Chapter Twenty-Six
As I waited for the concierge to call his brother-in-law in the Oltrarno area of the city because apparently he owned a small pensione that might have a very reasonably priced room I could stay in for the night, my phone pinged.
There were a few people it could be, some I wanted to hear from more than others, but annoyingly, it was Tim.
how are you getting on with the footage?
Without overthinking it, I typed a message back.
Tim, I’m afraid I don’t think it’s fair for me to be shooting footage when I am on annual leave and for no additional pay.
I am on a break from work and therefore do not wish to be thinking about actual work.
I know Florence quite well now, though, so if you’d like me to come back and shoot some footage some other time, I’d be happy to. See you on Monday, Maddie.
I pressed ‘send’, regretted it for about a second, shrugged and called Lou.
‘What’s up?’ she said. ‘Are the in-laws still being a nightmare?’
I left it a beat or two because it was the first time I’d said it out loud and it kind of got caught in my throat.
‘I’ve split up with Nick.’
Lou, for once, was silent.
‘Hello? Can you hear me?’ I said.
‘Of course I can. I’m just letting this momentous news sink in. What on earth’s happened?’
The concierge gave me a thumbs-up and I gave him a thumbs-up back.
‘Where to start? Aidan and I have been talking. And he’s never forgotten about me either and I think he might be my “one” and we’re probably going to give it another shot.’
‘What?’ exclaimed Lou.
‘Oh, and I told Tim where to go. Politely, obviously.’
The pianist started up, it was that time of the evening. More Vivaldi, I thought.
‘Oh Mads. This sounds a lot. Are you OK?’
‘Not sure. But I will be.’
‘What are you going to do when you get back to London? Do you want to stay at mine for a bit?’ asked Lou.
God, I hadn’t even thought about that. I could hardly go back to Nick’s place, could I?
‘Would that be OK?’ I asked, grateful.
‘Absolutely. Is somebody playing the piano?’
‘Yep.’
‘When are you back?’
‘I’ve re-booked my flight for tomorrow morning. I’m off to a pensione for the night.’
‘Very A Room With a View.’
‘Right?’
Lou sighed. ‘I know you probably feel terrible right now, but if you think about it, you’ve potentially just avoided making the biggest mistake of your life. And I, for one, am proud of you for stepping up and going after what you want.’
I pressed my lips together, wondering whether to say anything.
‘You’ve never liked Nick, have you?’ I asked, keeping my tone light.
I supposed it didn’t matter now whether she did or she didn’t, but I wanted to know.
It was something I’d always suspected but had never called her out on because I hadn’t been ready to hear the truth.
Lou was very astute about stuff like this and I thought that if she’d had some insight into why Nick and I might not be right for each other, I’d find it impossible to ignore.
And I’d so wanted to want to marry him. Or at least, I’d tried really hard to want it.
‘I don’t dislike him,’ said Lou gently. ‘I was just never sure he brought out the best in you. I never thought you had enough in common. You didn’t seem particularly connected, you know?’
That I could take.
‘The only good thing to come out of it is that I never have to see his wanky family again. Turns out the only one I care about is Daisy. She’s lovely, actually. I’ll miss her,’ I said.
My phone beeped as a text came through from Tim.
‘Tim’s just texted. I’m too scared to read it,’ I said.
‘Fuck Tim. I met my friend Katrina for dinner the other night and she’s heading up a new travel show for Channel 4. I told her about you and she said to send in your CV. If you’re interested? Since you’re on an empowerment roll?!’
I watched other guests coming in and out of the doors of the hotel, some with suitcases and tired faces, some dressed up for dinner.
‘Are you there, Mads?’
‘I’m here.’
‘So will you go for it? The job?’
‘Actually – and this is a bit radical – I’ve been thinking of going freelance. Not right away, I’ll need to save a bit more money first. But I’ve got an idea, Lou, and I’m really excited about it. I’ll tell you all the details when I see you.’
Lou screeched so loudly that I had to temporarily hold my phone away from my ear.
‘Sorry, but I can’t take all this in,’ she yelled, sounding genuinely shocked. ‘What’s happened to the Maddie I know? Do they put something in the waters in Florence?’
I ended the call and got the details of the pensione from the concierge.
‘Oh, and can I please settle the bill for room 315?’ I asked him, getting my card out.
He tapped away on his computer.
‘All paid, madame.’
I frowned.
‘I thought they were going to pay at the end? Can’t I pay half at least?’
‘The bill is settled, there is nothing to pay, madame.’
‘Right,’ I said, annoyed that they’d got in there first. Then again, at least I wouldn’t have to max out my credit card to pay for a hotel room that – I could conclude – was no nicer than some of the places I’d stayed in for half the price.
I was just about to leave when I realised I still had my engagement ring on. I stared at it for a moment or two, holding out my hand to observe it from a distance.
‘Would you mind keeping an eye on my stuff?’ I asked the concierge.
He was already on the phone but nodded a yes.
I walked towards the restaurant, pulling off my ring as I went. I’d give it to Nick and if I felt like I could, I’d say goodbye to the others. It would be a shame to leave things on such a bad note, although I supposed it was too late for that.
Rosamund saw me first.
‘Don’t worry, I’m not staying,’ I said, looking at everyone one by one. Daisy smiled at me, at least. ‘I just thought I ought to give you this, Nick.’
I handed him the ring, pressing it into the palm of his hand.
Sophia laughed out loud. ‘Can you believe the audacity of this woman?!’
‘Mum!’ said Daisy. ‘Stop being so horrible to Maddie. She’s a nice person. And I, for one, am really sad that she won’t be part of my family anymore.’
Strange that she’d turned out to be the only person I felt some sort of affinity with, despite our rocky start. I thought it might be because I could see so much of myself in her.
‘Thank you, Daisy. And I am going to treasure the picture you gave me.’
And then I turned to Rosamund.
‘I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip and that this hasn’t disrupted things too much for you.’
She gave me a steely look in return and I rattled on before she had a chance to start laying into me.
‘And, Nick, I’ll be in touch when we’re back in London.’
He cleared his throat. ‘Fine.’
‘Bye, Daisy,’ I said. ‘Good luck with everything.’
‘You too,’ she said.
And then I turned and walked away, noticing how the further away from them I got, the more my shoulders fell from my ears and the more my jaw unclenched.
I was free of them and it felt great. And whether or not things worked out with Aidan, I knew I’d done the right thing by not being with Nick.
His family might have tried to make me feel as though I wasn’t good enough for them, but it had ended up having the opposite effect.
As I pulled my suitcase through the doors of the hotel, slipping the doorman a twenty-euro note as I went, I felt stronger and more hopeful than I’d ever been before.