BY THE TIME THEY’D looked over Bella Vista and were headed towards a converted school house in a nearby village, David and Mario were discovering they enjoyed each other’s company after all. They were in no rush to return to La Rocca, so they stopped for a leisurely drink in the village square.
The beer was cool and refreshing. David, sitting at a table in the shade, watched two old ladies with aprons tied round their enormous hips, loaves of freshly baked bread poking out of their baskets, who were catching up on the day’s gossip. An old man walked slowly down the street with his grandson, stopping to exchange a few words with everyone they passed. There was a sense of rhythm and dignity to the lives he was glimpsing, and to an outsider like David it seemed a rich and satisfying life. A future was forming itself in his mind, a future in which he created beauty from old stones and terraced walks, where he was greeted daily by the local shopkeepers, ate in the shade of a well-grown vine and gained a reputation for lavish hospitality with his daughters and friends.
He drank his beer, then said, ‘You could make a damn good life in a place like this.’
‘Yes.’ Mario looked around at the activity of the square. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see what David saw, then said quietly, ‘I envy you, David.’
‘Why?’
‘Because you have the chance to make a new start when most people are thinking about retirement and growing old.’
‘Would you like to start afresh somewhere else? What could be better than the life you have?’
Mario didn’t answer right away. He was looking thoughtful, then he grinned suddenly and said, ‘Canada. If I could choose, I would go to live in Canada.’
‘Are you out of your mind?’ David assumed he was joking. ‘Have you any idea what the climate’s like there? And what on earth has Canada got over a place like this?’
Mario shrugged. ‘A new beginning,’ he said.
‘But…’ David was temporarily lost for words.
‘Do you think Kate would like to live here too?’
‘We’d have to ask her.’
‘You’re right. No point trying to guess what women want. There is another place you might like to see, but it’s quite a way from here,’ said Mario. ‘If you’re serious, we could have lunch there too.’
‘I don’t know. We told them we’d get back by noon.’ David was already feeling bad about leaving Kate in the lurch so long after she’d made it clear she didn’t want to be there on her own. He’d been angry about the row, but knew he had to take some of the blame for it himself. He always said things he regretted after too many drinks.
‘We’d be back by three,’ said Mario. ‘Plenty of time for you and Kate to get back to Florence by evening.’
‘Okay then,’ said David. After all, where was the harm? And he really was beginning to think he might to settle in a place like this.
‘You know,’ said Mario as they began walking back to the car, ‘I envy you because of Kate, too. It’s not often you get a second chance with someone.’
David nodded; ‘Kate’s pretty special. I hope I don’t blow it this time. What about you and Simona?’ he asked. He liked knowing how people fitted together and he’d been puzzled by their obvious closeness. Even their antagonism was like the antagonism of a long-married couple.
‘We are… it is hard to explain. I was married but… Simona has always been the most important person for me…’ Mario hesitated. Their discussion was moving beyond the usual conventions of acquaintances and into territory he’d never yet discussed with anyone.
‘She doesn’t feel the same way?’
Mario paused, his hand on the roof of his car. He said quietly, ‘Years back, I did her an injury,’ he said. ‘I think, the way she looks at it, I betrayed her. What happened has tied us together, so that neither of us could ever really break free, but also it put a barrier between us. That barrier has never gone away.’
David assumed he was talking about sexual infidelity. He said, ‘Hell, Mario, no one’s perfect. Even Simona can’t hold a grudge for ever.’ Though in David’s opinion Simona was a neurotic lady and the only real question in his mind was why Mario had stuck by her for so long.
‘Your door’s not locked,’ said Mario, opening his car. ‘A nonexistent crime rate is another advantage of these sleepy little villages.’ When they were both seated and Mario had switched on the ignition, he asked casually, ‘So what was your real reason for coming here with Kate?’
‘Didn’t she tell you?’ asked David, without thinking. ‘Simona sent her some pictures to be restored. They arrived via a Florentine dealer, so in theory they were anonymous. But Simona had added coded messages to each one. Ingenious, in their way—or devious, depending on how you look at it. Anyway, Kate realized where they must be coming from, so she decided to come over and find out what was going on.’ While he was talking, David felt a twinge of unease, remembering Kate had told him not to mention this to anyone. He dismissed his anxiety—there couldn’t be any harm in Mario knowing.
‘What kind of messages?’ Mario still had his hand on the ignition.
Something in his tone made David wary of further indiscretion. He said vaguely, ‘Oh, I can’t remember the details now. I don’t suppose they meant anything.’
Mario glanced at his watch. ‘David, I apologize. I have run out of time. I just remembered a junior colleague is phoning me at one o’clock about a patient who’s due to be discharged. We will have to drive back to La Rocca at once.’