by T A Williams
‘What’s the position with regard to the hotel, Pol? Are we allowed back in?’
‘I think so. Paul asked the fire brigade officer and he seemed to think the worst was over. After all, the hotel itself seems to have been untouched. Just a bit of dust on the breakfast plates, the manager said. In fact, the cooks are in there now getting some food and drinks ready for everybody.’
‘That’s great. And the bikes? The minibus?’
Polly nodded. ‘All fine. Like I say, it was just the tower. It did look very ancient. I imagine it’s been shaken a good few times before and this was the last straw.’
‘Of course, all my cycling stuff, including helmet and shoes, is gone, so cycling today’s out of the question for me.’ Miles was thinking over his own personal predicament. ‘Polly, would you be able to drive me down to the nearest station from where I can get a train into Rome? I’m staying in a hotel in the centre and I’ll give them a call. I’ll explain the circumstances and I’m sure they’ll be able to sort me out with a room pretty quickly.’
‘Of course, Miles. And, Sarah, what about you? Your hands are going to be a bit sore for cycling.’
Sarah flexed her fingers. Polly had done a good job with bandages and plasters and she felt sure she would be all right to ride, and knew it was something she wanted to do. Seeing as nobody else had suffered too badly, apart from the after-effects of shock, she reckoned they should all be able to continue the ride and finish as planned with the relatively short and easy run down to the airport. She stood up, determined to return to her duties as tour leader. First, she had to speak to the hotel manager. Luckily, he had just emerged from the front door and was standing at the top of the steps, lighting a cigarette. Sarah murmured thanks to Polly and went across to speak to him. As he saw her approaching, the manager made to stub out his cigarette, but Sarah shook her head.
‘Don’t worry on my account. I reckon you deserve it after all that’s happened.’
He gave her a smile and resumed his smoke, taking a big pull at the cigarette. He exhaled and shook his head. ‘I’m still coming to terms with how close we came to having a fatality.’ He caught Sarah’s eye. ‘Signor Hall is a lucky, lucky man.’
She nodded, determined not to let her thoughts dwell any longer on what might have happened. She knew that her subconscious would no doubt revisit that subject over and over again and give her restless nights for weeks to come. For now, the important thing was to get everything sorted out for today, so as to finish what had been a virtually seamless trip in the best possible way. ‘Is it all right for people to go back to their rooms?’
He nodded. ‘Yes, I think so. And we’ll be serving breakfast a bit earlier than usual, say around seven.’ Sarah checked the time on her phone. It was a quarter to seven. Only an hour had passed since the earthquake, but it already felt like it had been a long, hard day.
***
They were all ready to go by eight-thirty. Not surprisingly, after the earthquake nobody felt like hanging around. Most of them, Sarah included, had run upstairs for a quick shower and change and had emerged with their bags as soon as possible. As they wheeled their bikes out of the garage where they had been stored for the night, Miles stood there with them, but Sarah had very little chance to talk to him with any degree of privacy. He was wearing the same pair of shorts and a clean T-shirt borrowed from his brother, this one with an old motorcycle advert on it. As the last of the riders emerged from the garage with their bikes and prepared for the off, Miles came across to Sarah to say goodbye. She stood there, straddling her bike, feet still on the ground, and smiled at him, determined not to let her disappointment at being separated from him show.
‘See you in London, Miles.’ As she spoke, she found herself wondering how things would develop between them back there. She had told him she would wait for him as he tried to sort himself out and she knew she meant to honour that promise, however long it took. Anyway, of course she would see him when they both got back to work, although he would no doubt be closeted for most of the time on the top floor while she would be stuck in her office on the seventh. Still, she told herself, it was good to know they were both going to be in the same building while he made up his mind what he wanted out of his life.
He came up and caught her gently by the shoulders, taking care not to catch his legs against the greasy chain on her bike. He leant forward and kissed her on both cheeks, fairly formally, just like he had been doing to all the women. But then, before letting her go, he suddenly pulled her tighter to him and this time he kissed her hard on the lips. As he released her, there was a smile on his face and she felt her heart sing. He lowered his voice, glancing about to see they couldn’t be overheard. ‘You remember that night by the sea when I came to your room looking for Paul?’ Sarah nodded. ‘There was no video conference, you know.’ Still smiling, he released his hold on her and stepped back, letting his voice return to its normal pitch. ‘Thanks for everything, Sarah. It’s been an amazing trip and it’s all down to you… all except the rain and the earthquake.’
Sarah was still digesting what he had told her about the non-existent video call. ‘Thank you for all your help, Miles. I’ve enjoyed your company a lot. I’ll see you on Monday.’ Then she, too, dropped her voice to a near whisper. ‘You know I’ll be waiting…’ She slipped on her helmet and sunglasses and busied herself putting on her fingerless gloves.
He nodded and carried on round the group until he had shaken hands with, hugged, or kissed everybody. She saw him hug Chuck and then go over to Paul and hug him. Then the two brothers spent a few minutes talking before they parted, clearly on friendly terms. Seeing this did a lot to cheer Sarah. She could take comfort from the knowledge that she had helped bring about something worthwhile in the course of this trip, not just cycling a thousand kilometres, and she could feel pleased with her efforts. Seeing that Miles had finished his goodbyes, she gave Gianluca the nod and saw him mount up. He gave a shout and the riders all started to follow him out of the gates, Sarah, as ever, taking up her place at the back of the group.
She took a last glance over her shoulder and saw Miles standing there alone, his eyes trained on her. She gave him a final wave and then took a deep breath, setting off up the very steep hill back into the town of Bracciano faster than she had ridden all trip, overtaking almost all of the group as they puffed and panted up in their lowest gears. It was only when she found herself riding alongside a mildly surprised-looking Gianluca up at the front with Terri that her brain came back down to earth. She turned towards the two of them and apologised.
‘Sorry about that. I needed to get moving.’ She felt the blood pounding in her veins and knew, in spite of everything – in spite of James, in spite of the wedding, in spite of the question marks still hanging over her future with Miles, in spite of the earthquake – it was good to be alive. She felt the smile on her face broaden. ‘You know something? I really enjoyed that.’
A voice sounded from behind her, unmistakably belonging to Paul. ‘Enjoyed that? Are you mad, woman? That was bloody near vertical. I thought my breakfast was coming up a few minutes ago. What pills are you on? I hope you brought enough for everybody.’
She dropped back alongside him for a second or two. ‘No pills, Paul. I’m just feeling good.’ She stared at her distorted reflection in the curved gold surface of his sunglasses. ‘Really, I’ve got the whole of the rest of my life ahead of me and I’m going to enjoy it.’ And she meant it. ‘I’m done with living in the past. What’s done’s done. All that counts is what lies ahead. I’m going to keep on loving my job, and I’m definitely going to start doing more of this kind of thing. ‘ She saw an expression of surprise on his face, followed by a big smile.
‘The future’s going to be bright, Sarah, trust me.’
Still smiling, she sat up and let him and the others gradually overtake her again as she returned to her usual spot at the back of the bunch.
Something rather nice happened as they were riding to the ai
rport along the back roads, surprisingly car-free in spite of being so close to the capital. As usual, Sarah was at the back when she was joined by Glynis.
‘Hi, Glynis, thanks for your comforting back there at the hotel. You’re a really good friend, you know.’ She had a thought. ‘Tell me, how often do you come up to London?’
‘Erm, pretty often, every month or two, I suppose.’
‘Well, the first thing I’m going to do when I get back is put down a deposit on a flat. Once I’ve got it, will you come up one weekend and stay? Maybe we could go out on the town together.’
‘I’d love that, Sarah, thanks a lot.’ Glynis looked as if she meant it.
‘So, now we’re almost at the end, how’s it been for you?’ Sarah looked across again and, to her surprise, saw Glynis suddenly start crying, tears running out from under her sunglasses and down her face. Sarah was immediately concerned. ‘What’s wrong, sweetie? Are you okay?’
‘I’m definitely okay, Sarah; in fact, I’m more than okay.’ There was a break in her voice, but Glynis wiped away the tears and cleared her throat, determined to say what she wanted to say. ‘I’m just so amazingly happy. The idea of cycling a thousand kilometres was so scary and I only did it because a lot of people didn’t believe I’d be able to go the distance.’ Her voice strengthened. ‘Now I’ve done it, and I can hardly believe it.’
Sarah beamed across at her. ‘Well, you can go back now with your head held high. Not only did you manage to do it, you did it really well. You never needed a lift, you cycled all the way. You fell off once, but you never needed medical attention; you got lost, but you survived; and you’ve been the life and soul of the group.’ Sarah lifted her hand from the handlebars and squeezed her on the forearm. ‘I’m really pleased for you.’ And she was. Glynis had been looking happier and happier over the past few days as her new-found confidence in her abilities developed. Sarah felt sure she would return to Cardiff a different girl. Setting out to do something hard and succeeding really could have a terrific positive impact on a person.
‘Well, it’s all thanks to you, Sarah.’
Sarah released her grip on Glynis’s arm and shook her head decisively. ‘Rubbish. Polly and I looked after the logistics, but you’re the one who did the pedalling. You can be really proud of yourself. Go home and tell all the doubters back there that Glynis could do it, and she did do it. And then you can tell me all about their reactions when we meet up in London.’
The ride down to the airport was just about the easiest fifty-five kilometres any of them had ever ridden. Once they had got out of the surroundings of the lake, it was all either downhill or as flat as a pancake. It was another cloudless, hot, sunny day without a breath of wind. Even with a longish stop around mid morning for coffee and a croissant, it was still barely lunchtime when they rode into the traffic, noise and bustle of Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport at Fiumicino, near the coast to the west of Rome. It was there that she got a big surprise. As she was just getting off her bike, Paul came over to her.
‘Sarah, something’s come up. I was planning on spending the weekend in Rome, but now it appears I’ve got to get home tonight.’ He pulled off his helmet and glasses and caught her eye. ‘I was just wondering… I don’t suppose you’d be interested in taking my room for a couple of nights, would you? It’s a really good hotel, bang in the centre, just along from the top of the Spanish Steps, and it’s all paid for. It’s yours with my compliments if you want it. We know people at the airline and there’ll be no problem in swapping our tickets over. What do you say? Fancy a weekend in Rome or have you got to get back?’
Sarah removed her own helmet, reaching up to run her fingers through her hair, which, as always, was stuck damply to her head, unlike Paul’s, which looked as if he’d just come out of a salon. Ignoring the annoying sense of envy this always aroused in her, she gave the offer some thought and it didn’t take long for her to make up her mind. There were three very good reasons why it was too good to pass up. First, apart from her parents, there would be nobody waiting for her on her return to England. Second, a weekend in Rome was something she had been promising herself for years. And third, and most important, she knew somebody else who was going to be in Rome this weekend. She made her decision and nodded her head.
‘That’s a fantastic offer. I’d love to, if you’re sure.’ She did her best to sound casual. ‘Who knows, I might even see Miles.’ She hesitated. ‘Is he staying in the same hotel?’
Paul shook his head. ‘No, he isn’t, he made his own booking. But, look, talking of Miles, he asked me to give you a message. You know his phone’s lost, don’t you? Well, he said he’d like to see you and he’ll leave a message for you at your hotel, so make sure you ask them for it. Okay?’
Sarah’s heart soared. Surely this meant she would see Miles again this weekend, after all. She felt a growing sense of excitement at what might be to come. Of course, she told herself rationally, it might not result in anything more than dinner together, but that didn’t matter. She would be with him and, for her, that was the only thing that counted. As she had been thinking to herself all the way down from the lake to the airport, what was in the past could stay there. The future was opening up ahead of her and she felt sure now that Miles was going to manage to lay his cares to rest, but, irrespective of that, her life was bright and she was feeling optimistic once again.
However, she didn’t have any more time for reflection as, at that moment, Polly appeared in the van, pulled up at the kerb alongside them and started unloading the bags. As the bags came out, so the rental bikes went in, including the one Sarah had been riding, minus her saddle. By the time they had finished unloading and reloading the van, a policeman was already waving to hurry them up, and Sarah didn’t have much time to say goodbye to Polly, who was setting off on the long drive back to Venice with the bikes. Sarah went over to thank her for everything she had done, both on a professional and personal level.
‘I’ll see you on Monday back in London. Are you sure you’re going to be okay driving back all on your own?’
Polly gave her a wink. ‘I won’t be all on my own.’ Sarah followed the direction of her eyes and saw Dan standing a short way away, talking to Mike and Chuck. ‘Dan’s changed his return flight. He’s not going home until Sunday night so we’re having a romantic weekend in Venice together.’
Sarah gave her a broad smile and then a thought struck her. ‘What about Gianluca? Weren’t you supposed to be taking him back to Venice?’
Polly was grinning now. ‘I gather he’s having a romantic weekend down here on the coast with Terri.’
Sarah gave her a big hug and went over to say farewell to Gianluca and thank him again for all his efforts, before returning to her other charges. The people who had brought their own bikes were busy removing pedals, turning handlebars and fitting them into bags for the return journey. As she walked around, chatting, helping and offering advice, Sarah reflected that, between them, they had done thirty thousand kilometres without a single mechanical malfunction that Gianluca hadn’t been able to fix. Last night they had totted up the money raised for cancer research and it added up to over fifty thousand pounds. Everybody looked healthy and happy, in spite of the earthquake scare they had all got that morning. Yes, she thought to herself, it had been a great trip.
Gradually, the crowd began to disperse as people finished packing away their bikes and made their way to the check-in desks. Sarah said farewell to everybody, some, like Terri and Véronique, with tears in their eyes. It was really quite emotional and Sarah was delighted to hear the positive comments from all sides. Glynis was in tears as she said goodbye and Jo and Naomi were full of praise for how everything had gone. Diana gave her a hug and kiss and told her how wonderful it had been as well. Chuck gave her a big hug and promised to stay in touch, whispering in her ear that if she ever wanted a change of employer, his company would be delighted to have her. Sarah hugged him back, but knew she was just fine where she was.
> Finally it was Paul’s turn to say goodbye. By this time he had made a couple of calls and been to the airline desk and managed to change the tickets without difficulty. Having contacts in the travel trade could be very useful. Sarah glanced at her new watch and was surprised to see it was already past three. The time had flown by. ‘Are you off to catch your plane now?’
‘Yes, I should be home in time for tea. By the way, there’s a taxi booked and already paid for to take you to the hotel.’ He looked at his own watch. ‘It’ll be here at half past. The driver’s got a sign with my name on it. Right…’ He opened his arms and held them out. ‘Does Paul get a hug from Sarah?’
Sarah stepped up to him readily. ‘Paul definitely gets a hug from Sarah.’ She also kissed him on the cheeks. ‘Thanks, Paul, for all your help and support, especially this morning when I was behaving like an overemotional little girl.’
She felt his arms give her a squeeze. ‘What help? It was the least I could do. And as for being emotional, love tends to do that, you know.’ Before she could respond, he released her, shouldered his bag and set off towards airport security.
Chapter 15
The journey into the centre of Rome in the very swish, black Mercedes only took just over half an hour. They came in on the autostrada without any great hold-ups and were soon on the slower part of the journey, inching their way in through the traffic on the congested streets of the centre. To her left, Sarah could see the muddy waters of the River Tiber and the massive towering fortress that is Castel Sant’Angelo. After a while, they turned away from the river, past the imposing bulk of the Colosseum, threading their way over tramlines and cobbles and through crowds of pedestrians, up to the hotel that was, as Paul had said, right in the centre of town.