Lucilla looked up from her laptop on the big coffee table around which Claudia, Tony and Carlo were gathered. ‘Could you please come here for a minute and help us settle this? We can’t agree.’
‘About what?’ Maddy asked, as she walked closer.
‘The size of the boat we’re hiring – or the type,’ Tony explained. ‘Motorboat or sailing boat? Now that we’ve agreed to include Claudia, we need a bigger one than we planned before, which will cost a lot more. Claudia has picked a motorboat—’
‘A yacht,’ Claudia interrupted. ‘Boats are small and uncomfortable. Yachts are not. I’m not into camping either.’
Lucilla tapped the screen with a picture of a big sailing boat. ‘You call this camping?’
‘Six people and two bathrooms? Yes,’ Claudia snapped. ‘And sailing? Not sure I like the idea. Sailing boats, even if they’re big, lean too much.’
Lucilla, Carlo and Tony exchanged exasperated looks. ‘But the boat – I mean yacht – you picked costs twenty thousand euros for a week,’ Carlo argued. ‘That’s a lot more than we agreed to spend.’
‘Hell, yes,’ Leanne cut in. ‘That’s way over our budget.’
‘I’ll put in half of that,’ Claudia said. ‘I’m prepared to pay for comfort.’
‘Si, but the other half is still ten thousand,’ Lucilla said. ‘Even that is too much for us.’
Maddy looked at the picture of the yacht. ‘It looks lovely, though,’ she said wistfully.
Leanne leant down to have a look. The yacht was truly fabulous. Bright white, gleaming in the sun. Like something straight out of the movies. ‘It’s spectacular,’ she sighed.
Tony nodded. ‘Of course, but––’
‘I’ll pay the other half,’ Maddy interrupted.
Leanne’s jaw dropped. ‘What? Are you mad? I know we won a fair bit of money, but to blow ten thousand just like that…’ She stared at Maddy and noticed a determined look in her friend’s eyes. Something was going on.
‘Are you serious?’ Tony asked, looking concerned. ‘Very generous, of course.’
Claudia smiled and winked at Maddy. ‘I think I know. Spend it before he does, right?’
‘Something like that,’ Maddy replied.
‘Come on, Maddy,’ Leanne pleaded. ‘You can’t mean you’d fork out that amount for this trip?’
‘I’m serious,’ Maddy said with a steely expression. ‘Take it or leave it.’ She pulled at Leanne’s arm. ‘Come on. I want to see Florence.’
‘So we’ll book this then?’ Carlo asked, looking confused. ‘This yacht with eight berths and a crew of four and…’
‘I think we can manage without a crew, as long as we have a skipper,’ Claudia cut in. ‘That’ll make it a bit cheaper too. We can clean our own cabins and cook. The galley, or whatever you call a kitchen, is top-notch. It’ll be fun to go to the markets,’ she said, sounding like a little girl. ‘Staff, even if you call them crew, are such a nuisance.’
‘Oh yes,’ Leanne agreed, with a cheeky smile. ‘I try to manage with as little staff as I can at all times.’
Carlo laughed and exchanged a look with Tony. ‘I think we have a problem, Tony.’
‘Yes,’ Tony agreed. ‘We do. Carlo and I were looking forward to sailing. We’re both good sailors and the Dalmatians offer some very challenging waters. But then we have to consider everyone’s wishes. But…’ He hesitated. ‘I have a suggestion that might solve everything. How about hiring two boats? One for those who want to sail and a motor – ahem – yacht for those who don’t.’
There was silence around the coffee table while they considered the idea.
‘Bit extravagant, but not a bad idea,’ Leanne said, trying to hide her disappointment. She had dreamed of being on the same boat as Carlo. But as she considered the option, she realised that being together all the time might not be a good thing. Better to keep a little distance at times. ‘I love sailing too,’ she remarked, ‘but not all the time. So how about you guys hire a sailing boat and the girls hire a smaller, less expensive motor-thingy and we can travel in a kind of convoy. We’ll all meet every evening at some appointed island and have dinner on the motorboat.’ She drew breath.
Maddy nodded. ‘I like it. As you know I had a little queasiness on the North Sea when we came over from England. A motor yacht seems more my kind of thing.’
‘A little queasiness?’ Leanne snorted. ‘You puked your guts out all night.’
Maddy sighed. ‘Yeah, okay. Not something I want to dwell on, thank you. So let’s do what Tony suggested. I’ll still want to pay half for our boat – yacht or whatever, though, just to get something comfortable. Thank you for suggesting it.’
‘Fabulous idea, Tony,’ Claudia agreed. ‘And Leanne too. This way we don’t have to share a tiny sailing boat with men who’ll snore and pee all over the bathroom.’
‘I don’t snore,’ Carlo protested.
‘Of course you do,’ Claudia fired back. ‘All men snore. Just ask the woman they sleep with.’ She winked at Lucilla. ‘Isn’t that true, Lucilla?’
Lucilla shrugged and looked at her nails. ‘I wouldn’t know if Carlo snores. We didn’t do much actual sleeping when we were in bed.’
Claudia laughed. ‘I can imagine.’
Tony’s mouth quivered. ‘Let’s not delve further into that one.’
‘Good idea,’ Leanne muttered under her breath, trying to push away the image of those two in bed. Thank God their relationship was over.
Tony shot her a look. ‘So this is okay for everyone?’ he breezed on. ‘Lucilla?’
‘Yes. I like it,’ Lucilla said after a moment’s consideration. ‘And we can take turns to sail with the men, if we want. Then all we need to do is find a suitable motor yacht. With a skipper. You boys can pick your own vessel.’
‘Let me pick the yacht for us girls.’ Claudia turned the laptop towards herself. ‘I’ll find something cute and comfortable. How about a budget of around ten thousand, Maddy? Five each.’
‘Great,’ Maddy replied. ‘You can tell us what you picked when we get back. Come on, Leanne, I want to go to the Duomo before it gets dark.’ She smiled at Lucilla. ‘Bridget is still having her siesta in my room. Could you please check on her in a while?’
Lucilla nodded. ‘Certo. I’ll give her water and see if she wants a walk.’
‘Thank you.’
Carlo caught up with Leanne in the hall. ‘Have you looked at the designs yet?’
Leanne clapped her hand to her mouth. ‘Oh no, I forgot. I’ll look at them when we’re taking a break from the sights. Promise.’
‘How about I meet you for a drink? There’s a nice bar on Piazza Degli Strozza. Near the Uffizi museum. I’ll wait for you outside. Seven o’clock?’
Leanne nodded.
Before she closed the door, Leanne spotted someone behind Carlo. Lucilla. Looking at her with such animosity it made her shiver.
This holiday might not turn out to be as blissful as she had thought.
Seven
Florence turned out to be as magical as the guidebooks promised. The late afternoon sun gave the old city a golden glow and the air smelled of sweet flowers and newly brewed coffee. The heat had abated and there was a cool breeze from the river Arno as they walked across Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence, which spans the river at its narrowest point. They looked at the artefacts, jewellery and fashion for sale at the little stalls lining the bridge and admired the craftmanship.
Leanne stopped at the old wall under the arch and looked out over the calm river and a single scull breaking the pristine surface of the water. She picked up her phone and took a shot of it. ‘So beautiful. Like an old painting,’ she said.
‘Gorgeous.’ Maddy flicked through the guide book and started walking. ‘We have to go and see the Duomo now, and all the other amazing buildings.’
Leanne tore herself away from the view and fell into step with Maddy. ‘I want to see that art museum too.’
‘The Uffizi Gallery
? Then there’s the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, the…’ Maddy stopped. ‘There is so much to see. Too much, really.’
‘Let’s just do the Duomo and the Uffizi,’ Leanne suggested. ‘Or we’ll be exhausted. In any case, I’m meeting Carlo at seven for a drink and a kind of business meeting. We’re going to look at the designs and work out some kind of agreement.’
‘Have you seen the clothes yet?’ Maddy asked.
‘No. Forgot to look. Hang on, I might as well take a peep right now.’ Leanne leaned against the parapet of the bridge and took out her phone, while Maddy snapped a few more photos.
‘I think these will be great for the Florence blogpost,’ she said. ‘I got a nice shot of the fabulous hand-made jewellery. Did you see the necklaces? Beautiful semi-precious stones. Especially the rose quartz set in silver and the amethysts.’
Leanne nodded, her eyes on the screen of her phone. ‘Here we are, the website. Risorse Naturali… Here’s the collection.’ She stared at the picture on her screen and gasped. ‘Whaaa…? I don’t believe it. Holy shit!’
Maddy nearly dropped her phone. ‘What’s going on? Are you sick?’
‘Yes,’ Leanne groaned. ‘After seeing this. Just look.’
Maddy peered over her shoulder. ‘Holy mother, what are those? Sacks?’
‘Yes, and bandages and rags,’ Leanne moaned, staring at the models on the website wearing shapeless bits of cloth and strips of material, all either in black or white. Like something straight off a catwalk. ‘Is this some kind of sick joke?’
Maddy studied the picture on the screen. ‘Switch to the next page, the one that says beach wear.’
Leanne clicked and another page came up. She stared at the skinny models dressed in more of what she had first seen. ‘It’s the same stuff.’ She stared at Maddy with huge, frightened eyes. ‘Is this the collection I’m going to wear on Instagram?’
‘If you agree to do it, yes.’
‘Maybe they’ll look better on a boat?’ Leanne suggested.
Maddy giggled. ‘They’d look better on a horse.’
‘Please. It’s not funny.’
‘I think it’s hilarious.’ Maddy couldn’t stop laughing. ‘Typical arty-farty shite. Come on, Leanne. You can’t wear those rags.’
‘But… but the designers are Carlo’s friends. A young couple who are just starting off in the fashion business.’
‘I think they should stop right there and do something else. Like design tea cosies or something.’
Leanne failed to see the funny side. ‘He said the clothes were avant-garde,’ she sobbed. ‘Now I know what he meant. Oh, Christ, Italians are so weird. I mean yeah, their fashion designs are often way ahead of the times. It’s as if they throw everything at the wall just to see what sticks.’
‘Have you read what is says?’ Maddy asked, pointing at the text at the bottom of the screen. “All materials are recyclable or compostable. Fashion for the environment.” It’s so mad I bet this will actually take off.’
‘You think?’ Leanne clicked and more clothes in the same vein appeared. ‘Look, these binbag thingies are t-shirts. Completely biodegradable. You can buy three in a pack and then throw them on the compost heap when you don’t want them any more. Kind of practical, if it didn’t look so awful.’
‘It’s an interesting concept, even though the designs are crazy.’ Maddy glanced at the photos and then looked at Leanne. ‘Are you going to say no to Carlo?’
Leanne felt panic rise in her chest. ‘I don’t know,’ she moaned and put her phone away. ‘You tell me. What am I going to do?’
Maddy frowned and looked down, a strange sound coming from her throat.
‘You’re still laughing!’ Leanne exclaimed.
Maddy let out a giggle. ‘Sorry. But I can’t help it. Come on, Leanne, admit it’s a bit of a hoot.’
Leanne looked annoyed. ‘If it was you I’d be splitting my sides. But it’s me and I’m not laughing. Jesus, what a con job. I bet it’s some kind of joke he and Lucilla made up. They’re probably laughing their heads off right now.’
‘I wouldn’t say that. How could they make up a whole website just to fool you? And you know what? That concept is kind of genius when you think about it. Fashion these days is all about new looks practically every month, so most people throw away their clothes all the time. Can’t be good for the planet to have all that stuff piling up in landfill sites, not to mention the amount of energy used to manufacture them.’
‘I suppose. But couldn’t they have made stuff that was actually nice while they were at it?’ Still feeling glum, Leanne put her phone into her bag.
Maddy put her arm through Leanne’s. ‘Well, it’s certainly unusual.’
‘I still don’t know what to do,’ Leanne muttered, wondering how she was going to tell Carlo the deal was off. She desperately wanted to please him and if she said no, he was bound to be annoyed.
‘Let’s drop it for the moment and enjoy our sightseeing tour,’ Maddy suggested. ‘The Duomo is supposed to be incredible. I’m dying to see it.’
Leanne let herself be pulled along with Maddy, her spirits lifting a little as she walked down the quay and across the street toward the cathedral, the rounded cupola of which rose over the terracotta roofs of the city. You simply couldn’t be cross on such a glorious afternoon in such a beautiful city. Leanne shrugged off her worries and turned her mind to the pleasures ahead.
As they drew closer, they could see the breathtaking pink, white and green marble façade and graceful bell tower of the cathedral that must have dominated the town and the surrounding landscape in mediaeval times.
‘I took nearly a hundred and fifty years to complete,’ Maddy read from the guidebook. ‘Imagine, those who started it never saw it finished.’
They stepped inside and were immediately enchanted by the stained-glass windows and the beautiful frescoes, even if the vast space was more Spartan than they had expected. The guidebook told them that a lot of the artefacts had been removed, some of them now held in museums. But the still vivid frescoes by Giorgio Vasari of the Last Judgment, and intricate wood panelling were truly wonderful.
‘It smells of incense and prayers,’ Leanne whispered.
‘Five hundred years of worship by millions,’ Maddy said in a reverent voice. She walked to a statue of the Virgin Mary where rows of candles flickered, spreading a warm light through the dim cathedral. She put a coin in the slot and lit a candle, pausing for a moment, her head bent. Leanne stepped away to give her some space, as she was probably saying a prayer and thinking of her mother. She knew they had been close, and even though she knew her mother had died when Maddy was in her early twenties, Leanne felt a jolt of envy. How lovely it must have been to grow up so close to your mother. That was something Leanne had not experienced, her own childhood and teenage years having been full of conflicts and animosity. Would she ever be able to talk to her mother as a friend? Probably not. Her heart sank at the thought. How could she ever forgive what her mother had done? Hiding the truth about her father all these years. It was too much to forgive – or even accept.
After the cathedral, they walked to the Uffizi Gallery, which proved to be an enormous museum packed with art from different eras. The collection had been gifted to the city by the Medici family in the eighteenth century. Too much to tackle in one day, Maddy said, having consulted the guidebook before they set off. She led the way to the most famous paintings, starting with the portrait of Eleanor of Toledo and her son by the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, painted in around 1545.
Leanne gazed at the painting and the face of the young woman. ‘Beautiful. So calm and peaceful, nearly as if she were dead.’
‘She is,’ Maddy quipped. ‘That was painted like five hundred years ago.’
Leanne gave her a push with her elbow. ‘Duh, I know. I meant at that time… When she was sitting there… You know? And the little boy looks like a doll.’ Her gaze returned to the face of the woman. ‘She’s looking at us. Hmm, h
er eyes are half-closed. And that little smile on her lips… There’s something happening there. Maybe she had a thing going with the artist?’
‘She was probably just falling asleep,’ Maddy suggested. ‘I mean just look at that dress, of heavy brocade. I’d say it was very uncomfortable.’
‘It’d be a killer to have to wear it all day long.’ Leanne looked at the woman’s face again. ‘Imagine. Five hundred years, and it’s still so alive.’
They continued on to admire a few key paintings and then emerged into the street, where the setting sun cast a final few rays on the roofs before sliding behind the green hills of Tuscany, transforming the sky into a soft dark blue with just a few wispy clouds tinged with pink.
‘That was fabulous,’ Leanne sighed as they stood on the street corner. ‘But now I have to go and tell Carlo—’ She stopped, all her confusion rushing back. ‘What’ll I tell him?’
‘What do you want to do?’
Leanne bit her lip. ‘I want to make him like me.’
‘Like you or just – lust after you?’ Maddy asked in a stern voice.
‘I don’t know,’ Leanne whimpered. ‘A bit of both, I suppose.’
‘You want to please him, in other words?’
‘Something like that,’ Leanne replied, with a feeling that Maddy had hit the nail on the head. She did want to please Carlo, but she didn’t want to appear to chase him. The clothes were awful, but was that the whole problem?
Maddy sighed and hitched her bag higher on her shoulder. ‘This is where I should say it’s all up to you and you’re an adult and I have enough of my own problems. But this is not like you, Leanne. You’re usually so sure of yourself. But now you’re standing here, dithering.’
‘I know.’ Leanne put her hand on Maddy’s arm. ‘Please give me your gut feeling, here, even if it’s something negative.’
Maddy frowned and looked at Leanne in silence for a moment. ‘Here’s my take: first of all, you and Carlo do look great together in the photos. You’d look good in bin liners, the two of you. So yeah, it could be a success. Or it could totally bomb and you’d end up looking a bit of a twit with a crush, all for the wrong reasons. So have a good think about what it would do for you and don’t get fooled into doing something you’d regret.’
A Holiday to Remember: An absolutely hilarious romantic comedy set under the Italian sun Page 6