by T A Williams
There was no car park and he parked in a snowdrift at the side of the road, before leading her across to what looked and smelt like a working farm. If he hadn’t told her there was a restaurant here, she would have driven straight past. There was no visible sign advertising the fact, but inside there were half a dozen tables, crammed into a low-ceilinged room. Unsurprisingly at barely half past seven, they were the first to arrive but, as the evening progressed, a procession of other guests arrived until every seat was taken.
‘What an amazing place, Matt. How on earth did you find it?’ There was no doubt. She felt far, far happier in a place like this than in the glitz of the Michelin-starred restaurant.
He smiled across the table at her. ‘We often used to come here with the climbing club. Bruno, the owner’s son, is one of the members. Ah, here he is.’ Matt jumped to his feet and greeted the short, stocky man who emerged from the kitchen. He was probably younger than them, with a thick head of jet black hair and forearms like an arm wrestler. He and Matt embraced and then Matt introduced Annie to him. Bruno’s face clouded as he heard her name. He took her hand in both of his, mercifully gently, and looked into her eyes.
‘My condolences, signora. Steven was a good friend and a lovely man.’
Annie was pleased to be able to meet his eye and even summon a weak smile. ‘Thank you, Bruno. That means a lot.’
He retired to the kitchen only to emerge seconds later with an anonymous bottle of red wine and a similar bottle containing cold spring water. Behind him came his mother, a large older lady with an even broader smile, carrying a basket of bread and long, handmade grissini. She set the bread down on the table and enveloped Matt in her arms, kissing him noisily on the cheeks.
‘Ciao, bello. And how’s my special man tonight?’ Matt hugged her in return and whispered something in her ear. She erupted into a fit of giggles, shook Annie absently by the hand, and retired to the kitchen, still laughing.
Annie caught Matt’s eye. ‘What exactly did you say to her?’
‘Maidenly modesty prevents me from repeating it.’
‘Maidenly… right…’
Matt grinned at her. ‘Tired you may be, but you’re looking very good, Annie. You’ve got colour in your face and a spring in your step.’ His expression became more pointed. ‘Almost as if you’d got yourself a gentleman friend.’ Seeing something in her face, he resumed the attack. ‘I’m right, aren’t I?’
‘I refuse to answer on the grounds that I may incriminate myself. Besides, the last thing I need at the moment is a man.’ As she spoke, she found herself wondering just how true this really was. ‘Finding a nice rich man to look after me would have been the easy way out. It’s taken me long enough, but now I know I want to be my own boss and I want my school to be a great success. A man would just be an unwelcome complication.’
He gave her a big smile. ‘Well, for what it’s worth, I reckon your face tells a different story. Whoever he is, he’s a lucky man.’ For a moment he looked more serious. ‘A very lucky man.’
Annie decided that a change of subject might be a good move. ‘I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Matt. I’ve got a box of Steve’s climbing gear back at the school. Some of it’s a bit old and battered, but some of the stuff’s brand new. Would you like to take it, even if it’s just to throw it away? I can’t bring myself to do that?’
‘Of course I’ll take the stuff, but I doubt if I’ll use it. I can give it to the guys at the club.’ He gave her an apologetic smile and then his expression darkened. ‘Since Steve’s death I’ve done very little climbing. Hardly any at all.’ He dropped his eyes to the tablecloth and paused, clearly trying to make up his mind to admit something. She sat back and waited, unused to this more serious Matt. ‘I’ve been wondering whether to tell you this, Annie, but I feel I’ve got to.’ She saw him take a deep breath. ‘The day after the funeral I did something I knew I had to do. I went back to the spot where he died and I did the climb again. Since then I’ve let it go.’
Annie looked at him with awe. He had been with Steve the day of the accident. In fact, it had been Matt who had made the awful call to break the news of the tragedy to her. From what she had heard, he had been within inches of being swept away along with Steve. It must have taken real courage to go back there.
‘God, Matt, who was crazy enough to do the climb with you?’
He still didn’t raise his eyes from the table. ‘Nobody. I didn’t want anybody.’
‘You climbed it solo?’ Annie had learnt enough about climbing over the years to know that one thing you didn’t ever do was to climb solo, without a partner.
‘I climbed it with Steve.’ His voice came near to cracking. ‘He was with me all the way, at my shoulder, telling me where the holds were.’ Now, finally, he raised his eyes. ‘It was something I had to do. For him.’
‘And you never told me.’ Annie could hardly believe it. She had always known that Matt was tough, but this sort of bravery was quite something.
He managed a weak smile. ‘Annie, it’s all I can do not to burst out crying now, two years later. I genuinely don’t think I could have told you any earlier.’ He reached for the red wine and filled the two glasses. He raised his glass towards her, his face more serious than she had ever seen it. ‘I promised myself that if I made it up and back in one piece, I’d come here with you and drink a toast to him.’
‘With me?’
‘Who else, Annie?’ His voice was still soft and subdued. Then he clinked his glass against hers and took a big mouthful. Annie wiped a drop of moisture from her eyes. Just for a moment, she took a good look at him as he swallowed another mouthful of wine. She had known him for years. Matt was a playboy, a reckless risk-taker, a bad influence – but, here he was, behaving like a sensitive, caring friend. She found that she liked this Matt. A lot.
At that moment Bruno appeared with the first of a succession of antipasti. In the course of the next half hour, they were brought cured ham, homemade salami, boiled cotechino sausage with mashed potato and mustard, Russian salad, and roast red peppers in bagna cauda, the thick grey sauce made of garlic, anchovies and cream. The food did a wonderful job of cheering them both up, banishing the tragic memories. Between one dish and the next, Annie caught Matt’s eye.
‘I don’t recall us seeing a menu or ordering. Does the stuff just keep on coming?’
‘They serve whatever they’re doing that night.’ His voice was back to normal again now, his manner relaxed. ‘I’ve eaten here loads of times and the menu’s never quite been the same twice and there’s never been anything I didn’t like.’
Annie took a good big mouthful of the excellent red wine as the kitchen door opened once more. This next round of starters began with anchovy fillets al verde, followed by vitello tonnato – exquisite thin slices of veal covered in a sauce made of mayonnaise, tuna and capers. It was almost half past eight before the antipasti finished and they were brought tiny cubes of roast potato, liberally covered with fonduta, an Alpine speciality, made with Fontina cheese, egg and milk.
As Bruno went off with their dirty plates, Annie sat back and drew breath. Matt reached across and filled her glass for her. A sudden thought occurred to Annie. ‘Wait a minute, they’re not going to bring us a pasta course now, are they? I think I might explode if they do.’
Matt grinned. ‘No. The main course is almost always accompanied by polenta so they don’t often do pasta as well. You’ll be all right.’
Annie sipped her drink. ‘So, when are you planning on moving up here? After Christmas?’
Matt nodded. ‘That was the plan, but I got a phone call this morning from a friend up here. That’s why I came up earlier than planned. She told me there was a flat in a building just along from the school about to come up for rent. It was set to go in the newspaper tomorrow night, but I managed to get in to see it this evening before coming to pick you up and it’s great; exactly what I’ve been looking for. I’ve said I’ll take it and, to be on the safe side
, I’ve taken it as of now and I’ve paid a deposit. So, the answer to your question is that I’ll move in as soon as I can. The arrangement I’ve got with the place in Florence is that they’re happy for me to leave whenever I find somewhere up here. An aged relative is waiting to move in as soon as I leave, so I’d be doing them a favour. I reckon I’ll move straight up here as soon as I can find a removal firm who can bring my stuff from Florence.’
Annie smiled across the table at him. She was really pleased he would be moving nearer to her so soon. She found his company so comfortable, she would value his support as her new venture took off. She knew that she wouldn’t want to lose him. As she considered that, she thought back to what he had told her before. ‘Matt, what you were saying, about climbing, does that mean you’re going to give it up?’
She looked across the table and saw his expression turn serious once again. ‘I don’t know, Annie. Maybe when I’m living here I might feel the urge once more, but, for now, I’m not sure.’ He caught her eye. ‘I never thought I’d say it, but maybe the time might have come for me to take up some other sport.’
‘I can’t imagine Steve ever saying that.’ Annie had no doubts there. ‘His love of climbing was a drug, an addiction, something he was powerless to resist. I never asked him to stop, you know, but I hinted as often as I could. I know he loved me deeply, but he had that one blind spot. He just couldn’t understand the anxiety he put me through.’ She was pleased to find she was able to talk about this now for the very first time to anybody. Maybe it was just because she knew Matt so well and she knew he knew all about Steve and his obsession. ‘Every time he went off on a climb, I was worried stiff that something would happen.’ She cleared her throat and reached for her glass. ‘And then, it did.’
He nodded sombrely. ‘We talked about it, you know?’ She looked up in surprise. ‘And you’re right about it being an addiction with him. I saw it in him myself.’
‘And you didn’t share his addiction?’
‘I love the mountains. I always will. I loved the climbing, the thrill of it all, the sense of accomplishment. Getting to the top of a mountain is more than just ticking off a climb on your list. There’s a spiritual element to it. I could sit for hours on a summit, just looking back down, feeling as if all I had to do was open my arms and take flight. Somehow, you leave all your worries, your problems, down below. Up on the top there’s just you and the universe and we’re so small and insignificant.’
Annie remembered Signor Lago’s words and managed a smile across the table. ‘It sounds to me as if you’re not going to give it up, Matt.’ She kept her voice soft, her tone gentle.
‘If you asked me to stop, I’d stop, Annie.’ He caught her eye. ‘In an instant.’
An hour later, after refusing a second portion of polenta with stewed mountain goat in red wine, and after only taking a tiny taste of cheese, Annie looked down at the dish in front of her, which had contained just about the best panna cotta she had ever eaten, and sighed. ‘If I can’t get up out of this chair, will you carry me, Matt?’
He grinned. ‘I do have a certain amount of experience of carrying young ladies out of restaurants, clubs and bars. It’ll be my pleasure.’
‘So you’re still playing the field?’ Annie was sure she already knew the answer, but she was impressed to see him shake his head before replying. This was a first.
‘You know me. I used to like my women like my antipasti: lots of different flavours and always in small portions. But that’s in the past now.’
‘In the past?’ Annie caught his eye. ‘Don’t tell me you’re thinking about settling down?’
He looked back at her, suddenly serious once more. ‘I’ve never stopped thinking about it.’
This came as a real surprise. ‘So, do you think you’ll find the right girl?’
‘Maybe I have.’ The arrival of Bruno to clear the table prevented her from digging further.
As it turned out, the restorative power of a strong espresso enabled her not only to get up at the end of the meal, but to walk, unaided, to the car. They drove home to the school in companionable silence, the lights of Montalto twinkling across the valley reminding Annie of the other tall, strong man in her life. She was smiling as they arrived home and she leant over to give Matt a goodbye kiss on the cheek.
‘Thanks, Matt. That was great. You’re a really good friend, you know.’
‘Glad to see you looking happy once more, Annie. You’ve had it tough. Like you said, now it’s time to get on with your life and I’m really pleased for you.’ She felt the touch of his fingers against her cheek. ‘And I’m going to be here for you now, Annie.’
‘If you only knew how comforting that sounds, Matt. With you around I no longer feel so alone.’ Quite spontaneously, she leant forward and kissed his cheek once more. ‘I look forward to having you around.’ She sat back and reached for the door handle. ‘Next time I’m paying, all right?’ As she spoke, she realised she had said the exact same thing to Alex, but this was Matt and there was no fear of him misunderstanding her.
‘It’s a deal. By the way, is it all right if I come into the school and spend the weekend repainting my new office? On reflection, I think the bright orange on the walls might get me down after a while.’
‘Paint it any colour you like. I might even come and lend a hand. But for now, I’m going to bed to sleep for a couple of days. It’s been a busy week. Anyway, the meal was great. Thanks again.’
Annie made herself a mug of herbal tea before going to bed. She took it through to her temporary bedroom, switched off the light and went across to the window, looking out into the night sky. The stars were bright and the snow-covered mountains clear to see. She reflected on what Matt had said about climbing, and about his maybe having reached a time in his life when he was thinking about settling down. She wondered who the girl was, if he really had already found someone. Tonight she had seen a softer, less brash, more sensitive side to him and she felt sure he deserved to find happiness. Somehow, she reflected, the sight of him close to tears as he told her his story had reminded her of how much she had missed him when he left Turin for Florence. She had liked him a lot then and she knew she still did.
Chapter 10
Annie had a very lazy day on Saturday and an early night. Even so, she didn’t surface until gone nine o’clock on Sunday and she felt all the better for her long rest. She lay in bed, cosy and warm, until she heard her phone start to ring. As usual she had left it in her office so she jumped out of bed, grabbed a dressing gown and hurried along the corridor. As she saw the caller ID, her heart leapt.
‘Hi, hello, Alex?’
‘Hi, Annie. I hope I didn’t wake you.’
‘No, but I’m still in my pyjamas.’ As she talked, she glanced out of the window. The sky was a cloudless blue once again.
‘Listen, next week’s going to be manic, I’m afraid. So much to do, so little time. Did I tell you I’m going to the Caribbean for a couple of weeks over Christmas?’ He hadn’t, and Annie felt an acute sense of disappointment that he wouldn’t be around. Maybe this was the stimulus she needed to make her decide to go home to the UK after all. ‘My flight’s next weekend and I’ve got a million things to do before I go, so it’s going to be difficult to meet up.’ Annie’s heart fell even further. ‘But it’s such a fabulous day today, I thought I could at least squeeze in a couple of hours on the slopes. I wondered if you felt like joining me. It’s too good a day to miss.’ Annie had no hesitation. The idea of seeing him again was wonderful and if that included the chance to go skiing, so much the better.
‘Brilliant idea.’ She glanced at the time. ‘Meet you about eleven?’
‘Perfect. I’ll be at the bottom of the main lift at eleven o’clock. Oh, and Annie, my dad wants to see you again.’
‘He does?’ Annie was delighted to have the chance of seeing the old man again. She and he had got on very well.
‘Yes, he’s got something to tell you.’
; Annie didn’t have time to dwell upon what that might be as she managed to shower, dress, eat breakfast and collect her boots and skis in record time. She was out of the door and on her way by ten-fifteen. By the time she had parked and pulled on her boots, it was almost exactly eleven o’clock and she felt very pleased not to have kept Alex waiting. She saw him before he saw her. He was standing by the kiosk at the bottom of the lift, chatting to one of the operatives. He looked strong and handsome and she felt suddenly extremely pleased to see him.
‘Hi, Alex.’
‘Annie, magnificent.’ He came across and kissed her on both cheeks. It was the first time he had done this, but it felt good and it felt right. ‘Perfect timing. The boys at the ski school tell me the powder snow’s really good today. Do you fancy giving it a try?’ Annie nodded enthusiastically and he grinned at her. ‘Right, come on then, let’s jump on the lift.’
It was a four-seat chairlift, but there was no queue so they managed to get one to themselves. Annie sat beside him, feeling his shoulder against hers, and asked him what was going to be taking up so much of his time before he went on holiday.
‘We’re running a big promotional weekend towards the end of January for tour operators and travel agents from all over the world. I think I might have told you that already. Hopefully, there are going to be a hell of a lot of important people here. I just hope it all goes well. My job over the next week is to select who gets invitations, and to see that they don’t refuse. I imagine I’ll be on the phone twenty-four hours a day. At least we’ve got loads of snow already. It would have been awful if the fields were still green. That happened last January, you know. It was a real disaster.’