by Susan Lewis
‘Mum, have you got anything to eat?’ Zav called sleepily from the back.
‘Yeah, I’m starving,’ Tierney piped up. ‘Are we there yet?’
‘Almost,’ Lainey replied, pulling a handful of energy bars out of her bag. ‘We’ll have to go to the supermarket later,’ she informed them, and grinned past the hurt she’d caused herself as they gave a collective groan. That was usually Tom’s line when they arrived on holiday, We’ll have to go to the supermarket later, and he always gave her a mischievous wink as he was treated to the same unimpressed response.
Yawning and stretching, Stacy dragged a bottle of warmish water from her bag and passed it around. ‘I need a swim,’ she declared, fanning herself with a sodden tissue.
‘You and me both,’ Skye responded. ‘I can hardly wait to get my clothes off.’
Max responded with something Lainey didn’t quite catch, but whatever it was it made Skye squeal with laughter, and Lainey felt sorry all over again that Tom wasn’t around to keep an eye on things.
‘We’re there!’ Tierney suddenly cried. ‘Look, it’s a sign for Tuoro.’ She bounced forward to wrap her arms round her mother’s neck. ‘How do you feel?’ she asked. ‘Getting all déjà vu-ed, or anything?’
Smiling, Lainey said, ‘Not yet. I’ll let you know if it happens,’ and taking in every last detail of the passing terrain, from signs to a lakeside restaurant and campsite, to a removal-lorry park and an avenue of limes, she waited, almost breathlessly, for a burst of something, anything, whether awe, belonging, or simple pleasure, to ignite inside her. So far nothing much seemed to be happening; however, as they progressed along a leafy boulevard and began climbing towards the walls of what appeared to be a very old village she realised she was starting to feel faintly nervous, as though the ghosts of her past were watching her approach.
‘It looks really boring,’ Zav declared, as they rounded the outskirts of the village and continued to climb.
‘What do you mean?’ Lainey cried. ‘It’s beautiful.’ It wasn’t, at least not from the main road, but she felt sure the briefly glimpsed narrow streets, running between a mishmash of old and new houses, led to a cornucopia of hidden character and promise. Indeed, as they rounded a steep bend past a newspaper kiosk on one side and an antique shop on the other, a small park full of plane trees appeared in front of them, making her think of all the boules they’d played during holidays in France. There were no boules here, but the space seemed a similar sort of mecca for the community’s older folk to while away the time. The thought that one or two amongst them might know her grandparents, perhaps even her mother, caused a quick surge of adrenalin to catch on her hopes. There was even a chance that one of them was her grandmother or grandfather, an aunt or uncle, a cousin – even a sister or brother, though they all looked a bit too old for that.
Was her father there?
Her mind turned instantly to Peter, who’d seemed upset when she’d left that morning, though he’d been unable to articulate what was bothering him.
‘It was there, and then gone,’ he kept saying.
‘Was it a pain?’ she’d asked, smoothing his hair.
‘There and then gone.’
‘Did you lose something?’
‘There and then gone.’
She’d call Aunt Daffs in a while to make sure he’d settled down.
After turning left at the plane-tree park where a cobbled road seemed to run down to the heart of the village, they drove on past the Carabinieri and some apartment buildings, around another bend in front of a rather grand-looking building called Teatro Communale dell’Academia (a theatre school?) and a small car park with recycling bins next to the road. From there the climb up the hill grew steeper and twistier, and though Lainey was dying to turn round to catch a first real view of the lake, she was determined to wait till they were at the villa, where it wasn’t going to disappear on her again.
Two kilometres later (not one, as it had claimed on the website, nor was it a reasonable walk to the village), they reached the end of a winding dirt track and passed through a set of tall iron gates. They were high enough now for a sweepingly panoramic view of the lake, and though the website had prepared her for the vista, the reality simply took her breath away. Its seemingly endless stretch of sparkling waters completely dominated the heart of the valley, rolling for miles in each direction and out to the gentle swells of a mountainous horizon. Around the shores were other towns with their foundations in the waters, and appearing to float on the otherwise empty surface were three small islands.
‘Wow,’ Stacy murmured.
‘Is very beautiful, no?’ the driver said, sounding as proud as if the enchanting scenery was all his.
‘Can you swim in it?’ Skye wanted to know.
Realising the driver hadn’t understood, Lainey said, ‘According to my guidebook you can. Apparently there’s a beach down there somewhere, and you can take boats, or ferries, over to the islands.’
‘I definitely have to get a car,’ Max announced, ‘cos no way can we get down there without one.’
‘My brother bring car,’ the driver told them. ‘Is already here. Fiat Bravo, si?’
‘Si,’ Lainey agreed. ‘That’s for me. We need another for Max, is that possible?’
‘Another car, si. My brother bring. We tell him,’ and inching carefully around a curve in the drive, he beamed happily as they all gasped at their first sight of the villa. It was everything Lainey had hoped for and more. The thick stone walls and vine-covered terraces were glimmering sleepily in the afternoon sun, while gnarled old olive trees and colourful tumbles of flowers surrounded it. The shutters were all open, as was the front door, but to her surprise they drove on round to the side of the villa and up a steep slope. At the top was an exquisite grassy lawn with a footpath leading to a rose- and jasmine-covered pergola, where a raven-haired woman around Lainey’s age was waiting to greet them.
‘Hello, hello,’ she cried warmly, coming across the lawn as Lainey began the exodus from the car. ‘I am Adriana,’ she declared, shaking Lainey’s hand, ‘and I am very happy to welcome you to Villa Constantia. You are Signora ’ollingsworth, si?’
Responding to her friendliness, Lainey said, ‘Yes, I am, but you must call me Lainey. And this is Stacy.’
‘I am much pleased to meet you, Stacy,’ Adriana informed her with a smile that seemed to grow more dazzling by the minute. ‘And these are the children, but oh no, they are so grown up. Hello everyone, I am Adriana and I hope you are going to have a very nice holiday at this villa.’
‘Where’s the pool?’ Zav wanted to know, looking around.
‘Zav, where are your manners?’ Lainey exclaimed. ‘Adriana’s just said hello to you.’
‘Oh, sorry. Ciao,’ he said, coming forward to shake her hand.
‘Ah, si parla italiano,’ she cried happily.
Zav’s face was a picture as he turned to his mother. ‘I only know ciao,’ he confessed.
As everyone laughed, Adriana said, ‘The pool – la piscina – she is down in the bottom terrace. You can reach by the steps you see inside the, how you say, cespugli?’
Hazarding a guess, since there was only one set of steps that she could see, Lainey said, ‘Bushes?’
‘Si, si, inside the bushes,’ Adriana confirmed.
‘Can we go and look, Mum?’ Zav pleaded.
‘In a minute,’ she promised, ‘you need to help unload the car first.’
‘Hi, good to meet you,’ Max declared, holding out a hand to shake Adriana’s. ‘I’m afraid I don’t speak Italian either, but I’m definitely willing to learn.’ He wasn’t a sophisticated flirt, although he probably thought he was.
‘This is very good,’ Adriana told him enthusiastically. ‘Perhaps I give you the address of the school of my friend. He is very good teacher.’
Stifling a laugh at the subtle put-down, Lainey watched the girls introduce themselves while Max went to collect his guitar, then turned to take in the view
again. It was spectacular, utterly mesmerising, with not a single cloud in the sky to disturb the vast swathe of blue, nor a vessel on the lake to ripple the glassy waters.
‘It is very special, no?’ Adriana asked, coming to stand with her.
‘Very,’ Lainey agreed, feeling both entranced and intrigued by what memories this view might have evoked for her mother. Had she ever climbed this high, played in that lake, explored the closest island where, according to the guidebook, lace was made and fishermen lived? Certainly she would have felt this sun scorching her limbs, and heard the orchestra of cicadas drowning the birdsong. Had her family home been up here on the undulating hillside, or tucked away in the heart of the village whose red rooftops were glinting in the sunshine? Where was the school she’d attended, the friends she’d known, the church where she’d made her confessions? Perhaps talking to the priest would be a good place to start her search.
‘Are you from this area?’ Stacy was asking Adriana.
‘No, I am from Perugia,’ Adriana replied, with a wistful sigh. ‘Tuoro is the home of my husband’s family, and this villa belong to my brother-in-law, Marco. He cannot be here today to greet you, so I do this for him.’
‘Does he live nearby?’ Stacy asked, ignoring the matchmaking light that shot to Lainey’s eye.
‘Yes, he live close to Tuoro, in same place as me and my husband where we each have a home and our business. Sometimes we stay here, at this villa, when it is not let, and we have a holiday. You will see inside, it is like two apartments. You passed the door to the one downstairs just now, and here, under the pergola, is door to the one upstairs. This work well when I come with my husband and children and Marco has with him his wife and son. We can be separate, but together. I will show you.’
Clocking the wife and son, Lainey threw Stacy a regretful look as they wandered across the lawn towards the villa.
‘What’s the name of the town over there?’ Stacy said, pointing to the western shore.
‘This is called Castiglioni del Lago. Is very beautiful town. You visit one day while you are here to see the market and the wonderful shops of food. Of course also the Castello del Lione, which is very old fortress.’
‘Actually, Mum’s here to try and find her family,’ Tierney piped up from behind them.
Adriana’s eyes rounded with interest. ‘You have family in this region?’ she asked Lainey.
Thrown by being thrust so abruptly into the deep end, Lainey said, ‘I’m not sure. I mean, it’s possible. I was born in Tuoro, but my mother left when I was a baby . . .’
‘Ah, so you are Italian?’ Adriana cried happily. ‘This makes sense to me, because you, if you don’t mind me saying, look Italian.’
Lainey smiled. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment, but I’m afraid I don’t feel very Italian. Like my children, I don’t even speak the language.’
‘Your mother did not teach you?’
‘No, sadly, but like my stepson, I’m keen to learn, so perhaps I could go to your friend’s school.’
The way Adriana’s eyes twinkled told her there was no such school. ‘But what is the name of your family?’ she prompted. ‘Perhaps I have heard of them, or even know them.’
With a glance at Stacy, who was clearly encouraging her to seize the moment, Lainey said, ‘My grandparents on my mother’s side are called Clementi. Melvina and Aldo Clementi.’
Adriana was frowning. ‘Maybe we ask my husband or brother-in-law when they come. They know everyone because they spend much time here when growing up, and now with our business.’
‘What do you do?’ Stacy asked.
Adriana threw out her hands. ‘We do everything, but first, close to here we have a vineyard and olive grove, and we also have shops in Roma and London where we sell our produce and many other things Italian. Marco, this is my brother-in-law, he is meeting with very important supplier in Montepulciano today. This is why he cannot be here. You know Montepulciano? Is very famous for the wine.’
Lainey smiled as she nodded. The wine was one of Tom’s favourites.
‘And now I show you inside the villa,’ Adriana declared. ‘You see we are on the terrace that has very splendid views of Lago Trasimeno. You understand that this is very special lake, because is one of only fifty-two in the world recognise by UN for, how you say, ambiente – envir – onment?’
Lainey and Stacy both nodded.
‘Si, environment quality. You can swim, and if you want to sail or windsurf there is very good school in San Feliciano which I can give you address for. There is much horse-riding, and hiking and visits to wineries and oil presses. Many things to do, you will find inside lots of information that I bring for you.’
Following her through the open double doors, leaving Tierney and Skye going into a huddle over one of their phones, and Max tuning up his guitar, Lainey tucked an arm through Stacy’s as they looked around the spacious and mercifully cool kitchen-cum-sitting room. Definitely not at the top end of luxury, but it had a distinctive charm about it, with a shabby-chic half-kitchen to the left (next to no worktop space, a slimline dishwasher, mini fridge, two cupboards and a sink – not really big enough for them, but it would have to do). To the right was a large round table covered by a flowery plastic cloth, and ahead was a seating area boasting three tan leather sofas, an impressive marble fireplace flanked by towering bookshelves and a large dark wood cupboard which turned out to house all the cutlery and crockery.
‘And in here,’ Adriana was saying, turning through a door next to the kitchen, ‘we are having two bedrooms and one very large bathroom. You can do as you please, of course, but this is usually where the children sleep. Twin beds in this room, and again in this one.’
‘Perfect,’ Lainey responded, deciding on one for Tierney and Skye and the other for Zav and Alfie.
‘And now we see the other wing,’ Adriana declared, turning back into the sitting room and going to open a door to one side of the fireplace. ‘This is where we have small hall and two double bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. One has very lovely terrace, but no view from inside room, the other has view, but no terrace.’
‘You choose,’ Lainey said to Stacy. ‘I’m happy with either.’
‘You paid, you get to choose,’ Stacy insisted.
Lainey smiled at Adriana. ‘We’ll sort it out, but both look gorgeous, thank you. I’m just a bit worried about Max. Are there any other rooms up here?’
‘No, but there is the apartment downstairs, where is one bedroom and bathroom, a kitchen with very large fridge, and big sitting room where is Sky television and the Wi-Fi if you need.’
‘I definitely do,’ Stacy assured her. ‘Maybe I should have the apartment, if I’m going to be working most of the time.’
‘No, please don’t leave me sharing a wing with Max,’ Lainey shuddered. ‘I can stand his music, I can even put up with his humour, but I’d rather know nothing about his bunga bunga parties, thank you very much.’
‘Is that me you’re talking about?’ Max demanded, coming in after them. ‘This place is seriously cool. Where’s my room?’
‘We’ve decided to let you have the downstairs apartment all to yourself,’ Lainey announced generously.
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘You’re kidding me. A whole apartment? My own front door?’
‘All yours. Just try to remember, when you’re partying it up down there, that there are other people in the house and two are of very tender years.’
‘Oh, you and Stacy can handle it,’ he assured her. ‘I might even invite you if you’re especially nice to me.’
Slanting him a look as Stacy laughed, Lainey turned back to Adriana. ‘It’s wonderful,’ she told her. ‘I know we’re going to love it here.’ She wasn’t allowing herself to think of how much Tom would have approved, because it just wasn’t relevant.
‘I really hope so,’ Adriana was responding as they walked back to the sitting room. ‘I will just go through the alarm and gate codes with you now, and how some
of the things work.’
The basic training didn’t take long, and Lainey was on the point of asking about supermarkets and restaurants when Zav and Alfie came charging in from the terrace.
‘Hey Mum.’ Zav was waving his phone. ‘I just had a text from Dad. He wants to know if we arrived safely and if we had a good flight.’
Before Lainey could answer, Tierney snapped, ‘Tell him to mind his own business.’
Catching Adriana’s surprise, Lainey stared hard at Tierney.
‘Well, he didn’t want to come,’ Tierney cried, throwing out her hands, ‘so why should we tell him anything about what we’re doing?’
‘No way am I going to be in touch with him,’ Max declared, pushing past to go back outside.
‘Me neither,’ Tierney snorted.
Zav looked worriedly at Lainey.
‘Send a text back if you want to,’ she said gently.
‘Yeah, but what shall I say?’
‘Whatever you want to say.’
Zav looked down at his phone and shrugged. ‘I want him to come,’ he said quietly.
Afraid for how much it would upset him if he asked and Tom said he couldn’t, Lainey went to put an arm around him. ‘Just tell him it’s lovely here and you’re about to have a swim,’ she said, ‘and then I think you and Alfie should go and explore the pool.’
As they ran off cheering, she turned to Adriana, who was discreetly studying a brochure. ‘Families!’ she commented, trying to make light of the last few minutes.
With a sympathetic smile, Adriana put the brochure down as she said, ‘I shall leave you to settle in now, but if you need anything you will find my number, and Marco’s, in your welcome pack. There are some basic supplies in the fridge, but if you want the supermarket it is back down the hill through the village, turn left in the direction of Perugia and you will see on left-hand side. Oh, and if you are thinking of eating out tonight I can recommend La Pergola in the village, or you can drive up to the top of the hill where you will find Lo Scoiattolo. The Squirrel. Here they do very good pizzas and pasta for the young ones.’
After she’d gone and all five children were cavorting about in the pool, Lainey sank down in a chair on the terrace and could have kissed Stacy as she brought out two glasses of chilled white wine.