Escape to the Tuscan Vineyard

Chapter Fifteen

I woke up the next morning and Tony was gone. I felt half-disappointed, half-relieved that he hadn’t stuck around – but mostly glad that there was no morning-after awkwardness to face. He probably thought it was what I wanted after I’d kicked him out so early last time but I always worried that this is what would happen. That I’d start to like someone then be abandoned again. Much better to have no feelings either way and then nobody could get hurt. But I had to admit I’d enjoyed spending another night in Tony’s arms. He was completely impractical as a romantic interest – he lived in LA, for a start – but maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. I could lean into this holiday as more of a holistic break from my way of life, and then get back on it in London.

Tony was still very much ticking the transitory box, so a holiday romance could work quite nicely. A classic try-before-you-buy situation. Even though I wouldn’t be buying again. Being left alone to piece my broken heart back together was not something I wanted to repeat. No, the only person I could truly rely on not to let me down was myself. I put my bikini on, with my beach kimono, and ran the straighteners through my hair. May as well make a bit of effort in case I bumped into Tony on the stairs, or at breakfast, or by the pool. I’d definitely bump into him somewhere. I mean we’d slept together; he’d painted me like a goddess and now there had been another kiss and an overnighter. But would he be happy with something very, very casual if I decided to adapt my modus operandi for a couple of weeks?

I glided downstairs for breakfast, doing my best catwalk strut across the dining room. Today was not a day for pancakes, which was lucky as Paolo wasn’t at his regular station, beaming up at me as I walked in. Instead, Mia was running around with coffees and scrambled eggs, seeing to everyone on her own.

‘Buongiorno, Abi,’ she called. ‘Coffee for you?’

‘Yes, double espresso please, I’m shattered this morning.’ I jumped, as the aggressive rev of a motorbike sounded outside, and I spotted Paolo climbing behind Tony on to his Vespa. Not quite a motorbike, but bad enough. The sight of them balancing so precariously as Tony kicked off, made me feel faint. They looked so vulnerable and exposed, despite their matching blue helmets, puffing off in a cloud of diesel, tyres sinking into the dirt.

‘How did you sleep?’ Mia asked, handing me an espresso and a jug of frothy milk.

‘Good thanks, yes. We got back late after the film in Siena.’

‘Ah, of course. That’s why Tony was all smiles this morning.’ Mia nodded to herself.

‘Where are they off to so early?’ I asked, heaping pineapple and melon onto my plate.

‘Florence.’ Bianco and Toppa tumbled out from under the buffet table and Mia picked them up, one in each hand. I felt sick at the thought of Tony driving all the way to Florence on that rickety-looking moped, but that was the way they rolled out here. ‘The paperwork for Giorgia’s estate has finally come through, so they are signing today and hopefully that’ll be everything done. It’s been a lot of work to get it all organised.’

‘Did she leave the vineyard to both of them?’ I asked. Curious as to whether Tony would be staying for the foreseeable.

Mia nodded. ‘Yes, but Paolo and I will run it and live here. It will always belong to the family, but Tony is so busy, he wants to stay as a silent partner. Well, as silent as Italian brothers can be.’ She looked tired as she put her hands on her hips. ‘We’ve still got to sort through Giorgia’s house and pack everything up. Paolo couldn’t face doing it without Tony.’

‘Is it in San Gimignano?’

‘No, not that far. Look out on the horizon over there…’ Mia pointed to the back of the vineyard, where a small, white building stood, surrounded by olive trees. ‘You can see it at the bottom of the field. When Franco died, Giorgia insisted on moving out of the farmhouse, but wanted to stay on the land, so Paolo built her a house. She wanted to stay close, of course – family was everything to her – she was so proud of her boys.’ I thought of my own parents in their mid-terraced house back in Finsbury Park. They’d be sitting down to have breakfast about now, like they did every morning. Mum might have cooked something special – scrambled eggs with a smidge of chorizo, granary toast with butter and two packet cappuccinos.

They invited me and Chris for Sunday lunch every single week without fail, but there was always some reason one or the other of us couldn’t make it, so it was rare all four of us would get together, maybe once every couple of months or so – but it was far from an Italian family love-in. I couldn’t imagine them living at the bottom of my garden, or in Ned’s flat downstairs.

‘Can I get another coffee, please?’ Ian called over, and Mia handed me the puppies to run back to the kitchen. I put my feet up and they snuggled into my lap. They were both cute in their own way, but Nero had my heart and I spotted him across the room snoozing in Paolo’s slipper. I was strangely glad Tony wasn’t around, so I could process my feelings without him sitting next to me. Spending a second night together had been amazing. This time, we knew each other a little more. I’d known what to expect. We both had. It wasn’t the same as the opening night performance of a one-night stand. I stared into space, remembering that second kiss as we’d arrived back at the vineyard, when he’d thanked me again for the tickets. He’d known all along they weren’t freebies. Then inviting him in for a nightcap and going against my own rules. I could have held back and gone to bed alone, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to be with him. Just for one more night.

I finished my breakfast and put the puppies back in their crate, gently lifting Nero from his tiny slipper bed to join his brothers and carry on their sleep-a-thon together. Mia was running another art class, so I decided to try and move my picture of Tony on from a base layer of colourful shapes and basic pencil details, into an actual painting. With the added bonus that I could stand and stare at his face all day, while he was away in Florence. He’d left just as I was starting to consider the idea of an official date – not that he’d mentioned going on one. Maybe it wasn’t my choice to make.

‘Today, you can continue with your work from Sunday, or choose a still-life object to paint,’ Mia said, once we were all gathered together. I stood back and looked at my work-in-progress. It wasn’t that bad, now I looked at it again; it had a real spirit about it. But I wasn’t sure I could carry on drawing entirely from memory. It was way too tricky a task without Tony stood in front of me. Mia walked over to take a look.

‘Ah, yes, Abi! I loved this work from you!’

‘I want to keep going on it, but I think I need my model,’ I replied, glumly.

‘Wait. I have a photo here somewhere,’ she said, pulling out her phone. ‘Hmmm… YES, here he is.’ Mia showed me her screen, full of photos from the last session, including a clear shot of Tony stood posing for me. ‘I wanted to capture the concentration on everyone’s faces for Instagram.’

‘That one is perfect! Can I forward it to my phone?’

‘Of course!’ Mia said, handing it to me. ‘Do that first then I’ll print it for you in the office.’

It was compulsive viewing being able to stare at Tony, with no comeback. His languid stance, his cheeky smile. I zoomed in on his face and picked up my pencil. It would be much easier to get his eyes right, doing it this way. Mia returned and taped the photo onto my easel, leaving me free to get lost in my painting, and in Tony, without any repercussions. I worked for a good hour, the smell of paint lulling me into a dream, as I pencilled, then painted, using brushes and my fingers to get the desired result. Tony looking at me, looking at him.

‘Abi! This is beautiful work,’ Mia said, standing next to me, as I smoothed a shimmer of gold through Tony’s hair. ‘The duality of Tony as both angelic and devilish; I love it.’

I stared at my work, at the purity of the whites and golds next to the vibrant spectrum of reds – I could see what she meant – there was a fire about his body, but an innocence in his eyes. An accurate contradiction. I’d got there because of him, though. His painting had inspired me to push what I was doing. It was a reminder that art can simply be an explosion of feelings and creativity. That it didn’t have to be a carbon copy of real life – of course it didn’t. I was at the point where I didn’t want to ruin it, which meant I needed a break. My university tutor always said I stopped at exactly the moment I should push forward. Frightened to take the final step. For it to be finished.

‘I think that’s me done for today,’ I said, washing my paintbrushes and turning the water swampy. The painting still needed a certain something, but I’d work on it with fresh eyes in the morning. The sun was shining overhead, hidden by the trees, and the air was hot and still. I needed a drink and a lie-down. ‘Have you heard from Paolo? Did they get there OK?’

Mia looked surprised. ‘Of course!’ She laughed. ‘They’ve done that trip a thousand times – don’t worry about them.’

I did worry though. Ever since Josh’s accident, I could barely look at a motorbike, let alone get on one. The thought of it made me feel sick. Week after week of him lying in that pristine hospital bed. The non-stop bleep of the machine – until it did stop, of course. Nurses constantly in and out, checking on him with sad smiles, trying to keep my spirits up. The coma had lasted six weeks before he’d died. A widow at twenty-two. Not quite how I’d imagined my twenties turning out.

Ting.

Holly:Aperitivo later in the square?

Me:YES! Shall I invite Mia?

Holly:Good idea. See you there at 6 p.m. xx

*

The square was buzzing with tourists taking photos and walking in different directions. Tossing coins in the wishing well and queuing up for gelato. There were three ice cream shops almost next to each other, but the longest queue was always for Dondoli’s, named Best Gelato in the World 2017. The three of us nabbed a table outside one of the bars and ordered a round of Hugo Spritz. It had become my new favourite since I’d got out here, elderflower instead of Aperol – much sweeter and tastier to drink. The perfect sundowner.

‘Uno senza alcol,’ Holly said to the waiter.

‘Due,’ Mia added. They exchanged a look and the waiter scurried off.

‘Sooo… are Paolo and Tony staying overnight in Florence tonight?’ Holly asked.

‘Yes. They wanted some time together, just the two of them,’ Mia said. ‘They see so little of each other. Until recently anyway.’

‘Do you go over to LA very often?’ I asked.

‘Never,’ Mia said, firmly. ‘Giorgia was very against Tony going out there. It broke her heart when he moved away instead of joining the family business.’

‘How awful,’ I said, feeling bad for Tony. ‘He must have felt so guilty. You can’t blame him for chasing his dreams.’

‘Well, maybe now you and Paolo can go over and see where he lives?’ Holly said, going into investigation mode. ‘It must be strange not knowing anything about his life over there. Who his friends are… Has he ever been married?’

‘No. Well, I don’t think so.’ Mia laughed. ‘He could have a secret family out there for all we know. He’s had a few different girlfriends and there was someone special once, I think, but it ended a long time ago. Tony is so busy with his work – I don’t think he stops for long enough to think about a relationship or having a family.’

‘Sounds like someone else I know,’ Holly said, looking at me slyly.

‘I’d say we all work pretty hard,’ I shot back, as the waiter set our drinks down.

‘You’ve chosen a good time to come out and stay,’ Mia said, looking around the square. ‘The festival to open the Vendemmia is next weekend, and we are having a big party at the vineyard to celebrate. Will you still be here for it?’

‘I’m not sure. I haven’t got any work booked in yet, so I was going to play it by ear. What’s the Vendemmia?’

‘It’s the harvest of the grapes,’ Mia said, raising her glass to heaven.

‘You’ll miss an absolute treat if you go home before then,’ Holly said. ‘There’s food and wine and dancing. It’s brilliant!’

‘It’s one of the best days of the year,’ Mia agreed, dreamily.

‘Alright, alright, no pressure. I’ll have to see if my agent comes up with anything. But if she doesn’t, there’s no reason I can’t stay,’ I said, my eyes closed, soaking up the last rays of sun.

‘Xavier and I are running one of the food stalls,’ Holly said.

‘And we are serving our classic white wine – Vernaccia Almagno,’ Mia added.

‘Maybe I can help somehow, too,’ I mused. ‘I could do face-painting for the kids if you like. Do they do that here?’

‘That’s a great idea,’ Holly said. ‘Have you got your kit with you?’

‘I’ve always got enough make-up with me to start a small shop – you know that. I’ve got glitter paint and glue and can put something together. Paint all the kids as grapes, or olives, or something.’

‘Innovator, right here…’ Holly said, pointing at me.

‘That would be wonderful, Abi. The children will love it,’ Mia said, delighted.

I shrugged. ‘What can I say? I’m a natural-born crowd-pleaser.’

‘Excuse me, do you have a light?’ A guy from the next table tapped me on the shoulder. He was tall and blond, with a scraggy ‘I’ve been travelling’ scarf and a shark tooth, or a crocodile tooth – or maybe one of his own teeth – hung loosely around his neck.

‘Oh, er, no sorry, I don’t smoke,’ I said, turning back to the girls.

‘Neither do I,’ he replied, handing his cigarette back to his friend and trying again. ‘Filthy habit.’ He smiled, crooked white teeth against his dark tan. He was cute and on any other day I’d have smiled back, but I didn’t really see the point today. My mind was still so full of Tony, there wasn’t space for anyone else.

‘I’m Cam,’ he said, holding out his hand to shake mine. ‘Can we join you guys?’

I laughed, thinking on my feet. ‘That’s very sweet, but I don’t think our husbands would be too pleased. They are meeting us here later for drinks.’

Still got it. Well, I had something, but I didn’t have a husband. I looked over at Holly and smiled. Mia’s wedding ring gleamed in the sunshine as I tapped my necklace. I tried to imagine how it would feel for Xavier, Paolo, and Tony to appear and sit down with us. The six of us as three happy couples. To be part of a twosome again – that feeling of being safe and secure and loved. I decided right there and then to speak to Tony the second he got back. Maybe I was ready to see how things might evolve with him after all. Slowly of course. Very slowly.