by T A Williams
After a short while, San Gimignano appeared on the hill right in front of them and Bee was fascinated by the silhouette it produced against the skyline with its collection of stunning high towers, built over half a millennium earlier, soaring up from the roofs of the houses below. All around the town were more of the ubiquitous cypress trees, like towers themselves, and the overall impression was unlike anything she had ever seen before. As Luke had said, it couldn’t have been anywhere but Tuscany. As they approached the town, he slowed and looked across at her.
‘What do you think? Are you going to stay in the cab or risk getting out?’
Bee hesitated. ‘I’ll let you be the judge of that. If you can find somewhere to park, I’ll get into my disguise and you tell me.’
Luke only just managed to squeeze the big vehicle into the overflowing car park outside the walls of the medieval town and Bee didn’t need him to tell her it was going to be crowded inside the city walls. She pulled out her wig and placed it carefully over her head. Setting the sun hat on top, she slipped on her sunglasses and turned towards him.
‘What do you think? Will I do?’
This was the first time he had seen her in the wig and he looked mightily impressed.
‘Absolutely. You look completely different and the hair covers a lot of your damaged cheek, even if the scarring’s not that visible anyway. I say you’ll do just fine. You look great.’ He hesitated for a moment, clearly debating whether to say more, but then he turned away and got out. Bee wondered what had been on the tip of his tongue. A compliment, maybe?
He led her past a row of parked tourist buses and into the historic little town through a narrow gateway set in the ancient stone walls. There were people everywhere and virtually every shop was selling souvenirs ranging from the expensive and stylish to the decidedly tacky. Bee decided it might be a nice gesture to buy something for Mimi, but then found herself confronted with the problem of what to buy for a multi-millionaire. A lovely leather purse would be something she herself would love to have, but she felt pretty sure Mimi – assuming she carried money, and from what Gayle had said that was unlikely – would never use it or would already have some amazingly expensive designer purse. There were all manner of biscuits and sweets on offer, along with wines, liqueurs, salami and cheeses, but for somebody restricted to such a Spartan diet as Mimi, they would be a most unfair present. In the end, Bee decided to go for the one thing Mimi would never buy for herself in a million years. In one shop window she spotted a totally tacky plastic model of San Gimignano inside a snow globe. It was so hideous, it was almost attractive in a decidedly retro way. Bee pointed it out to Luke.
‘What do you think? A little present for a billionaire film star?’
He stopped and stared and then burst into laughter. It was the first time she had seen him laugh so freely and it transformed his face. Bee found herself smiling back at him. Yes, he really was a very, very good-looking man.
‘I thought the only thing you should give somebody who’s got everything was Penicillin. Are you sure she hasn’t already got one of these priceless gems?’
Bee shook her head and took a ten euro note out of her purse. ‘I wonder if you’d mind going in and buying it?’
He was still smiling. ‘This has nothing to do with your desire to stay incognito, has it? It’s because you’re too ashamed to be seen buying something like this.’ He assumed an air of resignation as he took the banknote from her. ‘Well, all right then. I haven’t got any pride.’
As he went in to do the deed, Bee reflected how very good it had been to see him with a genuine smile on his face and to hear him joking. From what Umberto had told her, this hadn’t been happening very much of late.
Armed with her new purchase, Bee walked up the road with him and into the maze of narrow streets, squares and alleys that made up the little town. Seen close up, the towers were even more impressive. Many of them were barely the width of a big room, but they shot up ramrod-straight for a very long way. Some had birds nesting in the niches, one even had a healthy-looking tree growing out of the top, high above the crowds. Everywhere they went, they had to push their way through a mass of people and Bee had to agree that Mimi had definitely been right. It would have been all too easy for somebody to recognise her here.
After a while, Luke pointed across a small square to a café with tables outside, sheltered from the sun by the buildings all around it.
‘How about a coffee, Bee?’
‘Something cold, I think, but a sit-down would be welcome.’
He scrutinised her closely. ‘The first time I saw you, you were limping. It looks to me as if that’s all sorted out now. How are you feeling?’
As they sat down at the last table of the line, as far away from prying eyes as possible, Bee gave him her answer. Her sore thigh was feeling better and better, and she knew the fresh air and exercise were doing her good. There weren’t any scales in her room, but she didn’t need them to tell her that all this exercise was definitely keeping her trim.
‘I’ve still got some bruising, but the pain in my thigh’s virtually gone. All the walking I’ve been doing with your lovely dog has definitely helped.’
‘And your face looks like it’s healing nicely. I reckon you’re well on the way to recovery.’
‘Thanks, Luke. I certainly hope so.’
He gave her a little smile. ‘So, still enjoying your stay in the valley?’
‘I love it. The first couple of nights were a bit strange. I heard owls and little animals out in the vines – no wolves, I’m glad to say – but absolutely nothing else. At first it felt almost intimidating just how quiet it is around here, but I’ve definitely got used to it now. By the time I go back to work, I’ll probably find my flat too terribly noisy for words.’
‘So your plan is to go back to London?’
‘Not necessarily. I’m actively looking for another job at the moment. In fact, for all sorts of reasons I think I might well try to find somewhere outside London.’ She paused for a moment, before voicing her most intimate fear. ‘My main worry at the moment is that if I end up looking like a freak, nobody’ll want to employ me and that’ll end my career. I don’t know what I’d do if that happened.’
‘Don’t be so silly. Apart from anything else, they wouldn’t have a legal leg to stand on. That could never happen. It’s your brain that counts, even though you look good as you are.’ She felt her heart give an involuntary leap, even though she sensed he was just being nice. ‘We live in enlightened times. So you end up with a little bit of scarring… so what? You’ll still be accepted as you.’
‘I hope you’re right, Luke. I really do. As for the whole “enlightened times” thing, I’m not convinced. I don’t think much has changed. I’ll bore you with my tale of woe some other time.’
‘But you’re staying here in Tuscany until the end of August?’
‘I hope so.’ As she said it, she realised she really meant it. ‘Relations with Mimi back at the villa have started to thaw, so I’ll see what she thinks. If the doctors are right, I’ll hopefully be back to something approaching normal by the middle or end of August, or as close to normal as they can manage. The question is just what the new normal’s going to look like.’
‘If it helps, Romeo will think you’re beautiful regardless.’ She saw him hesitate, remembering his manners. ‘And so will I, of course.’
She watched him run his hand through his short-cropped hair. As he did so, she found herself idly calculating that it was less than an inch long. Presumably her own hair would be about that length in a month or so. It looked good on him, but it was a far cry from her pre-accident long head of hair.
As he drank his espresso and she slaked her thirst with an ice-cold mineral water, they chatted some more and by the time they got up to leave, she felt she knew him a good bit better. Although he still hadn’t shared much about himself, he had spoken in such affectionate terms about Umberto and Ines that she could sense the warmth he
felt for them and for their beloved valley. No wonder he had been so torn when his fiancée had faced him with having to choose between the valley and her.
They got back to Montegrifone at just before one o’clock and he dropped her off outside the villa.
‘Thanks for keeping me company, Bee. It was a fun morning. I haven’t had too many of those recently. Thank you. I mean it.’
She very nearly gave him a kiss on the cheek but, instead, she just reached over and touched his forearm with her hand.
‘Thank you, Luke. It was lovely and I enjoyed your company. A lot.’
She jumped down from the cab and slammed the door, turning to give him a wave as he set off again down the drive in the direction of his house. She walked into the villa and to her surprise found Mimi in the dining room. This was a very good sign. The film star was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, her trademark mane of hair just tied in a loose ponytail, and her face bore no trace of make-up. She looked quite normal and relaxed, and it suited her. Bee went over to her and produced the snow globe from her bag.
‘Hi, Mimi. Here’s a little souvenir for you. We went to San Gimignano and you were dead right. There were so many people there it would have been madness for you to risk being recognised.’
Mimi’s reaction to the present was similar to Luke’s when he first saw it. She hooted with laughter and then jumped to her feet to give Bee a hug.
‘Marvellous, thank you, Bee. So I get to see San Gimignano after all.’ She turned it upside down. ‘And in the winter as well.’
Bee sat down opposite her as Ines appeared with a big mixed salad that appeared to have every possible ingredient in it from olives to onions, nuts to nasturtiums. Alongside it was a plate of slices of tomato with mozzarella, dressed with basil and olive oil. It looked wonderful. As they ate, Bee recounted the events of the morning and queried Mimi about this afternoon.
‘So, are you coming for a walk with me this afternoon?’
She was disappointed to see Mimi shake her head. ‘I really can’t I’m afraid, but I’ll be down for dinner and I promise I’ll come for a walk with you tomorrow.’
At three o’clock, Bee put on her sunhat and went down to the kitchen to collect Romeo who was dozing there and together they set off down the valley. To her delight, she ran into Luke again before she had gone very far. He was in the pickup and he slowed to a stop as he saw her. A cloud of dust swept over them as he did so. The ground was still terribly dry, even if the vines continued to be a healthy green colour. He leant out of the window as the dog stood up on his hind legs against the door to be petted.
‘Ciao Romeo.’
Like Umberto and Ines, Luke pronounced the dog’s name the Italian way, with the accent on the ‘e’.
‘Hello, Bee. Sorry about the dust. What’s that saying about mad dogs and Englishmen out in the midday sun? Is it hot enough for you?’
‘Hi, Luke. It’s good to see you again and, yes, it’s definitely hot.’
It really was but for the first time she could also feel moisture in the air. What he said next confirmed her impression.
‘Enjoy your walk today. There’s rain forecast for tomorrow and it’ll all be a bit sticky and muddy round here for the next few days after that.’
‘I thought I could feel a change in the weather coming along. I bet you farmers could do with a bit of rain, though. Everything’s so dry, isn’t it?’
He nodded. ‘Yes, the well in front of the villa’s half-empty. That’s our normal way of judging how dry it all is. So where are you headed for your walk?’
‘I thought Romeo and I could try going up into the woods again for today’s walk.’
‘Well, if you do, keep your eyes open for mushrooms. It’s a bit early, but you never know what you’ll find, especially with the weather on the change.’
‘I saw a whole lot of mushrooms the other day, big red and white ones. They looked poisonous to me.’
He smiled again, and it lit up his face. ‘And they were. No, the ones to look out for are porcini. Do you know what they look like?’
Bee shook her head hesitantly. ‘Sort of. I’ve eaten them and they taste lovely. I think I’d recognise them, but I’ve never seen them in the wild. I suppose I could google them.’
‘Not down here. The signal’s rubbish.’
She saw him turn his attention to the interior of the truck. After a moment his hand emerged holding a battered ballpoint.
‘I don’t suppose you’ve got a piece of paper on you?’ Bee shook her head. ‘I could draw on your hand if you don’t mind.’
Bee held out her hand to him and he took it gently, opening her fingers so he could draw on her palm. The sensation this created in her was nothing short of erotic. She felt a wave of desire sweep over her and she almost had to steady herself against the door mirror. Apparently oblivious to the turmoil he had created in her, he drew a little picture of a round-topped mushroom with a tapered base. When he finished, he released her hand and she stared at it stupidly, still the prey of powerful emotions.
‘As long as the top’s darker than the base, and the underside of the top is sponge, not gills, you should be all right. But just to be on the safe side, if you do find some, take them to Umberto or Ines. They’ll be able to tell you if you’ve got the real thing or not, and Ines will be able to prepare them for you.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Anyway, I’d better get going. Enjoy your walk.’
As he drove off, Bee looked down at the Labrador who was sitting in the middle of the track, scratching his ear with his hind leg, apparently unmoved by the departure of his master.
‘Blimey, dog, that really is one very handsome man.’
Bee’s mushroom hunt that day turned out to be unsuccessful. Although she saw a good number of the poisonous ones, there was no sign of the porcini Luke had drawn on her hand. However, in readiness for her next foray, she looked them up on the internet when she got back home and studied the pictures until she felt pretty confident she would be able to distinguish them from other more sinister mushrooms. It was with real regret that she finally washed Luke’s sketch off her hand.
* * *
That evening, Mimi was true to her word and appeared in the dining room at seven o’clock as agreed.
Umberto was waiting with a bottle of Prosecco in an ice bucket. Bee went over to greet her as she came in, and at her heels she heard a clicking of nails on the marble as Romeo roused himself from his snooze at the arrival of a new face. For a moment Bee was worried Mimi might object, but the opposite turned out to be the case. As soon as she spotted the Labrador, Mimi crouched down and proceeded to make a terrific fuss of him. Within seconds, the dog was lying on his back having his tummy tickled, grunting happily to himself and sweeping the floor with his tail.
Bee made the introductions.
‘Mimi, this is Romeo.’
Although Mimi was crouched down, she launched into full Thespian mode. Bee smiled as she heard the words of Shakespeare echoing around the room.
‘Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name.’ She gave the dog a final stroke and stood up again, smiling at Bee. ‘Romeo and Juliet was my first ever acting role. It was at school and they gave me the part of Lady Capulet because I was tall. I didn’t have many lines, but I loved every minute of it and from that moment on, I was hooked.’
‘Have you ever played Juliet herself?’
‘Only once, but I’ll never forget it. It was a one-night special at the Globe in London for charity. You know it’s an open-air theatre? Well, it bucketed down with rain all evening. You could hardly hear yourself think, the audience and even most of us on stage were drenched, but the critics loved it.’ She grinned. ‘I was in bed with a stinking cold for days afterwards, but it was worth it.
‘Prosecco, Signorina?’
Umberto nodded towards the ice bucket and Bee was surprised and pleased to see Mimi accept.
‘Yes, please.’
As he busied himself opening the
bottle and filling the glasses, Mimi glanced at Bee and pointed down at the dog, still sprawled on the floor at their feet.
‘So, does this big fellow here come for walks with you, Bee?’
‘That’s right. Romeo and I are getting on like a house on fire.’
She went on to tell Mimi how proud she was of herself for managing to make friends with a big dog after years of fear. Mimi gave her an answering smile.
‘How could you not? I love dogs, and anybody can see this one’s a big softy. I’ve always wanted one, but how can I? I spend half the year out on location and it wouldn’t be fair to the dog. Before The Dark Prince I spent two months in deepest, darkest Yorkshire in a freezing cold stately home, playing the part of the unfaithful wife of a brave soldier fighting on the Western Front during the First World War. Before that I was in Washington, putting on an American accent as the first female president of the United States. Sometimes I forget where I am. A dog would just get very confused.’
Umberto handed them glasses of ice-cold Prosecco and retired to join Ines in the kitchen, leaving Bee and Mimi to chat. Bee told her about her walks and Mimi filled her in on the developments with The Dark Prince.
‘I heard from Amos that it’s gone to post-production, so that’s good.’
‘That means editing?’
‘Editing, special effects, sound effects, CGI.’ Seeing the blank look on Bee’s face, she translated. ‘Computer-generated imagery. You’d be amazed how much gets added to any movie these days.’