To Rome, With Love

by T A Williams

  ‘No worries. I should be able to get back in an hour, no more than two.’ As Polly collected the key from Jo and returned to her minibus, Sarah cursed under her breath. The climb up to San Marino would start in an hour or so and she had been counting on having Polly as back-up in case any of the others found it too hard. She walked over to the table where Paul and Miles were sitting and broke the news to Paul, but was unprepared for Miles’s reaction. He turned on his brother with real annoyance on his face.

  ‘For God’s sake, Paul.’ He shook his head in disbelief and then, as he saw Polly getting into the minibus, made a decision. ‘Go back with Polly; it’s the least you can do. Go on.’ He stood up and flagged Polly down as she was turning the van. ‘Stick your bike in the back and go with her.’

  ‘But I was really looking forward to the climb up to San Marino.’ Paul sounded like a little boy, and the disappointment was clear on his face.

  ‘If you want to do the climb so much, get her to drop you at the bottom when she comes back. Now, get a move on.’ Miles shooed his brother away and watched as Paul slid his bike into the van and then joined Polly in the front seat. Sarah had watched the whole scene in amazement. Yes, Paul had been pretty clueless to go off without his passport, but sending him back in the van would achieve nothing, apart from punishing him. She took a better look at Miles and debated whether to voice her reservations, but then decided she would achieve nothing and might risk incurring Miles’s wrath herself. She decided to leave it be and go into the bar to get herself a cappuccino. Before she left, she looked down at Miles.

  ‘I’m going in to order a coffee. Can I get you anything?’

  ‘No,’ he almost snarled at her and then immediately remembered his manners. He looked up. ‘Sorry – no, thank you, Sarah. I’ve already got one on order.’ Then, more to himself than to her, he added, ‘He drives me up the wall sometimes.’ Sarah maintained her resolve not to get involved and went into the café. She soon discovered she hadn’t been the only one to witness the scene. Lars was looking quizzical.

  ‘Big brother’s not impressed?’

  Sarah knew she shouldn’t talk about her employer behind his back so she just shrugged. ‘Brothers, eh? I grew up with two of them and sometimes it was like they were sharing a single brain cell between them.’

  Lars nodded and said nothing as she placed her order at the bar and helped herself to a croissant from the glass cabinet on the counter. As she sank her teeth into the lovely fresh pastry, he changed the subject. ‘You’ve got a bit of colour in your cheeks today, Sarah. It makes you look even lovelier than usual.’

  Sarah glanced up in surprise. She had to wait until she had munched her way through what had been a fairly large mouthful before she was able to reply. In the meantime, she found herself wondering if this was just a casual observation or if it was some sort of declaration of attraction. Whichever it was, she told herself firmly, she had had it with men for now and, besides, one of her golden rules was not to mix business with pleasure. Hopping into bed with one of the people under her charge, however appealing it might have appeared as she was drifting off to sleep the previous night, was definitely not to be entertained. Even, she thought to herself with an upturn in her spirits, if they were as good-looking as the tall Swede. Finally she swallowed her mouthful and thanked him.

  ‘That’s very sweet, Lars. In fact, I feel pretty good today, apart from our little contretemps with the key and the passport.’ Her cappuccino arrived on the counter at her elbow and she murmured her thanks to the lady behind the bar. ‘And I’ll feel a lot better once we’ve got up to San Marino.’

  ***

  The climb was tough, but they all made it to the top. It was only when they had been going for a good while that San Marino itself hove into view and it was an impressive sight, sitting right on top of a rocky mountaintop. As they climbed, the group disintegrated into a ragged line spread over hundreds of metres. At the head of the group, the tiny figure of Terri could occasionally be seen, pulling further and further ahead. Gianluca was doing a sterling job of dropping back to cycle alongside some of the others, offering words of encouragement and checking all was well. For her part, Sarah positioned herself right at the back and soon found herself in her very lowest gear, chugging gently up the hill alongside the slowest members of the bunch. She was delighted to see that Glynis and her two friends were somewhere in the middle of the bunch, looking reasonably comfortable. Here at the back, Sarah’s little group consisted of Chuck, Jean-Pierre and Véronique. Although the two men looked a bit puffed, Véronique was quite relaxed and she and Sarah chatted as they rode up the hill. The two of them were a little way behind the two men and Sarah could see the concern on Véronique’s face.

  ‘He’s never done a big climb like this before. I just hope he doesn’t overdo it.’

  ‘I’m sure he’ll be fine, Véronique.’

  ‘Oh, God, I do hope so.’

  ‘He’ll make it, don’t you worry.’ Out of the corner of her eye she saw Véronique reach up and wipe what looked like tears from her eyes. Sarah stretched her hand out and touched her on the arm. ‘Trust me, he’ll be okay.’

  It took Véronique a few moments to compose herself before replying. ‘I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to him.’

  ‘Nothing’s going to happen, believe me. All right?’ Véronique just nodded, clearly not trusting herself to answer and Sarah felt a pang of almost jealousy for the clear, undisguised love she was demonstrating. ‘Honestly, you’ve got nothing to worry about. He’ll be okay.’

  ‘Thanks, Sarah, you’re a good friend.’ Véronique managed a little smile before moving up to be at the side of her beloved Jean-Pierre.

  As for Sarah, the pace back here was so slow she felt really quite relaxed, and she was free to let her mind roam as she inched up the hill. Annoyingly, the subject uppermost in her mind, once more, was James. Just as they were setting off again this morning after their stop at the Rubicon café, she had received a text from him.

  Hi S. How R U? Tried 2 call U at work but told U R away. Hope U R OK. X. J.

  Well, she thought to herself as she dropped back another twenty yards, so as to give Chuck and Jean-Pierre a bit of space as they made their way up the slope, James could never be accused of excess verbosity. She recited the message over and over to herself as she slowly climbed the hill and each time felt the same mixture of emotions, all because of one insignificant little letter of the alphabet. How dare he add that little X before signing his name. X stood for love and, of course, she had loved him, or at least she had thought she loved him. But people who say they love each other don’t break their partner’s heart in such a mean and cowardly way. Even though she had pretty much come round to convincing herself that their relationship had been heading for the rocks sooner or later, his choice to break up by letter had been about as spineless as doing it by email. Somebody who could do such a thing to somebody they claimed to have once loved forfeited the right to use that little X ever again.

  She was so lost in her thoughts that she only noticed Miles at the last moment. He was standing astride his bright-yellow bike at the side of the road, drinking out of his water bottle. She reached for her brake levers, but he waved her past. A few seconds later he came riding up from behind her and slowed to ride alongside.

  ‘I thought I’d come back and see that all’s well. You doing okay?’ He was sweating, as they all were, but he was moving easily and barely panting. Sarah nodded.

  ‘Yes, thanks. I thought I’d better bring up the rear in case of accidents or bailouts.’ She thought about mentioning the fact that she would have preferred to have the minibus at her disposal, but she had no desire to remind him of his brother. As it was, she needn’t have bothered. It wasn’t long before he brought up the subject of Paul.

  ‘You look very comfortable. You must be very fit. I wondered why you were lagging behind. Of course, I should have known what you were doing. You’ve got a very caring attitude, yo
u know, Sarah. I’m damn sure if Paul was here, he’d be at the front, desperate to get up the hill first.’

  ‘I’m not really a very competitive person, to be honest, Miles. Besides, this is my job. I’m here to look after everybody. My place is here.’ She glanced across at him. ‘Paul tells me you’ve been doing a lot of training. It would appear to be paying off.’

  ‘I’d rather enjoy myself on the ride than do it through a red mist of pain. The higher we get, the views are more and more beautiful. I want to be in a fit state to appreciate what I see.’

  Sarah nodded and looked across to her left. The sea was clearly visible as a blue line in the distance, the coast an unbroken succession of houses, high-rise blocks and hotels. From here, it looked as if they had already climbed a good way. A glance straight ahead, however, told her there was still a long way to go. Her eyes alighted upon the figures of Jean-Pierre and Chuck and she was pleased to see them both still going. Not going strong, but still going. She and Miles continued to ride side by side for several hundred metres more before either of them said anything. In the end it was Miles who chose to break the silence.

  ‘You enjoy your job, don’t you, Sarah?’

  She glanced across with some concern. His tone was neutral and, for all she knew, this might be some sort of trick question, designed to test her dedication to the company. She thought hard before replying. ‘What? Doing this? Yes, I do. Of course, my day job’s a bit different, though I love that, too, but I’m really enjoying getting out on the road for a change. It’s good to get away from things.’ She didn’t go into any detail as to just what she was happy to escape. That was her business and hers alone.

  ‘You know, my father’s always singing your praises.’ Sarah was surprised to hear him repeat what his brother had already told her and felt herself blushing, but she was pretty sure her cheeks were already flushed from the exercise and would hide her embarrassment. ‘He relies on you a lot, you know, and I can see why.’ Sarah’s heart sang. So her position in the company would appear to be safe, even if Miles did start some kind of big review of staff. At the same time she couldn’t help wondering why it was, if he wasn’t checking up on her work, that all through the ride so far he had appeared to be watching her. Could there be some other reason? She dismissed the thought and replied to his remark.

  ‘I like your dad. He’s a remarkable man. When you think that he built up this business from nothing to become one of the biggest travel companies in the world all by himself…’ She glanced across at Miles and risked a more personal observation. ‘He’s going to be a hard act to follow.’

  Miles nodded. ‘You’re right about that. I’m going to need all the help I can get.’ He gave her a smile that lit up his face. ‘You’ll promise to be as good for me as you are for my dad?’

  She smiled back. ‘I promise, Miles.’ She decided to test the waters. ‘Although I must say I’m enjoying being back out on the road again. I was wondering whether this kind of thing could maybe become a regular feature for me.’ She hesitated, wondering what his response would be. When it came, it surprised her.

  ‘So you’ve heard that I’m difficult to work with and this is a polite way of saying you want to get away from me?’

  ‘Of course not, Miles. Nothing could be further from the truth.’

  ‘You’re not just saying that?’ He sounded disappointed, and she was quick to set his mind at rest.

  ‘Miles, I’m really looking forward to being with you.’ She suddenly realised how that sounded so she hurried on. ‘I mean working with you. I think you and I get on very well and I’m sure we’d go well together… I mean, we’d work well together.’ She gave herself a mental slap. Was this her subconscious putting words into her mouth? She risked a glance across at him and was heartened to see the beginnings of a smile on his face.

  ‘For what it’s worth, Sarah, I know we’d go well together.’

  Just then, Sarah noticed something happening up ahead. Two bikes had stopped by the gate to a field a couple of hundred yards up the road. ‘Looks like trouble ahead. Hope it’s not a puncture.’ She accelerated up to the stationary bikes and was relieved to find Mike and Dan standing behind a lone tree, peeing into the long grass, sheepish expressions on their faces as they heard her come up to them. Mike looked back over his shoulder.

  ‘Just shedding a bit of ballast, Sarah. We’re fine otherwise.’

  Sarah was rather regretting the bottle of water she had had with her cappuccino. ‘You men have all the luck. I’ve got to wait until we get up to the hotel.’ She left them to it, glanced back down the road, and was pleased to see the others still grinding their way up towards her. Miles, very sensibly, had remained where he was, to keep an eye on the back markers.

  Ahead of them, on a corner where the road got quite a bit steeper, she saw what looked like a café, with tables outside. Here was an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Chuck and the others could have a break, and the café would be bound to have a toilet. She rode up to the corner and dismounted. As the others came panting up to her, she pointed to the tables. ‘I’m taking a break. You go on by all means, but if anybody wants a little rest, this is the perfect place.’ It didn’t surprise her to find that they all accepted the invitation to stop without hesitation.

  After locating and using the loo, Sarah ordered a bottle of ice-cold lemonade. She never drank the stuff normally, but on a climb like this, she knew the sugar would provide useful energy. When she went back outside, she noted that Chuck was taking no chances. As well as a glass of some sort of cola, he had ordered an espresso and was also eating a chocolate bar. She raised her eyebrows.

  ‘If all that energy kicks in at the same time, you’ll be leaving burning rubber on the road when we set off again.’

  ‘If it doesn’t, you’ll be leaving me on the road.’ Sarah was pleased to see him smiling and sounding pretty cheerful. ‘Thanks for hanging around to play nursemaid.’

  ‘You’re very welcome. Besides, I like cycling at the back. That way I can keep an eye on you all.’

  ‘Has anybody ever told you, you’d make a great sheepdog?’ Chuck gave her a wink.

  On the next table, Jean-Pierre was already on his second coffee and he and Véronique had already drunk half a big bottle of water between them. Sarah caught Véronique’s eye and got a thumbs-up in return, before taking a seat alongside Miles on the end table, looking back down the hill. From here, the slope looked really quite steep and she felt that same sense of achievement she always got on a climb. She took a big swig of her drink and relaxed.

  ‘What do you reckon? Are we halfway up yet?’ Miles put down his glass and ran his hands through his hair. His was shorter and wirier than his brother’s, with just a hint of grey at the temples, but, like Paul’s, it had sprung obediently back into shape. He looked fit and happier than earlier and Sarah realised she really liked his company. The grumpy, rather stuffy figure could morph into something more relaxed when it suited him, even though his outburst to his brother today had been unexpected and a bit disconcerting. Sarah pulled her rather sweaty, damp map out of her back pocket and spread it out on the table. She pointed with her finger to where she thought they were.

  ‘I reckon we’ve got about another ten kilometres to go so, yes, about halfway.’ She noticed the others listening eagerly and modified her calculations. ‘In fact, I think we’re a good bit over halfway. Not too much longer to go.’ She caught Miles’s eye and saw a flicker of amusement. He dropped his mouth down until it almost touched her ear.

  ‘Liar.’ He was whispering, but his voice gave her goose pimples all the same.

  She turned towards him, her mouth now only a few inches from his, and whispered back. ‘Pour encourager les autres, as Voltaire put it.’ Miles had laid his sunglasses on the table by his drink and she found herself looking straight into those deep blue eyes at very close range. For a few seconds she felt herself mesmerised and unwilling to move, but then she suddenly tore her eyes away. She
hadn’t been meaning to play the staring game again. She had just, to her considerable surprise, enjoyed the sensation of being so close to him, but she knew it was wiser not to proceed down that path. Only one thing was more taboo in her book than fooling about with the tourists under her care, and that was fooling around with her boss. Definitely not a good idea. At least, that had been her belief up to now.

  ***

  They all made it up to San Marino without mishap and they got there almost exactly at the same moment that Polly appeared with the minibus, minus Paul who had asked to be dropped off at the bottom of the climb with his bike. Sarah and the others checked into the hotel and, by the time she had taken a shower and changed, it was mid afternoon. Not having stopped for lunch, all she had eaten since breakfast was the croissant in the Rubicon café and she was hungry. As she stepped out into the warm afternoon sunlight, she wondered if she would find somewhere still open at this time where she could buy a sandwich. She needn’t have worried. San Marino turned out to be a major tourist destination and its old town was packed with tourists, the streets full of shops, cafés and restaurants. Interestingly, wherever she looked, menus, signs and advertisements had even been translated into Russian. Clearly, this place was popular with many different nationalities. She and Polly made a beeline for a pizzeria and ordered two beers and a big Quattro Stagioni to share between them.

  As they sipped their beers and waited for the pizza to arrive, Polly told Sarah about her drive with Paul.

  ‘He was telling me his brother’s always picking on him and finding fault. He thinks it very unfair.’

  ‘I can imagine that being unpleasant, but leaving his passport behind wasn’t the brightest thing to do, was it?’

  Polly shook her head. ‘No, but he said Miles gave him a right earful. Is that right?’