by T A Williams
‘You’ve been skiing already, haven’t you? You didn’t get that colour in your cheeks in the UK, I bet.’ He pulled off his jacket and hung it up. He was wearing faded jeans and a tight sweater. Annie found herself idly wondering whether he, too, had amazing stomach muscles. It came as a surprise to her that she was having such thoughts about good old Matt. What on earth was happening to her? She shook her head to clear it and looked up. He was smiling at her and she hoped he hadn’t been reading her mind. He had a surprise of his own for her. ‘Anyway, Annie, I’ve been waiting for you to come back so I could give you your Christmas present.’
‘Matt, there was no need. All I got you was a bottle of fizz at Gatwick.’
He was grinning. ‘We’ll drink it together. But I think you might enjoy this present even more. Here, take a look.’ Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled out a white envelope and handed it across to her. ‘It’s addressed to you, but he didn’t seal the envelope, so I’ve taken the liberty of reading it already.’
Annie pulled out a sheet of paper and immediately saw the letterhead ABC School, Santorso emblazoned across the top. It didn’t take long to read.
Dear Signora Brewer,
I am writing to welcome you to Santorso and to wish you every success with your new venture. I am sure that the presence of another quality school of English in the town will be of great benefit to the inhabitants.
Annie harrumphed quietly to herself at his use of the word another.
I hope we can become firm friends and our two schools go from strength to strength together.
Cordial greetings
Prof. Pierantonio Gruglio
Suppressing another snort at his use of the title Professor, she passed the letter across to Paolina to read. She caught Matt’s eye and held out her arms. ‘Come here, you lovely man. You deserve another hug.’ She gave him a hug and a kiss on the stubbly cheek this time. ‘You did it! How did he take it?’
Matt was still smiling. ‘A bit of bluster at first and then he caved in and rolled over. I think I put the fear of the Almighty up him. Anyway, I feel quite sure you can rest easy from now on. The dirty tricks campaign is a thing of the past.’
‘And the other man? The one you had the altercation with?’
‘Gruglio disclaimed any knowledge of him, but he forgot that there was a picture of him on the wall; his son, no less. However, he was conspicuous by his absence, which is probably just as well.’ Matt’s eyes narrowed. ‘I explained to Gruglio that I’m a very mild, peace-loving man, but if his son decides to call my mum names again, I’ll tie him to the back of my truck and tow him round the car park.’ Then he smiled at Annie and reverted to his mild, peace-loving persona, leaving her feeling maybe just a little like the princess who had watched her favourite knight jousting for her honour. The faded jeans were hardly shining armour, but the resulting feeling was the same.
She went off to get him the bottle of champagne she had bought for him and found that he had another present for her. It was a thick cardboard tube containing a number of fabulous glossy posters of scenic places all over Britain, courtesy of the British tourist board, Visit Britain. She had written to them some time ago asking for posters but had barely been able to persuade them to give her three. She asked Matt how he had managed to get them. His answer was predictable.
‘I know a girl who works there. She got them for me.’
‘Of course, Matt. I should have known.’ She gave a theatrical sigh, but was delighted to get them.
In the course of the morning, Matt sat down to work in his office while Annie and Paolina went through the post. Among the cards and bills was a fine-looking white and gold envelope addressed to Annie. She slit it open and pulled out an invitation to the Grand Masked Ball to be held at the Hotel Montalto in just under three weeks’ time. Annie felt a shiver of excitement at the thought of dancing cheek to cheek with Alex, and then near panic struck as she wondered what to wear. Somewhere in one of the as yet unopened boxes, she knew she had at least one long dress, but she hadn’t worn it for years and, to be totally honest, it was bound to look a bit old-fashioned now. She stood for a few moments, the invitation in her hand, looking out of the window. There was nothing for it; she would have to go out and treat herself to a new dress.
More urgent was where she would be living. Her conversation with Signor Dumoulin the previous evening had resulted in her being told she could move into her lovely new home as soon as she liked. She gave Janet a ring to tell her the good news and asked for the name of a removal company.
‘The Romanians, they’re brilliant, and they’re cheap.’ She gave Annie the number and when Annie contacted them, she was delighted to find that the Romanian firm would be able to do the move for her in two days’ time. They promised to be at the school at eight o’clock on Friday morning. Annie put the phone down, well pleased.
Her eyes strayed to the calendar on the wall and she saw that she now had just eleven days before the grand opening of the school. She felt a shiver down her spine, part fear and part excitement. This was going to be it: her big venture.
Chapter 17
The Romanians arrived bang on time at eight o’clock on Friday morning. There were two of them, both stocky, powerful-looking men with the broadest of smiles. They looked over the collection of belongings Annie wanted to move and, to her relief, decided everything would fit in the van without any trouble in just one journey. It took several hours to move all Annie’s furniture from the school out to their battered old van, along with a pile of cardboard boxes full of clothes, crockery and books. Finally, by just before eleven, they closed the tailgate and followed Annie up to Le Pont.
The van was able to reverse right up to the front door of the guest chalet and unload directly into the little house without trampling snow in and out every time. The men worked very hard and, even with a brief lunch break, everything was in by half past two. The large cellar area was perfect for her skis, other bits and pieces and her bike, although one look at the gradient outside made her seriously question how often that was going to be used. Another hour of reassembling furniture and connecting the washing machine and computer and she was settled. She gave the two men a healthy tip and waved goodbye to them, just as her watch was showing almost four o’clock.
She closed the door and went back into the living room. Magnetically attracted, she went over to the window and surveyed the magnificent view. Somehow, she had a feeling she would find herself spending a lot of her time in that house looking out. By now, the sun was dropping towards the horizon, but the sky was still blue, the sunlight sparkling as it reflected off the crystals of the frozen lawn as it sloped away. Beyond that, Santorso lay stretched out like an aerial photograph and she could, indeed, see both the school and the windows of Matt’s gorgeous old art deco apartment building. Beyond the town, the valley sides sloped steeply up as far as the unbroken carpet of white above the distant tree line. It was spectacular.
Reluctantly, she turned back into the room and checked the kitchen and bedroom cupboards. They were scrupulously clean and tidy and she found herself blessing Signor Dumoulin for making sure it was all so perfect. She started with the box containing the contents of the fridge. Once this was safely stored away, she moved on to the rest of the food, including a few bottles of wine. From there, she made a start on the first of the cardboard boxes, most of which hadn’t been opened since her move up from Turin in September.
She was still unpacking cups and plates into the kitchen cupboards several hours later when the front doorbell rang. It was Matt. In his hand was a bottle of Prosecco. She gave him a smile and looked accusingly at the bottle of wine.
‘You already gave me one bottle of Prosecco when I moved into the school. There’s no need for this.’
‘Absolutely. I agree there’s no need for Prosecco, but since when have we needed an excuse? I rather fancy a glass of fizz while I admire your amazing view.’ He caught her eye. ‘In case you can’t find any glasses, I took
the precaution of bringing a few with me.’ He reached into the pockets of his jacket and produced four champagne flutes. ‘You never know who might turn up.’ He opened the bottle and poured two glasses. He passed one over to her and clinked his against it. ‘Good luck in your new home.’
‘You’re a sweetie, Matt.’
He followed her across to the window and they peered out into the darkness. After a while, he glanced at her. ‘Your boyfriend not here helping out?’
Annie shook her head. ‘He’s stuck in Rome. Some problem with one of the hotels they’ve got down there. He’s coming back tomorrow or Sunday.’
‘Well, in that case, Paolina and I were wondering about tonight. How would it be if we order pizzas from the place across the road from the school and she brings them up here when she finishes work? In the meantime, I can give you a hand with the unpacking.’
‘Matt, that sounds great, but you shouldn’t waste all your time helping me. You’ve got your own life and your own business to look after.’
For a fraction of a second she glimpsed a flash of something in his eyes, but it was gone before she could analyse what she thought she had seen. ‘Like it or not, Annie, you are part of my life these days.’ He was smiling again now. ‘And if I didn’t enjoy hanging out with you, I wouldn’t. You know me.’
Paolina arrived just after eight with four pizzas and her new boyfriend, Paul. Earlier that evening, Signor Dumoulin had come round with a huge two-litre bottle of red wine for Annie, so when the pizzas arrived, she opened that. The bottle itself was a traditional two-litre bottiglione. It was huge and heavy, full of deep dark red wine, and it took her both hands to lift it and pour. Annie loved old traditional things and this bottle seemed to fit in so well with the rustic surroundings of her new home, it was almost a pity to open it.
The wine was excellent and the pizzas still warm, as Paolina had had the brilliant idea of wrapping them in her Old English sheepdog pullover on the way up in the car. Quite how the jumper was going to smell as a result was something Annie decided to let Paolina work out for herself, but the pizzas were a great success as a result. By this time, the lights of Santorso were twinkling below them and they admired the view as they ate. Paul passed on a bit of information.
‘They say there’s going to be a whole load more snow tomorrow night or Sunday.’ He looked around with satisfaction. ‘There’s a massive great low-pressure system coming through.’ He was sitting very close to Paolina and Annie was delighted to see how happy they looked together. Her matchmaking had clearly paid off.
‘Talking of snow, I was wondering.’ Matt had finished his pizza and was sitting back, feet on a stool, staring out of the window at the lights below. ‘Would you be free for a ski tomorrow, before the blizzard hits?’
Annie glanced across at him. ‘You know, Matt, I don’t think I’ve ever skied with you, have I?’ As he turned towards her, she caught his eye. ‘Are you any good?’
He smiled and shrugged. ‘I get by.’
Annie and Matt hit the slopes on Saturday morning. It was a brilliant sunny day with a cloudless sky, no hint of the predicted blizzard detectable at this stage. Matt picked her up from home in his truck and Annie found herself comparing it to Alex’s Ferrari. The Ferrari was so terribly low it was hard to get in and out, while the pickup was so high, Annie needed to clamber up and jump out. There was definitely something to be said for her old Panda, at least as far as access was concerned.
They took the main chairlift up to the middle station and skied down the wide blue run together. Annie very quickly realised that not only did Matt get by on skis, he got by very well indeed. She led the way, slowly at first and then speeding up as she realised he knew what he was doing. Every time she turned her head, he was right behind, skiing smoothly and stylishly. It was only when she reached the bottom of the run and slid to a halt by some old stone sheds, their roofs half-buried under a metre of snow, that she turned and couldn’t see him. She was just starting to scan the slope to see if he had fallen when there was a loud whoop of joy and he appeared, skis opened wide, arms opened even wider, flying off the roof and through the air twenty feet above her. Then, as she watched, he drew in his knees, brought his skis back together and pulled off a perfect landing, skidding round in a tight circle, spraying snow in an arc around his shoulders, the sunlight dancing in the crystals like a rainbow.
She side-slipped down the slope to where he had finished up. Stopping opposite him, she grinned. ‘Get by, eh? Just a hint of false modesty there, maybe?’
He grinned back. His cheeks were red and he was breathing hard. ‘What, me? It was all I could do to keep up with you towards the end there. Besides, me – modesty? You must be joking.’
As they travelled back up on the chairlift, he told her a bit more about his childhood and his love of the mountains. ‘The old man was at the embassy in Rome, but he was a mad keen skier. He bought an apartment up in the Apennines, a couple of hours by car from Rome, and we spent most every weekend there in winter.’
‘I didn’t realise there were ski resorts near Rome.’
Matt nodded. ‘Yes, and they often get pretty good snow, too. Then, every Christmas we used to come up here to Cervinia or Courmayeur. That’s why I know the valley so well.’ He stretched his arms and pointed at the network of runs on both sides of them. ‘Of course, none of this was here then. Montalto’s pretty new as ski resorts go. Anyway, my brother and I learnt to ski about the same time as we learnt to walk. I love it, but since I’ve been in Florence I’ve rather let it go. Being back up here again is just fantastic.’ He looked across at her. ‘I think I’ll try and spend as much time as I can on the slopes. Especially as Massimo gave me one of these.’ He reached into his jacket pocket and produced a VIP season ticket.
‘So he gave you one of those, too, did he? He’s a lovely man, Massimo.’ She gave Matt a more serious look. ‘And in the summer? Do you think you’re going to start climbing again?’
‘What do you think I should do?’
‘You know what I think about it, but it’s your life.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Or death.’
‘Would you like me to give it up, Annie?’ Now it was his turn to sound serious. She caught his eye.
‘I’d love you to give it up, Matt. I don’t know how I’d cope if I lost you as well. But it’s up to you. I promised myself I wouldn’t ask Steve to give it up so how can I ask you?’
‘For what it’s worth, Annie, I don’t know how I’d cope if I lost you.’
Their arrival at the top of the lift prevented her from analysing what he had said. At least, it sounded as though he might give up climbing but, knowing him, it would probably just be so as to take up some other dangerous sport. She thought back to his death-defying ski jump a few minutes before. Risk-taking was in his DNA.
They had a great morning on the slopes, disappearing from time to time into the soft powder in among the trees and then reappearing on the beaten pistes. By lunchtime, Annie was ready for a sit down and a drink. They managed to find a table on the terrace outside one of the restaurants on the upper slopes from where the view was amazing, all the way into Switzerland. Around them were tourists from all over the world, producing a veritable tower of Babel of different languages. Although it was only early January, the sun was warm and Annie was glad of the sunscreen and sunglasses she was wearing. He ordered steak and chips while she ordered soup and a sandwich. They both drank a lot of water to rehydrate and some red wine because it tasted good. As they ate, they chatted. Annie felt very relaxed with him these days so she took the opportunity to ask him for some advice.
‘What would you do in my place, Matt?’ He turned his head towards her, his eyes hidden by his dark glasses. ‘I’ve just found out that Alex – you met him that evening – had an affair with one of the girls at the hotel as recently as a couple of months ago. Should I be worried?’
He paused for some deliberation before replying. ‘I don’t necessarily think the length of time’s imp
ortant. I mean, to me, a week used to be a long time when it came to women. What matters is that it’s in the past. You don’t want to find yourself in the middle of something that’s dragging on. Why, do you think he and she might still be bonking away like gerbils?’
Annie shook her head, mulling over his use of the past tense when speaking of his womanising. It really sounded as if he had changed. She returned her thoughts to Alex and Daniela. ‘No, I don’t really. It’s just the thought that, if he’s jumped into bed with some random girl so recently, he might see me in the same light.’
‘You, some random girl? Come on, Annie, get real.’
‘Why not?’
His reply came as quite a surprise to her. ‘Because you’re a keeper, Annie. Anybody can see that. No man in his right mind would think of you as a one-night stand or a passing fancy. Have no fear on that score. He knows what he’s got with you and, if he doesn’t, he’s a hell of a lot stupider than I thought. And, somehow, I don’t see you getting together with somebody stupid.’
‘Aw, Matt, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.’
‘Plus you don’t look anything like a gerbil.’
‘How sweet; I don’t look like a rodent.’ She smiled across at him. ‘I’ll always cherish that compliment.’
Chapter 18
It started snowing in the early hours of Saturday and Annie was woken at around five o’clock in the morning by the noise of the wind buffeting the roof of the chalet. She peered out of the window in the direction of Santorso, but could see absolutely nothing. She even eased the patio door open a few inches and immediately found herself on the receiving end of a dense cloud of snow, blown in by the force of the wind. Hastily, she closed the door again and dusted herself off. The snowflakes were huge, dry and beautiful, but she knew full well the chaotic effect a snowstorm like this would have on the area.