of snow and ice piled high in the gutters by the snowplough. As he watched, Bethan’s feet sank ankle-high more than once, soaking her shoes and feet, and each time, David placed his hands round her waist and swung her forward on to the nearest, comparatively dry piece of pavement.
They looked – and were behaving – like lovers. The town, the people, the cyclists pedalling slowly through the tyre tracks made by the few cars that managed to get a petrol ration didn’t exist for them, just as nothing had once existed for him and Bethan outside of the love they felt for one another. He pulled his car into the kerb and parked outside the Park Hotel. Turning off the ignition he wound down the window.
Listening hard, he picked up snatches of conversation but their voices were too faint, too distant for him to catch any words. But just as they turned the corner by Rivelin’s he saw Bethan fling her head back and cling even more tightly to David’s arm, and a second later her laughter, light, carefree, echoed towards him.
He felt as though someone had twisted a knife into his windpipe and jumped on his chest, forcing all the breath from his body. He’d never realised that something that wasn’t a physical hurt could cause so much pain. Bethan might not have made love to David Ford – yet – but she could laugh with him. Be happier in his company than she could be with him.
He continued to sit, watch and wait until only their footprints in the snow remained to show that they had walked that way. And in the five minutes it had taken them to round the corner above Rivelin’s, he had pictured enough scenes of intimacy and happiness between them to destroy his peace of mind – and all faith in his ability to rebuild his marriage.
‘We shouldn’t even be talking about the business with Tony in hospital,’ Alfredo complained, as Ronnie, Tina, Gina and Angelo pulled chairs up to the preparation table in the kitchen of their Tumble café.
‘We can’t wait until he’s out because we have no way of knowing when that might be,’ Angelo filled a pitcher of water and placed it together with five cups in the centre of the table.
‘If,’ Alfredo corrected morbidly.
‘Alfredo! How could you?’ Gina brushed a tear from her cheek.
‘Shall I get Luke?’ Tina asked. ‘He’s only playing cards in the back with William and the others.’
‘Gina’ll be fine.’
‘She’s pregnant, Ronnie.’
‘We’ve all noticed, thank you, Tina.’ Ronnie sat at the head of the table. ‘The latest news is, Tony’s resting comfortably, breathing easier and responding to some penicillin the hospital managed to get hold of. Andrew stopped off in Huw’s to tell me.’
‘Does that mean he’ll be all right?’
‘Andrew said he’s out of immediate danger, Gina, so that has to be good.’
‘Perhaps now he’s out of danger he’ll wake up and tell us where he left the rest of his clothes and his kitbag.’
‘And thank you for that, Tina.’
‘Any news of Diana?’ Angelo ventured, sensing that Tina and Gina wanted to know, but were too afraid to ask.
‘She hasn’t come round, so they can’t assess the damage.’
‘Ronnie …’ Gina tried to touch his hand but he withdrew it sharply.
‘Can I point out that this is supposed to be a conference about the business and Tony is not the only one who isn’t here. Mama and Laura have as much say as the rest of us.’
‘So why are we here?’ Alfredo demanded truculently.
‘To talk about what each of us wants, expects or hopes to gain from the business and the best way to run the cafés. As you all know, we’re down to this café and the restaurant.’
‘You were the one who rented out our café on High Street.’
‘Right, Alfredo, let’s discuss that first. I telephoned Alma this afternoon –’
‘All of a sudden she has more say in the Ronconi business than the Ronconis.’
‘I never had you down as quite so stupid, Alfredo. It looks like you would have been better off spending the war somewhere that taught you basic discipline and manners than Birmingham with Mama and the little ones.’
‘You’re not letting the rest of us get a word in edgewise, Ronnie.’
‘We’re all Ronconis.’ Tina tapped a cigarette on the table.
‘And what’s that supposed to mean?�
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‘It means we don’t allow anyone, even family, to push us around. I also used to think it meant that we possessed a certain amount of intelligence but listening to you for the last ten minutes has changed my mind. I agree with Ronnie, Alfredo, you’re stupid and I have no intention of allowing you to drivel on endlessly about nothing. I for one would like to get out of here in the next half-hour.’
‘So you can go back to Huw’s with your Will,’ he sneered.
‘Now Megan’s taken Catrina and Billy to her house, we’re moving into Laura’s to get it straight for her and Trevor. I would say you might find out what it is to be married one day but with your looks and charm –’
‘Shut up, the pair of you!’ Ronnie snapped. ‘The only reason I’m speaking first is that I have spent the last few months thinking about all our futures and most of the afternoon looking at the current cash flow and profit of the restaurant and café. So can we please start? You mentioned the High Street café, Alfredo.’ He lifted a pile of ledgers that he’d stacked on to a stool behind him on to the table. ‘I know it’s the first café Papa opened and of sentimental value to us all, but even before the war it was the least profitable. The rent Alma and – Diana –’ he hesitated and blinked hard as he mentioned his wife- ‘are paying us for the premises, is only five per cent short of the profit we made in 1938. On what I estimate the building is worth –’
‘How can you possibly know what it’s worth? You’ve been away three years.’
‘Mama left me and Gina in charge. You think we’re so stupid, Alfredo, we can’t do accounts and evaluate our assets on an annual basis?’
‘And what about Diana? She can’t pay us rent now.’
A hush settled over the table. Angelo was the first to speak.
‘I suggest you don’t say another word, Alfredo, because if Ronnie doesn’t thump you, I will.’
‘The accounts of the shops Diana managed are in order. I know because I looked over them this afternoon after I looked at ours. I will take over and manage both the High Street shops Diana was running for Myrtle and Billy, and the one in the New Theatre until Huw and Myrtle decide what to do with them. And I will also see that the rent Alma and Diana have been paying us will continue to be paid,’ Ronnie said heavily. ‘Now to get back to Ronconi business, I don’t think it’s worth reopening that café.’
‘Because Alma and Diana’s shop is doing so well in our premises?’ Alfredo chipped in, giving Angelo a defiant look.
‘Because if you look at the bottom end of the High Street there are two other cafés open, one across the road and one next door to those premises. We only had five tables and twenty covers in the place and that was a squeeze. I think we should continue collecting the rent which gives us a ten per cent return on our investment in the building and, incidentally, a nice little addition to the profit on our other two places.’
‘And this place and the restaurant?’ Angelo asked quietly.
‘It’s obvious from what Tony said to Tina yesterday he wants – expects – to run one of them. And Mama won’t forget her promise to God or change of heart about the German wife if Tony recovers.’
‘So, you expect Angelo and me to bugger off! Just walk away and leave the restaurant free for you and Tina –’
‘Tina and I want out of the business, Alfredo.’
Angelo was the first to regain his composure. ‘Who’s going to take over, Gina, me or Alfredo?’
‘Tina, Gina and I discussed this with Mama after you left Danycoedcae Road, Angelo.’
‘Without me!’
‘Give it a rest for five minutes, Alfredo,’ Ronnie barked.
‘You even sound like Papa.’
‘Shut up!’
‘I wrote to Maria, Stephania and Theresa when they decided to stay in Birmingham instead of coming back here with Mama,’ Tina interposed.
‘They’re happy there with their husbands,’ Alfredo chipped in grudgingly.
‘And we’re pleased for them, Alfredo. They all agreed they don’t want anything to do with the business, which is hardly surprising when you consider none of them ever worked in the café or restaurant.’
‘They really don’t want anything?’ Angelo echoed incredulously.
‘Papa left everything unconditionally to Mama in his will.’ Tina lit her cigarette and deliberately blew smoke into Alfredo’s face. ‘She owns all three places, so it’s up to her what she does with the business – and who she leaves it to.’
‘And as it would be foolish to sell now, when prices are plummeting, it follows that we have to delegate someone in the family to run them. What Mama, Tina, Gina and I propose is that Tony take over this place with the rooms above for him and this German girl, if he insists on marrying her. That gives Tony his own little section of the business to run and separate living accommodation for the both of them at a distance from the rest of us. Which leaves you two with the restaurant.’
‘But Mama will still own all three buildings and the business.’
‘Would you like to suggest she hands it over to you, Alfredo?’
‘We’ll be doing all the work, we have to live.’
‘And the three of you will be drawing wages. Mama will get her usual share, and the profits will go to the business. The account is healthy at the moment so I see no reason why we shouldn’t consider opening a third Ronconi restaurant or café in a year or two, which will give you one each. I don’t suggest we get into debt by doing it immediately, and that will give you a breathing space to learn a few things, Alfredo, and not just about the business. I don’t envy Angelo trying to teach you.’
‘What about you three, Laura and Roberto?’
‘Laura’ll have her hands full looking after Trevor and young John when she comes back. From what Mama and Tina told me this afternoon, Roberto’s the only one of us with any brains and he wants to stay on in school. The income Mama draws from the cafés is more than enough to keep her and Roberto, even if he makes it to university, which I hope he will. With the rest of us independent, and Luke and Gina living with her, perhaps Mama can actually begin to take things easy for the first time in her life. But I warn you,’ he gave Angelo and Alfredo a hard look, ‘Mama’s income is sacrosanct. I’ll see the businesses sold off before I’ll allow it to be cut. Any improvements or expansion will have to be paid for out of the profits you two and Tony generate, and don’t try fiddling the books. Tina and I will be looking at them once a month.’
‘So you’ll still be running Ronconi’s.’ Alfredo kicked his chair back from the table and crossed his arms in disgust.
‘No, all Tina and I will be doing is looking after Mama’s interests.’
‘And you two are happy to move over and make room for us after running the café and restaurant all through the war?’ Angelo asked his sisters.
‘We won’t be just moving over,’ Tina smiled, ‘we’re going into a new venture. Ronnie and William are setting up in business.’
‘Cafés?’
‘No, and before you ask with what, Will and I have our gratuities from the army and a bit set aside from Italy, money we made quite separately from the cafés. As soon as Luke can get released from the pit he’ll be joining us.’
‘So you’ve got it all worked out.’
‘Any objection, Angelo?’
‘Not me. You’ve been more than fair.’
‘Alfredo?’
‘Angelo and me’ll still have to live at home,’ he grumbled sulkily.
‘Not at all, you’ll be drawing wages so you can look for your own place. In fact I think it’s a good idea. Give Mama a rest from cooking, washing and cleaning up after the pair of you.’
‘Want us to go this week?’
‘Next will do, Alfredo,’ Ronnie responded caustically.
‘But Tony’s in no condition to take over this place.’
‘Yet,’ Tina broke in. ‘Will and I will move out of the flat as soon as we find a house of our own. Until then, I’ll do what I can to help out,
but you two have to realise that Will, and the business he and Ronnie are setting up, comes first.’
‘So you expect me to run this place?’
‘Until Tony’s fit enough to take over. What’s the matter, little brother, not up to it?’
‘I’m up to it,’ Alfredo growled.
‘Good, that’s settled.’ Pressing the palms of his hands on to the table Ronnie rose to his feet.
‘All we need now is for Diana and Tony to get better,’ Gina observed.
‘And this baby to be born so you’ll stop crying at the drop of a hat,’ Tina added.
‘Just one more thing, Ronnie,’ Angelo asked. ‘What kind of business are you and Will setting up?’
‘All in good time.’
‘Cafés?’
‘No, Alfredo, I told you, most definitely not cafés, so you don’t have to worry about competition, at least not from us. If you run Ronconi’s into the ground, it will be entirely down to your own efforts.’
*……*……*
‘You’ll be there if I come to you for advice?’
Angelo and Ronnie were sitting alone, the others had all left and the café kitchen was as quiet as it only could be after the last food orders had been cooked on a Sunday night.
‘If advice is all you want, but I’m as capable of making mistakes as the next man, Angelo.’
‘I know that, but face it, Ronnie, you never put a foot wrong when you and Papa built up this business before the war and we all knew it was you who made the decisions. Papa couldn’t settle whether to have jam or marmalade on his toast at breakfast, let alone whether the time was right to open a new café or restaurant.’
‘He could be indecisive,’ Ronnie conceded, smiling at the memory.
‘Look,’ Angelo offered him a cigarette, ‘I just want you to know that if there’s anything I can do for Diana – anything at all – give blood, look after the kids, help in any way – I will. She’s a fantastic woman and a great sister-in-law,’ he added hastily, lest Ronnie misunderstand his meaning. ‘You haven’t been around since I came home but she’s helped the family and just about everybody else in so many ways. Mama, Tina, Gina –’
Pontypridd 07 - Spoils of War Page 11