Chapter Eighteen
Saturday, 11 th November
Breakfast in their B she could tell by the determined tilt to her friend’s chin.
She was right.
‘Stace. Talk to me. You and David ended your engagement in – June?’
‘July. The second.’
‘Okay. It’s mid-November. Four and a half months isn’t a long time to get over a relationship you’d been in since you were fourteen, I get that, but it seems to me that you’d like to be over it but don’t know how. And here you have Rico, who’s lovely and he’s all gooey about you and you said yourself you like him, but you’re not letting him in. Meanwhile, though, you’re accepting dates from someone who’s “just a nice guy”.’
Stacy pushed her empty bowl to the side. ‘I guess I’m still working out what I want.’
‘So, let’s work it out. What do you want?’
Stacy stared into the middle distance. What did she want? Long term, that would be a relationship and, one day, children. Short term…
Suddenly she knew. ‘I want to be over David.’
Emily leaned forward. ‘Then why aren’t you?’
That was the million-dollar question. Stacy pictured David, but all she saw was the shallow person he’d turned into, well disguised behind the brilliant doctor, yes, but it was the person she was deciding about and–
She screwed up her face. ‘When you put it like that, I guess I am over him.’
Emily nodded primly. ‘Good, Ms Townsend. That’s plenty for today’s session with your friendly relationship advisor. You’ve agreed you’re free of the second biggest ratbag on the planet behind my own Scumbag Sam, so you’re free to decide if it’s dodgy aftershave you prefer, or the really nice bloke who’s nuts about you and who’s taking us for lunch later. It doesn’t sound like a hard choice to me.’
Stacy laughed, but… Emmy was right. It was high time she was over David. And now that she’d taken the hurdle of saying it out loud, she could get on with her life any way she wanted. She was over him – wasn’t she?
***
Rico sat on a bench by Lake Lugano, watching as Stacy and Emily approached from the main shopping street. The weekend away was working out well after all, now that he’d cleared things up with Stacy. He was still trying not to look at her like a lovesick spaniel, but at least he’d been able to drop his friendly but neutral act. That was the last time he’d take relationship advice from his father. Not that he and Stacy had a relationship, of course. And here were the girls, both looking pretty happy in the autumn sunshine. Lugano was a lot more scenic than Grimsbach at this time of year, and maybe this afternoon would help him and Stacy get properly back to normal with each other. Frustration fizzled inside Rico. Problem was, he wasn’t getting any alone time with her. Naturally, she and Emily wanted to be together, and they only had the rest of today and part of tomorrow left before Emily flew back to England. Oh, well, he’d have all the time in the world when they were back in Grimsbach.
He nodded at their collection of bags. ‘Good shop?’
‘Fab. I bought some amaretti to take back for Alan.’ Emily plumped down beside him and leaned back.
‘This place is amazing,’ said Stacy, aiming her phone up the lake for a photo. ‘Here you get fabulous views no matter where you are, and at home you have to go out in a boat for the best view of the mountains!’
Rico’s heart leapt – Lakeside was ‘at home’. He beamed at her. ‘You wouldn’t have had all this sunshine at home. Apparently they’ve had nonstop rain in Grimsbach ever since we left.’
The girls received this information silently, and Rico blushed. The weather… the topic everyone fell back on when they had nothing to say, and it wouldn’t fascinate anyone, never mind someone he wanted to fall in love with him.
He cleared his throat. ‘Okay, how about getting the train up Monte Brè this afternoon? The views are spectacular, and we could grab something to eat on the summit.’
The girls gazed at Monte Brè, one of the densely wooded twin peaks flanking the bay of Lugano.
‘I’m in,’ said Emily. ‘And next time I visit, we’ll walk up the other mountain there!’ She waved a hand at Monte San Salvatore on the other side of the bay.
Rico led the way back to the car. Impressing your guests was easy when you had scenery like this to bring them to. They didn’t call the Ticino ‘the sunniest corner of Switzerland’ for nothing. Which was why so many people retired here, of course. And his father for one was hugely enthusiastic about the place.
As if Ralph had been listening in, a message from him pinged into Rico’s phone. He swiped it open, and frowned.
‘Problem?’ Stacy was watching him.
‘I hope not. Dad says the forecast for tomorrow is heavy snowfall north of the Alps. We’d better get on our way in good time in the morning.’ He looked up to see two apprehensive faces. ‘We’ll be fine – they’re pretty good at keeping the main routes clear. And I’ve got winter tyres, and snow chains if we need them. But hopefully we won’t.’
Yes, hopefully they wouldn’t.
***
Kim turned her back on the ice-cold wind blowing across Lake Constance. Tobias had suggested the outing to the play park in Rorschach, so the boys were happy, running around with rosy cheeks and big smiles while she and Tobias stood stamping their feet and thumping their hands together to stay warm. At least the rain had stopped.
He put an arm around her and hugged her back against his chest. ‘I guess this is what you call making memories with your kids.’
Kim pulled a face. ‘We’re making memories for us. They won’t even remember this when they’re bigger.’
‘They’ll remember they had a happy childhood with mum and dad, though. That’s the important thing.’
Kim turned round to see his face. This was her chance. ‘Yes – but me taking a few hours every week to do a job I love wouldn’t change their memories of a happy childhood, would it? You heard what Frau Mathys said – Eli copes well with things, and he loved having Stacy take care of him for a little while.’
He was silent for a moment, then: ‘Okay, maybe it doesn’t have to be you or me taking care of them twenty-four seven. But Eli’s older, Kim. Ben’s still only three. Would he have coped so well last Monday if Eli hadn’t been there?’
‘I don’t know. But he’ll have to learn one day, and I’ve been thinking. There’s a playgroup for pre-kindergarten kids in the village, just two sessions a week. Ben could go there, and I could use those hours to keep my business going.’ She wasn’t about to mention the job at Lakeside, not yet. But even a few hours working at home would be a blessing.
He heaved a huge sigh. ‘All I want is what’s best for them, Kim.’
‘I know. So do I. Why don’t we try Ben in the playgroup after Christmas? If he doesn’t like it, we can stop again until he’s older.’
He still wasn’t looking happy. ‘You’d be putting Ben in playgroup for you, though, not for him.’
‘Does that matter, if he enjoys it? And aren’t I important too? I’ve been miserable at the thought of not being able to work even a few hours a week. That’s not good for any of us.’
Hell, she’d wanted to have this conversation without bursting into tears, but now the wind was turning her wet cheeks into ice.
‘Oh, Kim.’
Tobias hugged her again, and she could feel his heart beating even through the duvet jacket he was wearing. He kissed her woolly hat.
‘Okay. We’ll try it. But please, don’t take clients unless the boys are being cared for.’
‘Deal.’ Victory, but it was a bittersweet one. He was agreeing, but you could tell he still wasn’t keen. Tobias would always be your steady kind of traditional bloke; it was part of who he was and why she loved him.
Tobias moved away to persuade the boys that going for hot chocolate was a good idea, and Kim wiped her face. She could show him that this compromise was a good one, couldn’t she?
And maybe next year, a job outside home would be possible too. Baby steps. The Lakeside job was a baby step too far for the moment, but one day…